Stealth Saga #77

Mystery Aircraft at Edwards AFB:

Is this a B-2?  A B-21?  Or an RQ-180?  The Aviationist and I get to disagree.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The USAF Costs Analysis Agency has a list of suggestions on how to reduce the cost of the coming NGAD 6th gen fighter.

Saab wants in on the British Tempest Program.

A US General is stating the Tempest must be compatible with the F-35.

The time might actually be right for the Tempest.

The Tempest announcement made a clear statement of intent, some think.

Leonardo still thinks the EU might fund at least some of the Tempest despite Brexit.

Will Japan collaborate with the Brits on the the Tempest fighter?

Wired wants to introduce you to the Tempest fighter as well.

KF-X:

Meggitt won another contract for the KF-X.

F-313 Qaher:

Whatever happened to the Qaher?

Can the Iranian fighter actually fly?

FGFA:

The Russians continue to insist the Su-57 derived FGFA hasn't been cancelled.

Russian VSTOL:

The Russians are claiming their next carrier based aircraft will be a brand new, clean sheet VSTOL fighter.  Presumably, a 5th gen fighter.

MiG-41:

Russia says they are still working on it, but some maintain pure interceptors are obsolete.

Su-57: 

The Su-57 has been seen with an external targeting pod.  Picture here.  That almost confirms the Su-57 is not stealthy.

TASS has stated the Su-57 contract is still not signed, but will be by the end of summer.

The Russians have stated the Su-57 has met all its development goals, has the potential to become a UCAV and also has the potential to be upgraded for the next 50 years.

However, the Russians are now saying they have only ordered 2 Su-57s.

The Russians are stating the Su-57 will have advanced AI capabilities.

J-20:

New photographs of the J-20 have come to light.  The construction of the J-20 is pretty impressive.

There are claims the J-20 is facing difficulty with the manufacturing process and mass production is years away.  This conflicts with the reports there have been 18 J-20s delivered in the first half of 2018 and six in 2017.

Does the J-20 have an electro-optical system like the F-35?

Another quick post on the J-20.

F-22:

F-22s deployed to Spangendahlem AFB.

Two F-22s simulated dogfights with Norwegian F-35s.

F-22s deployed to Poland to participate in their Armed Forces Day Parade.

F-22s deployed to Spain to train with Spanish Eurofighters and F/A-18s.

Two F-22s deployed to Romania.

F-117:



Retired, you say...

About that retirement.

F-35:

P&W got a $24.6M contract for the engines for the LRIP lot 9 F-35s.

Will the F-35 program hit it target price?

Congress passed the defense budget.  77 F-35s were paid for.  20 F-35Bs, 9 F-35Cs and 48 F-35As.

Congress is preventing any transfers of the F-35 to Turkey because of the purchase of the S-400 SAM from Russia.  SecDef Mattis warned Congress NOT to do that.  However, it appears to be a 90 day hold rather than a true ban.  An oped on the whole thing.  Turkey is threatening international arbitration if the F-35 deal is blocked.  The legislation temporarily banning delivery of the F-35 to Turkey has become law.

The USAF is experimenting with 3d printing replacement parts for the F-35A.

Watch an F-35A train with its cannon.

A F-35A had an inflight emergency and then was taxing to park when its nose landing gear gave way.

An F-35B pilot had some frustrations with the aerial refueling process on the way to Britain.

The USMC is ordering special lightning rods for its F-35B fleet in Japan.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth has left Britain to go qualify with F-35Bs in the US.  Video of the ship's departure.

Watch a Dutch F-35A in 'beast mode' fly through the Sierra Nevada's in California.

An Israeli F-35 went live on an aircraft tracking website.

Was the missile strike that took out the Russian SAMs in Syria done by an Israeli F-35?

The first South Korean pilot has flown the F-35A.

South Korea is considering buying F-35Bs for carrier operations.  They are seeking a study as what must be done to cover their amphibs to carriers.

British aerospace got a contract for expendable decoys for the F-35.

Lockheed says F-35 manufacture remains on track and will deliver 91 F-35s in FY19.

Lockheed got a contract mod for $19M for the F-35.

Lockheed got a contract to adapt the ALIS maintenance system for foreign governments.

The F-35 fuselages pushed Northrop's bottomline up.

