Lockheed Martin says it is too early to discount highly maneuverable fighter aircraft designs for future US Air Force and Navy warplanes, even as advances in long-range air-to-air missile technology makes dogfights less likely.
According to the company’s director of advanced air dominance and unmanned systems strategy, Bob Ruszkowski, the US must be prepared to fight outnumbered, and air-to-air missiles can be countered.
“In a situation where maybe there’s a numerical mismatch between the number of threat aircraft and the number of allied aircraft, there may be situations where dogfighting emerges, even as a secondary capability, but one you may have to resort to,” Ruszkowski tells Flightglobal. “Or, in situations where long-range missiles are negated by some other capabilities and now they’re rendered relatively ineffective. What bet are you going to make?”
Some in Washington have argued that speed and agility should not automatically be key attributes of a sixth-generation combat aircraft, since those design attributes could be traded for greater size, range and payload. According to a report published in April by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the lethality of a large combat aircraft "may be competitive or even superior to more traditional fighter aircraft designs".
“We're at a point where it's time to think long-term, and hard, about what attributes we want and need and make everything earn its way onto the platform,” the report's author John Stillion said at an Air Force Association event last month. “Don't just assume it's going to be fast and agile.”
Ruszkowski agrees that a larger combat jet might be preferred in the future, but it’s too early to tell.
“I don’t believe anybody has defined what those attributes are,” he says, while noting that the Vietnam War-era McDonnell Douglas F-4 was delivered without a gun, but one had to be installed later as a “fallback capability” because air-to-air missiles of the day proved to be less effective in combat than imagined.
“They needed a fallback capability,” he says.
Lockheed has been exploring sixth-generation aircraft capabilities and designs in earnest since 2009, and Ruszkowski says the company is looking for high-payoff technologies to invest in.
He thinks assured communications with satellites and other aircraft will be essential, and next-generation weapons will be a “discriminating” factor on any future air dominance platform. To that end, the company is investing heavily in hypersonic air vehicles laser weapons.
Last year, the company demonstrated a new beam control turret for an airborne laser, conducting eight flight tests in a surrogate aircraft over Michigan. Lockheed is also exploring the propulsion, materials and sensor technologies needed to develop an air-launched hypersonic missile.
“They’re not only applicable for next-generation air dominance platforms, but they’re applicable for current-generation platforms,” Ruszkowski says.
The navy is looking to replace its Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets in the late 2020s. The air force wants to develop a truly next-generation platform through its Air Dominance 2030 initiative.
New
Posts: 3,156
By: hopsalot
- 15th May 2015 at 21:16Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The Pentagon has given Milestone C approval to Raytheon’s Small Diameter Bomb II programme, moving the tri-mode seeker weapon to production and deployment with the US Air Force on the F-15E Strike Eagle.
...
“The program was a Milestone B in the summer of 2010,” he says, referring to the point when a military programme enters the development and testing phase. “The goal of the cost per weapon was about $180,000. It’s coming in at about $115,000.”
The air force has already started integrating the weapon with its first aircraft, the F-15 Strike Eagle. The Navy plans to integrate it first with the F/A-18 Super Hornet and then with its threshold aircraft, the F-35C and F-35B Joint Strike Fighters.
Raytheon’s tri-mode seeker allows the bomb to hit fixed and moving targets on land and at sea through poor weather conditions with pinpoint accuracy.
That is a pretty darn impressive price per bomb for something as sophisticated as the SDB-II, less than half the cost of an AASM and with a lot more capability.
I may not be around in 2050, but I believe you'll see some activity in Directed energy weapons for tactical platforms very soon. How soon? My guess would be that we'd get some sort of "technology demonstration" roadmap by 2017. This does not mean that there isn't internal activity happening at the moment (its well documented), it just means that in my opinion we'll get to hear of a more formal demonstration roadmap in a couple of years.
Give them 12-24 months and we will get to hear a lot more on what the roadmap is and also on what the platform is and how they expect to transition. ;). It isn't as much about identifying the roadmap (which they have ;) ) but communicating it to the public (which should follow over the next year or two).
New
Posts: 3,156
By: hopsalot
- 18th May 2015 at 23:14Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
More from the article:
What can 100-plus kilowatts kill? Hardy was cagey about specific targets, but a study from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments suggests that it could destroy enemy cruise missiles, drones, and even manned aircraft at significant ranges.
