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Goodbye F-22 Raptor

by Till Daisd February 13, 2023

The fate of the F-22 Raptor is a point of contention between the U.S. Air Force and the department that provides funding for it. To free up funding for its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter successor, the Air Force intends to retire the aircraft. Congress, however, is hesitant to retire the first fifth-generation fighter jet in the world too soon after funding aircraft that had substantial production delays. 185 F-22 Raptors are currently in use by the Air Force. However, one of the little-known facts about the F-22 is that there are only 123 jets in the inventory of main mission aircraft, which means that they can actually engage in combat.

The remaining F-22 jets are incapable of engaging in air combat and are only used for training, research, and backup purposes. Although the majority of F-22s are under 16 years old, the aircraft was originally developed for the Advanced Tactical Fighter program in the 1980s. This indicates that the jet’s design philosophy is mostly based on the Cold War period. The F-22 was designed to battle Soviet and Warsaw Pact fighters at medium ranges from bases that were already constructed in Western Europe. It wasn’t made to operate at extremely great distances, for instance; it was made to be the best at what it does.

The working environment is very different now, forty years later. The United States, which was formerly the only country deploying fifth-generation stealth fighters, now faces competition from the Chinese J-20 and FC-31 and the Russian Su-57 “Felon” aircraft. Fighter jets are likely to go a thousand miles or more only to combat enemy fighters, thus air planners must now think about how to operate throughout the wide Asia-Pacific theater. There is a need for a new aircraft due to the size of the competition and the altered geographic conditions.

The newest stealth technology will be included in the new NGAD aircraft, but its capacity to travel great distances is also crucial. The airplane, which was created, constructed, and flown in just one year, in 2020, has not yet been made public. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall warned earlier this year that each aircraft will cost “multiple hundreds of millions of dollars,” therefore it will be very expensive. (In contrast, the cost of an F-35A Joint Strike aircraft is around $70 million.)

As part of its 2023 military budget request, the service plans to retire 33 of the Block 20 aircraft, which are among the oldest combat-capable planes. Not only would retiring them reduce running expenses, but it would also prevent spending the $50 million needed to modernize each one. The savings would subsequently be used by the Air Force to advance NGAD. Although an NGAD fighter prototype has already been taken to the air, it won’t be replaced by the F-22 until 2030.

Before the NGAD can be deployed in sufficient numbers, the Air Force may sell off the majority of its F-22s, just as China’s and Russia’s fifth-generation fighter fleets are expected to expand. (That may change, though, given the collapse of Russia’s economy as a direct result of its invasion of Ukraine.) Congress is hesitant to give the Air Force permission to retire the F-22 early, especially in light of the F-35A’s lengthy delay and enormous cost overrun. Congress is concerned that there may be a capability gap where the Air Force lacks a reliable F-22 replacement if NGAD encounters comparable challenges.

Up until 2050 and beyond, the NGAD fighter and any unmanned fighter jets that fly beside it are likely to maintain American air superiority. Even if it comes on schedule, there is a risk that it will exhaust all the oxygen in the space before it does. The risk appears to be manageable, according to the Air Force, but Congress isn’t so sure. Congress might be more inclined to support supporting the current fleet of Raptors and the purchase of a $200–$300 million future fighter plane if NGAD went public.

The idea that the battlefield of the future will be overwhelmingly chaotic and complex, with many advanced radars, electronic warfare systems, surface-to-air missiles, and fighter aircraft deployed by technologically advanced adversaries like China and Russia, has sparked interest in artificial intelligence.

“It’s going to take a suite of sensors integrated together,” says Eric Ditmars, vice president of secure sensor solutions, at Raytheon Intelligence & Space. “There are environments where the radar performs phenomenally,” he says. “There are environments where the radar is jammed, where infrared search-and-track systems are phenomenal.” Systems that are integrated must be able to adapt to changing circumstances. “The environments are getting so contested that you really have to have the ability to be more adaptive,” says Ditmars. “The intent is to allow that pilot to be able to be more flexible in the mission that they are executing, and not be as reliant upon the pre-planning that has been done.”

Being able to rapidly call upon the right sensors could make or break a mission, especially when unexpected threats pop up, he says. It is a concept that goes past the sensor fusion techniques employed aboard the F-35, Ditmars says. “This [system] is deciding, ‘In this environment, I need to use my AESA radar in this mode. I’m not going to use my [electronic warfare] system because that’s going to be detected,’” he says. Potential scenarios might be solved ahead of time by training artificial intelligence (AI) programs using computer simulations of combat, he says. “That’s the great thing about artificial intelligence. You give it a set of defined criteria and it figures it out,” Ditmars says.

