Stealth Saga #53

RQ-180:

Aviation Week has a surprisingly detailed article about the RQ-180.  This is the unmanned aircraft which may have been spotted last August.

6th Generation Fighters:

The USAF's NGAD has been redirected to promote the 'Digital Industrial Revolution' for manufacturing.

The USAF's NGAD has a PEO and has set up the program office in general.

The USAF's advanced engine plans have hit a funding snag.

The RAF's chief of staff has endorsed the American 'Digital Century series' fighter program.

The FCAS companies are urging their governments to move forward with the program.

France and German signed a deal regarding weapon exports.  The FCAS is probably one of the weapons covered.

KF-X:

The Korean led stealth fighter program will roll out its first prototype in the first half of 2021.

South Korea unveiled a mockup of the aircraft.

South Korea also showed off a mockup of the cockpit.

South Korea has stated it is open to foreign partners in the KF-X.

The whole program may be at risk though.

South Korea has started construction of the aircraft.

Su-57:

Russia has started MUM-T testing between the Ohotnik-B UAV and the Su-57:

Chinese Stealth Carrier-borne UAV:

China's reported plan to put a ISR drone on its carriers makes sense to some.

China's Sharp Sword carrier based UAV is claimed to be entering service by the end of the year.  It may be the aircraft may NOT be carrier based, but in service already.  It did get displayed at the October 1st military parade.

J-20:

The J-20 at a high AOA.

B-21:

The USAF has reactivated the 420th Bomber Wing for B-21 testing.

The B-21 first flight could be delayed.

Some are questioning whether or not the schedule for the B-21 can be kept.

First public flight is still aimed for Dec 2021.

B-2:

The USAF tweeted a photo of the B-2 stating it would be the last thing Area 51 Raiders would see if they had actually tried.  The USAF later apologized.

F-117:  

Who is flying the 'retired' F-117s?

F-35:

The F-35 is closer to IBCS integration.

The full rate production decision for the F-35 has been delayed by 13 months.

A USAF student pilot apparently saved a F-35A when the computer crashed in flight.

The official welcome ceremony was held for the 158th FW's first F-35A.

At least 13 F-35Bs embarked on the USS America to test the 'Lightning Carrier' concept.

A F-35 did some very impressive demo flying over San Francisco.

Australia is looking for a larger piece of the F-35 manufacturing pie.

British F-35Bs are off to operational carrier testing.  One was photographed in 'Beast Mode.'

Italy has deployed its F-35s to Iceland.  Take an up close and personal look.  They have completed their mission.

The Japanese will get their first aircraft carriers in 75 years, but the USMC will fly their F-35Bs off them first.

Netherlands will order 9 more F-35s.

Norway is having problems with the drag chute on its F-35As.

Poland has placed the F-35 front and center in its air force modernization plans.

South Korea showed off its F-35As to the public.

South Korea will also order 20 more F-35As.

South Korea awarded a contract for the design of a ship that can carry F-35Bs.

Lockheed has declared the F-35's stealth coating rock solid.

The offset projects promised by Lockheed for South Korea are progressing.

United Technologies won a $325.2M contract to support the F-35.

META:

Claims about passive radar are a bit overblown.

Stealth Saga #77

Mystery Aircraft at Edwards AFB:

Is this a B-2?  A B-21?  Or an RQ-180?  The Aviationist and I get to disagree.

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The USAF Costs Analysis Agency has a list of suggestions on how to reduce the cost of the coming NGAD 6th gen fighter.

Saab wants in on the British Tempest Program.

A US General is stating the Tempest must be compatible with the F-35.

The time might actually be right for the Tempest.

The Tempest announcement made a clear statement of intent, some think.

Leonardo still thinks the EU might fund at least some of the Tempest despite Brexit.

Will Japan collaborate with the Brits on the the Tempest fighter?

Wired wants to introduce you to the Tempest fighter as well.

KF-X:

Meggitt won another contract for the KF-X.

F-313 Qaher:

Whatever happened to the Qaher?

Can the Iranian fighter actually fly?

FGFA:

The Russians continue to insist the Su-57 derived FGFA hasn't been cancelled.

Russian VSTOL:

The Russians are claiming their next carrier based aircraft will be a brand new, clean sheet VSTOL fighter.  Presumably, a 5th gen fighter.

MiG-41:

Russia says they are still working on it, but some maintain pure interceptors are obsolete.

Su-57: 

The Su-57 has been seen with an external targeting pod.  Picture here.  That almost confirms the Su-57 is not stealthy.

TASS has stated the Su-57 contract is still not signed, but will be by the end of summer.

The Russians have stated the Su-57 has met all its development goals, has the potential to become a UCAV and also has the potential to be upgraded for the next 50 years.