“A 150-200 kW laser could be capable against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles,” said CSBA’s Mark Gunzinger, the report’s author. And against manned aircraft? “Quite probably,” he said, “especially at altitude where the air is thinner.”
New
Posts: 3,156
By: hopsalot
- 19th May 2015 at 12:01Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Cue the star wars soundtrack, laser tested on fighter sized aircraft by 2022:
By: Confucius says
- 19th May 2015 at 12:32Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Ok, so a real life laser weapon may enter testing in well less than 10 years and people here have nothing to say...
Meanwhile the troll wars fill several pages a day.
Well, you could always start a thread called "US jets to fry Euro-canards" :D
New
Posts: 1,760
By: lukos
- 19th May 2015 at 15:37Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It'll could be useful against AAMs too. Against aircraft? Possibly at close range and the ability to direct the shot rather than firing straight ahead would give more flexibility than guns, even if the damage is slower.
By: bring_it_on
- 20th May 2015 at 02:15Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
There probably are..too lazy to look for them though. From what I understand, all types can deploy the 9X and the USAF has its fair share of missiles by now.
By: MSphere
- 20th May 2015 at 22:27Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
There probably are..too lazy to look for them though. From what I understand, all types can deploy the 9X and the USAF has its fair share of missiles by now.
By: Vnomad
- 20th May 2015 at 22:51Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Can F-22 deploy AIM-9X?
First test occurred this year. To be operational with the F-22 by 2017. No contract for the HMDS as yet though, the air force is still shopping around for solutions.
By: bring_it_on
- 20th May 2015 at 22:52Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Can F-22 deploy AIM-9X?
The first 2 guided Aim-9x shots were fired in February of this year. The fleet will get it with Increment 3.2 (iirc) around 2017. I guess all platforms accept the Raptor (that are operational) can fire the 9X as of now, with the raptor integration happening right now, with hardware modification contracts being awarded in 2014.
By: Vnomad
- 20th May 2015 at 23:38Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Note they are planning to modify only 220 launchers ie 110 AIM-9X capable and available Raptors.
We don't know that for a fact. Perhaps the later lots of F-22s were equipped with updated launchers but never fitted with the Aim-9X. Doesn't make sense for the DoD to spend billions developing the aircraft and then try to save a meagre $13-14 million ($300K each) by cutting corners at this stage.
By: bring_it_on
- 20th May 2015 at 23:49Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
There are around 123 Combat coded F-22A's. The 110 number is either due to the reason mentioned above, or most likely due to the fact that they could fund that amount for now (this is most likely for full inc. 3.2) and may later issue a follow on contract to bring the remaining aircraft back to standard. The USAF has 123 combat coded F-22A's, with another 20 in the back up inventory. The rest are used for tactics and testing.
By: FBW
- 21st May 2015 at 03:18Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
There are around 123 Combat coded F-22A's. The 110 number is either due to the reason mentioned above, or most likely due to the fact that they could fund that amount for now (this is most likely for full inc. 3.2) and may later issue a follow on contract to bring the remaining aircraft back to standard. The USAF has 123 combat coded F-22A's, with another 20 in the back up inventory. The rest are used for tactics and testing.
Quite right, there are 143 Raptors included in the Block 35 increment 3 plans. The older Raptors are simply too expensive to retrofit to the block 35 standard. The 36 (35 after the write off) are used for training, the rest for test and the weapons squadron. Not too sure about the Aim-9x only being implemented on 110 Raptors, unless they don't plan on fitting the ANG squadron in Hawaii with the Aim-9X.
By: Hotshot
- 21st May 2015 at 07:24Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Has there been studies to integrate the F-35's HMD on the F-22? The HMD could display the video stream coming from the MLD sensors and give the F-22 better night/day SA and a 360deg capability. The MLD has a lower definition than the DAS but I would guess it is still good enough to warn the pilot of incoming threats.
By: FBW
- 21st May 2015 at 13:06Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Has there been studies to integrate the F-35's HMD on the F-22? The HMD could display the video stream coming from the MLD sensors and give the F-22 better night/day SA and a 360deg capability. The MLD has a lower definition than the DAS but I would guess it is still good enough to warn the pilot of incoming threats.
