Stealth Saga #24

TFX:

Turkish Aerospace Industries expects the TFX contract to be signed within the first half of 2016.

KF-X:

The program has been officially kicked off and is planning on 2/3s local content.

PAK-FA:

The PAK-FA performed at the Bahrain air show and the final prototype is being assembled.   Note: prototype, not first production example.

PAK-DA:

The Russians are claiming they will be building the first prototype of the PAK-DA stealth bomber before 2021.  However, I'd caution that the Russians have an economy that is melting down and they have already significantly postponed the purchase of the PAK-FA, the MiG-31 replacement and several other aerospace projects.  The PAK-DA may only get built, if ever, in the far future, not in 5 years.  The link is to a Russian website, but the text is in spanish.  (wuh?)  

LRS-B/B-3:

Rumor has it the image here is not far off for what the two LRS-B prototypes actually looked like.

The second rumor is the Northrop prototype nearly crashed during testing.

F-22:

A little more about the F-22s now deployed to Japan.

F-35:

The F-35 has fired the AIM-9X Sidewinder for the first time.

Denmark is facing a significant budget issue over replacing its F-16s: the F-35 is one of the contenders.

The top Pentagon weapons tester is concerned about the F-35 avionics software.

Stealth Saga #13

KF-X:

South Korea has set up a commission to get the KF-X stealth fighter program back on track.

PAK-FA:

Supposedly India has agreed to buy 154 PAK-FAs.

Yet in an article on the PAK-FA and PAK-DA, Russia Military Reform (blog) says the collaboration with the Indians has stalled.  It also casts doubt on the purported rate of development and development of both platforms given Russia has now said there will only be 12 PAK-FA's by 2020 in service when there were supposedly going to be 52.

B-3 Long Range Strike Bomber:

After all the zaniness working up to the announcement of who the LRS-B was going to made by, what do we really know about the oh so stealthy bomber?  Not much.

Boeing has been debriefed about why they lost the contract.  Now will we see them protest?

Three different generals make the case for the LRS-B.

The LRSB has taken a budget hit ($230M).

The USAF REALLY needs the LRS-B procurement to go off without a hitch.

War is Boring, of course, argues the US Air Force ought to buy more LRS-B bombers and a lot less F-35s.

"Potential" USAF UCAV:

General Otto, in an article about one man 'cockpits' for the Reaper drones, states the US Air Force wants an unmanned missile truck to accompany the F-35.  There are rumors this may already exist.

F-35 Lighting II:

Apparently, there are parts of the F-35 that only the US will have access to, even ones sold to foreign nations like Israel.

Republican Presidential Nominee candidate Donald Trump has come out against the F-35.  Or potentially so.

Prime Minister Trudeau will be consulting with President Obama prior to reopening the fighter competition and withdrawing from the F-35 program.

The F-35 test fired its gatling gun in the air.

Lockheed Martin has received a $5.37 billion contract action for 55 Lot IX Joint Strike Fighters, including 41 F-35As, 12 F-35Bs and 2 F-35Cs.  Six F-35As are for Norway,  seven are for Israel and two for Japan. Six F-35B are for the Royal Navy and six for the US Marine Corps.  The Marine Corps and Navy will each get a F-35C. 

The Italian pilots have passed the first steps of training on the F-35.

Stealth Saga #11

The South Koreans have been working on 3 of the 4 technologies the US banned export of already.  The AESA radar is the only technology the Koreans have not yet developed on their own.  The South Koreans have been trying to figure out how to acquire the AESA radar.  Saab and several others are already offering their solutions.

The Russians may not sell the Indians the S-400 SAM missiles unless India 'clarifies' its intentions with the T-50/PAK-FA derivative they had been working on with Russia.  India has been developing very cold feet recently over the project, worried about performance, quality control and the lack of real cooperative development with the Russians despit paying for a very large portion of the bill.  This could really backfire for the Russians.

The Canadian projected withdrawal the F-35 is going to shake up the fighter market.  Turkey is hoping to add the SOM-J cruise missile to the F-35 in software version 4.2

Bloomberg states the Long Range Strike Bomber contract will be announced tomorrow at 4 pm eastern time (after the markets close).  I'm surprised they are not waiting until friday.  Experts are split on who has won the contract.  What questions SHOULD be asked about the B-3/LRS-B and its contract?  Everyone in the aerospace industry is looking for clues as to which team won.

More Speculation About the Long Range Strike Bomber

For months the defense industry has been held hostage, watching closely as the Pentagon weighs a decision that will shape the aerospace world for decades to come.

The Air Force is poised to announce who will build its next-generation bomber, and the competition is steep. The two teams represent three of the five top defense contractors in the country: Northrop Grumman, builder of the B-2 stealth bomber, and a teamed Boeing and Lockheed Martin. A contract was due first in the summer, then early fall. But now there are whispers it could slip into October.

New information shared last week reveals what is behind the delay. The Air Force is using an unusual acquisition strategy, led by a shadowy office, to procure the bomber. Meanwhile, the competing designs are vastly more mature than previously known, to a level nearly unheard of in a pre-award program.

link.

Long Range Strike Bomber Designs Very Mature, NOT Flown Yet & Competing Designs VERY Different

The two designs competing to be the US Air Force's next generation bomber have undergone extensive testing by the service and are far more mature than previously known, to a level nearly unheard of in the Pentagon before a contract award, Defense News has learned.

The designs also feature significantly improved stealth capabilities when compared to the B-2 and still feature plans for future certification of nuclear weaponry and the ability to be optionally manned.

Considered one of the US Air Force's three top acquisition priorities, the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) program has been kept primarily in the dark as the service weighs two competing proposals, one from Northrop Grumman, and the other from a team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. A contract award is expected soon, with indications it could come before the end of September.

On Tuesday, the Air Force held a meeting with outside stakeholders laying out new details on the secretive bomber. According to two individuals with knowledge of the meeting, the service has conducted far greater testing of the bomber designs than is normal for a pre-award program.

One source said the Air Force officials who briefed made it clear that both designs are "very mature," having undergone wind tunnel testing and extensive survivability tests to evaluate the design from all angles. However, neither design has actually flown, both sources said.

link.

So: 

• 21 bombers at a LRIP
• Smaller than a B-2; bigger than a UCLASS
• Initial Bombers all manned
• Bomber not  certified for nukes at the get go
• cost plus incentive for the first part of the contract
• remaining 79 bombers in a second contract
• Supposedly each design radically different, but some sources claim both designs are flying wings

 

SASC Hammers US Air Force Over Long Range Strike Bomber, Tanker Problems

In a sign that this town is slowly coming back to life after a laconic August, the Senate Armed Services Committee has written Defense Secretary Ash Carter about mistakes made about the price of the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) in two reports to Congress and raised questions about the latest delays to Boeing’s problem-plagued KC-46 tanker.

link.