Stealth Saga #72

Iranian RQ-170 Copy:

The Iranian knock-offs of the RQ-170 have been involved in an air battle in Syria after a knock-off flew into Israel and then the Israelis retaliated.  An Israeli F-16 was shot down.

Shadow Star:

China's stealthy Shadow Star UCAV is expected to have a first flight in 2019.

Project Azm:

Pakistan is gearing up to attempt to manufacture a 5th gen fighter.  I'd bet there's heavy Chinese help and it looks a lot like the FC-31.

KFX:

Due to budget issues, Indonesia's participation in the KFX fighter might get rescoped.

UTC will provide the environmental unit for the KFX.

Tornado Replacement:

The F-35 has been (supposedly) very aggressively banned from being considered as the Tornado replacement.  

Su-57:

Two Su-57s appear to have been deployed to Syria (video above).  Not as yet officially confirmed though.  Some are stating this was a very dangerous move.  The Israelis confirmed two are at the airbase in Syria.

Supposedly another two Su-57 have arrived in Syria following the first two.  No second source, just some twitter based pix.  There is a little more info.

The Russians have started weapon integration tests.

Russia will buy no more than 60 Su-57s by 2027.

The Russians have not yet signed the contract for the next 12 Su-57s.  This postpones their delivery to at least 2019.  Also, the Su-57 with the new engines has not flown since December.  The UAC is now saying they DO have a contract for delivery of 19 Su-57s starting in 2019.

The FGFA variant of the Su-57 remains in contract limbo.

J-20:

China may be struggling to manufacture the J-20.  There may be issues at Chengdu in the manufacturing line.

China reiterated the J-20 is in combat service or, more properly, handed over to combat units.

H-20:

Has the H-20 bomber been delayed?  Is that why China is mass producing the H-6K still?

B-2:

As the B-21 bomber comes online, the B-2 will be retired.  The plans are now for the B-2 to be retired in 2032.  (B-1 by 2038, fwiw).  Are the USAF's new bomber plans a violation of the New START nuclear disarmament treaty?

This B-2 replica is how airmen practice arming the monster bomber.

Ten years ago, a B-2 crashed in Guam.

B-21:

Despite the budget woes, the B-21 remains on schedule. Supposedly.  There are also rumors of multiple prototypes in the air.  No verification on the claim though.

Next Generation Air Dominance/Penetrating Counter Air:

The budget request for the NGAD/PCA 6th generation fighter has risen to half a billion.  There is something definitely afoot.  Demonstrators, perhaps?  There are rumors.

USAF is investing heavily next gen tech to replace the F-15 and F-22.  How the USAF does this is up in the air.

E-8C Joint Stars Replacement:

The JSTARS replacement might be on stealthy aircraft.

F-22:

The US Air Force is fast tracking Rapid Raptor, a program to have four F-22s be deployable within 24 hours to anywhere in the world.

ADS-B transponders might be a security risk for the F-22.

F-35:

An F-35 round-up.

The F-35 is getting automatic ground collision avoidance software.

The F-35A's gun still struggles with accuracy.

LRIP 11 negotiations have restarted after over a year hiatus.

All three F-35 variants went through cold-weather testing at Eielsen AFB.

The USAF's 62nd Fighter Wing had its first B Course graduates.

The USAF has named the next bases to get the F-35.

An F-35 in Japan was spotted about to takeoff without its radar reflectors.

The USMC has been testing the F-35B landing on sloped pads.

The Japanese based USMC F-35Bs have made their debut at the Singapore air show.

USMC's 13th MEU with the Essex ARG are deploying with F-35Bs.

The US Navy has ordered the development of a new anti radiation missile that will fit inside the F-35's missile bay.

The US Navy will upgrade its networks to get the most out of the F-35C.

Trump's proposed 2019 budget has 9 F-35Cs, 20 F-35Bs and 48 F-35As.

Belgium has been cleared to buy up to 35 F-35s.