However, the Russians are now saying they have only ordered 2 Su-57s.

The Russians are stating the Su-57 will have advanced AI capabilities.

J-20:

New photographs of the J-20 have come to light.  The construction of the J-20 is pretty impressive.

There are claims the J-20 is facing difficulty with the manufacturing process and mass production is years away.  This conflicts with the reports there have been 18 J-20s delivered in the first half of 2018 and six in 2017.

Does the J-20 have an electro-optical system like the F-35?

Another quick post on the J-20.

F-22:

F-22s deployed to Spangendahlem AFB.

Two F-22s simulated dogfights with Norwegian F-35s.

F-22s deployed to Poland to participate in their Armed Forces Day Parade.

F-22s deployed to Spain to train with Spanish Eurofighters and F/A-18s.

Two F-22s deployed to Romania.

F-117:



Retired, you say...

About that retirement.

F-35:

P&W got a $24.6M contract for the engines for the LRIP lot 9 F-35s.

Will the F-35 program hit it target price?

Congress passed the defense budget.  77 F-35s were paid for.  20 F-35Bs, 9 F-35Cs and 48 F-35As.

Congress is preventing any transfers of the F-35 to Turkey because of the purchase of the S-400 SAM from Russia.  SecDef Mattis warned Congress NOT to do that.  However, it appears to be a 90 day hold rather than a true ban.  An oped on the whole thing.  Turkey is threatening international arbitration if the F-35 deal is blocked.  The legislation temporarily banning delivery of the F-35 to Turkey has become law.

The USAF is experimenting with 3d printing replacement parts for the F-35A.

Watch an F-35A train with its cannon.

A F-35A had an inflight emergency and then was taxing to park when its nose landing gear gave way.

An F-35B pilot had some frustrations with the aerial refueling process on the way to Britain.

The USMC is ordering special lightning rods for its F-35B fleet in Japan.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth has left Britain to go qualify with F-35Bs in the US.  Video of the ship's departure.

Watch a Dutch F-35A in 'beast mode' fly through the Sierra Nevada's in California.

An Israeli F-35 went live on an aircraft tracking website.

Was the missile strike that took out the Russian SAMs in Syria done by an Israeli F-35?

The first South Korean pilot has flown the F-35A.

South Korea is considering buying F-35Bs for carrier operations.  They are seeking a study as what must be done to cover their amphibs to carriers.

British aerospace got a contract for expendable decoys for the F-35.

Lockheed says F-35 manufacture remains on track and will deliver 91 F-35s in FY19.

Lockheed got a contract mod for $19M for the F-35.

Lockheed got a contract to adapt the ALIS maintenance system for foreign governments.

The F-35 fuselages pushed Northrop's bottomline up.

Is this the RQ-180?

Is this the RQ-180?

Black Projects are something of the exciting, wild west edge of aircraft development.  Their secrecy makes them wildly appealing, that which you are not supposed to know!  Their development happens far, far faster than in the open, so-called White Projects like the F-22 or F-35.  Turn around can be as fast as two to three years from the go button to an operational platform in the Black World, while the White World took almost two decades to get the F-35 into its initially operating capability status.  This makes the Black Projects a thing of excitement and mystery.  And something aviation watchers really, really want to find.

Most famously of the Black Projects is the F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational stealth aircraft.  More recently, the RQ-170 is another case of a black project that launched itself into the light in Kandahar, Afghanistan.  For a short time, it was called the Beast of Kandahar.  The remaining tail of the so-called stealth hawk used in the raid to kill Osama bin laden gave away its existence when special forces attempted to destroy it, but were only mostly successful.

On December 9th, 2013, Aviation Week ran an article on the existence of a much bigger UAV, one they dubbed the RQ-180.  It is supposed to be a flying wing or potentially a cranked kite aircraft.  The aircraft is supposed to be a high altitude recon UAV.  The manufacturer was supposed Northrop Grumman.  Once this aircraft was claimed to existed, the aviation watchers had themselves a new white whale.

One that may have been found.

In July 2018, I was approached by a some individuals I have been speaking with for a couple years now who have been camping outside of airbases in the Mojave snapping pictures.  Their hope and dream is to find and photograph a black aircraft that exist but are kept in secret from the world during the development and use.  If you have ever seen the movie Broken Arrow, the comment about guys in lawn chairs is pretty damned accurate.

The individuals I have been speaking with had established their bonafides before, discussing their finds and pictures for a couple years now, providing real, recent white world pictures and information that would come out about other systems days ahead of the publication curve.  I've been discreet about it.  One does not burn sources.

They think they found something, potentially the RQ-180.  Then "Zaphod58" provided the images.

