Stealth Saga #52

6th Generation Fighters:

BAe is exploiting 'syngeries' between the Typhoon and the Tempest.

BAe is imagining what the Tempest factory might be.

BAe is working on advanced cockpit controls that will inform on the Tempest.

MBDA showed off some of its work on Tempest.

Italy has signed a contract to study joining the Tempest project.

Is Italy joining the Tempest project actually a bad thing?

The FCAS vs Tempest: WHO! WILL! WIN! europe's budget.

The USAF may switch over to fast iterations of new fighters every 5 years.

F-3 Fighter:

The Japanese MoD is rumored to be placing the start of the F-3 program in the 2020 budget request.

Ohotnik-B:

The Russians are showing a model of the Ohotnik-B with a very different exhaust nozzle than the current aircraft.

Su-57:

Three Su-57s were spotted practicing for the MAKS 2019 airshow.

Development testing is supposed to be complete in 2019 for the Su-57.

The Su-57 was caught doing an interesting deployment of its drag chutes.

Turkey is considering buying Su-57s instead of F-35s.

Sukhoi unveiled the Su-57E, an export version of the Su-57.

An Su-57 was sent to Turkey as part of the airshow.

The impressive aerial display by an Su-57 gets discussed.

Chinese Loyal Wingman:

The Chinese showed off a Loyal Wingman concept at MAKS.

J-20:

A dubious report has come out that the J-20 will be the basis for the J-XY.

B-21:

Northrop is applying lessons learned from the B-2 to the B-21 program.

The B-21's first public flight route has been announced.

The USAF will probably need more than the 100 B-21s currently planned.

The USAF is considering dumping the B-1 to fund the B-21 to completion.

B-2:

A video has emerged of the B-2 dropping practice 500 lbs bombs.

Even as the B-21 is coming, the B-2 is still being upgraded.

The B-2 visited Iceland for the first time.

Watch 3 B-2s land at an RAF airbase.

Take a look at B-2s flying with RAF F-35Bs.  They were training together.

A B-2 flew a long duration flight over the Arctic.

Take a look at these close up pictures of the B-2.

The B-2 practiced hot pitting in the Azores.

F-117:

An F-117 fuselage was spotted being hauled on the California highways.  It was headed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The first flight of the F-117 gets discussed.

51 F-117s remain in the inventory.

F-22:

The USAF is working on a plan to fix the maintenance capability of the F-22's stealth tech.

The F-22 has some stunning images from its flights in Chicago.

Upgrades needed to the facilities in Germany so F-22s can be deployed there for long term have been cancelled as part of the funds transferred for Trump's stupid border wall.

The F-22 will not reach the readiness rates ordered by ex SecDef Mattis.

The F-22s from Tyndall are now active and integrated in Alaska.

F-35:

F-35s struggle with readiness rates.  Parts availability and the oldest aircraft are the biggest issues.

Female pilots are involved with the F-35 program.

The F-35A finally gets chaff countermeasures next year.

USAF F-35As deployed to an austere Middle Eastern base.

The USAF plans on deploying F-35As to South Korean next year.

The USAF F-35A demo team is moving to Hill AFB for the 2020 season.

F-35As along with F-15Es bombed an ISIS stronghold.

Check out these Luke AFB F-35s in 'Beast Mode.'  Something once called a fiction by F-35 haters.

An F-35 was able to detect a missile launch and could be used in an early warning fashion.

The USMC has been invited to operate its F-35Bs off of the Japanese mini carriers.

A F-35B has fired the first AIM-9X in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Vermont ANG got two F-35s this week.

The British has had problems with ALIS.

Watch an F-35B land on the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The British will send the HMS Queen Elizabeth to Canada and US with 7 F-35Bs aboard.

The British HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier intended to carry F-35Bs set sail for the first time.

The first Dutch F-35 assembled in Italy has made its maiden flight.

Has the Israeli campaign against Iranian backed militias spread to Iraq?  (they use F-35s for these attacks)

Israel has received two more F-35Is.

Japan has formally selected the F-35B for its V/STOL aircraft.  42 aircraft will be ordered.