The idea has been used before. Recently, researchers with Air Combat Command created the ARTU software, a machine learning tool that trained the radar on the Lockheed U-2 observation aircraft to detect enemy missile launchers using more than 500,000 computer simulations. The U-2 demonstration of the artificial intelligence program took place at Beale AFB in California at the end of 2020. “ARTUµ was responsible for sensor employment and tactical navigation, while the pilot flew the aircraft and coordinated with the AI on sensor operation,” explained the service. “Together, they flew a reconnaissance mission during a simulated missile strike. ARTUµ’s primary responsibility was finding enemy launchers while the pilot was on the lookout for threatening aircraft, both sharing the U-2’s radar.”

The AI program was “easily transferable” to other systems, according to the USAF, which also stated that it intended to advance the technology. “Putting AI safely in command of a US military system for the first time ushers in a new age of human-machine teaming and algorithmic competition,” remarked Will Roper, who at the time served as the USAF’s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics. “Failing to realize AI’s full potential will mean ceding decision advantage to our adversaries.” In other words, asking a pilot to make sense of complex sensor data in the middle of a pitched battle might lose precious seconds to the enemy. “We’re trying to take some of this workload off the pilot. They are human and they can only do so much,” Ditmars says. “As the systems get more and more complex, it becomes very challenging for them.”

February 13, 2023 0 comment

Military

The F-35 in a nuclear war scenario

by Till Daisd January 9, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The Pentagon is collaborating with industry to investigate the idea that F-35s equipped with bombs, missiles, or lasers could shoot down an incoming Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) carrying nuclear warheads that was aimed at the US, potentially adding a new line of defense. According to industry and Pentagon developers, the idea is to employ F-35 weaponry and sensors to find or shoot down an ICBM launch as it is traveling upward in its initial “boost” phase into the edge of the earth’s atmosphere.

The F-35 may employ a “kinetic” approach, in which it fires at and destroys an ICBM in launch, or a “sensor” approach, in which it “cues missile defense systems.” There is a growing consensus that investigating F-35 nuclear missile defense is something of significant potential usefulness, despite Pentagon F-35 officials’ emphasis that the F-35 program is currently concentrated on nearer-term tasks like delivering software upgrades to the aircraft. Initial discussions and conceptual work are already in progress.

The possibility of doing this with an F-35 opens up a number of defensive options that aren’t currently included in the Pentagon’s missile defense capabilities. For instance, an F-35 might launch air-to-ground bombs or missiles to destroy an ICBM, or it could even employ lasers and electronic warfare to destroy, jam, or disrupt the ICBM’s flight path. An ICBM may be forced off course and land in the ocean or another unpopulated location, which would be less damaging if the propulsion or guidance systems were disrupted.

Additionally, a fleet of F-35s may work together as a networked “relay system” using the Multi-function Advanced Data Link (MADL) to transmit threat information and alert the US missile defense systems. This MADL data link might potentially increase the range of systems able to discover or detect an enemy ICBM because it allows a group of F-35s to all observe the same thing simultaneously while on a mission. It should go without saying that the sooner Combatant Commanders and decision-makers become aware of an ICBM strike, the more time they have to plan and execute a defense or launch a retaliation.

It is more difficult for some weapons and attack assets to reach many of the ICBM launch sites created by possible enemies since they are located far inland and are well protected by air defenses. Additionally, a 70-page chapter on Chinese military development was included in the US-China Economic and Security Review, a Congressional Report from 2014. Among its many conclusions, the research specifically mentioned Chinese “mobile” ICBM launchers, some of which may have up to 10 “reentry vehicles.” These weapons, of course, pose serious new hazards, and defending against them becomes more challenging as more reentry vehicles approach a target.

With this in mind, it appears that the initial launch or “boost” phase of an ICBM would present the best opportunity for an F-35 to have the intended missile-defense impact. An F-35 might bring the ability to use stealth, speed, and maneuverability to operate above heavily defended inland areas to find, chase, and destroy mobile launchers. Due to the quantity of reentry vehicles, hitting an ICBM attack at the final, or “terminal,” phase would be difficult. All of this begs the issue of whether an F-35 may be a component of an integrated system capable of spotting and neutralizing enemy ICBMs as they rocket through space.

