Stealth Saga #44

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The USAF PCA effort gets a profile.

The US Navy may postpone the 6th gen procurement.

AvWeek has a slideshow of the next gen fighter efforts.  Whether all of them will be 6th gen or not remains to be seen.

China has begun work on its 6th gen fighter.

Avweek discusses Germany's position with the Tornado replacement.

The French and Germans are expected to sign the first contracts in mid 2019.  Some seem to have been signed already.  Concept studies for manned and unmanned aircraft were contracted.  Work gets profiled by AvWeek.

The FrancoGerman FCAS team is working on export controls for the new fighter.

Spain was expected to and then did join the FCAS team.

Italy is attacking the FCAS deal.

Britain may be inviting India to join Team Tempest.

The Tempest will have a carrier capable loyal wingman UCAV.

Saegheh-2:

Iran unveiled an updated version of the Saegheh stealthy UAV.  This is a knock off of the captured RQ-170.

KF-X:

Metal has been bent for the first KF-X.

Su-57:

The Russians are stating they will place their second LRIP order for 13 Su-57s in 2020.

Ohotnik-b/Hunter-B:

Russia's Ohotnik-B or Hunter-B appears to have been doing taxi tests (more). Aviation Week is calling it a strike aircraft.  Jane's gets into the mix, too.  A new picture emerged and, wow, that engine sticks out.

J-20:

Unnamed analysts are stating an upgraded J-20 will be far superior to the F-35.

There are reports the Chinese are building a two seater J-20 for electronic warfare.

Chinese Stealth Bombers:

China is building the acknowledged strategic H-20 bomber, but also a regional medium stealth bomber as well termed the JH-XX or so says the DIA.  More info here and here.

KC-Z:

The KC-Z may not be stealthy after all.

B-2:

The B-2 is getting its ejection seats upgraded.

Photos were taken of the B-2 sortieing out of Hawaii.

F-22:

The USAF is 3d printing metal replacement parts for the F-22 to keep costs down.

Meggitt won a large contract for components for the engines of the F-22 and F-35.

F-35:

The stupid plan to buy the F-15X will not impact the procurement of the F-35.

The DOT&E flames the F-35 program again.  Gun accuracy is one of the problems.

Lockheed needs to deliver 130 F-35s in 2019.  Can they?  By the end of 2019, they will have delivered 488 F-35s.

The Pentagon is starting negotiations for the next 3 LRIPs, encompassing 485 F-35s and bringing the F-35A price down to $80M.

The Pentagon is laying out the Tier II repair sites for the F-35.  Team ROK seems to be one.

The F-35A per unit cost will drop below $80M in 2023 according to Lockheed.

Watch the F-35 do some impressive acrobatics.

The Pentagon is considering making the F-35 an interceptor for killing ballistic missiles.  While the sensor suite is excellent on the F-35, the realism of this proposal is pretty low: we will not ever have a situation where we will have dominance over the air like in the First Gulf War.

The USAF F-35 Demo team was caught doing some new maneuvers in practice for the new air show season.

The first F-35 female test pilot has completed her first mission at Edwards.

The F-35As over Luke AFB were filmed by a helicopter with a steady cam.

The F-35 demo team does its thing.

The USAF is pressing Lockheed on improving F-35 readiness.

F-35A's conducted dogfights with L-159s.

The oldest F-35B could hit the end of its service life in 2026 due to flaws in the early B models.

The USMC demonstrated refueling and rearming a F-35B from a CH-53E in Japan.

The US Navy awarded Lockheed a half billion dollar contract for the F-35.

The US Navy awarded Lockheed another $31M contract on behalf of the Australian government.

The USS Essex and its F-35Bs are on standby in the Middle East.

Germany has dropped consideration of the F-35 for its new fighter.  The head of the Luftwaffe had preferred that aircraft before and was nearly sacked over it.

The Italians just deployed 6 F-35As to Sardinia for training.

Japan is considering discontinuing local production of the F-35 to save money.

The Netherlands have unveiled their first operational F-35.

Singapore is buying a small number of F-35s to evaluate them as replacements for their F-16s.

South Korea will get its first two F-35s in March 2019.

British Aerospace got a contract to upgrade the F-35's EW suite.

Lockheed had an F-35 mockup in Arctic camo.  What's the story behind it?

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.

Stealth Saga #61

KF-X:

Indonesia's participation in the South Korean KF-X program has hit a snag over licensing issues for American technologies: they have not been approved to be licensed to Indonesia.

PAK-FA:

The PAK-FA's engine  has been delayed to at least 2020.

The Russians are also signalling production for the PAK-FA, even with a interim engine, has been delayed past 2018.

The Russians and Indians will be bringing a light weight version of the  BrahMos missile to the PAK-FA.

Russian Fifth Generation Fighters:

Mikoyan will develop a 5th generation fighter alongside the PAK-FA. 

TF-X:

The British are helping Turkey build their 5th gen TF-X fighter.

KC-Z:

Lockheed has unveiled its KC-Z concept.

B-21:

Northrop had its B-21 contract modified.

The B-21 will be networked.

B-2:

The B-2 strikes in Libya were used as training exercises.

B-2s trained with F-22s, B-1s and Aussies.

F-22:

The F-22 upgrade has been delayed again.

F-35:

President Trump really does support the F-35 according to SecDef Mattis.

Lockheed's prez stated a deal was close for the next 90 F-35s.  President Trump claims to have helped reduce the price of the F-35 for the next lot purchase by $600 million.  The real amount appears to be over $700 million with the F-35A now costing $94 million each.  Some think the amount saved isn't real.  Some are head scratching over Trump and the F-35.

If Trump wants to reduce the F-35 price, it has been suggested he needs to compete the engine.

SecDef Mattis has ordered a review of the F-35 program, and specifically, a comparison of the Advanced Super Hornet and the F-35C.  The USMC will participate in the review and appears to be confident the F-35 will come out the winner.

The F-35A received a 15:1 kill ratio at the Red Flag exercises.  Some are claiming that was because of the F-22s.

The F-35A will appear at an Australian Airshow.

F-35B, if canceled, will cause problems for the USMC.

First west coast F-35C squadron has been stood up.

Stealth Saga #55

PAK-FA:

The PAK-FA cannon was tested.

When will the PAK-FA go into production?  There are hints of another delay.

KC-Z:

The USAF may skip the KC-Y and just build a KC-Z stealthy tanker.  That tanker might sport a laser weapon as well as being stealthy.

B-21 Raider:

The B-21 is now called the Raider like the B-2 is the Spirit, the B-1 the Lancer, the F-22 the Raptor and F-35 is the Lightning.  The Raider was named after Doolittle's Raiders.  Here are names that were not used for the B-21.

The B-21 will have a man in the loop and the USAF general wants to maintain people flying indefinitely.

The B-21 is supposed to cost $511 million per plane.

Here's one take on what the B-21 is supposed to be.

F-117:

Despite being retired, two F-117s were spotted flying over Nevada.

F-35:

A number of F-35As had problems and were grounded.  The problem has been a contractor used the wrong insulation for the fuel lines.  A fix has already been found.

An F-35A caught fire during take off.

Italy is prepping its carrier for the F-35B.

Japan's first F-35A has been rolled out.

Gen Bogdan is predicting $2B savings with a block buy for the F-35.

Will the F-35 EVER be ready for combat?

In the mid 2020s, the F-35 will be getting a new engine.