Japan hopes by ordering more F-35s it will get more contract work for the aircraft.

Poland has been approved to buy 32 F-35s.

South Korea is about to get 4 more F-35As.

Taiwan has revealed it has been told it can only buy the F-35 after 2030.

There is a path for Turkey to return to the F-35 program.

BAe has won contracts to upgrade the EW suite of the F-35.

BAe thinks it can reduce costs on F-35 support by applying Typhoon lessons.

Lockheed won a $32M contract to retrofit USAF F-35As.

Lockheed also won a $2.4B contract for spare parts for the F-35.

Lockheed spelled out how Poland will benefit industrially if they buy F-35s.

Lockheed got a $266M contract for F-35 tooling.

Lockheed is preparing to improve the F-35s targeting capabilities.

Raytheon demonstrated JPALS to the F-35 partners.

META:

Who is more impressive?  The F-22 or Su-57 demo teams?

Check out these stunning pix from NYC of F-22s, F-35s and more.

Stealth Saga #74

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The USAF is promoting its vision of what air to air combat will look like in 2030 in an AFRL video.

The Business Insider had someone consider the video and what to expect from 6th gen fighters.

Next Gen European Fighter:

France and Germany are supposed to announce a new fighter program that will replace the Eurofighter and Rafale in 2040.  Airbus and Dassault have signed an agreement to get the bird in the air supposedly by 2035.

There are politics involved with the procurement.

KF-X:

Martin Baker's MK18 ejection seat has been selected for the South Korean KF-X fighter.

Cobham will produce the oxygen system for the KF-X.

Meggitt won a contract for the KF-X, the brakes and landing gear.

Indonesia is considering pulling out of the KF-X.  South Korea has confirmed the possible pullout.

TF-X:

Leonardo is looking to participate in the Turkish fighter effort.

Preliminary agreements have been signed for the production of the TF-X.

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

Japan denied it will scrap its indigenous 5th generation fighter program.

Even so, Lockheed is said to be offering a new 5th gen fighter with a hybrid of tech from the F-22 and F-35.  It will probably have the bauplan of the F-22 (or close) and the avionics and engines of the F-35.  Some are arguing to restart the F-22 line if there's a hybrid offered.  This ignores the law stated no exports for the F-22.

Japan is weighing different routes to its next fighter, whether through indigenous development or working with a foreign company.  The X-2 may take to the skies again, despite finishing its test program.

Why the F-35 isn't enough for Japan.

Su-57:

Su-57s practicing for the May 9th Parade flyover.

India believes the Su-57 to be inferior to the F-22 and F-35 and is disappointed.

Did the Su-57 deploy to Syria to test its sensors against American stealth aircraft?

The Su-57 will be armed with the Kh-31 family of missiles.

The Su-57 is supposedly to be armed with a recently unveiled standoff "stealthy" Drel bomb.

The Su-57 will participate in the May 9th military parade in Moscow.

FGFA:

India is abandoning the Su-57 derivative, the FGFA: the performance, especially with stealth, is not up to 5th gen fighter standards, according to India.

J-20:

The Russians are saying the Indians are saying (I know, I know) that the J-20 is detectable by Indian radars.

The Chinese claim to be using metamaterials in the J-20 for stealth.  Given the above, I wonder who is correct.

H-20:

Is Beijing hinting the H-20 is not a flying wing?  or is this an artist picking up on internet based pictures and using them in a officially blessed publication?

Pop Sci considers China's plans for a strategic bomber and commissioned an artist to do a speculative rendering for what the H-20 might be like.

B-21:

A bit of a puff piece for the B-21 here.

A patch has emerged that may belong to the B-21 test squadron.

The B-21 has finished its PDR.

The B-21 has had its first software drop.

B-2:

Three B-2s were filmed over Pittsburg, KS.

A huge exercise of 20 B-2s was conducted.

Model 401:

Scaled Composite's Model 401 had more pictures taken of it.

MQ-25 Stingray:

Lockheed is already pushing a stealthy version of the new tanker drone.

RQ-170:

Some patches have come to light about potential RQ-170 operational units.

