Stealth Saga #78

Fifth Generation Targets:

Sierra Nevada is making progress on their 5th gen target for the USAF.  The drone is 40 ft long, 24 ft wing span, has an endurance of 1 1/2 hours, can reach 40k ft, weighs 9,600 lbs, and can takeoff and land from a runway.

China has displayed potential targets at its expos.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

Will the 6th gen fighters be revolutionary?

Will the Tempest 6th gen fighter enhance or detract from the US-UK partnership?  Is the Tempest just a pipe dream?

The Franco-German FCAS will dramatically reduce the number of American parts used to avoid US export rules.

United Technologies will have a functioning F-35 sized advanced engine by 2022 based on the contract they were just awarded by the USAF for the AETD.

Chinese VSTOL:

Could Russia be helping China develop its own VSTOL like the F-35B?

MQ-25:

Is the Boeing MQ-25 actually pretty stealthy?

Su-57:

One paper in Russia has stated they do not think the SU-57 (and other '5th gen' platforms) will ever see full rate ("serial") production.

AvWeek claims the Russian gov finally ordered the Su-57 on August 22.

J-20:

The WS-15 engine might finally be fixed.   This would correct a real problem the J-20 has had (being underpowered).

Japanese Next Gen Fighter:

Will the Northrop YF-23 be the basis for their design for Japan's next gen fighter?

Lockheed is pitching a hybrid of the F-22 and F-35 to the USAF.  It would use the F-35's avionics and new stealth coatings while keeping the F-22's bauplan.  The cost per plane if 140 are ordered is $190M.  Some are stating the 6th gen fighter might take decades as the reason Lockheed is pitching the FrankenRaptor or F-22C.  This is the same aircraft it is offering to Japan.  The weird thing is how that is even remotely possible: the F-22 was banned from export by law.  However, the Secretary of the Air Force just shot the whole thing down.  The USAF is not buying the F-22C or the F-15X.

PAK-DA:

Tupolev claims the first flight of the PAK-DA will be mid 2020; however, they have stated the modernization program for the Tu-160 White Swan has eaten up too many resources and that is the reason for the delay of the PAK-DA.  The PAK-DA may never get made, but not because of money problems.  Rather it is because of a lack of specially trained personnel  working for Tupolev.

Supposedly, the Russian equivalent of a PDR was completed for the PAK-DA.

B-2:

The B-2 got a new ejection seat.

F-22:

An old F-22 that was hangared because it needed costly upgrades, has been repaired and returned to flight status.

Watch F-22s leave Spangenhlem AFB.

F-22s intercepted Russian bombers near Alaska.

And it happened again.  This time the bombers had Russian fighter escorts.

F-35:

Some really cool F-35 photos from the Chicago air show.

The F-35 has been making significant progress despite setbacks and criticism.

Some still have an axe to grind against the F-35 program.

USMC has deployed F-35Bs off the coast of Africa for training for the first time.  The USMC has redeployed F-35Bs on the USS Essex to the Middle East.  The USMC is ready to use the F-35Bs in combat if necessary.

The US Navy has begun operational testing on the USS Lincoln of the F-35C.  Videos here.

An F-35C has ingested part of the basket on an F/A-18 refueling the F-35.  This caused major damage, but the F-35 made it back to the carrier.

The F-35C will use Lockheed's eCASS system to test its avionics starting in 2020.

The F-35 helmet has an issue that only veteran pilots can do night landings on US Navy aircraft carriers.

The USAF Reserve has its first female F-35 pilot, Colonel Regina "Torch" Sabric.

The Brits have started testing the F-35B with the weapons made in the UK.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth has arrived in Florida for F-35B trials.

European F-35 operators want to drive down the operational costs.

Israel is expressing interest in the F-35B.

Italy sent an F-35 to Belgium.  The F-35 was gently 'pet' despite a warning not to touch the fighter.

South Korea's Marine Corps wants a large ship other than the current 15,000 ton Dokodo class to carry the F-35B so they can move an entire division at once.

It is increasingly likely Turkey will be banned from buying the F-35.

Major Halit Oktay was Turkey's first pilot to fly the F-35.

Lockheed got a $250M contract for the LRIP 11 lot.

Hiss of the Dragon: 11 Aircraft Strong Chinese Force Flies Near Southern Japanese Islands

Japan scrambled jets after 11 Chinese military planes flew near southern Japanese islands during what Beijing said was a drill to improve its long-range combat abilities, reports said Saturday.