No, it is too bulky and if you look at the seat on the F-35, you can see that it has a large and wide headrest to help support that thing. Using the MLD like DAS is feasible and LM has claimed that it has that capability. It would require some extensive software mods(not easy with the Raptor), however. The new helmet study does mention that very possibility though:
The air force also wants a helmet that overlays display imagery over an external field of view generated by a camera.
Posts: 472
By: RadDisconnect - 15th May 2015 at 17:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheed-not-ditching-agile-fighter-designs-412288/
Lockheed not ditching agile fighter designs
Lockheed Martin says it is too early to discount highly maneuverable fighter aircraft designs for future US Air Force and Navy warplanes, even as advances in long-range air-to-air missile technology makes dogfights less likely.
According to the company’s director of advanced air dominance and unmanned systems strategy, Bob Ruszkowski, the US must be prepared to fight outnumbered, and air-to-air missiles can be countered.
“In a situation where maybe there’s a numerical mismatch between the number of threat aircraft and the number of allied aircraft, there may be situations where dogfighting emerges, even as a secondary capability, but one you may have to resort to,” Ruszkowski tells Flightglobal. “Or, in situations where long-range missiles are negated by some other capabilities and now they’re rendered relatively ineffective. What bet are you going to make?”
Some in Washington have argued that speed and agility should not automatically be key attributes of a sixth-generation combat aircraft, since those design attributes could be traded for greater size, range and payload. According to a report published in April by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the lethality of a large combat aircraft "may be competitive or even superior to more traditional fighter aircraft designs".
“We're at a point where it's time to think long-term, and hard, about what attributes we want and need and make everything earn its way onto the platform,” the report's author John Stillion said at an Air Force Association event last month. “Don't just assume it's going to be fast and agile.”
Ruszkowski agrees that a larger combat jet might be preferred in the future, but it’s too early to tell.
“I don’t believe anybody has defined what those attributes are,” he says, while noting that the Vietnam War-era McDonnell Douglas F-4 was delivered without a gun, but one had to be installed later as a “fallback capability” because air-to-air missiles of the day proved to be less effective in combat than imagined.
“They needed a fallback capability,” he says.
Lockheed has been exploring sixth-generation aircraft capabilities and designs in earnest since 2009, and Ruszkowski says the company is looking for high-payoff technologies to invest in.
He thinks assured communications with satellites and other aircraft will be essential, and next-generation weapons will be a “discriminating” factor on any future air dominance platform. To that end, the company is investing heavily in hypersonic air vehicles laser weapons.
Last year, the company demonstrated a new beam control turret for an airborne laser, conducting eight flight tests in a surrogate aircraft over Michigan. Lockheed is also exploring the propulsion, materials and sensor technologies needed to develop an air-launched hypersonic missile.
“They’re not only applicable for next-generation air dominance platforms, but they’re applicable for current-generation platforms,” Ruszkowski says.
The navy is looking to replace its Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets in the late 2020s. The air force wants to develop a truly next-generation platform through its Air Dominance 2030 initiative.
Posts: 3,156
By: hopsalot - 15th May 2015 at 21:16 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/raytheons-small-diameter-bomb-ii-approved-for-production-412401/
That is a pretty darn impressive price per bomb for something as sophisticated as the SDB-II, less than half the cost of an AASM and with a lot more capability.
Posts: 3,106
By: FBW - 18th May 2015 at 12:42 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Cue the star wars soundtrack, laser tested on fighter sized aircraft by 2022:
http://breakingdefense.com/2015/05/lasers-on-a-plane-air-force-wants-fighter-firing-100-kilowatts-by-2022/
Posts: 12,109
By: bring_it_on - 18th May 2015 at 12:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?134417-a2a-and-a2g-variants-of-a-stealth-fighter/page2
Give them 12-24 months and we will get to hear a lot more on what the roadmap is and also on what the platform is and how they expect to transition. ;). It isn't as much about identifying the roadmap (which they have ;) ) but communicating it to the public (which should follow over the next year or two).
Posts: 3,156
By: hopsalot - 18th May 2015 at 23:14 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
More from the article:
Posts: 3,156
By: hopsalot - 19th May 2015 at 12:01 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Ok, so a real life laser weapon may enter testing in well less than 10 years and people here have nothing to say...