While challenging, it might one day be conceivable for an F-35 to communicate with satellites using GPS or other air-mounted sensors. These satellites might then launch lasers or some type of interceptor to hit an ICBM while it was in space. In this case, an F-35 would serve as a networked “node” or sensor rather than an actual attacker, as per above. By perhaps filling a need in the market or, at the very least, significantly enhancing current land-based missile defense systems, an F-35 would add something new to the field of missile defense. US ICBM missile defense weapons are generally land-based, in contrast to offensive nuclear deterrents including air, sea, and land weapons.

For instance, a Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) stationed at Vandenberg AFB, California, or Fort Greely, Alaska, would launch into space during an ICBM’s mid-course phase of flight to intercept the incoming missile. This poses a number of difficulties because GBIs require sensors or embedded technology to be able to distinguish between decoy ICBMs and real ones. This is why the Pentagon is developing the Next Generation Interceptor, a system that can both identify and eliminate numerous incoming missiles or decoys that are moving through space. Numerous decoys flying alongside an ICBM can improve the likelihood that an actual nuclear warhead will go on to its target. A multiple kill vehicle, as the name suggests, merges multiple interceptors onto one missile.

Because of this, sensors can identify between decoys and missiles. However, it is difficult to locate and destroy several ICBMs, according to any estimate. For ground-based interceptors, a single launch from a rogue state like North Korea—which can only launch one or two ICBMs at most—presents a far more manageable threat. In contrast, an incoming salvo of ICBMs presents a unique set of challenges. This gives rise to two possible strategies: the first would be an offensive deterrent using the US nuclear triad to prevent a first strike from ever occurring by guaranteeing a catastrophic retaliation; the second would involve a variety of ongoing technologically advanced defensive measures, such as things like satellites, lasers, Multiple Kill-Vehicles, or F-35s.

ICBM destruction differs greatly from monitoring or intercepting a short-range or medium-range ballistic missile. As an aerial node for the Navy’s Naval Integrated Fire Control – Counter Air system, the F-35 has already been tested in this capacity. This system, which is currently in operation, disables approaching missiles from distances beyond the horizon by using a guided SM-6 missile, an aerial sensor node, and ship-based Aegis radar. The aerial node of the NIFC-CA has always been an E-2 Hawkeye surveillance plane. Now, the system can use a far more capable F-35 as the aerial sensor.

January 9, 2023 0 comment

Military

10 expensive and failing fighters

by Till Daisd December 26, 2022

written by Till Daisd

A fighter jet’s performance, sales, and combat effectiveness are only a few ways to gauge its success. But a jet must first be put into service in order to show success in those fields. The most unsuccessful fighter jets are therefore logically those that were never developed past the prototype stage or left the design board. But the jet must also take unusual action in order to fail, it must be the most promising thing out there but perform horribly.

So let’s take a look at some of the coolest, most intriguing, and most exciting fighter jet failures that have ever occurred. The development’s ambition and distinctiveness are the primary criteria.

FMA SAIA 90

The SAIA 90, created in partnership with Dornier, was intended to be Argentina’s fourth-generation fighter jet and a proud continuation of the nation’s aviation sector, which was among the best in the world after World War II. The project was started by FMA in the 1980s, and it was incredibly ambitious at the time. Fourth-generation aircraft required cutting-edge technology, and the jet had to compete with aircraft like the F-16 and the Mirage 2000, which was no easy challenge for a nation with an economy just bigger than the state of Colorado in the United States.

Additionally, the nation experienced a severe economic downturn at the time. In addition, the Falklands War began in 1983. Moreover, there was a significant amount of global isolation occurring. All of these factors had a part, but the fundamental cause of the SAIA ’90s failure was the jet’s extreme ambition; in order to achieve the requirements, it had to be extremely sophisticated, which was far too ambitious for the manufacturer. In the end, not even a prototype was created, and the project was abandoned after several decades and significant financial waste.

IAI Lavi

Whether Israel’s own fourth-generation fighter jet project, the Lavi, failed because of political factors or because of internal defects is up for debate. The point is that the development was quite expensive. The jet, which has been suckling Israeli taxpayer money since the middle of the 1970s, was extremely advanced for its time—possibly even more so than the SAIA 90. Its supporters have been accused of harboring an unworkable prestige project because it would have been much less expensive to have bought a fleet of F-16s, which is what ultimately transpired.