Belgium could still reject the F-35.

The British have their first F-35B graduates that have not flown other fighters first.

India has requested a classified briefing on the F-35A and is expressing interest in procuring 126.

No, Israel wanting to buy more F-15s is not a condemnation of the F-35.

Israel is getting more spare parts through a contract signed by the US Navy for its F-35s.

Lockheed is delivering a special variant of the Block 3F software for Israel's F-35Is.

Italy took delivery of the first F-35B assembled outside the US.

An Italian F-35B arrived at NAS Patuxent River.

Japan has deployed the F-35 to Misawa AFB, apparently AX-6.

Japan and South Korea want the F-35B for their assault ships.  Stratfor takes a gander at the idea.

Japan's Izumo may have been designed from the start to be a jeep carrier.

Japan is considering replacing its F-15Js with F-35Bs.

Japan is looking at an additional buy of 20 to 25 F-35As.

Norway has completed its tests of the braking chute.  Watch here.

Lockheed won a $7.5 million contract mod for the F-35.

Lockheed has denied offering India the F-35.

Lockheed favors future incremental software improvements.

META:

China will equal the West in military air power soon.

Stealth Saga #56

Cloud Shadow UCAV:

China has unveiled its Cloud Shadow UCAV.  This UCAV is a parallel to the General Atomics Avenger.

Chinese Stealth Bomber:

There is speculation on the bomber and the number of engines it will have.

FC-31/J-31:

Despite the appearance of the J-20 at the Zhuhai airshow, the FC-31/J-31 was largely absent other than a display model.  AVIC officials did not discuss the status of the FC-31 (or J-20) with journalists.

New details about the FC-31 have emerged: it seems a second, improved prototype is being constructed.


J-20:

The Chinese J-20 stealth fighter has debuted with a new camo pattern.

The inside of the J-20 weapons' bay has been seen.  Now we hae an idea of what the Chinese plan for their new fighter.

A pair of J-20 did a flyby at the Zhuhai airshow and gets profiled a lot.  The J-20 is known as the 'Mighty Dragon.'

China may be working on a larger version of the J-20.

Aviation Week wonders just how stealthy the J-20 is.

The J-20 unveil was meant as a  display of Beijing's firepower.

Some are questioning just how good the J-20 is since Beijing keeps ordering Russian 4th gen fighters.

PAK-DA:

Russia claims it will unveil the PAK-DA in 2018 and have its first flight in 2023.

PAK-FA:

The PAK-FA testing is done and will start being procured by the Russian Aerospace Forces.  However, the first batch is only 5.  The Russians have stated they will only be buying 20 to 25 per year.

The PAK-FA will be tested with its final engines in 2017, supposedly.

Russia is rolling out a 9th PAK-FA prototype for testing.

The PAK-FA derivaive for India, the FGFA, is back to the discussion table between the Russians and Indians.

Simorgh:

Iran's test site for its RQ-170 derivatives has been geolocated.

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

Japan's military scientists and engineers are to start testing the X-2.

It is becoming crunch time to decide on the F-3 or not for Japan.

Mitsubishi & Lockheed have teamed for the F-3.

Combat Support Unmanned Aircraft:

Japan is seeking to create a program for drone/UCAVs to accompany its F-3 fighters much like the American 'Loyal Wingman' project.

Sixth Generation Fighter/Penetrating Counter Air:

Boeing released its latest concept for the PCA/6th gen fighter.

We have three different takes on what the sixth gen fighter will look like and what capabilities it will have.

The US Air Force Advisory Board will be reviewing the Penetrating CounterAir program.

Northrop was awarded a contract for a beam director for a laser weapon for fighters.

X-32:

WiB takes a look at the war pigeon, ahem, Boeing losing design to the F-35 in the JSF program.

B-21:

B-2 pilots have stated the B-21 ought to remain a manned aircraft.

Some of the details of the Boeing protest over the contract being awarded to Northrop have been revealed.