The planes -- eight bombers, two intelligence gathering planes and one early-warning aircraft -- flew near Miyako and Okinawa on Friday without violating Japan's airspace, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement released on Friday.

Some of them flew between the two islands while others made flights close to neighbouring islands, the ministry said.

A Chinese air force spokesman said several types of planes, including H-6K bombers, were involved in Friday's drill over the western Pacific, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Shen Jinke said such open sea exercises had improved the force's long-distance combat abilities, according to Xinhua.

While there were no further comments from the Japanese ministry, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that it was "unusual" for China to dispatch such a large fleet close to Japan's airspace and the ministry was analysing the purpose of the mission.

Japan scrambles jets hundreds of times a year to defend its airspace, both against Russia and these days also against Chinese aircraft.

link.

Foreign 4th/5th Generation Fighter Updates From India, Japan and Turkey

First India's Rafale Procurement Costs, Headaches and Future:

India's criticism of a high price tag on the Dassault Rafale has sharpened public focus on French negotiations to extend sale of the twin-jet fighter beyond a planned 36 units for the Indian Air Force.

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar fueled speculation about the final size of the Rafale order May 31 when he said the French fighters were "way too expensive" and there was no longer a plan to buy a total of 126 Rafales.

But Dassault Aviation Chairman Eric Trappier said the 126-jet deal "is under discussion," although he admitted progress is slow.

"The Indian Air Force needs many more than 36 planes," Trappier told Defense News.

"There is an immediate need for 36. The negotiations for 126 are rather slow.

"They have an urgent operational requirement which does not allow time needed to set up the license, so they asked for 36 quickly," said the Dassault boss.

India has been negotiating to buy 126 Rafales under the Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program after beating the Eurofighter Typhoon to selection in 2012.

The future of that deal was clouded after the unexpected announcement by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to Paris April 10 that India wanted 36 jets straight off the Dassault production line.

Modi cited "critical operational necessity" to buy the Rafales in fly-away condition.

Trappier said he hopes that particular deal will be signed by the end of the year.

The Indian defense minister's remark on the high price was understandable, a French defense specialist said.

Beyond the fly-away unit price, there is the "real price" that includes support and equipment such as a test bench, maintenance tools, manuals and training simulators. The technical support runs in hundreds of millions of euros and is a separate cost from the supply of spares and the aircraft.

Negotiations for the 36 units may have unveiled the full potential cost, after Modi's announcement of the planned purchase.

link.

Japan's Decision to buy the F-35 means they still need to figure out what to do about their F-15 and F-2 4th Generation fighters:

The purchase of the F-35 should give the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) next-generation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance performance, but upgrades to Japan's F-2 and F-15 fleets can continue for only so long, and replacements will be needed in the mid-to-late 2020s, analysts say.

link.

(I remember when the F-2 was going to be a new uber fighter superior to everything American...based on the article, its anything but!)

Turkey is seeking a foreign partner, much like the South Koreans did, for their 5th gen indigenous fighter program:

In one of the most critical stages shaping its indigenous fighter jet program, the Turkish government plans to select a foreign partner by 2016, officials said.

The foreign partner would be expected to support the approximately four-year planned designing phase of the program dubbed F-X, the officials said.

One senior procurement official said the contract involving the foreign partner would be around US $1 billion.

link.

I'd guess the Koreans might be a good choice.  Indirectly, it'd bring in the Americans and help with the costs because the South Koreans and Indonesians are jointly paying for Korea's new 5th gen indigenous fighter.  However, the Turks want a Turkish designed fighter, sooo...it might not be that helpful after all.

Japan Revisits Slow Aircraft Capable Of Firing Huge AAMs

Almost 60 years ago, the U.S. Navy looked at replacing fleet-defense fighters with low-performance aircraft firing high-performance missiles. The program was canceled in 1960, replaced with development of aircraft that could do more than loiter and lob missiles at distant air targets. But now Japan, challenged with a numerically superior Chinese fighter force, is taking another look at the idea.

link.

I touched on the idea using Avenger drones as the carrier fleet air defense.  Amusingly, this was being considered for the A-12 Avenger II stealth bomber the US Navy cancelled. 

However, let's take it a few steps further and consider the FA-XX.

The US Navy has stated they will no longer be buying manned fighters after the F-35C.   Rather than a traditional fighter, we have a tactical combat controller.  Imagine instead an aircraft which is closer akin to the EA-6 Prowler.  It has a four seat cockpit, like the Prowler.  One seat in the aviator.  One is the electronic warfare/cyberwarfare officer.  Another two are drone operators, ahem, UCAV. 