F-117:

It has been ten years since the F-117 has been retired.  Officially.

F-22:

An auditor discusses the changes to the strategy for developing software for the F-22.

Lt. Col. Cheryl Buehn is the only female pilot for the 71st Training Squadron. Her job? To dogfight F-22s.

An F-22 somehow belly flopped at takeoff.

Another F-22 had an engine incident.

F-22s were used in the Syrian airstrikes.

F-35:

War is Boring still hates the F-35.

The latest report to Congress on the F-35 program.

Spare parts for the F-35 are becoming a serious problem at Elgin AFB.

The Pentagon refused delivery of F-35s until Lockheed ponies up to fix manufacturing defects found in previously delivered aircraft.

The omnibus spending bill passed provided a total of 20 more F-35s than originally asked for: 56 F-35As, 22 F-35Bs & 8 F-35Cs.

The Pentagon plans multiyear contracts starting in 2021 for the F-35.

As production is ramped up all three versions of the F-35 will go below $100M each.

The F-35 JPO is looking to upgrade the LRIP-1 and LRIP-2 F-35 engines.

The F-35 JPO is looking to restructure the sustainment part of the F-35 program rather than cut jets from the procurement.

The F-35 JPO is now launching the Block 4 "premodernization" effort for the F-35.

The F-35 JPO will eventually disband, but some are downplaying the reorg.  In fact, the JPO may not be disbanded until 2035.

The F-35 has completed its development flights without losses or fatalities.  Some are still unhappy.

The US MDA is now stating the F-35A will be ready to help with missile defense in 2025.

The USAF F-35As at Kadena AFB in Japan have been dogfighting with F-15s.  An F-15 made a 'kill' on an F-35.

A pilot talks up the F-35A.

VMFA-122 flew the F-35B for the first time.

The F-35B is expanding its expeditionary envelope.

The F-35B visited CENTCOM HQ in preparation for its first combat deployment.  That deployment will be aboard the USS Essex.

The F-35B is getting 300 GBU-49s for moving targets.

The USMC is experimenting with feeding data from the F-35 to its ground troops.

An USMC F-35B had an emergency landing in Japan.

The USMC F-35B had has an assortment of sustainment problems on its deployment.

There are many lessons learned from the USMC's use of the F-35B.

Lockheed got an $8.5 million contract from the US Navy for the F-35.

The US Navy finished the carrier qualifications the F-35C.

The schedule to declare IOC for the F-35C by the end of the year is in jeopardy.

The F-35C will be deployed to Iwakuni in 2021.

The US Navy finalized JSOW internal integration on the F-35C.  And more info.

The US Navy gave Lockheed two more contract mods for the F-35.

Is Australia shifting from working with the USN to the USAF as noted by the purchase of the F-35As?

Australia received its first fully combat capable F-35A.

Australia's F-35s are getting caught up in the delivery suspension due to manufacturing issues the Pentagon has found.

The British are starting to look at sustainment costs for the F-35.

The Brits have reformed Squadron 617 for the F-35Bs.

Lockheed submitted a bid to Germany to replace the Luftwaffe Tornadoes with F-35s.  Lockheed, thy name is Don Quixote: psst, the Germans prefer the Eurofighter...

Japan wants a multipurpose carrier and to use F-35Bs.

India is supposedly stating they are not interested in the F-35.

There is a report two Israeli F-35Is flew across Syria and Iraq to enter Iranian air space undetected.  Some are more than skeptical.  Russia is denying the F-35s could get around its air defenses.

Israel is going to decide between ordering more F-15s or more F-35s.

Italian F-35s have completed their training deployment to Sardinia.

Italian workers on the F-35 assembly line went on strike.

South Korea's first F-35A had its maiden flight.  The ceremony around the new bird was very low key.  Watch the rollout of the F-35.

A South Korean delegation is pressing the Pentagon to award contracts for MRO&U to Korean companies.

Taiwan still wants F-35Bs.  Two Republican senators are pushing for the Trump administration to sell the aircraft to Taiwan.