Northrop won the contract primarily on cost.

F-22:

32 F-22s were moved out of the path of Hurricane Matthew.  

Moscow claims it could shoot down F-22s in Syria.  Others are skeptical because the F-22 was designed with those systems in mind.

F-35:

A fix for the insulation problems on some of the F-35As is nigh.    In fact, two have been returned to service.  Norway's F-35s are returning to flight.

The F-35 software update is hopefully going to silence the ALIS critics.

BAe is getting a contract to develop a new software to automatically adapt to new radar threats and jam them for the F-35.

During a recent exercise, F-35 avionics caused a problem because radars were not within the threat parameters and they were dismissed.

The Pentagon just awarded $743 million to Lockheed in support of the Lot 9 procurement of the F-35.  The supplier deal suggests the LRIP 9 & 10 contracts are nigh.  The LRIP 9 contract was awarded: $6.1 billion for 57 F-35s: 42 F-35As, 13 F-35Bs and 2 F-35Cs.  However!  The contract as a unilateral award meaning the gov got tired of negotiating with Lockheed and just stated this is how much they are going to pay, take it or leave it.  Lockheed is not happy and might sue.  LRIP 10 is still not done being negotiated.

US DOD is starting up the global support network for the F-35.

The F-35 was a major profit driver for Lockheed.

The F-35 capable USS Wasp is being deployed to Japan in support of the F-35B squadron to be based there.

The USMC is looking at teaming unmanned platforms with the F-35B.

A F-35B had a fire in its weapon's bay.  An investigation has started.

Israel wants FOC for its F-35Is ASAP.

Norway is looking to buy 12 more F-35s in a block.

Turkey has placed a second order for F-35s pulling forward its first two aircraft to 2018 instead of 2021.

META:

Some are still unhappy with US aircraft.

Stealth Saga #49

RQ-170:

Neuron:

The French have completed the first round of naval testing of the Neuron UCAV.

Taranis:

High levels of assurance for the decision making will be necessary for automated capabilities on UCAVs.

FCAS:

At least two variants for the FCAS will be delivered, one to each partner country.

Increasingly, the FCAS is looking to be a stealthy drone.

MQ-25:

Surrogate tests are being run for the MQ-25's refueling pod.

PAK-FA:

India has restarted the negotiations with Russia for the PAK-FA derivative. 

Supposedly, going forward, India and Russia will each invest $4 billion in the FGFA PAK-FA derivative.

J-20:

Two more J-20s have joined the flight line this month.  This appears to be part of the LRIP for the J-20.  Side note is the new J-31 is supposedly bigger.

J-31:

Rumors are the new J-31 prototype is larger than the original.

H-20:

Supposedly, China's stealth bomber, the so-called H-20, is using data stolen from the US B-2 program.

Tornado Replacement:

The stealthy Tornado replacement is likely to be a drone herder.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

Russia claims it is testing 6th generation fighter tech on the PAK-FA.  Supposedly, these components are EW systems.  Or they might be high powered microwave weapons.

Russia also claims its 6th gen fighter will fly at Mach 4 to 5, have an EM gun (railgun), be able to fly to the edge of space and control drone swarms.   THey are missing the critical sparkles and rainbow coming out of the afterburner.

F-22:

The F-22 pilot with the most flight time has taken his last flight.

F-35:

How F-35 pilots clobber their A-4 opponents in wargames.

The F-35 is gaining momentum with buyers, but its dominance is far from certain or even likely.

The US Navy is fully committed to the F-35C.

The F-35C will be aboard the Washington for sea trials next month (August, 2016).

F-35Bs will participate in Red Flag for the first time.

F-35Bs have completed ski jump land trials.

Airbus is being tapped to provide cyber protection tech for the F-35.

Pratt & Whitney discussed the adaptive cycle upgrade for the F-35 engine. 

GE hopes to steal some of that engine production in the future and the USAF is open to the idea.