It’s also debatable whether the Lavi actually failed because when the Chinese Chengdu J-10 project was revealed years later, many people noticed a remarkable resemblance to the abandoned Israeli endeavor. The controversies surrounding this Israeli jet, which was never put into production, and its claimed second life, however, only serve to increase its appeal.

Northrop XP-79

This one succeeds simply due to the project’s chutzpah. The XP-79, one of John Northrop’s fabled flying wings and one of the first American jet fighters, debuted in the early 1940s when it was unclear what to do with these new, swift jet fighters. So instead of being armed with guns, the XP-79, which was originally intended to be a rocket-powered aircraft, was to have leading edges of its wings covered in 19 mm (0.75 in) thick magnesium alloy skin that, in theory, could slice through any foe like butter.

The appearance of such aircraft in dogfights is only imaginable. It turned out to be quite challenging to manage, which is a well-known trait of all flying wings. The concept was abandoned in favor of more traditional designs after the first prototype crashed in 1944 and killed the test pilot.

Heinkel He-162

There were many unsuccessful fighter jet concepts in late Nazi Germany, some of which were more ambitious than others. Be it the Focke-Wulf Ta 183, which essentially established the design of the first generation of fighter jets, or the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel, a project to construct VTOL bomber hunters. But none of them suffered such a severe failure as the He-162. It would be tough to label it a failure based just on production figures; fewer than any modern fighter jets could claim to have produced over 300 of them. However, only about 120 of them have been sent to the military, and even among those, only a small number have been destroyed. In addition, it is unclear whether any combat flights actually took place.

Since the bulk of He-162s were too busy disintegrating in the air, the claim that it took down one British aircraft is strongly disputed. The He-162 merits some respect since it was an attempt to create a low-cost, easily-producible fighter jet at a period when fighter jets were still mainly considered futuristic. However, such ambition was compensated by the airplane’s comically low power, difficult handling characteristics, lack of dependability, and all-around poor performance.

Lockheed L-133

Even so, the He-163 outperformed the LockheedL-133 as the first American fighter aircraft. The L-133, however, was mighty ambitious. It was proposed in 1939 with the goal of showing off operational performance comparable to jets used during the Korean War. It was truly something from the future with its canards, blended wing body, slotted flaps, and two engines. It was rejected because it was too radical and the P-80 Shooting Star was chosen instead because there was no way the US military would spend such an enormous sum of money on something that was so cutting-edge and unproven.

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin

The Goblin is well-known among aviation enthusiasts. A fighter jet intended to be transported within the bomb bay of a heavy bomber, it is infamous for both its appearance and the tale of its demise. Even piston-engine planes from World War II could have outperformed this jet, making it difficult to handle, impossible to dock with the mothership, and completely useless in combat. Given all the previous air-launched drone tests, it was either another fork in the road for fighter jet advancement or perhaps a concept that was much ahead of its time. Nevertheless, it utterly failed.

EWR VJ 101

The aircraft were becoming heavier and quicker as the 1960s arrived, requiring larger runways. But what if it had been feasible to perform vertical takeoff and landing with all of that jet power? Such an aircraft might operate surprise strikes and interceptions, remain undetected in unprepared areas and be independent of any long-term infrastructure. Many advantages to something that appeared wholly possible given modern technology. European aircraft makers were very interested in VTOL aircraft because they had seen firsthand the damage that carpet bombing an air force’s airfields can cause.

There were several attempts at supersonic VTOL fighter jets, including the British Hawker Siddeley P.1154 and the French Dassault Mirage IIIV. However, none of them showed as much promise or progressed as far as the West German EWRVJ 101. It was intended to be a VTOL fighter with six jet engines and fly-by-wire controls that was capable of Mach 2. One of its prototypes actually displayed supercruise capability by reaching Mach 1.2 without an afterburner.

Like many others, it was abnormally expensive and complex, difficult to manage, and the development was only ever limited to the two prototypes. It took another supersonic VTOL jet, the YAK-41, three decades to become operational, and another two before the F-35B was mass-produced.

Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut

The Grumman X-29 and Sukhoi Su-47 are frequently believed to be the only forward-swept wing aircraft ever produced. At least a few smaller, less ambitious civilian aircraft, like the Saab Safari, have done a good job of implementing this idea. This demonstrates that the forward-swept wing itself is not a crazy notion that is totally unworkable. It can be used to significantly improve low-speed performance and maneuverability even on supersonic jets like the X-29 and Su-47.

