USAF not F-35 thread

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The problem is that you and I may want that, but the USAF has never ever asked for the program of record to be increased to support additional ANG recapitalization needs. Not in any budget discussion, not via indirect routes and not in any policy paper or document that explicitly calls for that. So the point is moot. In that vacuum when faced with a certain sunset of the F-15C fleet in the 2020's they took whatever the OSD could get them without threatening the F-35 program. Even at the elevated defense spending levels this is probably the best they can manage before B-21 procurement peaks up in the 2020's. Defense budgets are at best expected to keep up with inflation and are believed to have peaked.

Yet, the USAF never asked or budgeted for the F-15EX to replace the F-15C Fleet either. The plan was to upgrade the latter. Until enough F-35A's could be produced to replace them....

Sorry, you just can't make a merit based case for the F-15EX. That has been painfully obvious over the last couple of weeks.

Nonetheless, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is under investigation by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General because of allegations he improperly advocated on behalf of his former employer. (i.e. Boeing)

Last week a Washington-based government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), filed a formal complaint with the IG, alleging Shanahan promoted Boeing over competitor Lockheed Martin in discussions with Pentagon staff. CREW also alleges that Shanahan pushed for increases in purchases of Boeing's F-15X jet fighter.

In short no final decision has been made to acquire the F-15X. Which, may never happen when all is said and done.

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Yet, the USAF never asked or budgeted for the F-15EX to replace the F-15C Fleet either. The plan was to upgrade the latter. Until enough F-35A's could be produced to replace them....

Can the F-15C fleet meet the readiness requirements into the 2020's as per the notification from General Mattis while he was the SecDef?

No the plan was never to upgrade the F-15C's and produce the F-35A's to replace them. Replacing ANG F-15C's was never part of the F-35 program of record. The Air Force never made a case for that and never increased the program of record. They never advocated or made a push to seek that.

Sorry, you just can't make a merit based case for the F-15EX. That has been painfully obvious over the last couple of weeks.

No one is making a merit based case. This is an IB decision taken by the OSD. The AF will play along because it will get new tails while also increasing the F-35A buy (see the Congressoinal support today for the UPL).

Nonetheless, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahanis under investigation by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General because of allegations he improperly advocated on behalf of his former employer. (i.e. Boeing)

Being under investigation doesn't really mean anything though. There was a complain and the IG decided to look into it. This will likely not go anywhere.

In short no final decision has been made to acquire the F-15X. Which, may never happen when all is said and done.

I am not sure anyone ever indicated here that a final decision has been made. The President of the United States via his budget request has requested the aircraft.Ultimately it is to the Congress to fund it.

[HTML]Can the F-15C fleet meet the readiness requirements into the 2020's as per the notification from General Mattis while he was the SecDef?

No the plan was never to upgrade the F-15C's and produce the F-35A's to replace them. Replacing ANG F-15C's was never part of the F-35 program of record. The Air Force never made a case for that and never increased the program of record. They never advocated or made a push to seek that.[/HTML]

So, the upgraded F-15C's would have lasted until replaced by PCA???

[HTML]No one is making a merit based case. This is an IB decision taken by the OSD. The AF will play along because it will get new tails while also increasing the F-35A buy (see the Congressoinal support today for the UPL).[/HTML]

The USAF will play along not because it would be the preferred option. (F-15X) It will play along because it is being pressured (forced) to do so my the OSD. Which, is part of the reason Patrick Shanahan is under investigation by the IG.

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Being under investigation doesn't really mean anything though. There was a complain and the IG decided to look into it. This will likely not go anywhere.[/HTML]

Maybe and maybe not. Yet, I doubt the "Democrats" will let him off the hook so easily. Plus, plenty of Powerful Republicans that also oppose the deal.

[HTML]
I am not sure anyone ever indicated here that a final decision has been made. The President of the United States via his budget request has requested the aircraft.Ultimately it is to the Congress to fund it.

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Without question....

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I thought I read something about how the RAM turbine was supposed to be lower drag than the propellers but I can't find anything about that now. So it's probably nothing... Well maybe they just hoped the new design would reduce drag.
Anyway, my suspicion that the new pods are draggier is true: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...ck-their-range

Yes this was based on the protest materials released after Raytheon lost out the down-select for the LB pod. As I said, with CFT's on the way and potential for engine enhancements down the road some if this can be recovered. Glad that they stuck with a pod and power and thermals that are adequate for the mission and for future growth. These pods will be in service for a long time and with Open Systems and other non-contractor owned IP in many aspects of their design there would be entry points for competitively adding capability over time.

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Also, Just noticed that one my my tweets was referenced in the article as well :).

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Nothing that new. Research field everywhere.

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EPAWSS first flight (Via Boeing's Twitter) -

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The BAE Systems Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) completed a first flight on a 29-year-old F-15E assigned to the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin AFB, Florida.

The EPAWSS will replace the Tactical Electronic Warfare System on more than 215 F-15Es and, if Congress approves, also be installed on at least 144 F-15EX aircraft requested by the U.S. Air Force in the fiscal 2020 budget.

The upgraded system is noticeable on both of the F-15Es’ aft fuselage booms. Instead of the single sensor fairing at the aft position on the boom, the EPAWSS features two sensor fairings. EPAWSS integrates functions for radar warning, geolocation, situational awareness, and self-protection, BAE says. It is able to detect incoming radio frequency-based detection signals, develop a jamming technique and then transmit that signal to the source of the emitter.

https://aviationweek.com/awindefense/f-15e-test-aircraft-completes-first-flight-epawss

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22 days between the last two posts...

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Pretty nice, TomcatViP. I guess he really is going to be dumping more out there.