 Rolls Royce has a piece of the engine action, too.

Lockheed is working to cut costs for the F-35.

There's no system in place to strip Canadian firms of their work share of the F-35, at least not a standard system.

The JPO is at odds with the US Air Force over the ejection seat replacement.

The RAF is hinting it wants a mixed fleet of F-35s (As & Bs).

The Brits & USMC may pool weapons for the F-35B.

Israeli industry is waiting on the MOD to decide on what weapons will be selected for their F-35s.

The F-35 may be deployed to the Middle East, too.

META:

WiB says not to sweat the new Russian radar that can supposedly detect stealth aircraft.

Stealth Saga #38

RQ-170:

Air and Space has a profile of the RQ-170.

UCLASS:

Despite doing a tanker drone first, the US Navy has stated it still wants a UCLASS drone.

The GAO reported on the progress on UCLASS.

ATD-X/X-2:

Here's a high resolution photo of the X-2. 

F-3:

Japan has reached out to Boeing and Lockheed for help in building its 5th generation fighter.  The Russians are calling the F-3 a sixth generation fighter.  That remains to be seen.

J-20:

PAK-FA:

The Indian variant of the PAK-FA, the FGFA, may end up armed with the hypersonic Brahmos missile.

B-21:

WiB argues the B-21 needs to become more open for it to survive the funding battles coming up.  Its not to say it should be a 'white' program, but less grey.  Unforunately, while they have the right idea, they use the disastrous Navy A-12 program as the basis of their argument.  The A-12 program was not canceled due to a funding fight with the F-22 though.  It was cancelled because it was run atrociously.


F-35:

The USS America has joined the fleet after having its deck strengthened for flying the F-35.

The US Marines will be standing up a second F-35B squadron in June.

The first USMC F-35B squadron will deploy on time to Japan.

The F-35A IOC may be delayed due to the software fixes.  And cyber vulnerabilities.

The total costs of F-35 acquisition has dropped $13 billion.

However, the last F-35 will fly until 2070 now.  That will increase the total life time costs of the program.  I also have a hard time believing the F-35 will remain in the inventory until I am 96.  There are going to be some major tech changes that will obsolete the F-35 by the 2050s at the latest.

The head of the F-35 program and the GAO are at odds.

The F-35 is going on a global publicity tour to wins hearts and minds at least of the legislatures backing the project.

WiB grouses at the expense of F-35 upgrades.

General:

A Chinese businessman has plead guilty to spying on the F-22 and F-35 programs.

The US Air Force is being criticized for still believing it can have a 100% stealth air fleet.

Stealth Saga #37

RQ-170:

Spotted outside of Palmdale.  Do you see it?


MQ-25 Stingray (formerly CBARS, formerly RAQ-25, formerly UCLASS):

Lockheed is asking the Navy to consider a flying wing for the Stingray since it would allow for an upgrade path to a true stealthy strike platform in the future at a reduced cost.

WiB profiles the  Stingray plans.

The MQ-25 might get slaved, three at a time, to F-35s.

ATD-X/X-2:

Due to flight test delays, it has become unlikely the X-2 will be delivered to the Japanese air force by the end of March deadline.

J-20:

The J-20 was recently photographed at the China Flight Test Establishment at Yanliang airbase in Xi’an.

Project IX:

The US Air Force wanted to build a stealthy transport plane for transporting special forces.  The question is whether or not they built it.  The upgrades for the current transport have been skipped.  Which may mean nothing, but it might mean everything.

TR-X:

Lockheed has come out to state it would cost $3.8B for 30 airframes for the TR-X high altitude, stealthy follow-on to the U-2 and Global Hawk.  It will take ten years to deploy from go.  Rumor has it this might already be in the wild, if still in the black.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The Russians are spinning the development of Sixth Generation Fighters as a race between Russia and the US.  That might be true if the Russians were not choking on their Fifth Generation Fighter, the PAK-FA right now and could not afford their new bomber, the PAK-DA.