The X-29 was never planned for widespread production; it was only a technological demonstrator. The Su-47 was not, though. The lone Berkut that flew in 1997 was a prototype, not a technology demonstrator, despite the fact that there were several rumors in the late 1990s that it would replace the American F-22 as the primary Russian fighter jet.

It performed admirably, but it also had a number of issues: the composite wings that could sustain supersonic flights and high-G maneuvers were extremely expensive, difficult to produce, fragile, and unreliable. Due to the impossibility of mass-producing the jet, the nation returned to conventional designs, relegating the Su-47 to the roles of a technology testbed and a show-stopping airshow attraction.

Leduc 022

If some of the airplanes on this list had been successful, the aviation industry as a whole might have gone in completely other ways. Some French experiments from the 1940s and 1950s suggested directions that were so dissimilar from our current reality that they still appear to be from another dimension. The Leduc 022 and its predecessors, the 0.1 and the 0.21 attempted to reimagine how a fighter jet operates with a prone-position cockpit, a gigantic ramjet engine surrounding the air intake, and some test pilots with gonads most likely constructed of weapons-grade uranium.

René Leduc first conceived the idea for these jets in 1938. Similar to the Northrop XP-79, it was not entirely obvious at the time what to do with the newly developed jet engines or how jet fighters would actually function. Leduc’s designs, in contrast to the XP-79, really worked. The French military was very interested in the supersonic, missile-armed 022 and developed seven prototypes, all of which flew. The ramjet engine was fairly prone to catching fire, and the design was far too innovative and expensive. We wonder what might have happened if the project hadn’t been abandoned in favor of the Mirage.

Lockheed YF-12

Everyone is familiar with the SR-72 Blackbird, however, few are aware that it was in fact built on a fighter plane. The SR-71, which was later developed into the airframe, completely eclipsed both the YF-12 and an older A-12 from which it was derived. Three interceptor prototypes were produced, and each was capable of continuous flight at or above Mach 3—the speed at which the Mig-25, the second-fastest fighter jet, would start consuming its own engines. The YF-12 was merely a fighter jet on a higher level. With the exception of perhaps a ballistic missile, it would have been the perfect interceptor, able to catch up to any target and flee from any threat.

The Soviet Union’s decision to use those missiles as their preferred method of bringing about Armageddon, the Vietnam War’s drain on the US military budget, and the fact that the jet would have been significantly more expensive than any other option all contributed to the cancellation of the program. While the US would continue to develop and use supersonic interceptors, nothing would match the YF-12’s capability and ambition. It accomplished what it was intended to do and has never been surpassed in that regard. Thus, the YF-12 is the fighter jet that ultimately fails.

December 26, 2022 0 comment

Military

The F-111 Aardvark

by Till Daisd December 18, 2022

written by Till Daisd

For the bulk of the Cold War, the F-111 Aardvark served as the U.S. Air Force’s premier strike aircraft. From Vietnam onward, it participated in almost all wars until it was replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagle. It also performed a limited number of missions as a strategic bomber for Strategic Air Command. One of the first joint service aircraft, the F-111 was designed to meet the needs of the U.S. Air Force for a swing Wing strike bomber and the U.S. Navy for a long-range interceptor.

Two strong but fuel-efficient TF-30 turbofan engines with revolutionary afterburner technology were the core of the F-111’s construction. The fuselage can hold fuel for sorties up to 2500 miles in length and bomb payload weighing up to 31,000 pounds. with an additional thousand miles added by external tanks. The enormous aircraft weighed more than twice as much loaded as it did empty, at 20 tons. The F-111’s designers had a difficult task on their hands: they had to create an aircraft that could fly at very high speeds and still take off or land on a short runway.

Smaller wings would reduce drag, allowing an aircraft to travel quicker, but they would also reduce lift, forcing an aircraft to fly faster before takeoff, necessitating a longer runway. For instance, the F-105 Thunderchief, the other supersonic fighter bomber of the time, had extremely short wings and needed airstrips over a mile long for takeoff, which limited the number of airfields it could fly from.

Designers of the F-111 used a cutting-edge technique known as variable geometry or swing wings. These allowed the wings to create the most lift during takeoff and would tuck inward during mid-flight to reach higher speeds. The technology was initially utilized in the F-111, one of the numerous significant designs. The two-man crew was seated side by side in a cockpit pod. When they wanted to leave, a rocket lifted the pod into the air, and it subsequently descended to the surface on a parachute, much like a space capsule.

