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The A-149 Gryphon is a light multi-role fighter/attack jet used by both the AAF and Livonian Defense Force in ArmA 3. It was added with the release of the Jets DLC.

Overview[]

  • Roles:
    • Combat air patrol
    • Close air support
« The A-149 Gryphon is a fourth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, and all-weather tactical fighter aircraft. The aircraft was designed as a multirole platform at affordable costs. This aircraft, despite its aging platform, has still been upgraded with the newest sensors and weapons systems.
Field Manual
»

Design[]

Premium content logo
This is a premium asset that requires ownership of the Jets DLC.

A single-engined conventional jet fighter, the Gryphon uses a mixture of canard control surfaces and a delta-shaped wing design.

Arma3-Gryphon-Loadout

A-149 pylon configuration

Armament
The Gryphon is armed with a 20 mm minigun as part of its standard armament. It has 250 rounds of high-explosive (HE) shells loaded by default.

The Gryphon has six pylons (three on each wing) that support dynamic loadouts.

  • The two inner pylons (1-2) support:
    • AMRAAM C (1×)
    • AMRAAM C (2×)
    • BIM-9X (1×)
    • BIM-9X (2×)
    • Macer II (1×)
    • Macer II (2×)
    • GBU-12 (1×)
    • GBU-12 (2×)
    • CBU-85 (1×)
    • BL778 (1×)
  • The two pylons in the middle of each wing (3-4) only support:
    • AMRAAM C (1×)
    • BIM-9X (1×)
    • Macer II (1×)
  • The two wingtip pylons (5-6) can only support either of the following missiles:
    • AMRAAM C (1×)
    • BIM-9X (1×)

It also has an externally fitted targeting pod with an integrated laser designator which can provide self-designation capability when used in conjunction with guided munitions like the GBU-12. As with the Buzzard, the Gryphon can be slingloaded by heavy-lift helicopters if necessary.

Arma3-gryphon-00

Two AAF-operated Gryphons en-route to their target. Note the externally-fitted targeting pods on both planes.

Drawbacks
Although the Gryphon possesses a targeting pod just like its high-tech counterparts, the camera on the targeting pod is forward-facing only. As a result, it cannot be fully rotated in all directions, which limits the pilot's ability to freely self-designate targets.

Simultaneously, while the Gryphon does possess semi-stealth capability like the Buzzard, it lacks a dedicated stealth variant and cannot store its weapons internally (unlike its NATO and CSAT counterparts). This lack of a stealthed variant results in the Gryphon always retaining a consistent radar signature no matter its loadout.

In essence, the Gryphon effectively suffers from three main flaws: it has lacklustre avionics, is unable to perform SEAD missions, and has overall poorer agility when compared to the CSAT To-201. Unless the opposing pilot makes a critical mistake or accidentally stalls their aircraft, the Gryphon is guaranteed to lose to its modern counterparts in Beyond Visual Range (BVR) and Within Visual Range (WVR) air-to-air dogfights.

Crew Capacity
The Gryphon only contains a single seat for the pilot. It is unable to transport any passengers.

Camouflage[]

  • Grey: Pattern-less scheme that uses a flat light grey paint colour. Exclusive to LDF Gryphons.
  • Digital Green [Camo]: Digitised three-tone green/olive semi-fractal camouflage pattern. Applied onto the AAF's Gryphon jets.
  • Digital Grey [Camo]: Digitised two-tone white/grey semi-fractal camouflage pattern.

Protection[]

The Gryphon has a base armour value of 60.

Hull[]

The jet's hull can withstand 270 points of damage. Will result in a total loss if the hull's "health" is depleted.

Engine[]

The Gryphon's engine can take up to 210 points of damage before it fails. It takes 350% increased damage from high-explosive (HE) munitions.

If damaged: Decreases thrust output and can prevent the Gryphon from attaining its top speed.
If destroyed: Can instantly blow up the Gryphon if damage levels are at critical.

Instruments[]

The Gryphon's flight instruments and Multi-Functional Displays (MFD) can withstand up to 180 points of damage before they suffer from failure. All instruments take 350% additional damage from HE-type munitions.

If damaged: Causes periodic flickering of MFD screens. Instruments remain fully functional.
If destroyed: The MFDs will be disabled. Instruments will malfunction and do not provide proper readings.

Fuel tanks[]

The Gryphon has a total of three fuel tanks located along the left and right sides of the fuselage, along with a third just behind the engine. All three tanks can only resist up to 180 points of damage before rupturing.

The engine fuel tank does not take damage from HE-type munitions, though both of the side tanks do take 400% additional damage from HE-type munitions. At least 50% of incoming damage is also shared with the Gryphon's main "health" pool.

If damaged: Gradual fuel leaking; will lose up to a maximum of 50% of the remaining fuel supply.
If destroyed: Rapidly lose entire fuel supply over the course of several seconds.

