Stealth Saga #40

Saeqeh UCAV:

Iran claims it used its drone reverse engineered from the captured RQ-170 to strike targets in Syria.

6th Generation Fighters:

Britain's Tempest fighter plan gets examined.

Russia claims to be testing High Power Microwave weapons for use on its 6th gen fighters.

F-3:

Japan has decided all the systems offered by foreign companies as fighters will be too expensive and not provide the capabilities wanted at the prices offered.  As a result, the Japanese are back to working on their own 5th/6th gen fighter.

J-31/FC-31:

Has the J-31/FC-31 prototype been spotted on a truck?

The J-31 gets compared to the F-35.

Su-57:

The SU-57 is supposed to be getting an upgraded version of the R-37M missile.

The Russians may be signaling another delay for the Su-57.  They are stating the deliveries will continue on schedule through 2027.  What that schedule is, who knows.  The only solid date is 2027.

H-20:

The Chinese are saying there's significant progress being made on the H-20 bomber.  This is tickling the rumors there will be a first flight soon.

The Chinese have also confirmed the H-20 designation.

KC-Z:

Lockheed talks about its stealthy KC-Z tanker concepts.

B-21:

SecAF Heather Wilson proposed more squadrons for the USAF to fight a major war.  Of the proposed 74 squadrons 5 are supposed to be for new bombers.  Does that mean the USAF will get 75 more B-21 bombers?

B-2:

B-2s conducted hot pit refueling on Wake Island.

The B-2s defensive modernization management system modernization effort might be delayed 21 months.

B-2s trained with F-22s in Hawaii.

YF-23:

The Blackwidow gets a profiling again for its unique weapons bay layout.

F-22:

Tyndall AFB took it in the shorts from Hurricane Michael.  It's probable some of the F-22s left behind are destroyed.

Homer-Hickam is getting an F-22 facility.

F-22 went down during an emergency landing in Alaska and is now on its side.

An F-22 performed at NAS Oceana's airshow.

F-22s are participating at RAF Lakenheath's dissimilar aircraft training exercises.

F-35:

Pentagon is delaying IOT&E for the F-35 software.

The Pentagon signed the contract with Lockheed for LRIP 11.  102 F-35As at $89.2M each, 25 F-35B at $115.5M each and 14 F-35C at $107.7M.

New incentives for the F-35 contract are in place to increase efficiency.

F-35 stress testing suggests a longer than expected service life.

F-35 operational test and eval plans have been approved.

F-35 flight costs have dropped.

Some F-35 critics might be coming around to the F-35 not being that bad.

F-35s did a shoot with F-16s over Arizona.  You can see the size difference between the planes.

More F-35As may be headed to Eglin AFB.

The joint Valiant Shield exercise included F-35Bs.

The F-35Bs currently deployed near the Horn of Africa have been carrying their external gun pods.

The same F-35Bs were flying recon over Somalia.

The F-35Bs on the USS Essex are supposedly going into combat in Afghanistan.  Actually, they did.  F-35Bs struck Taliban targets in Afghanistan. It won't stop the debate over the F-35.

The USS Essex has entered the Persian Gulf with its F-35Bs.

An F-35B crashed in South Carolina and the pilot seems to have ejected safely.  It seems there is a flaw in the fuel line for the F135 engine and almost all aircraft are grounded.  The Brits will continue flying their F-35Bs for the Queen Elizabeth trials and the Israelis are examining their aircraft.

A USMC F-35B connected to a HIMARS rocket system on the ground to help provide data for a shot.

The USMC is touting the F-35B's readiness despite the global stand down.

An F-35C made a precautionary landing in Fresno.

The first operational F-35C squadron for the Navy has received its first aircraft.

Preliminary feedback on the F-35C in the operational testing is positive.

The Australians have received their first F-35A for a combat squadron.

Two RAAF F-35s will arrive at Williamtown on December 10.

The delivery of F-35s to the Australians is unaffected by the crash.

The Brits are preparing for the carrier trials for the F-35B.  They have launched and now landed F-35Bs on the HMS Queen Elizabeth.  One journalist shares his comments and observations.  Some pictures of the quals.  The Brits started night quals on the Tin Lizzie for the F-35B.

The Brits were observed working their F-35B at RAF Marham.

The Dutch are open to buying more F-35s.

The Israelis are saying the F-35I is more than a match for the S-300 missiles Russia is deploying in Syria.

One of the obstacles for Turkey getting its F-35s has been removed.

Harris will be providing a replacement chip for the F-35 as part of the TR3.

Rathyeon is pitching an autolanding capability for the F-35A.

META:

Chinese researchers have come up with a 3d printable material capable of absorbing across a wideband.

US stealth aircraft are practicing operations from austere forward bases.

Boeing Committed to CHAMP EMP Weapon, UAV Projects

Despite all the hype surrounding the high-power microwave energy weapon known as CHAMP, interest in the computer-frying device assembled and tested by Boeing Phantom Works and the US Air Force Research Laboratory appears stalled.

