The Aerfer Ariete (Italian for Ram or Aries) was a prototype fighter aircraft built in Italy in 1958. It was a refined derivative of the Aerfer Sagittario 2, and was an attempt to bring that aircraft up to a standard where it could be mass-produced as a viable combat aircraft.
Retaining most of the Sagittario 2's layout with a nose intake and ventral exhaust for the main Derwent engine, the Ariete added a Rolls-Royce Soar RS.2 auxiliary turbojet engine to provide additional power for climbing and sprinting. This used a dorsal, retractable intake with its exhaust at the tail.
No production ensued; a proposed version with a de Havilland Spectre rocket engine instead of the auxiliary turbojet, the Aerfer Leone (Lion or Leo), was abandoned before a prototype could be built.
Operators
Italy
Italian Air Force operated two aircraft for evaluation test
Specifications (Ariete)
Data fromAir Enthusiast, Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59
Time to altitude: 12,000 m (39,000 ft) in 4 minutes 20 seconds
Wing loading: 244 kg/m2 (50 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.685
Take-off run: 500 m (1,600 ft)
Landing run: 900 m (3,000 ft)
Armament
Guns: 2 × 30 mm HS-825 cannon (30x136mm)
See also
Related development
Ambrosini S.7
Ambrosini Sagittario
Aerfer Sagittario 2
Aerfer Leone
References
Bibliography
Buttler, Tony. X-Planes of Europe II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946–1974. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2015. ISBN 978-1-90210-948-0
Swanborough, Gordon. Air Enthusiast, Volume One. London: Pilot Press, 1971. ISBN 0-385-08171-5.