The pioneering new terrain-following radar on the F-111, which recorded the landscape directly in front of the aircraft and then automatically changed the flight path to prevent a collision, was a significant innovation. This made it possible for F-111s to fly at low altitudes of as little as 200 feet above the ground and at high speeds without crashing, even at night or in severe weather. The F-111 was given the nickname “Aardvark” because of its prowess in the dark and while hunting. F-111s did demonstrate some potential, being capable of exceeding Mach 1.2 at low altitudes or more than double that. While flying at a high altitude at Mach 2.5, the landing strip only has to be 2,000 feet long.

It was the first tactical aircraft from the United States to fly over Europe without refueling in the middle of the flight. However, because the F-111’s design was oriented toward meeting Air Force requirements, the carrier-based Interceptor variant of the F-111B struggled in tests to go faster than Mach 1. Everyone lost out financially as the costly force compromise that was the naval version was finally abandoned. However, many of the F-111B’s more promising design features were carried over to the F-14 Tomcat.

F-111s took part in Operation Desert Storm during the 1991 Gulf War. More successfully than any other U.S. strike aircraft employed in the operation, F-111Fs accomplished 3.2 successful strike sorties for every unsuccessful one during Desert Storm.

Nearly 80% of the laser-guided bombs used in the battle were dropped by the squadron of 66 F-111Fs, including the penetrating GBU-28 bunker-buster. More least 1500 Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles were said to have been destroyed by F-111 aircraft, whose anti-armor mission was known as “tank blinking.”

The Australian Air Force used the F-111 until 2010, during which time it earned the nickname “the pig.” After receiving a batch of 24 F-111Cs in 1973, the Australians went on to purchase an additional 15 FB-111s and four F-111As. The F-111s gave Australia the ability to project military force across the wide expanses of the Pacific Ocean, increasing its diplomatic clout even if they were never employed in actual conflict. Pigs were the pride of Australian airshows, where they commonly performed the “dump and burn” maneuver, in which fuel was thrown out the back and ignited with the afterburners.

Combat over Syria, Chechnya, Libya, Afghanistan, and Ukraine has seen active employment of them. A Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 attacking Syrian rebels in 2015, sparking a significant diplomatic controversy.

There were 563 total F-111s produced; following the F-111A, the F-111D and E models improved the Aardvark electronics and engine inlets and boosted engine thrust. A different model, the FB-11, had upgraded engines and was two feet long to carry more fuel. 75 of these aircraft were used by strategic Air Command troops.

The F-111C, which was only offered to Australia, combined design features from the FB-11 and the F-111E. The final F-111F featured updated radar, engines with 35% greater performance, and a paved attack infrared targeting pod that let the crew locate targets on the ground and hit them with precision-guided explosives. At a cost of $1.5 billion, 42 F-111 were transformed into unarmed EF-111A Raven electronic jamming platforms beginning in the middle of the 1970s. The essential component of the EF-111 was an ALQ-99E jamming pod, which sent out radiation that rendered nearby radars inoperable and allowed entire formations of aircraft to fly by undetected in its wake.

The Raven was known to its pilots as the “Spark-Vark” because when the Jammer was active, it’s current literally made the hairs on their heads stand as it crackled through the aircraft. The EF-111 may be distinguished by the receiver pod on the tail fin. Between 1967 and 1998, the F-111 served the USAF in operational roles. Prior to being converted to the F-111G and handed to air combat command, the FB-111s were operated by Strategic Air Command from 1969 until their retirement in 1993.

December 18, 2022 0 comment

Military

New sixth-generation stealth fighter jet will be jointly built by the UK, Italy, and Japan

by Till Daisd December 14, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Under the Global Combat Air Program or GCAP, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy have opted to work together to create a brand-new sixth-generation stealth fighter jet. By 2035, the global coalition hopes to have the newest fighter plane in use. The Tempest under Future Combat Air System is a sixth-generation stealth fighter plane that the UK is currently developing.

By 2035, the BAE Systems-led Tempest program will have replaced the Eurofighter Typhoon. The European missile consortium MBDA, Avio Aero, and Elettronica are already members of the Team Tempest consortium. Additionally, partners in the Typhoon fighter jet program are the British BAE Systems and the Italian Leonardo. With the expected participation of other Italian and Japanese defense companies, the Tempest project has now changed into GCAP.

The United Kingdom and Japan have a major defense partnership, as seen by Japan’s participation in GCAP. The project has already received a 2.5 billion USD commitment from the United Kingdom through 2025. According to reports, Japan and Italy would also make investments of this nature. In addition to cutting-edge fighter jets, the British Future Combat Air System framework also consists of sophisticated technology, weaponry, sensors, and drones that act as devoted wingmen. It is still unclear whether the Japanese and Italian collaboration is limited to the Tempest Fighter Jet or encompasses all FCAS systems.