“There was a lot of activity when we did the demonstration a couple of years ago, and with the budget constraint on the department, they’ve been unable to make it through, to our knowledge,” Phantom Works president Darryl Davis tells Flightglobal at a defence forum in Washington today. “From where it I sit; it has not translated into money or work.”

The Boeing-branded directed energy weapon has caught the attention of some in Congress, who have been lobbying for more investment in the 'counter-electronics high-powered microwave advanced missile project (CHAMP)'.

link.

US Air Force Seeking Interim CHAMP EMP Weapon Capability, New Air to Air Missiles

The US Air Force plans to introduce Boeing and Raytheon’s “CHAMP” high-power-microwave emitting cruise missile into the combat force on board the 1990s conventional air-launched cruise missile as an “interim capability” while the technology transitions to Lockheed Martin’s JASSM-ER.

Air Combat Command chief Gen Hawk Carlisle says the computer-killing capability, which knocks out electronic equipment with bursts of high-frequency electromagnetic energy, is a “great capability” that will be fielded in small numbers initially with US Global Strike Command – the air force’s nuclear combat force.

“We’ve talked about the transition of that capability for Global Strike Command, but that will probably be small numbers because what we really want to do is get CHAMP into next-generation missiles, so JASSM-ER,” Carlisle said at an Air Force Association event in Washington.


[...]

In terms of air superiority weapons, Carlisle says the development of next-generation air-to-air missiles is also “an exceptionally high priority”.

Raytheon’s AMRAAM is the current go-to Western weapon for beyond-visual-range air combat, but new long-range missiles being fielded by Russia and China are a significant concern to the Pentagon.

Carlisle says outmatching the Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missile in particular is an “exceedingly high priority”.

“The PL-15 and the range of that missile, we’ve got to be able to out-stick that missile,” he says.

The air force is currently exploring a range of next-generation weapon concepts as it also pursues a sixth-generation fighter aircraft.

link.

US Air Force Unveiled Roadmap for Deployment of EMP Weapons

The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has unveiled a technology roadmap for its cruise missile-based “CHAMP” high-power microwave (HPM) weapon, which successfully fried banks of computers at a test range in October 2012.

The organisation says it is working on an improved, second-generation “multi-shot, multi-target HPM cruise missile” that builds on the mature counter-electronics high-power microwave advanced missile project payload previously demonstrated.

Based on past comments by AFRL officials, this next iteration of the Boeing and Raytheon-built system will probably be carried on an extended-range Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM-ER).

The laboratory is also eyeing an “HPM advanced missile” in the longer term with a more sophisticated CHAMP-like payload, and then eventual integration with a manned or unmanned aircraft.

link.

Russian Militaria: PAK-FA, FGFA, PAK-DA's Engine & Claims of a High Power Microwave Weapon

United Aircraft Corp. plans to deliver three more prototypes of an advanced stealth fighter jet to the Russian military for testing as early as next year, a company official said.

The president of the Moscow-based company, Yuri Slyusar, said three more of the T-50 PAK-FA, a fifth-generation stealth fighter made by United Aircraft subsidiary Sukhoi, will be transferred to the Russian air force in late 2016 or early 2016 as part of a test program.

“We can say that we are in the schedule and these three additional prototypes will allow us to greatly expand the testing program and do it faster,” he said through a translator during a briefing with reporters Monday at the Paris Air Show. “What we’re speaking about in the schedule is to deliver the first batch at the end of 2016, beginning of 2017 to the customer, the ministry of defense, so the aircraft demonstrate all necessary and design characteristics.”

That will bring the total number of T-50 prototypes to eight, according to a fact sheet distributed at the event. The PAK-FA first flew in 2011 and is designed to compete against such U.S. military aircraft as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, both of which are made by Lockheed Martin Corp.

link.

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia on July 7, the Defence Ministry is toning down points of conflict about the joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) program to reach final agreement with Russia, said an MoD source.

FGFA is proposed to be jointly developed and produced by India and Russia and a preliminary development agreement was signed in 2011 between Russia's United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) when India paid its 50 percent share of US $250 million toward initial development cost.

However, a final agreement, which will release a payment of about $6 billion as India's share in FGFA development, has yet to be inked because of conflict over issues relating to work share, a firm aircraft order from the Indian Air Force, its desired mix of single- and double-seat aircraft, and changes demanded by the Indian Air Force.

The Defence Ministry wants to reach an agreement, will not insist on the Indian work share at this stage and will agree to delivery of single-seater aircraft as against the earlier demand of two-seaters, the source added.

A firm order of 154 FGFAs will also be included in the draft agreement, the source said.

Defense analysts said that despite the delays, the FGFA project will not be dropped.

link.

The first engine test bench (LED), created for the PAK DA (PAK DA) showed almost complete compliance with the required specifications, told RIA Novosti CEO of "United Engine Building Corporation" (UEC, is a Rostec) Vladislav Masalov at the air show Paris Air Show -2015.

link.

Russia’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC), part of Rostec Corporation, has announced that it developed a super-high-frequency gun for BUK missile systems.