The images were taken at night and the aircraft pictured looks a lot like the B-2.  The enthusiasts spent a good amount of time, weeks now, trying to prove to themselves it was not a B-2.  Some of their preliminary results are interesting.  They have convinced themselves it is not a B-2.  

They did NOT convince the USAF officially at least.  The photography enthusiasts reached out to the USAF to make sure they wouldn't get in trouble for publishing their photos: the time, date and information of where photos were taken was provided to the USAF.  The USAF responded and sent a review team. They USAF officially came back stating the aircraft is a B-2.  There was one B-2 at Edwards at the time.  However, the analysis the team did suggests the pictured aircraft is not a B-2.  However, it strongly suggests why the aircraft if, this is indeed an RQ-180, hasn't been spotted despite its size: it really, really looks like a B-2.  There are differences, but ones that would not be plainly visible to non AvGeeks.

The differences noted are.

1.  The nose gear is wrong for the B-2.

2.  The central fuselage is narrower than on the B-2.

3.  The intakes appear to be further apart from the center fuselage than on the B-2.

4.  The wingspan appears to be different than the B-2, 132 ft vs 172 ft.

5.  There appears to be a central, singular center line bomb bay.  The B-2 has two slightly off center symmetrically placed bomb bays.

6.  The engines were powered up at one point, but some of the secondary inlets were not open as would it would be on a B-2 on the ground.

Amongst others.

One of the striking bits that someone ought to take note of is bomb bay.  The AvWeek article indicated the RQ-180 was a high altitude recon aircraft.  A bomb bay would most likely mean the RQ-180 is a dual use, recon and strike platform.  Some have wondered why there seems to be a lack of any sort of evidence for a black strike UAV.  This might be why.  It was sitting under the noses of people thinking they were looking for a recon aircraft when it was really both.

Other noticeable differences as per above are the landing gear. On the B-2, the landing gear is attached to the strut. The people who photographed and analyzed the aircraft in the photos think the land gear does not appear to do so here. The central fuselage is narrower, but the entire aircraft appears to be 4 ½ feet lower than the B-2.

When presented with something like this, you need to ask how to either prove it beyond a doubt or look for flaws.  I thought I might see a way for both.

I did ask to see if they could run some imagery analysis, even rudimentary ones, for something specific.  The RQ-180 is supposed to be a flying wing or a cranked kite.  If it was a cranked kite, then it could be possible to detect the join where the wing meets the body of the aircraft.  This would be hard to refute proof the aircraft photographed was an RQ-180. Unfortunately, the Mojave even at night was too hot and distorted the imagery too much to be able to detect whether there was a join.

I also flagged what might be another bomb bay door and asked them to be sure.  They did some more analysis and came back convinced it is actually the power coming in via cables.

Neither the definitively pro RQ-180 was passed (can't tell if this is a cranked kite or not) nor was the refutation either: the possible bomb bay door, indicating two bays consistent with a B-2, seems to have been a bust as well.  Neither was strong either way.  So, the above, while interesting isn't quite a slam dunk.

With the response from the USAF being so 'meh,' the team then sent off the pictures for imagery analysis.  Unfortunately, that path too turned out inconclusive.  Could the differences in the pictures actually be just distortions caused by the July heat of Edwards AFB?  While possible, it doesn't seem to be the case.

That said, this looks like it is interesting and could very well be the RQ-180.  It makes sense why the RQ-180 has been able to be cloaked in secrecy for another 5 years after AvWeek made their claim on its existence: it looks a lot like a B-2.  For someone not an AvGeek or pro, this flying at night would be really, really hard to distinguish from a B-2, especially if it is 'just' a flying wing.  The inlets, for that matter, appear to have been recycled from the B-2 program.  If they work, reuse makes perfect sense.  Other parts are probably as well.  

Ironically, the USAF's response might actually be the strongest supporting evidence.  If the RQ-180 was not on the ground that night, they'd have not bothered sending anyone to check out what was photos were taken?  When they reviewed the photos, they might have just felt it was equivocal enough they need not bother.

The other possibility is that this was an early form of the B-21 Raider.  There are rumors a demonstrator was built by each team.  This then might be the winning demo.  That's the stance David Cenciotti at The Aviationist is taking.  He feels it is less likely to be a RQ-180 than a B-21 prototype.  From what I have heard in rumors about the B-21.  The inlets appear wrong, for one.  The photographed aircraft has more in common with the B-2, but, as noted, is has significant differences.

Is this the RQ-180?  Very strong maybe.  I think so, but I am not religiously convinced.  This was an amazing find and some great pix. We await newer, clearer pictures and/or the USAF coming clean to know for sure.