Additionally, it is not yet clear how the three nations will split costs and benefits. Germany, France, and Spain are working together on a similar initiative for future warfare systems. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan will be in charge of the GCAP program’s Japanese component. Japan is also moving on with its Advanced Technology Demonstrator sixth-generation fighter program to replace the F-2 fighter jets now produced domestically. This program’s X-2 Fighter jet demonstrator made its first flight in 2016.

It now appears that the program will be incorporated into GCAP. It is anticipated that Rolls-Royce will collaborate with the Japanese company Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries on the GCAP powerplant. This company is developing a demonstrated power system for the Tempest program. Additionally, the Joint New Air-to-Air Missile Program, often known as JNAAM, is being developed by the UK and Japan. The aforementioned weapon system, coupled with the Japanese sophisticated radio frequency seeker and MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missile, would now probably be added to the GCAP arsenal. The United Kingdom will be able to contribute the most cutting-edge military technologies in the creation of the cutting-edge sixth-generation fighter system that will serve the partner nations for decades to come thanks to Italy and Japan’s participation.

The GCAP program’s results will replace the Typhoon fighter jets that currently form the core of the British combat force. Along with cost and benefit sharing, the alliance will also result in the creation of high-tech jobs, a more solid industrial base, and military cooperation between the three nations. In the following 20 years, the program is anticipated to boost the British economy by more than 32 billion USD. The United Kingdom will evaluate its needs for any extra capabilities, such as cutting-edge weapons and drones, in addition to developing the core future combat aircraft with Italy and Japan under GCAP.

More partners are anticipated to join the GCAP in the future, particularly Sweden, which has already scaled back its participation in competing FCAS projects. France, Spain, and Germany have joined together to create the FCAS program, which is overseen by French Dassault Aviation. Airbus and Dassault recently decided to move the Future Air Combat System program forward after reaching a settlement in their long-standing IP rights battle. Partner nations will face numerous challenges as they work together to develop the future combat system and share its costs and benefits.

The Tempest and the fighter plane seen in the GCAP project’s photographs both feature nearly identical sizes, wings, noses, and stealth configurations. However, the design has not yet been completed. Additionally, a future merging of the GCAP and FCAS programs is being considered. The participating governments have not yet decided on the future jet’s production specifications. In Lancashire, the British company BAE Systems has already opened a new facility with cutting-edge 3D printing technology and autonomous robotics.

However, to maintain their cutting-edge aerospace capabilities, Japanese Mitsubishi and Italian Leonardo might also advocate for their own production facilities. Defense spending, which is already a contentious topic in Japanese domestic politics, would need to increase in order for Japan to engage in GCAP. The pacifist nation just made the decision to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP. According to initial plans, the GCAP fighter jet will begin full-scale development in 2025, with a maiden flight anticipated for 2027 and a definitive induction into service by 2035.

In the past, efforts for stealth combat aircraft had very high costs and lengthy development durations. The GCAP program’s timetables are quite ambitious, especially given that each of the three partner countries has its own unique operating requirements.

December 14, 2022 0 comment

Military

What we know about the B-21 Raider Stealthy

by Till Daisd December 7, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The B-21 Raider, the world’s newest stealth heavy bomber, was eventually made public by Northrup. The B-21 builds upon the success of its illustrious predecessor, the B-2 Spirit, which was also created by Northrup, and is named in honor of Jimmy Doo Little’s B-25 raiders, which memorably struck Imperial Japan shortly after the events of Pearl Harbor during World War II.

The B-21’s technology is thought to be at least two generations superior to the B-2’s, which is astounding given that the B-2 is still one of the world’s most stealthy platforms despite having been in use for more than two decades. Northrop Grumman was given the engineering contract for the B-21 by the USAF in 2015, and the critical design assessment was finished in 2018.

On December 2, 2022, the B-21 Raider was introduced to the public. Compared to the B-2, the B-21 is smaller and can carry less cargo. At first glance, the payload of the B-21 appears to be a disadvantage, but when you consider that the B-21 will be more stealthy given its advanced design and materials, this should allow it to penetrate deeper into contested airspace and hit targets with even greater precision as compared to today’s bombers. The payload of the B-21 is currently estimated to be above 30,000 pounds.