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Seems that DARPA's TBG and HAWC programs are running neck and neck in terms of their respective first flights -

Walker: Hypersonic HAWC and TBG Neck-And-Neck to Fly by End of Year

Two hypersonic missile development projects jointly underway between the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are in a “race” to see which will fly first, but DARPA’s director said he expects it will happen by the end of this year, or early next.

Steven Walker, at a press roundtable in Washington, said he’s “hopeful” the Tactical Boost Glide or Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept projects will fly by December, though he said making that timetable will be “sporty.”

“As you get into the building of these things [and] qualify flight hardware, things tend to slip,” Walker allowed. “So, I’m hopeful that we can fly both of those by the end of ’19 [but] it may slip into the early ’20 timeframe.”

He said, “It’s really a race between HAWC and TBG to see which one goes first. They’re actually both scheduled around the same time … I can’t really see right now which one’s going to win out.”

Both approaches are accelerated to hypersonic speed atop a booster stage, but the TBG is a maneuvering coast vehicle that gradually bleeds off its velocity, while the HAWC takes in air to mix with fuel for a powered trajectory. They are both “focused on tactical and theater-level operations,” Walker noted.

Taking two different approaches to a hypersonic weapon is sensible, Walker asserted. “It’s good to have what I consider intended redundancy, because it’s a harder technology. Materials and propulsion systems that last in 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures is not easy.” He added, “These are going to be important tests for DARPA and the Air Force.”

The Advanced Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, will be an outgrowth of the TBG, Walker noted, suggesting it’s considered the most likely to be in service first. Prototyping activities on the concept with the Air Force are designed “so that the service could accept these concepts if they were successful in flight.” Under ARRW, USAF would be “taking that TBG concept and flying it several more times through the prototyping level, building some number for the Air Force.” This was “a very important thing we were able to do last year in the budget.”

Walker noted that Pentagon research and engineering czar Mike Griffin “has been able to get a lot more money into the service budgets for hypersonics for ’20,” and “you will see in the next several years the US aggressively pursuing these technologies; and not just pursuing, … but really thinking about how to turn it into a capability.”

Both projects are entering the “assembly, integration, and test phase,” Walker noted, a period when it’s not uncommon to have to “requalify things … [You] put all that together and you test the whole system, you hope it all works and has been done correctly. We’re still very much in the early stages of AIT for both programs.” He also cautioned that scheduling range tests and ensuring they’re done “by the book” can complicate or cause delays to testing. “Once you get into test hardware, there are all sorts of things you have to face down every day and beat back,” he added.

Technologically, tough challenges include managing temperatures and materials to withstand them, Walker said.

DARPA is also working with the Army on a variant of TBG that would be lofted to altitude and speed by an all-new booster. The project, called “Op Fires,” is a 50-50 cost sharing program with the Army. The booster is being eyed “to give some controllability to where that front end can be put. Re-entry conditions for a glider are very important for how far it can go, and what the environment it sees is.” Three “small companies” are working on the booster, he said.

For the Air Force versions, Walker said the B-52 will be the test launch vehicle.The Navy, meanwhile, is considering whether the HAWC approach could be a solution to its needs, though it hasn’t finished studying the issue and has made no decision, Walker reported.

“I do know the Navy is working on the larger OSD program, but that’s not really a DARPA thing,” he added.

Hypersonics is an urgent technology push, Walker insisted, because although the US has “led the way” in research previously, “some of our peer competitors have taken that technology and turned it into a capability faster than we have.” It’s “an area that I believe the US really needs to make progress in and be a leader in.”

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https://warontherocks.com/2019/06/f-15ex-the-strategic-blind-spot-in-the-air-forces-fighter-debate/

The realized strategy (the end) rarely matches the intended strategy (the beginning) because a strategy can — and should — evolve over time. The Mintzberg model acknowledges that the realized strategy is actually a combination of both deliberate and emergent strategies. As a strategy is executed, various smaller emergent strategies are coupled and decoupled to the long-term deliberate strategy as new opportunities present themselves.

What does this have to do with the F-15EX and F-35A? The F-35A represents the deliberate part of the strategy, while the F-15EX represents the emergent part. F-35A may be the generational foundation for the Air Force’s fighter force structure strategy through the 2070s, but the way it is traditionally envisioned for use has little to do with the emerging framework of strategic competition (note China and Russia have been developing stealth-negating weapons systems for 20 years). However, coupling the F-35A with other rapidly-fielded force structure opportunities like the F-15EX enables the Air Force to engage very effectively in strategic competition. This is how it’s possible to remain committed to the F-35A while also supporting the F-15EX. In other words, this is how both sides are right.

Long and well reasoned article, not sure I agree with some arguments presented or his conclusion, but worth reading.

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In the case of B-52 re-engine, we are using that time to do digital engineering for the engine and pod integration, so we have all three industry bidders on one contract. We have Boeing on contract. They are working together as part of the source selection. They will deliver their virtual prototype to us by October. We would normally not even be on contract, and already we have a deliverable that will help us understand the challenges of integration. Are they able to keep the center of gravity and the fluid flow around the power pod? Are they able to keep that the same? We will have that earlier.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/paris-air-show/2019/07/08/us-air-forces-acquisition-chief-talks-new-b-52-engines-and-the-future-of-battle-management/

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Twice more (new) engine, (way) more power. That would have been a miss not to jump on that opportunity.

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They should have re-engined the B-52 30+ years ago

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B-52 re-engine wasn't going to occur until the engine SPO mafia retired or died. It was the same engine mafia which kept the truly awful CF39 in service on the C-5 instead of switching to the proven, highly reliable CF6.