Stealth Saga #69

Have Blue & Tacit Blue:

A test pilot that flew both the Tacit Blue and Have Blue prototypes recounts his experiences.

X-2:

Japan will conclude the X-2 program in March 2018.  The RCS was better than expected and all the data required was gathered in 34 flights.  What the path forward for the F-3 program will be will be based on the evaluation of the X-2 data brings to light.  Two options being considered are building a fighter indigenously or with a foreign partner.

FC-31/J-31:

Is the FC-31 being used to help sell...cars?

FGFA:

The Russians are trying to convince the Indians to not abandon the Su-57 derivative for India's first stealth aircraft.

Su-57:

A Su-57 prototype flew with the new engine for around 17 minutes.

Is the Su-57 program toast though?  Some think so.

B-21:

Is the construction at Area 51 related to the B-21 Raider?

B-2:

The B-2 Spirit might be deployed to South Korea for exercises.

The B-2 is getting a new GPS receiver.

F-22:

Six F-22s arrived in South Korea for exercises.

Watch an F-22 hunt and kill an A-4 in an exercise.

An F-22 can actually save fuel by flying faster.  

F-35:

US DOD gave Pratt & Whitney a $351 million contract for logistics and maintenance on the F135 engine.

South Korean media are reporting USAF F-35As deployed to the Korean Peninsula right after the F-22s.  They are both participating in exercises with South Korea.

Does the US Navy actually think the F-35C is important to the carrier air wing?

Some are STILL angry over the F-35 program.

Lockheed certified various weapons for the F-35.

Lockheed is touting the synthetic training capabilities of the F-35.

The F-35 is undergoing cold weather testing in Alaska.

Israel has declared its F-35I to be combat operational.

Two Dutch F-35s did a flyover in Star Wars canyon.

Drag chute deployment tests are underway in Alaska for the Dutch and Norwegian F-35s.

The Netherlands might have problems paying for their last three F-35As due to currency exchange rates.

Counter Stealth:

China is attempting to build a satellite based imaging system that can detect stealth aircraft.

Stealth Saga #32

ATD-X/X-2/F-3:

The X-2 is conducting taxi tests and will have its first flight in March (paywall link).

PAK-FA:

The Russians are claiming a climb rate record for the PAK-FA.  They are also saying an export version of the PAK-FA will be ready in 2020.

For the moment, I will be keeping the PAK-FA here.  However, its becoming increasingly said the PAK-FA is a 4.5 or 4th++ generation fighter comparable to the Rafale rather than the F-22, even Jane's called it a 'FINO' (fifth-gen in name only).

CBARS/UCLASS:

Also the CBARS tanker seems to be back under review by OSD.  The US Navy is stating the CBARS effort will be leaner than the UCLASS one.

Sixth Generation Fighter:

 The Pentagon is dropping more hints about the 6th gen: more fuel capacity, longer range, more weapons, lasers and stealth.

Aviation Week warns (paywall) about defining the next fighter as a fighter.

Long Range Strike Bomber:

There is a campaign to kill off the needed nuclear bomber.

B-2:

Here's an impressive flyby by the B-2 at an airshow.

F-35:

The test deployment of the F-35A to Mountain Home AFB is to demo the ability to deploy to foreign bases.

FACO approaches for the first Japanese Fp35A.

Israel's Rafael is looking for opportunities to add its current sensors to or develop new ones for the F-35.

Canada will not be excluding the F-35 from its CF-18 fighter replacement competition.

Counterstealth:

The Chinese are claiming to be able to track the F-22 over the South China Sea.

Here's 'how to kill an F-35' but really how it might be possible to track stealthy aircraft.

Patents:

Who invented stealth technology?  A 1984 patent dispute is in the appeals court stage.

Budget:

Russia is cutting back its defense procurement budget by around 5%.  Others are casting doubt on the idea though.

Stupidity:

Some idiot claims to have flown a drone into Area 51.

Prototype Quantum Radar Built

A prototype quantum radar that has the potential to detect objects which are invisible to conventional systems has been developed by an international research team led by a quantum information scientist at the University of York.

The new breed of radar is a hybrid system that uses quantum correlation between microwave and optical beams to detect objects of low reflectivity such as cancer cells or aircraft with a stealth capability. Because the quantum radar operates at much lower energies than conventional systems, it has the long-term potential for a range of applications in biomedicine including non-invasive NMR scans.

The research team led by Dr Stefano Pirandola, of the University's Department of Computer Science and the York Centre for Quantum Technologies, found that a special converter - a double-cavity device that couples the microwave beam to an optical beam using a nano-mechanical oscillator - was the key to the new system.

The device can either generate microwave-optical entanglement (during the signal emission) or convert a microwave into an optical beam (during the collection of the reflection beams from the object). The research is published in Physical Review Letters.

link.

China Cyber Spies Stole Vast Amounts of Data on F-35, Including Critical Engine and Radar Designs

Chinese spies stole key design information about Australia's new Joint Strike Fighter, according to top secret documents disclosed by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

German magazine Der Spiegel has published new disclosures of signals intelligence collected by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and its "Five Eyes" partners, including the Australian Signals Directorate. The intelligence reveals new details of the directorate's efforts to track and combat Chinese cyber-espionage.

According to a top secret NSA presentation, Chinese cyber spies have stolen huge volumes of sensitive military information, including "many terabytes of data" relating to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - also known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

The leaked document shows that stolen design information included details of the JSF's radar systems which are used to identify and track targets; detailed engine schematics; methods for cooling exhaust gases; and "aft deck heating contour maps".

link.

China Claims new JY-26 Phased Array RADAR has Tracked F-22

China has unveiled a new counter stealth radar that can detect and track stealth aircraft like America's famed F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

The new phased array named JY-26 was showcased at the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai that concluded Sunday, along with four other Chinese radar systems: the YLC-20, the YLC-2V, the YLC-8B and the JY-27A.

Designed to detect fifth-generation stealth fighters, the JY-26 phased array radar is capable of high accuracy, target tracking, and separation, and can operate up to a range of 500 kilometers, according to the manufacturer.

Chinese media reported recently that the JY-26 radar had spotted an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter -- the United States' most advanced stealth fighter -- when it flew over South Korea during a recent military exercise.

link.