It might be fast - to get in and out of a situation - and it might be stealthy so as to not compromise the stealthy UCAVs its working with.  However, its highly unlikely to be a highly maneuverable aircraft.  You're looking at a speculative 4 G turn max. It will have a long endurance and long range.  It may operate at high altitudes.  It will almost assuredly be under 80k lbs max take off weight.

As for armament, its likely to have a self defense laser much like the Avenger FD drone and an internal missile bay.  This will be for somewhere between six to eight long range missiles and probably four short range, smaller missiles which are the inheritor in spirit of the Sidewinder.  It might even have something crazy as a gun besides the laser.  Maybe something like an overgrown, 20mm EXACTO.

It might even have laser com links rather than radio for when its communicating with the UCAVs. 

There are likely to be a large number of sensors, many of them are likely to be passive.  I can see something like the ARGUS pod being standard and embedded in the skin of the aircraft.  For that matter, IR cameras as well.  The IRST and EOST capability is in constant use to track and ID everything around: target designation is done in software rather than painting the target.  Yes, there would still be a radar and possibly even a long range LIDAR. 

The point of all of this is the FA-XX may go zoom and be stealthy and be able to protect itself, but its really meant to be a long range command and control asset. 

As for what it looks like, I think irony might work best here.  The start point might look like Republic's TFX proposal, updated, stealthy and tailless.  Make the swing wings be longer and made from a radar transparent composite to allow for longer loiter time, but still swing them back to go zip away if things go pear shaped.

I may try a doodle.  I may not.

Japan's ATD-X Stealth Fighter Prototype Maiden Flight Delayed

link.

Japan's Advanced Technology Demonstrator-X (ATD-X) fighter test platform will not fly until at least late 2015 due to issues with the software that controls automatic engine restarts, according to officials at the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The first test flight was scheduled to take placebefore the end of the current financial year in March, but the problems affecting the engine control unit (ECU) will require several months to resolve, the officials said.

The ECU is a critical safety and power management system that automatically reactivates an engine if it shuts down in flight.

MoD officials said that the current issue is a software fault. Rather than using existing off-the-shelf systems, much of the technology installed in the ATD-X was developed especially for the project and so solutions need to be developed from scratch, contributing to the current delay.

MoD officials expect work on the ECU to take several months, but due to the experimental nature of the work required the true scale of the delay is unknown.

ATD-X's main contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), is building a single test aircraft at its Komaki Minami plant in Aichi Prefecture that uses a smaller planform than a potential production model.

link.

More on Japan's 5th/6th Generation Fighter Development

Flying far is more important than flying fast, Japanese fighter technologists have found in studies aimed at defining their country’s next combat aircraft. Looking for ways for their air force to fight outnumbered, researchers are also emphasizing that Japan’s next fighter should share targeting data, carry a big internal load of large, high-performance missiles and be able to guide them while retreating.

The results of this work may be committed to full-scale development within four years. Japan is holding open the possibility of a joint international program, which the finance ministry would surely prefer, but the defense ministry looks wary of being trapped in a late-running cooperative effort over which it has little control. Specifically national requirements such as the preference for range over speed may also nudge Japan toward going it alone.

Engineers from the defense ministry’s Technical Research & Development Institute (TRDI) and IHI Corp. are well into preliminary development of a surprisingly powerful turbofan for the twin-engine fighter, which would enter service around 2030 as the F-3. TRDI is also handling the studies into the airframe, probably with strong engineering support from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which would build the airframe, and Mitsubishi Electric, the country’s dominant military electronic systems supplier.

link.

Japan Spells out Requirements for NextGen Stealth Fighter

Flying far is more important than flying fast, Japanese fighter technologists have found in studies aimed at defining their country’s next combat aircraft. Researchers are also emphasizing that Japan’s next fighter should share targeting data and carry a big internal load of large, high-performance missiles.

link. (behind paywall)

Japan Unveils Stealth Fighter Testbed

link.

Japan Procuring 6 F-35s, E-2C "AWACS" Replacement

The Ministry of Defense plans to seek funding for the purchase of six F-35 stealth fighter jets in next fiscal year's budget to strengthen defense of remote southwestern islands against China, which has grown increasingly assertive at sea and in the air.

The ministry intends to ask that 124.9 billion yen ($1.2 billion) be set aside. The Air Self-Defense Force hopes to buy 42 of the aircraft in all to replace its fleet of aging F-4 fighters. The new fighters will be scrambled when foreign planes approach Japanese airspace.

