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 #46

 Taranis:

More on Britain's consideration of flying the Taranis demonstrator again.  (video of taranis' first flight)

Avenger:

General Atomics will be flying an improved Avenger with better sensors in October.

KF-X:

Work on the KF-X's radar is set to begin.

FCAS:

The Brits are working with the Germans on the Tornado-replacing Future Combat Air System.

PAK-FA:

Supposedly, the PAK-FA is ready for production.

However, the PAk-FA may have a serious performance problem due to its engines.

Sixth Generation Fighter:

The Penetrating Counter Air System may be a stealthy drone.

The USAF is welcoming USN input on the Sixth Generation Fighter.

B-21:

Senators have voted to keep the B-21 price secret.

McCain is stating there is no excuse for keeping the B-21 budget secret.

The new nominee for the USAF head seems to agree.

The head of the USAF's RCO has stated the cost must be kept secret.

F-35:

The first international demo for the F-35 done.  It produced some stunning pictures.

Lockheed is threatening to move contracts away from Canadian firms.

Denmark's parliament approved the F-35 purchase.  Danish companies are wary about the promises by the Danish government promises to buy the F-35.

Israel's pilots are heading to the US for F-35 training.

Stealth Saga #45

Taranis:

The British may conduct more test flights of their UCAV demonstrator.

nEURON:

The Neuron flew a demonstration for the public.

PAK-FA:

The PAK-FA has been spotted in Feodosia, in occupied Crimea.

Supposedly, the Russian Aerospace Forces will start taking delivery of the PAK-FA in 2017.  Five PAK-FA are supposed to be delivered.

B-21:

 Why the SASC should NOT change the B-21 acquisition.

Some are unhappy the cost of the B-21 is secret.


F-35:

The USAF is abandoning plans to send a pair of F-35As to Farnborough air show.

Mountain Home AFB is getting its first combat coded F-35As.

The Brits' training for the F-35 pilots will be part synthetic and real.

The Brits finished testing refueling the F-35B from their tankers a week early.

The Dutch are learning from their F-35s that have flown to the Netherlands.

Denmark is now officially buying 27 F-35As.

Meta:

Understanding the value of stealth tech.

Stealth Saga #43

MQ-XX/MQ-25 Stringray (CBARS):

The US Navy expects more progress this year on the tanker drone.

Taranis:

The test flight program of the European stealthy UCAV was outlined.

Neuron:

France has started letting its Navy test their Neuron UCAV demonstrator. The tests will include their aircraft carrier.

KF-X:

South Korea is set to select a foreign engine for its stealth fighter.

J-31:

Pakistan is interested in buying the J-31 to replace its F-16s.

B-21:

The US Air Force believes the B-21 will fill a gap on long range strike.

The US Air Force will announce the B-21's name in September at AFA.

The US allies will not participate in the B-21 development.

F-22:

Some argue NOT to revive F-22 production.

The F-22s have returned from Europe.

The intent of the visit was to bolster European visits

The F-22s have started sporting kill markings.

SecDef Carter is against the restart of the F-22 production line.

The Fesler brothers have taken over two different F-22 wings.

F-35:

Source.

The Thunderbirds & F-35s over Florida in pictures.  Do those pictures actually mean something?

The F-35 gets a bit of press.

Israel is testing weapons for its F-35I.  The F-35I will be unique.

The F-35 vs A-10 tests get rapped again.

The latest F-35 avionics software (3i) is declared ready.

The F-35 seems to be struggling still with its testing schedule.

Here's a day in the life of an F-35 test pilot.

USAF F-35s have started combat training.  Some of it virtual.

The F-35B has had its 1,000th vertical landing.

The 3rd Marine Air Wing is preparing to deploy the F-35B abroad, but is struggling with its legacy aircraft maintenance.

WiB goes off on the F-35 again, specifically that it is really three separate aircraft.

Denmark has selected the F-35 over the F/A-18E and Typhoon for an order of 27 aircraft.  This is likely to cause a political bun fight.  WiB is calling the decision stupid.  Boeing is challenging the selection.

Here are the pros and cons of the F-35A from the pilots and aircrews.

The F-35A has been conducting tail hook landing tests at Edwards AFB.

 Japan's fighter pilots will be getting to fly the F-35A at Luke AFB.

The Dutch F-35As are going back to the Netherlands.

Britain is funding the Spear 3 missile for its F-35s.

The Brits have also sent their tanker to test refueling F-35Bs. 

The Brits also highlight the problems of training with the F-35.

McCain is attempting to kill the F-35 joint program office.  SASC voted to do so.  Is this the first move to destroy the F-35 program?

Here's an update on the ALIS software for the F-35.