Stealth Saga #65

6th Gen Fighters:

Russia claims it will incorporate lasers to shoot down missiles in its 6th gen fighter.

PAK-FA:

The PAK-FA engaged in mock combat at MAKS-2017.

The developmental stage of the PAK-FA is set too end by the end of 2017 with the flight testing of the new engine.  However, there may be a translation error as that the development is now stated to be finishing in 2019.  Or was it?

New flight controls were to be demoed on the PAK-FA at MAKS 2017.

The Russians are considering an LRIP of 12 PAK-FAs.

The KH-38ME missile has been modified for a better fit for the PAK-FA.

PAK-DP:

The Russians have revised what they said about when the PAK-DP will start.  2019 is the earliest.

PAK-DA:

In the same article above, the PAK-DA has been postponed for first flight until 2025 to 2026 and production later.

MiG-29 Replacement:

The Russians are talking about a light fighter, Mig-29, replacement by 2025.  Maybe.

FGFA:

The Russians have reiterated the FGFA contract with India will be signed momentarily.  Maybe.

Hunter-B:

A supposed Russian stealthy UAV has surfaced in slides at least: meet the Hunter-B.

H-20:

Status of the H-20 project is discussed at James Town.  Tech demonstrators for the H-20 have likely flown and the first prototype is likely to fly around 2020.

Franco-German Next Gen Fighter:

The French and Germans have signed an agreement to develop a next gen fighter.

Is it a good idea?

The new Franco-German fighter is not a threat to the Franco-British UCAV effort.

B-2:

A cool video of the B-2.

The B-2 is getting a massive upgrade and some sources are starting to call the upgraded B-2s the B-2B.  Unofficially.

F-35:

The F-35 has passed 100,000 flight hours.

The F-35 might get nuclear capabilities faster than previously planned.

The F-35 helmet had a significant glitch with the night vision camera during shipboard testing for the F-35B.

The F-35B has started ski jump testing.

The Gripen withdrew from the Belgian fighter competition, leaving the Eurofighter, Rafale and F-35.

Lockheed is still optimistic about the purchase rate for the F-35.

Lockheed has stated it is on track to finish the SDD flight trials by the end of the year.

META:

The scandals at KAI have brought scrutiny to the F-35 and KF-X programs in South Korea.

Stealth Saga #25

FCAS:

The Anglo-French UCAV is taking shape (paywall).  Its intended to be 'wingman' for manned fighters.

PAK-DA:

The Russians are trying to claim their PAK-DA bomber may take to the skies by 2021.   This is an acknowledgement their schedule is slipping and the reason for the Tu-160 production revival was exactly for this reason.  

PAK-FA:

The Russians are claiming the PAK-FA will enter initial production in 2017.

MiG-41 (MiG-31 replacement):

 

(MiG-41 artist concept)

A bit more information has been released on the proposed MiG-31 replacement. It has been deemed the MiG-41 and supposedly high supersonic.  A little more about the proposed aircraft and the source of the artist's concept.  There's a speculative post at this forum.  However, it has a imagery from the model MiG Ferret from the 1980s, too, so take with a grain of salt.  The artist concept looks like someone crossed a MiG-21 with the Sukhoi PAK-FA having a love child uglier than the X-32 death pigeon.

FGFA:

Has Russia and India finally struck a deal with respect to the PAK-FA derived FGFA fighter?  Russia was behind on the program, refused to share data and refused to allow the Indians to give input into the derivative's design.  Plus the Indians felt the engines were bad and the performance, including stealth, sucked.  AND it was overpriced.  The Indians were on the edge of pulling out.  However, the Russians came back to the table and offered the Indians a price of $4 billion for the development (to be matched by the Russians), the Russians would get 11 FGFA prototypes and the Indians would get 3.  The Indians would ultimately buy 250 FGFA.  The deal still seems to suck to me...

F-22:

Here's a bit more about the first F-22 to go into combat.

F-35:

The F-35 will be making appearances at the RIAT and Farnborough air shows. This will be the USMC F-35Bs flying.  Apparently, other sources are saying F-35As will also fly.

The Alabama Air National Guard is hoping to switch to the F-35 by the end of the decade.

Apparently, the chief tester is also stating the F-35's software might be vulnerable to cyber attack.

The former top weapons tester in Australia is expressing some very strong distress over the F-35.