The newly-developed equipment is capable of deactivating the radio electronics of UAVs and the warheads of precision weapons, according to a representative of the corporation.

The equipment, informally named the microwave gun, has been developed for the needs of Russia’s Defense Ministry and will be demonstrated during the closed part of Army-2015, an international event organized by the Russian Defense Ministry, the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and state technology corporation Rostec, which will be held on June 16-19.

The UIMC representative has not revealed all the technical characteristics of the equipment but has mentioned that the impact range of the equipment is ten kilometers and that its defense perimeter is 360 degrees.

“The new system is equipped with a high-power relativistic generator and reflector antenna, management and control system, and a transmission system which is fixed on the chassis of BUK surface-to-air missile systems. When mounted on a special platform, the ‘microwave gun’ is capable of ensuring perimeter defense at 360 degrees,” the representative said.

link.

Flight Global questions the Russian military modernization plans.

US Air Force Proposes CHAMP EMP Warhead for JASSM Stealth Missile

The head of the Air Force Research Laboratory has nominated Lockheed Martin’s stealthy, long-range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM-ER) as the optimal air vehicle to carry a new computer-killing electronic attack payload known as CHAMP, or Counter-electronics High-powered microwave Advanced Missile Project.

Major general Thomas Masiello says the technology, which fries electronic equipment with bursts of high-power microwave energy, is mature and will be miniaturised to suite the JASSM-ER.

“That’s an operational system already in our tactical air force, and that is really what will make us more operationally relevant,” Masiello says at a science and technology exposition at the Pentagon on 14 May. “Both the major commands and the combatant commands are very interested in that weapon system. It’s a non-kinetic effect.”

link.

This Can Only End Well: China Develops ADS-like Pain Ray

The China Poly Group Corporation used the recent Airshow China 2014 to reveal its WB-1 millimeter-wave beam-projecting non-lethal anti-riot system.

Similar to Raytheon's Active Denial System (ADS), the Poly WB-1 projects the millimeter-wave beam to heat water molecules just below the skin, resulting in intense pain. Chinese reports note that it has an effective range of 80 m but with increased power its range can be increased to 1 km.

The United States revealed the ADS in 2007. While it was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, and military commanders repeatedly requested its use, the system has yet to be used in combat due to fears of fuelling enemy propaganda.

In 2012 Russian reports revealed that the 12th Central Military Research and Development Institute near Moscow was developing a similar weapon. In China one key centre of research for microwave weapons is the University of Electronic Science and Technology (UESTC) in Chengdu. In 2013 UESTC student Yang Yi completed a master's thesis titled Gyrotron Electronic Gun Design and Research.

Reports out of Zhuhai indicate that Poly is developing the weapon for naval applications. With a potential 1 km range such a weapon could allow China to escalate its use of non-lethal confrontation to enforce its maritime claims in the East China and South China seas.

link.

Gen Heithold: I Want a Directed Energy Weapon for Special Forces in 2017 Budget

The head of Air Force Special Operations Command says he is in the market for a directed energy beam weapon and plans to look at acquisitions possibilities as part of the 2017 defense budget.

Such a weapon could be used to knock out communications and power stations without the devastation and loss of life caused by bombs, rockets and missiles — something Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold said was on the mind of many who lived through Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989.

The operation to grab one-time U.S. ally and Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties.

“All we really had were kinetic rounds coming out of the airplane and really what you were trying to do was dismantle the Panamanian defense forces, wall them off and do the mission we had in hand,” said Heithold at a meeting with reporters Monday during the 2014 Air & Space Conference in Washington.

There are capabilities already being put to him, he said, but the timing and perhaps the technology still is not right.

“I’m a fan of looking at directed energy weapons, more of a fan of non-lethal directed energy weapons, so I’ve always kept [planning] space on my AC-130s for them,” he said. His 1998 paper suggested taking out the 20mm gun and replacing it with a directed energy weapon, but the technology at the time required a space the size of a small conference room.

link.

USAF CHAMP Heralds the Era of Microwave Weapons

The missile launched from the wing pylon of a B-52 heavy bomber and streaked over the desert of western Utah. At pre-set coordinates, a microwave emitter installed in the winged, jet-propelled cruise missile blasted a target building. But there was no big bang, no billowing clouds of dust and debris. Instead, the building was struck with disruptive, high-frequency microwaves.

[...]

Engineers, researchers and test personnel from Boeing, Raytheon and the Air Force Research Laboratory observed the test flight from a conference room at nearby Hill Air Force Base. A television camera mounted in a room in the unoccupied target building showed rows of desktop computers, their screens on and programs running.

When CHAMP passed overhead and activated its Raytheon-built microwave emitter, the computers went dark -- and, a moment later, so did the camera monitoring the test. "Cheers erupted in the conference room," Boeing spokesman Randy Jackson wrote in a press release published Monday.

"This technology marks a new era in modern-day warfare," Keith Coleman, the CHAMP program manager at Boeing Phantom Works, told Jackson. "In the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy's electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive."

Word of caution is that the US military is the most dependent on electronics on the planet.