- Yes
- No
During the 1980s, the decision was made by the German Defense Ministry to pursue a new fighter program alongside the British and Italians. This new fighter was planned to enter service in the late 1990s and would culminate as the Eurofighter Typhoon. In the meantime however, something was needed until this new fighter could reach its full operational capability. To that end, the Defense Ministry began investigating the possibility of introducing an upgrade to the existing F-4F fleet to improve its combat capabilities in both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles and would be given the name Kampfwertsteigerung (KWS) or Improved Combat Efficiency (ICE) in English.
The mission requirements of the upgrades were placed into two categories Luftangriff (LA) or ground-attack (GA), and Luftverteidigung (LV) or air-defence (AD). The requirements for the LA mission were:
- High weapons accuracy by an improved navigational system;
- Use of precision guided weapons;
- Use of standoff weapons;
- All-weather combat capability.
While the requirements of LV mission were:
- Combat opponent from long range;
- All-weather combat capability;
- Look down/shoot down capability;
- Capability to combat multiple targets;
- Possibility of track while scan;
- Employment of radar-guided missiles in an electronically jammed environment.
The upgrades began in 1986 where a total of 153 aircraft were upgraded to the LA mission standard. These upgrades included:
- A new Honeywell laser-based inertial navigation system (LINS);
- A digital GEC-Marconi CPU-143/A computer;
- A new Rockwell-Collins control and display unit.
Following this, a further 110 aircraft were upgraded to the LV mission standard, which included:
- The Hughes AN/APG-65GY radar;
- A new Litef mission computer;
- A new radar control unit in the rear cockpit;
- Airscrew Howden launch rails for the AIM-120 AMRAAM;
- A new Marion Composites radome optimised for the AN/APG-65GY.
In addition to these upgrades, all aircraft received a new grey Norm 90J camouflage and underwent a Structural Life Extension Program (SLEP) to increase the lifespan of the airframe, which were now expected to remain in service until 2012. From this, two distinct versions of the KWS emerged; the KWS-LA, which retained the old APQ-120 radar and still lacked the ability to engage targets BVR can be distinguished by its black radome and the KWS-LV can be distinguished by its new grey radome.
The F-4F KWS-LV would form the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s interception capability until in 1991 when it was supplemented by the MiG-29G and in 2000 when it was gradually phased out and replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon, finally retiring from service in 2014.
Specifications
Wingspan: 11.77 m
Wingspan (folded): 8.41 m
Length: 19.20 m
Height: 5.02 m
Wheel track: 5.45 m
Wing gross: 49.2 m2
Empty weight: 13,757 kg
Max T/O weight: 28,030 kg
Max payload: 7,500 kg
Hard points: 9
Engine: 2x General Electric J79-MTU-17A
Thrust (dry): 52.5 kN
Thrust (afterburner): 79.24 kN
Max speed (high level): Mach 2.00
Max speed (sea level): Mach 1.05
Service ceiling: 16,581 m
T/O run basic weight: 1329 m
Landing run (chute): 951 m
Landing run (no chute) 1552 m
Armament
Gun:
M61A1
SUU-23/A gun pod
Missiles:
4x AIM-9B / F / E / J / L / L/I-1 or 4x IRIS-T
4x AIM-120A / B AMRAAM
2x AGM-65B / D Maverick
Bombs:
250 lb Mk 81
500 lb Mk 82
750 lb M117
1000 lb Mk 83
2000 lb Mk 84
3000 lb M118
MATRA 250 kg
BL 755 cluster bomb
BAP-100/80 anti-runway bomb
DURANDAL anti-runway bomb
BLU-1 fire bomb (finned and unfinned)
BLU-27/B fire bomb (finned and unfinned)
Rockets:
LAU-3/A rocket launcher
LAU-59A rocket launcher
LAU-10 rocket launcher
Other:
Vertikale Bordwaffe (VBW)
Mehrzweckwaffe 1 (MW-1)
ECM:
ALQ-71-3
ALQ-101(V)-8
ALQ-119(V)
SPS-141
ALE-38 chaff dispenser
ALE-40 flare/chaff dispenser
Sources
Andreas Klein, The MDD F-4F Phantom II in German Air Force Service 1973-1982
Andreas Klein, The MDD F-4F Phantom II in German Air Force Service 1982-2003
GAF TO 1F-4F-1
GAF TO 1F4F-34-1