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Interesting article on NGAD. USAF looking at cheaper engine and airframe:
I just finished Trillion Dollar Trainwreck. According the Bill Sweetman, LM will bid in such a way as to preserve funding for F35, Boeing will be nothing but conservative and NG opted not to bid probably because it knows LM will win anyway.
I just finished Trillion Dollar Trainwreck. According the Bill Sweetman, LM will bid in such a way as to preserve funding for F35, Boeing will be nothing but conservative and NG opted not to bid probably because it knows LM will win anyway.
I didn't know Zumwalt had already had the AGS ripped out. Looking back, I don't know why they couldn't have just modified the Zumwalt design to remove AGS and replace with a mix of VLS and traditional gun system?
Now you have the uncertainty of a new design which is many years away. I guess the design was just too expensive to continue producing?
China's effective A2/AD paying dividends.
On top of compounding mistakes regarding shutting down F-22 manufacturing, designing short legged, cramped F-35s etc with complex variabts, LM and every vendor in value chain milking off profits as they are obliged to the shareholders and not the country, declining manufacturing in general, all adding up to insane costs.
Meanwhile, China built J-20 to be longer range, bigger aircraft that has bigger room for future upgrades and is being upgraded. US played a lot of strategic cards wrong with all the advantages in the world.
If they want something cheaper and effective solution, perhaps a dual engine bigger airframe similar to F-35 with lots of overlaps, would be cost efficient in so many ways.
But the industry and lobbyists will push for a new cash cow.
While China is upgrading J-20s and starting to blur the lines between 5th and 6th gen fighters. China's 6th gen will iterate from J-20, US is iterating from F35/22. We've reached a point where it can be argued that US will need to make a bigger jump than China when moving into 6th gen air platform. Something inconceivable just 10 years ago
On top of compounding mistakes regarding shutting down F-22 manufacturing, designing short legged, cramped F-35s etc with complex variabts, LM and every vendor in value chain milking off profits as they are obliged to the shareholders and not the country, declining manufacturing in general, all adding up to insane costs.
Meanwhile, China built J-20 to be longer range, bigger aircraft that has bigger room for future upgrades and is being upgraded. US played a lot of strategic cards wrong with all the advantages in the world.
If they want something cheaper and effective solution, perhaps a dual engine bigger airframe similar to F-35 with lots of overlaps, would be cost efficient in so many ways.
But the industry and lobbyists will push for a new cash cow.
While China is upgrading J-20s and starting to blur the lines between 5th and 6th gen fighters. China's 6th gen will iterate from J-20, US is iterating from F35/22. We've reached a point where it can be argued that US will need to make a bigger jump than China when moving into 6th gen air platform. Something inconceivable just 10 years ago
The official designation for the air launched SM-6 is AIM-174. It was spotted on a Navy Boeing F-18 Super Hornet during the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
Not much else is known about the missile currently other than the fact that it doesn't have the booster of the SM-6 and has some testing marks on the missile visible in the photo. I am going to guess that this may be the Navy answer to the Chinese PL-17 or maybe a temporary answer to the PL-17.
Not much else is known about the missile currently other than the fact that it doesn't have the booster of the SM-6 and has some testing marks on the missile visible in the photo. I am going to guess that this may be the Navy answer to the Chinese PL-17 or maybe a temporary answer to the PL-17.
The official designation for the air launched SM-6 is AIM-174. It was spotted on a Navy Boeing F-18 Super Hornet during the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
Not much else is known about the missile currently other than the fact that it doesn't have the booster of the SM-6 and has some testing marks on the missile visible in the photo. I am going to guess that this may be the Navy answer to the Chinese PL-17 or maybe a temporary answer to the PL-17.
Linked article also suggests it’s an answer to the PL-17. Now we can say it’s the USAF playing copycat, the day has come!
Joking aside, I think validates the hints about how capable the radars of the KJ-series aircraft are.
It will be interesting to see what they do for production amount and total produced. I am guessing the Navy will want to have their own production allotment, but who knows at this stage?
The official designation for the air launched SM-6 is AIM-174. It was spotted on a Navy Boeing F-18 Super Hornet during the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
Not much else is known about the missile currently other than the fact that it doesn't have the booster of the SM-6 and has some testing marks on the missile visible in the photo. I am going to guess that this may be the Navy answer to the Chinese PL-17 or maybe a temporary answer to the PL-17.
Just an update:
At 41 second of this video you can see another F-18 Super Hornet aboard a USS Carl Vinson with an air-to-air load out sporting AIM-9X, AMRAAM and AIM-174.
That is a big boy. Now US have an equivalent to the PL-17.The official designation for the air launched SM-6 is AIM-174. It was spotted on a Navy Boeing F-18 Super Hornet during the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
Not much else is known about the missile currently other than the fact that it doesn't have the booster of the SM-6 and has some testing marks on the missile visible in the photo. I am going to guess that this may be the Navy answer to the Chinese PL-17 or maybe a temporary answer to the PL-17.
I'm guessing the kill-chain works the same as the Chinese. Get a stealth jet close and relay target info to the missile truck further back slinging missiles at HV targets (AWACS, tankers, etc)
Unless, the stealth fighter eliminates the HV target escorts, I don't think it can stay on station to provide target coordinates for an incoming big missile heading towards that HV target.
This is always the problem for these very long range missiles, they need something else to get and stay close to its prey. And with the improvements in radar, I don't think stealth is as powerful as they were 40+ years ago. Radar technology has improved to render them as not overly important. A J-20, J-31, F-22, F-35 is not going to be getting 50km-100km-150km to another jet undetected anymore especially if that jet has its AESA radar turned on. And if the stealth jet turns on their radar, then they will easily be seen.
I'm predicting soon aircraft designers will begin to focus on kinematics more than stealth as sensors continue to improve and missiles continue to reach further.
"The Defense Department has scrapped plans to launch the Homeland Defense Over the Horizon Radar program this fiscal year, postponing the projected start to at least fiscal year 2026, delaying plans to improve long-range sensor coverage of the United States and Canada from aircraft, cruise missiles, maneuvering hypersonic weapons and ships.
The new sensor system aims to focus on low-flying air target sets that are typically obscured from conventional-line-of-sight radar systems by the curvature of the earth and thereby permit long-range early detection and response to land or sea targets."
What even is the envisioned threat to CONUS here, SLCMs..?