Control surfaces[]

The Gryphon's control surfaces consist of five components:

  • Ailerons (left/right)
  • Elevators (left/right)
  • Rudder (centre)

The ailerons can survive 108 points of damage before failure while for the elevators it is 90 points. The rudder on the other hand, can withstand up to 120 points of damage. They all take 300% additional damage from HE-type munitions.

Depending on the control surface, the jet's handling and agility will be degraded based on the severity of damage. If multiple parts become disabled simultanously, it may become impossible for the Gryphon to perform any high-G manoeuvres altogether.

Stealth[]

The Gryphon is not designed with stealth as a focus, though some aspects of its airframe allow it to retain semi-stealth capability in all areas (radar/infrared/visually):

RCS[]

The Gryphon has a radar cross-section rating of 0.8, which lowers the maximum detection range of active radars by 20%.

IR[]

The Gryphon has reduced visibility on the infrared spectrum, and can only be detected at 90% of an infrared-based sensor's maximum range (factor of 0.9; reduction of 10%).

Visual[]

The Gryphon is slightly more difficult to spot visually, and will reduce the maximum range of any visual-based sensors to only 80% (factor of 0.8; reduction of 20%).

Sensors[]

The Gryphon has an array of sensors designed to allow it to serve in both ground attack and (limited) air superiority roles:

Sensor type Max range (Air/Ground) Min range (Air/Ground) Affected by environment? Target max speed (km/h) Azimuth coverage (°) Elevation coverage (°) Friendly identification range (m)
Active A: 12,000 m
G: 8,000 m
A: 12,000 m
G: 8,000 m
Terrain clutter (200 m) 1e+10 km/h 45° 45° 4,000 m
Anti-Radiation A: 12,000 m
G: 12,000 m
A: 12,000 m
G: 12,000 m
Nothing 216 km/h 45° 180° 12,000 m
Infrared A: 4,000 m
G: 3,000 m
A: 500 m
G: 500 m
Fog (0.005%) 1,440 km/h 90° 60° 2,000 m
Laser A: 6,000 m
G: 6,000 m
A: 6,000 m
G: 6,000 m
Nothing 1e+10 km/h 180° 180° 0 m
NV A: 6,000 m
G: 6,000 m
A: 6,000 m
G: 6,000 m
Nothing 1e+10 km/h 180° 180° 0 m
Passive A: 16,000 m
G: 16,000 m
A: 16,000 m
G: 16,000 m
Nothing 1e+10 km/h 360° 360° 12,000 m
Visual A: 4,000 m
G: 3,000 m
A: 500 m
G: 500 m
Fog/Light (6%) 360 km/h 26° 20° 2,000 m

Active Radar[]

The Gryphon's Active Radar is forward-facing only. Targets will only become lockable once they get within the bounds of the sensor cone (represented by the teal cone on the SENSORS panel).

Note that although ground targets at distances below 200 metres remain "invisible" to the radar due to terrain clutter, any targets that are moving at speeds of ~ 100 km/h or greater will immediately become visible on the Gryphon's radar.

Anti-Radiation Sensor[]

The Gryphon's Anti-Radiation Sensor is forward-facing only. Its elevation coverage is specifically four times the circumference compared to azimuth and is therefore optimised to detect ground targets.

Infrared Sensor[]

The Gryphon's IR Sensor is forward-facing only (represented by the red cone on the SENSORS panel). Although it is technically affected by heavy fog, the range reduction effect is so miniscule (-0.2 metre reduction) that it will be barely noticeable.

Laser Sensor[]

The Gryphon's Laser Sensor is forward-facing only. Any designated targets will become visible on the Gryphon's SENSORS panel only when the jet is (mostly) facing in the direction of the laser spot.

NV Sensor[]

The Gryphon's NV Sensor is forward-facing only. Any IR grenades on the ground will only become visible on the SENSORS panel when the Gryphon is (mostly) facing in the direction of the grenade.

Passive Radar[]

The Gryphon's Passive Radar can detect Active Radar threats in any direction (regardless of the jet's facing direction).

Visual Sensor[]

The Gryphon's Visual Sensor is located in the externally fitted targeting pod (represented by the yellow cone on the SENSORS panel). The Visual Sensor can be affected by heavy fog and can lose up to 6% of its range depending on its thickness. The Visual Sensor becomes completely blind at nighttime and very low-light conditions.

It should be noted that the Visual Sensor has an elevation offset of 1 degree.

Armament[]

NOTE: Only the weapons used on the default loadout for the Gryphon are listed here. For full details on ordnance that can be mounted on the Gryphon, refer to the dynamic loadouts article.

M61 Minigun[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-a149gryphon-m61minigun
Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s) Penetration depth (mm)
60 -0.00078 1,036 52.836

20 mm Gatling cannon. Fires high-explosive (HE) type ammunition useful for WVR dogfights.

It can attain a fire rate of up to 4,000 rounds per minute and has a muzzle velocity of 1,036 m/s. Accuracy-wise, it has a dispersion of 0.001 rad at distances of 1,500 metres.

Target Lead Indication is provided on the pilot's Heads Up Display (HUD). Landing hits can be accomplished by pointing the M61's crosshair directly onto the HUD's circle.