The US government is threatening Turkey's participation in the F-35 over the purchase of the S-400 missiles from Russia.  This may be a problem for the F-35 in Europe.  A bill has been introduced in the US Senate to block sale of the F-35s to Turkey.  This is not the first time.

META:

The University of Waterloo claims to have developed a stealth defeating quantum radar.

Stealth Saga #59

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

The proposed F-3 fighter is planned to be bigger than the F-22.

FC-31:

More on the new testing.

An a bit more: the Chinese are reportedly offering the FC-31 for $70 million (vs F-35 for $105M).

And more still.  Jane's states there are significant changes.

And one last one.

J-20:

The J-20 program is being called the most complicated and riskiest program for China yet.

PAK-FA:

Russia is claiming it will declare IOC (or russian equivalent) for the PAK-FA in 2017.

Some think the Russians are exaggerating the PAK-FA's capabilities.

Sixth Generation Fighter:

Why Russia and China should fear the US Sixth Generation Fighters.

B-21 Raider:

Will the B-21 bring new stealth tech to the light?

F-117:

In 1986, Reagan offered Thatcher (and Britain, dur) the then very secret F-117 stealth fighter.  Britain, obviously, declined.

F-22:

Lockheed just won a $61M sustainment contract for the F-22.

F-22 & F-35:

A nice side by side comparison of the F-22 and F-35 when they fly in formation at RIAT.

F-35:

Some are stating the F-35 may never be combat ready.

Lockheed's CEO has committed to driving down the price of the F-35.

Lockheed won a $450M contract for the F-35.

Soon-to-be President Trump's sniping at the F-35 is threatening the program.

Trump's proposal to replace the F-35 with an upgraded F/A-18E/F is met with derision.

Counter Stealth:

Supposedly, the new E-2 Hawkeye can detect stealth aircraft.

META:

War on the Rocks looks at the future of air superiority.

Stealth Saga #57

Avenger:

General Atomics did its first flight of the extended range Avenger UCAV.

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

Japan's X-2 proof of concept stealth fighter is being readied for MoD tests.

Some are suggesting Japan step up defense cooperation with Taiwan, including in the X-2 aircraft.

FCAS:

Spain wants a family of systems to replace the F/A-18s it has. 

J-20:

Some are claiming China will have a dozen J-20s declared having reached IOC by the end of the year.  Perhaps next year, I'd think, but I doubt in 2016.

KF-X:

South Korea is seeking to procure more technologies from the US for its KF-X 5th gen aircraft.

PAK-FA:

Russia claims to be developing a new anti radiation (radar killer) missile for the PAK-FA. 

A new engine is being designed for the PAK-FA.   

The Indian variant of the PAK-FA, the FGFA, is claimed to be superior to the Chinese J-20 and Russia thinks it will have the FGFA deal signed by January first.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The next gen US 'fighter' aircraft are the programs to watch in 2017.

F-22:

F-22s had a weapon systems problem that impacted its stealthiness that has been fixed.

F-35:

McCain has stated the unilateral contract for the F-35 is demonstrating how broken the defense procurement establishment is.

The F-35 program is probably too big for even Trump to kill if he wanted to.

Is the F-35 program's development being cut short?

The developmental F-35s built early in the program are going to need a service life extension due to heavy testing and use.

The F-35 MRO work overseas has been outlined.  RUAG Australia made the list.

Repairs to F-35 insulation have been completed and the affected aircraft returned to flight.

The USMC is investigating the weapon's bay fire on one of its F-35Bs.

The USMC conducted trials of the F-35B on the USS America, one of its jeep carriers.   12 F-35Bs were aboard during the tests.

The USMC will deploy the USS Wasp as a Sea Control Ship with F-35Bs to relieve pressure on the USN's supercarriers in 2017.

Congress' final budget is leaving out the extra 11 F-35s asked for by the Pentagon.

Canada canceled its procurement of F-35s and ordered F/A-18Es.  However, it will remain in the F-35 program and remaining a part of the program is being questioned.  Is it really flipping off the Lightning?

Responses to Finland's RFI for the replacement of their F/A-18s including the F-35.

Israel has ordered 17 more F-35Is.  This brings the total on order for Israel to 50.