The Russians are also stating their Sixth Gen will be better than the US.  Oh, Russia, you so silly.  Is your paper airplane better than ours?

Lockheed expressed the opinion (paywall) the 6th generation fighter is 30 years away and should not be rushed into.  I have to wonder if the bad press for the F-35 is worrying them and their chances for capturing the 6th gen.  Its also in their interest, economically, to keep milking the F-35 for as long as possible.  It might also be they are concerned a 6th gen might get pushed through quickly and Congress will do to the F-35 what it did to the F-22.

B-21:

McCain is demanding the US Air Force publicly release the value of the B-21 contract.

The cost plus vs fixed price contract debate gets profiled for the B-21.

The Air Force is asking Congress for a separate fund for its nuclear weapons delivery system replacements, inclusive of the B-21.

The B-21 procurement is about to get really political.

F-22:

Saving money on the F-22 program by ending it early is increasingly being called a very grave mistake.

F-35:

War is Boring harps on a comment a general made about commonality of the F-35 models, going as far as to say they really ought to be labeled the F-35, F-36 & F-37.

The lighter F-35 helmet and ejection seat fix are going into testing shortly.

ALIS problems could delay the August 1st IOC for the F-35A (paywall).

What *IS* left on the US Air Force checklist to declare IOC for the F-35A? 

The Luke AFB F-35s have dropped their first bombs.

More investment by the government is needed to allow the F-35 to hit the $85 million price.

The US Air Force is developing a new air to air missile for its stealth fighters.  This is called the small advanced capabilities missile or miniature self-defence munition, depending on the source.  It is 6 ft long instead of 12 ft like the AMRAAM and meant to allow doubling of the number of missiles carried internally by the F-35 and F-22.

The Royal Air Force will be developing their own mini cruise missile, SPEAR, for the F-35.

The Danish fighter buy (probably F-35) will probably be delayed.

Uncertainy is hurting Canadian industrial participation in the F-35 due to the Canadian recompete of the program.

General US:

An upgrade path may significantly help the US with its aircraft.

Wait! What?! Can the US Air Force RQ-170 Already Conduct Aerial Refueling?!?!

link.

Iran's RQ-170 Drone Clone is a Subscale Model

A reported first flight by Iran of a reverse-engineered copy of the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) appears to have featured a sub-scale model rather than a full-scale replica as announced by state media on 10 November.

Video footage of the flight broadcast by Press TV on 12 November appears to show a remote-controlled sub-scale copy of the RQ-170, which Iran captured from the United States in 2011, performing a series of high-speed passes.

Whereas Iranian officials have hailed the flight as an example of the country's domestic aerospace capabilities, there are a number of giveaways in the video that indicate the RQ-170 in flight was actually a sub-scale model. Such a model was shown during the unveiling ceremony of the full-scale replica alongside the captured original, attended by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari on 11 May.

While the video mainly shows the aircraft flying in an empty sky, there are a few shots that give the viewer a sense of its scale. These include a brief shot of the RQ-170 taking off from a runway that would be far too wide if the vehicle was indeed full-sized

link.

Iran Claims to Have Reverse Engineered the Captured RQ-170 Sentinel/Beast of Kandahar

Iran has conducted what is understood to be the maiden flight of its reverse-engineered Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned air vehicle, state-led news reports have revealed.

Tehran claims the US Air Force-operated stealth UAV was downed by an army electronic warfare unit on 4 December 2011. It has since made no secret of its activities in reverse engineering the system in order to build one of its own.

Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on 10 November said that the “domestically produced version of the RQ-170 sophisticated stealth drone” had been successfully tested, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports.

IRNA says the Iranian RQ-170 was reverse engineered over a two-year period, after the US aircraft was downed with “minimal damage” when flying over the city of Kashmar, approximately 120nm (222km) from the Afghanistan border.

link.