Meta:

Some are questioning whether stealth is right direction for the USAF's aircraft.

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 #31

KF-X:

The KF-X project is having turbulence because of technology issues.

PAK-FA:

Russia is having problems exporting the PAK-FA due to the perception it is not really a 5th generation fighter.

Avenger UCAV:

India has expressed interest in acquiring the General Atomics Avenger.

Taranis/FCAS:

BAe and Dassault are waiting on the Paris and London about the direction for the stealthy UCAV project.

UCLASS/CBARS:

 Here's some of the reasoning why the US Navy backed away from a stealthy aircraft for the tanker.

Sixth Generation Fighter:

Forbes discusses Northrop's 6th gen fighter but Boeing has started hinting at its own fighter concept.

Some are wondering what the 6th generation fighter will be.

The US Air Force is starting work on the electronic warfare equipment needed for the 6th generation fighter.

Long Range Strike Bomber:

Northrop has resumed work after the GAO denied Boeing's protest.  A bit more here.

It ought to be said the phrasing Boeing used in their initial response to the GAO protest denial was very, very similar to when they lost the contract and brought their protest.  I'd suspect that means there's a lawsuit coming.

The US Air Force has stated they will be releasing more details about the LRS-B in March.

F-22:

F-22s did a show of force in South Korea as a reaction to North Korea's missile launch.  Here's a little more still.  And one last one.

Is this photo from a Chinese airfield real?  Its a model most likely, but...

In a first, two F-22 made an appearance at the Singapore airshow.  

F-35:

The F-35 still has 400 flaws that need addressing.  Most are software.

Ten F-35B will be deployed to Japan by the end of the year.

British Stealth Taranis UCAV to Undergo More Testing

The UK’s BAE Systems Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator will carry out a third phase of flight tests towards the end of the year, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.

The test programme had gone quiet after two phases of testing in Woomera in Australia, but it will now continue for one more phase to develop technology that could be incorporated into a future combat air system. Details of what will be tested in this third phase remain unknown.

Sqn Ldr Archie Brown, of the unmanned air system team at the Ministry of Defence, told the Royal Aeronautical Society’s president’s conference that while the third phase of testing had been planned, the possibility of a fourth phase and any plans after that have not been determined.

“When we have these results [from phase 3], we will assess the feasibility of any further work, but that decision hasn’t been made yet,” Brown says.

link.

Stealth Saga #6: All the Pretty Planes

General specifications for China's FC-31 export version of the J-31 stealth fighter have been posted online in China.

India has requested  Russia let Indian test pilots fly and evaluate the PAK-FA.

Indian Air Force's vice chief apparently wrote a letter highlighting 27 problems with the PAK-FA/FGFA project and effectively blocking further work, frustrating Moscow.

Britain's Taranis stealth drone will make its final flights later this year.

War is Boring takes out the battle axe to the F-35 again.  And again, claiming the F-35B the Marines declared IOC is anything but ready for combat.

Israel wants the US to ensure it will be the only nation in the Middle East to operate the F-35. Um. Turkey? 

Lockheed has a new electrooptical sensor pod for the F-35.

The US Air Force feels the most challenging piece to getting the F-35A to IOC is the ALIS maintenance software.  However, once IOC is declared, the F-35A will probably be sent overseas very quickly.

The US Air Force still weighing options for a block buy of F-35s.

A continuing resolution would significantly impact the F-35 software development.

The F-35 will start with three missions: close air support (!), suppression of air defenses and air to air aircraft combat.

While not about stealth aircraft per se, GE and P&W are submitting their next generation fighter engine proposals.

Lockheed's proposed replacement for the U-2, the TR-X, is unveiled.  And more about it.

There's more speculation about what the Long Range Strike Bomber will have for capabilities.

The House of Representatives supports the B-3 (LRS-B) but is concerned about the price.

General Deptula's report on the LRS-B and the capabilities it ought to have came out.

Taranis Flies in Full Stealth Mode in Latest Test Flights.

BAE Systems lifted the veil on a new series of flight tests with the Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator on Tuesday, as the UK and French defence ministries also strengthened their commitment to jointly study a future operational platform.

The highly classified Taranis was first flown at an undisclosed foreign location in August 2013, but it was not until February that BAE and its industry partners – which include Adour 951 engine supplier Rolls-Royce – were allowed to disclose limited details about a first series of flights.

Speaking at the show on 15 July, Chris Garside, BAE’s engineering director for future combat air systems, revealed that a second series of test flights were performed between late 2013 and early 2014. These included flying the demonstrator in a “fully stealthy configuration, making it virtually invisible to radar”, the company says.

link.

2nd link.