AMRAAM C[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-a149gryphon-amraamc
Main article: Dynamic loadouts#AMRAAM C

Medium range radar-guided air-to-air missile.

Relies on the Gryphon's Active Radar sensor to function.

Macer II[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-a149gryphon-macerii
Main article: Dynamic loadouts#Macer II

Air-to-ground infrared-guided missile.

Relies on the Gryphon's IR Sensor to function.

BIM-9X[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-a149gryphon-bim9x
Main article: Dynamic loadouts#BIM-9X

Short range infrared-guided air-to-air missile.

Relies on the Gryphon's IR Sensor to function.

Trivia[]

  • The Gryphon is directly based on the real-world "JAS 39 Gripen" multi-role fighter jet designed by Saab of Sweden.[1]
    • However, the Gryphon is actually an amalgamation of two variants of the real-life Gripen.[2] The exterior fuselage of the "C" model[3] is combined with the cockpit and front wheel position of the "E" model[4].
  • Prior to Game Update 1.72, the Gryphon stalled easily and had poor rudder authority; the latter making it somewhat difficult for the Gryphon to perform mid-air turns at high speeds.[5]
  • Arma3 jetsdlc screenshot 03

    Promotional screenshot with double missile racks on hardpoints 3/4.

    Based on one of the DLC's pre-release promotional screenshots, the number three and four pylons were able to support double missile racks at some point in its development.
    • However, it is not known as to why these hardpoints were eventually changed upon release to no longer support double missile racks.
  • The Livonian Defense Force are shown utilising Gryphon jets in the latter stages of the Contact expansion pack's campaign[6][note 1], yet they do not possess access to them outside of it for use in either the Zeus curator module or editor.

Gallery[]

Video[]

Notes[]

  1. Not available outside of the First Contact campaign.

References[]

  1. Carpenter, J 2017, OPREP - JETS DLC, Arma 3, viewed 6 May 2017, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/oprep-jets-dlc>.
  2. Córdova C, L 2023, Arma III - Jets DLC - A149 Griphon, ArtStation, viewed 16 May 2023, <https://www.artstation.com/artwork/n0JXX9>.
  3. Saab 2020, Gripen C-series, Saab, viewed 7 March 2023, <http://web.archive.org/web/20221227154347/https://www.saab.com/products/gripen-c-series>. (archived link)
  4. Saab 2020, Gripen E-series, Saab, viewed 7 March 2023, <http://web.archive.org/web/20221220032439/https://www.saab.com/products/gripen-e-series>. (archived link)
  5. Kovařič, V 2017, SPOTREP #00069, Arma 3, viewed 4 October 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00069>.
  6. ARMA 3: Contact 2019 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., First Contact, Elimination Coda

External links[]

See also[]

Aircraft of comparable role and configuration[]

Vehicles of ArmA 3
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonAMV-7 MarshallHatchbackHEMTTHunterIfritKartMB 4WDMSE-3 MaridOffroadProwlerQilinRhino MGS (UP) • StriderSUVTempestTractorTruckQuadbikeUGV StomperVanZamak (MRL)
Tracked 2S9 SochorAWC NyxBTR-K KamyshCRV-6e BobcatED-1D Mini UGV (ED-1E) • IFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherFV-720 MoraM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 SandstormMBT-52 KumaT-100 Varsuk (X Futura) • T-140 Angara (T-140K) • ZSU-39 Tigris
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAR-2 DarterCH-49 MohawkCH-67 HuronDemining DroneMH-9 Hummingbird (M900) • Mi-48 KajmanMi-290 TaruMQ-12 FalconPO-30 OrcaUH-80 Ghost HawkUtility DroneWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonA-164 WipeoutCaesar BTTF/A-181 Black Wasp IIKH-3A FenghuangMQ-4A GreyhawkTo-199 NeophronTo-201 ShikraUCAV SentinelV-44X BlackfishY-32 Xi'an
Aquatic Assault BoatMotorboatRHIBSpeedboatSDVWater Scooter
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Karts DLC | Helicopters DLC | Apex DLC | Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Arma3-factionicon-aaf AAF - Vehicles (ArmA 3)
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonQuadbikeStriderUGV StomperZamak (MRL)
Tracked AWC NyxED-1D Pelter (ED-1E Roller) • FV-720 MoraMBT-52 Kuma
Rotor-wing AR-2 DarterAL-6 PelicanCH-49 MohawkWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonK40 Abalil-3
Aquatic Assault Boat (Rescue) • Speedboat MinigunSDV
Parenthesis denote variants.
Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Arma3-factionicon-livoniandefenseforce LDF - Vehicles (ArmA 3)
Wheeled OffroadQuadbikeUGV StomperVanZamak (MRL)
Tracked ED-1D Pelter (ED-1E Roller) • FV-720 Odyniec
Rotor-wing AL-6 PelicanAR-2 DarterWY-55 Czapla
Fixed-wing A-149 Gryphon
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
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