The first F-35Is will be arriving in Israel on December 12.

Japan has had its first F-35 delivered.

Poland is postponing it procurement of a 5th gen fighter (probably F-35) to replace its old MiGs and Sukhois.  

Turkey is expecting its first two F-35s in 2018.

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 #51

KF-X:

The US & South Korea met to discuss the tech transfer aspects of the KF-X program.

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

Japan will be placing the X-2 demonstrator on display on October 30th at Gifu AFB for the public to see.

PAK-DA:

Some are questioning whether the PAK-DA will actually happen.

PAK-FA:

India is interesting in buying an upgraded Su-30.  India has stated this will not impact the purchase of their variant of the PAK-FA, but many are expressing doubts.

J-20:

The J-20 ought to have IOC in 2019.

B-21:

The USAF is calling for the B-21 to be funded from a separate fund much like the Ohio Replacement Boomer.

The USAF is still not saying how many B-21s it needs.

B-2:

An artist worked on the concept information Northrop used for its alternative to the B-2.

B-2 bombers participated in the NATO exercise Polar Roar.

F-22:

The F-22 was once considered too provocative to send to the Middle East.

F-35:

USMC has debuted the F-35B at Red Flag.

The F-35A has been tested at Eglin AFB.

The F-35A has conducted its first shoot down.

The F-35A is looking good for its IOC, so good IOC was declared for the USAF F-35A.  There are a lot more articles on the IOC.

The F-35 is so stealthy it creates training exercise problems.

How accurate is the F-35Bs gun pod?

Tactics for F-35B pilots are evolving as the pilots better grasp the capabilities of the plane.

A USMC general has stated the F-35B is ready for war.

The F-35B's first at sea deployment will be on the USS Bonhomme Richard from Japan.

Apparently, the F-35 laser designator can only be used in the US.  The Brits are seeking permission to do so in the UK.

Canada is casting a wide net to try to find a replacement fighter. That net includes the F-35, ironically.

Canada is also continuing to pay into the F-35 program to remain part despite claiming it will not be necessarily buying the aircraft.

Israel may maintenance get outsourced.

Israeli's first F-35I has had its first flight.

Is the F-35 Singapore's next fighter buy?

Could the coup attempt in Turkey endanger its participation in the F-35 program?

The 63rd Fighter Squadron was stood up to train Turkish F-35 pilots.

Stealth Saga #50

MQ-25 Stingray:

The USN has made it official that the new tanker drone will be the MQ-25a Stingray instead of CBARS.

Fifth Generation Fighters:

Why the 5th gen is so critical to aerial combat these days.

TFX:

Pakistan may be interested in buying the Turkish TFX fighter.

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

Boeing and Lockheed are turning out to be rivals over the Japanese F-3 fighter program.

J-20:

More J-20s have started appearing on the flight line.

PAK-DA:

WiB argues, rightly, its highly unlikely the next Russian bomber will be a near space, hypersonic monster as described by the Russian media.

 The National Interest is also mocking the Russian media's pronouncements.

However, the Russians might actually be trying to get the Chinese to buy into the program.

PAK-FA:

Russia continues to claim to be testing sixth gen fighter components on the PAK-FA prototype 5th gen fighters.

WiB claims the PAK-FA is roughly comparable to the F-22.

B-21:

The USAF has not decided on how many B-21s it will need and will not do so until after the aircraft is done with development.  The reason being the global situation in the 2020s may be better  than now...or worse.

F-22:

What does the F-22 look like through a thermal imaging system?

F-35:

The USAF is comfortable with sending the F-35A to war by year's end.

The modifications to the F-35A so the USAF can declare IOC are complete.

The USMC sees the Small Diameter Bomb II as a priority upgrade to the F-35. 

The F-35 deployments to Britain as part of the airshows have been testing ALIS, the software for maintenance. 

Israel is considering buying the F-35B.

Elbit Systems is looking to provide training systems for the F-35.

Will the Turkish coup attempt cause a problem in the F-35 program?  However, Lockheed has confirmed the F-35s for Turkey are in the early stages of production.