Stealth Saga #35

Neuron/Taranis/FCAS:

The British and French governments have agreed to invest 1.5 billion euros into a stealthy UCAV as a follow-on to the Taranis and Neuron programs.  First flight is expected in 2025 and IOC 2030+.  Oh and Europe?  Northrop wants their cranked kite back.  ;)

TFX:

Infighting is delaying the Turkish fighter program from getting started.

J-20:

Some are warning, in part because of the J-20, the PLAAF will overtake the capabilities of the USAF by 2030.

One of the acknowledged deficiencies of the J-20 is the problematic engines.  The Chinese have formed a conglomerate to manufacture the engines in a sign of changing how they will approach the problem.

6th Generation Fighters:

The Russians are claiming they are working on 6th and 7th generation fighters when they have not even hit IOC for their 5th gen.  Some are semi taking the idea seriously.  I would be surprised if Russia was not doing studies, but to actually start a real 6th gen when they are struggling with their '5th gen' fighter seems a little unbelievable.

Stealth Spy Planes:

The RQ-180 and TRX get a glance at in this piece on how spy planes work.

Stealthy Cruise Missiles:

Here's why the US military needs stealthy nuclear cruise missiles.

PAK-DA:

Russia has admitted hey have indefinitely postponed the PAK-DA.  They are now pushing the Tu-160M3 for first flight in 2019.  The -160's production may not be until 2023.

B-21/Long Range Strike Bomber:

The US Air Force is defending the bomber on Capitol Hill, but McCain remains concerned.

F-22 Raptor:

The F-22 might become permanently based in Poland.  Or not.

The 90th became the first combat F-22s to start using the AIM-9X.

How the US plans to use the F-22 and F-35 together against other nations' 5th gen fighters.

F-35 Lightning:

This is the F-35's helmet.

The F-35's ALIS logistics system may be vulnerable to hacking.

The US Marine Corps want another 2 F-35Bs and 2 F-35Cs over what the President's budget has asked for.

Likewise, the US Air Force has asked for 5 more F-35As over the budget request.

The US Navy has asked for 2 more F-35Cs above the budget request (and 14 F/A-18Es).

Stealth Saga #34

5GAT:

Take a look at the world's first stealthy target drone.

CBARS/RAQ-25 Stingray:

The US Navy is changing CBARS' name to the RAQ-25 Stingray.

RQ-180:

Rumors are there were two accidents with the RQ-180.  One of which caused a loss of aircraft and the other damaged enough it needed fixing.

PAK-FA:

Watch carefully from the 8 second mark through the 14 second mark.  Then tell me that's a stealth fighter.

ATD-X/X-2:

The X-2 is apparently doing well on the taxi tests.

B-21/Long Range Strike Bomber:

Here's is more information about the B-21.  The article includes the notation that the artist rendering does not match the Kansas or Texas unidentified aircraft sightings and because the artist rendering is based on the early Northrop concept its likely the final aircraft will be different.

Here's more information about the B-21.  And more again.  Jane's finally weighed in.

Sweetman has made his statement finally and thinks the B-21 draws on the RQ-180.

War is Boring just plains says no one should have been surprised by the design of the B-21.

The B-21 design is being called very similar to the B-2.  By several folks.

The naming game has started for the B-21.

Here's another confirmation Boeing and Lockheed will not be pursuing legal action over the B-21 contract.

The Chinese have started talking trash about the B-21 already.

Rumors have it, the B-21 will have very good sensor fusion and some limited air to air capabilities.

F-35:

The environmental impact statement to bring to F-35A squadrons to Eielson Air Force Base has been completed.

The first combat coded F-35As have dropped weapons for the first time.

A Norwegian pilot has come out to refute the poor performance report by the Lockheed test pilot.  More here.  And even here.

Australia may replace some future F-35s with stealthy UCAVs instead.

CONFIRMED: RQ-180 Stealthy Spy Drone

Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance chief Lt. Gen. Bob Otto said the service is working on the RQ-180 remotely piloted aircraft to give it better access to contested airspace, where the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk and manned U-2S platforms are vulnerable. Otto declined to provide details about the aircraft in comments to Air Force Magazine after his June 9 address in Arlington, Va., that AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies sponsored. He did say the Air Force still needs the Global Hawk for “run-of-the-mill” operations. However, there are limits to its ability to image from standoff distances, and both it and the U-2 have “problems” seeing through or operating in bad weather, said Otto. During his speech, he mentioned “new” research and development to produce sensors that can get at “difficult-to-target” objects. For budgetary reasons, the Air Force position is that it needs “only one high-altitude reconnaissance platform” and it’s the RQ-4, not the U-2, said Otto in his speech. He didn’t say where the RQ-180 fits in the mix, but did say the Air Force is “over-invested in permissive [area] assets” in ISR.

link.