Meanwhile the troll wars fill several pages a day.
Posts: 218
By: Confucius says - 19th May 2015 at 12:32 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Well, you could always start a thread called "US jets to fry Euro-canards" :D
Posts: 1,760
By: lukos - 19th May 2015 at 15:37 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It'll could be useful against AAMs too. Against aircraft? Possibly at close range and the ability to direct the shot rather than firing straight ahead would give more flexibility than guns, even if the damage is slower.
Posts: 2,271
By: eagle - 20th May 2015 at 02:08 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks, but I know about F-15s that are not E models carrying X Sidewinders.
...so, any pics/vids of F-15Es with X winders?
Posts: 12,109
By: bring_it_on - 20th May 2015 at 02:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
There probably are..too lazy to look for them though. From what I understand, all types can deploy the 9X and the USAF has its fair share of missiles by now.
Posts: 5,396
By: djcross - 20th May 2015 at 15:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Inside America's Next Spyplane
Posts: 8,850
By: MSphere - 20th May 2015 at 22:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Can F-22 deploy AIM-9X?Posts: 2,661
By: Vnomad - 20th May 2015 at 22:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
First test occurred this year. To be operational with the F-22 by 2017. No contract for the HMDS as yet though, the air force is still shopping around for solutions.
Posts: 12,109
By: bring_it_on - 20th May 2015 at 22:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The first 2 guided Aim-9x shots were fired in February of this year. The fleet will get it with Increment 3.2 (iirc) around 2017. I guess all platforms accept the Raptor (that are operational) can fire the 9X as of now, with the raptor integration happening right now, with hardware modification contracts being awarded in 2014.
Posts: 2,271
By: eagle - 20th May 2015 at 22:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
No.
http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123447344
http://www.janes.com/article/51375/f-22-notches-first-guided-aim-9x-sidewinder-firing
Note they are planning to modify only 220 launchers ie 110 AIM-9X capable and available Raptors.
Posts: 2,661
By: Vnomad - 20th May 2015 at 23:38 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
We don't know that for a fact. Perhaps the later lots of F-22s were equipped with updated launchers but never fitted with the Aim-9X. Doesn't make sense for the DoD to spend billions developing the aircraft and then try to save a meagre $13-14 million ($300K each) by cutting corners at this stage.
Posts: 12,109
By: bring_it_on - 20th May 2015 at 23:49 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
There are around 123 Combat coded F-22A's. The 110 number is either due to the reason mentioned above, or most likely due to the fact that they could fund that amount for now (this is most likely for full inc. 3.2) and may later issue a follow on contract to bring the remaining aircraft back to standard. The USAF has 123 combat coded F-22A's, with another 20 in the back up inventory. The rest are used for tactics and testing.
Posts: 3,106
By: FBW - 21st May 2015 at 03:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Quite right, there are 143 Raptors included in the Block 35 increment 3 plans. The older Raptors are simply too expensive to retrofit to the block 35 standard. The 36 (35 after the write off) are used for training, the rest for test and the weapons squadron. Not too sure about the Aim-9x only being implemented on 110 Raptors, unless they don't plan on fitting the ANG squadron in Hawaii with the Aim-9X.
Posts: 1,123
By: Hotshot - 21st May 2015 at 07:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Has there been studies to integrate the F-35's HMD on the F-22? The HMD could display the video stream coming from the MLD sensors and give the F-22 better night/day SA and a 360deg capability. The MLD has a lower definition than the DAS but I would guess it is still good enough to warn the pilot of incoming threats.
Posts: 3,106
By: FBW - 21st May 2015 at 13:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
No, it is too bulky and if you look at the seat on the F-35, you can see that it has a large and wide headrest to help support that thing. Using the MLD like DAS is feasible and LM has claimed that it has that capability. It would require some extensive software mods(not easy with the Raptor), however. The new helmet study does mention that very possibility though:
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-starts-researching-helmet-mounted-cueing-for-f-22-410575/
The Scorpion HMD has been floated one possible option, was shelved, and has re-emerged as the leading contender to be integrated:
http://www.gentexcorp.com/scorpion-helmet-mounted-cueing-system