Japan has purchased 10 F-35s over the three years from fiscal 2012, but this will mark its first time buying six in a single year.

The ministry will also seek 54 billion yen for the purchase of three surveillance drones capable of extended flight. It has its sights set on the Global Hawk, which is used by the U.S. military and can collect information from about 18,000 meters up. Japan envisions employing the Global Hawk, said to be capable of flying for more than 30 hours straight, for surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the East China Sea.

The ministry is also expected to request 58.8 billion yen for new airborne early-warning aircraft. By the end of the year, it will choose between Northrop Grumman's E-2D, which is the successor to the E-2C now used by the SDF, and a Boeing plane.

The government's plan to strengthen defenses over the five years through fiscal 2018 calls for the introduction of 28 F-35s, three drones and four early-warning aircraft.

link.

Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force Accuses Japan of Provocation

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has accused F-15 fighters from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) of provoking Chinese aircraft within its unilaterally declared Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) on 6 August.

In a statement on 7 August, PLAAF spokesperson Shen Jinke said that "several" Japanese F-15s tried to approach PLAAF aircraft twice and carried out "extensive reconnaissance" in the area. The statement, published by state-run news agency Xinhua , gave no details on the exact number of aircraft involved or what Chinese air assets were involved in the encounter.

"The air force has carried out monitoring and identification of foreign military aircraft entering the zone and has taken corresponding measures to different threats, effectively safeguarding national air defence security," said Shen, adding that the PLAAF aircraft "took reasonable, proper, and restrained measures to cope with the threat in the airspace".

link.

Japanese White Paper Outlines Industrial Side of F-35 Procurement

Japan’s annual defence whitepaper underlines the importance Tokyo places on the industrial participation aspects of the Lockheed Martin F-35A programme, and casts a wary eye on airpower developments in China.

The whitepaper, produced annually by the Ministry of Defense, touches on all aspects of Tokyo’s security situation, from the disruptive potential of non-state actors to challenges posed by major powers, namely China. It also outlines Tokyo’s plans for developing its combat capabilities and the importance of the country’s defence industry.

In regard to specific weapons programmes, the report places strong emphasis on Japan’s F-35A acquisition. It notes that Japanese companies have been working to develop the manufacturing processes related to Tokyo’s 2011 decision to obtain 42 F-35As.

“It is important for Japanese companies to participate in the manufacturing process and to come into contact with cutting edge fighter aircraft technology and knowledge in order to ensure safety and high operational availability, resulting in the safe and efficient management of [Japan Air Self Defense Force] F-35As,” says the report.

“Following discussions with related parties such as the U.S. government, the participation of Japanese companies in the final assembly and check out (FACO) for airframe and the manufacture of certain engine and radar parts was decided in FY2013. In FY2014, the companies plan to further participate in the manufacturing process, in the engine FACO and the production of parts within the infrared detection device, the electro-optical distributed aperture system (EODAS).”

Produced by Northrop Grumman, the EO/DAS system is a core element of the F-35, effectively giving the aircraft’s pilot 360 degree visibility of the battlespace.

link.

Japan Wants More F-35s

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera on 8 July said Tokyo will consider buying additional Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters should the cost of the aircraft come down.

"If each country expands manufacturing capability [of F-35s] and increases production volume, this leads to the reduction of the unit cost," Onodera told reporters after visiting Lockheed Martin's fighter production plant in Fort Worth, Texas. "In such a case, it's important to think twice about the total volume."

National broadcaster NHK reported that Onodera was told by Lockheed Martin officials that the company will begin assembling the first F-35s for Japan in August.

link.

Japanese F-15s Intercepting a Chinese PLAAF Tu-154 (video)

PLAAF Intercepted Japanese Military Aircraft

Two Chinese fighter jets flew within 50 meters of two Japanese surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea over the past weekend, according to defense officials with both countries.

Two Su-27 Chinese fighters intercepted a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane and a YS-11EB electronic intelligence aircraft on Saturday near a string of islands in the East China Sea.

China and Japan have a dispute over the island chain because of the belief the area has vast oil resources undersea. The island chain is called the Senkaku Islands in Japanese and the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese.

In order to flex its military muscle and boost their hold on the island chain, China declared a no-fly zone over the region. The U.S. flew B-52 bombers without informing the Chinese when the no-fly zone area was declared, but later said U.S. pilots would inform China when their aircraft were in the region.

China’s intercept of the two surveillance aircraft is the first major aviation engagement since the no-fly zone was declared by China.

link.