The British airshows have been welcome PR for the F-35.

WiB still hates the F-35.

ATAC calls the F-35B very 'Raptor-ish' in how it fights air to air. 

Here are some photos of the F-35B at the Red Flag exercise.

Lockheed has stated the F-35 is underfunded and apparently its cash flow is hurt by the delays in the negotiations for the next batches of F-35s.

META:

British Aerospace has developed a laser sensor for determining air speed, doing away with the pivot tube.

Stealth Saga #48

FC-31/J-31:

 

A new prototype of the J-31/FC-31 may have been spotted being transported by truck like the first was in China.

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

Japan considers air superiority fighters to be the most important. 

PAK-FA:

Sukhoi has stated the testing for the T-50/PAK-FA is nearly complete.  

The testing may be only the first round.

The first deliveries of the PAK-FA to the Russian Aerospace Forces is set to be in 2018. 

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The US Air Force is seeking to reprogram almost $24 million to work on the 'next generation air dominance' platform.

F-22:

The most up to date F-22s are fighting in Syria.

SecAF James is NOT thrilled with the idea of restarting the F-22 line.

F-35:

Sharing data with allies on the F-35 presents problems for the US.

The USAF is hinting IOC for the F-35A may come faster than people expect.

Russia claims its 'Sunflower radar' can detect the F-35.

The first F-35A has flown to Britain.

USMC F-35Bs have been cleared for flight at Farnborough.

Video of the F-35As and F-35Bs crossing to Britain for the airshows.

Video of the F-35 taking off in Britain.

Construction programs are going to make it tough for the F-35s in Britain. 

The F-35s are showing off well at the British airshows currently.

Some pontificate on the import.

The next at sea qualifications for the F-35B will take place in October before being tested aboard the Queen Elizabeth class.

The British are about to start training F-35 pilots.

Lockheed is warning Canada about its industrial participation if Canada does not buy the F-35. 

Some are not so sure the F-35 is a good idea to say the least.

The F-35 faces an uphill fight for international sales past the current partners.

Pratt & Whitney got a $1.5 billion contract for F-35 engines.

Stealth Saga #47

FCAS:

Airbus is studying a manned replacement for the Tornado.

F-3:

Japan has started engaging industry on the F-3 fifth generation fighter program.  Rumors are they are seeking a J-20 sized aircraft.

Japan is considering a $40 billion tender for the F-3 in mid-July.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

Russia is considering an unmanned sixth generation fighter. 

The USAF just awarded two $1 billion contracts for the next generation fighter engine as a prelude to its sixth generation fighter efforts (more).

B-21:

The USAF remains adamant the B-21 cost must remain classified.

F-22:

Some beautiful pix of the F-22 in action.

The 23rd F-22 pilot has reached 1,000 flight hours.

The F-22's engineering building was sold by Lockheed to Georgia Tech.

F-35:

The F-35A IOC remains on track, or so sayeth the US Air Force.

The F-35 demonstrated a 8:0 kill ratio against the F-15E in a recent exercise.

There have been no software issues with the Mountain Home AFB deployment of the F-35.

The Pentagon is weighing a replacement ejection seat for the F-35.

In September, a F-35 will demonstrate targeting for a SM-6 ship based SAM.

The Pentagon is seeking to do a smaller 'hybrid' block buy of the F-35 for 292 F-35As, 82 F-35Bs & 36 F-35Cs in three lots.

The USMC is converting a Harrier unit to a F-35B squadron.

WiB takes a snarky stance on the USAF stating it has issues testing the F-35 to its full potential in the wargaming setting.

The Brits have the F-35 debuting at the RIAT & Farnborough air shows in the midst of their Brexit meltdown (videos, pictures, more pictures, still more pictures of Typhoons escorting the F-35Bs).

The Brits are bidding to becoming the long term maintenance hub for European F-35s' avionics.

The F-35I was unveiled by Lockheed & Israel.

Israel wants 75 F-35Is & potentially F-35Bs in addition. 

META:

F-22 & F-35 fighter pilots wrote a white paper on how to fight a war with 5th generation fighters circa 2026.