The Air Force is also budgeting for 100 B-21s, which is five times as many as B-2s now in service. By having more B-21s, the Air Force will be able to deploy them internationally and put them within two hours of any target. The B-21 Raider will actually be a part of a larger family of systems for a conventional long-range strike, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance or ISR electronic attack, communication, and other capabilities. The Raider is also designed to accommodate manned or unmanned operations, making it an extremely effective deterrent.

The B-21 is referred to as dual-capable when it comes to weaponry, which means it can use either conventional or nuclear munitions. The B61 variable yield nuclear fuel could be a potential payload. Gravity Bomb, Directed Energy Weapons or lasers could be used by future weapon systems, such as the B-21, as well as long-range standoff nuclear cruise missiles, long-range anti-ship missiles, conventional free-fall bombs, and laser-guided bombs to hit or disable targets. Additionally, it is said that the Raider has the same engines as the F-35.

If you want to learn more about adaptive engines, you can read about the now-in-use Pratt & Whitney F-135 series engines or the under-development adaptive cycle engines like GE’s XA-100 that are also intended to be used in the F-35. The B-21 and F-35 will benefit from lower costs and higher mission-capable rates because of the employment of similar engines. The B-21 might also be used as a mothership for swarms of tradable drones of varying sizes, either as a fighter screen for the bomber or as a networked hub for strike aircraft. Radar on the B-21 would enable this prospective application.

A stealth bomber was only revealed to the general public twice in history. Some of you may recall the first occasion of this kind, which took place in November 1988 when the B-2 Spirit was revealed to the public. The YB-35 and YB-49 piston engine flying wing concepts from Northrop were far earlier than the B-2, which is without a doubt the company’s most popular flying wing design. These two concepts were developed in the 1940s, long before the idea of stealth aircraft was even conceived.

Reduced Parasitic Drag weight from non-lift-generating components, such as vertical tail surfaces, was the driving force behind the development of flying wings. Theoretically, a flying wing might transport larger cargoes further, faster, and for less cost than current designs. Despite never being put into production, it was discovered during flight tests that these early flying-wing bombers had a modest radar cross-section. This would affect the stealth qualities of the two in a few decades; more on that later. Although it’s difficult to understand now, the B-2’s introduction in 1988 effectively marked the world’s first glimpse of a stealth aircraft.

Even though the F-117 Nighthawk had been in use for a while, the public didn’t really start to notice it until the Gulf War in 1991. However, the B-2’s effect was felt practically immediately.

Actually, the airframe design and materials are the two essential elements that enable America to restore its competitive edge in stealth farming technology. Similar to its predecessor, the B-21 will have flying wings. But we need to quickly review the history of stealth technology, which strangely started in Russia, in order to comprehend why a flying wing is so effective for stealth. Petr Ufimtsev, a Soviet mathematician, wrote a paper titled “Method of edge waves in the physical theory of diffraction” in 1971.

The paper was mostly overlooked in Soviet Russia, but Wright-Patterson Air Force Base’s international technology branch translated it the same year it was published. Dennis Overholser, an engineer at Lockheed Skunk Works.

The F-117 Nighthawk, also known as the Hopeless Diamond, was created as a direct result of a mathematical calculation created by Dennis Overholser, a Lockheed Skunk Works engineer, that used the theories from the paper to compute the radar cross-section or RCS of a three-dimensional object. The F-117’s numerous jagged angles and surfaces for radar deflection or diversion were a direct result of the limited computational capability at the time as well as the essential aerodynamic design trade-offs.

It’s interesting to note that Northrop competed in the project to create the Nighthawk, a stealth aircraft, but lost to Lockheed. However, Northrop kept working on the Cell technology and created the B-2 Spirit using the knowledge gained from the fighter competition and the ever-increasing computational capacity of computers. The B-2 is more streamlined and curved than the Nighthawk in part because of this; the idea is the same, it’s just that the B-2 has a lot greater resolution. This is analogous to how early digital photographs appeared pixelated or blocky, but now ultra-high quality images look realistic. Each picture has square pixels. The more recent photos simply create the image by assembling millions of much smaller blocks.

As previously established, the B-2 is still among the most stealthy aircraft in use today. In fact, even though they are smaller and more recent designs than the B-2, the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning are not as difficult to spot as the B-2. This is especially true for fighter aircraft, which, unlike bombers, are required to be able to execute daring maneuvers if close-range combat, often known as dogfighting, occurs. The twin vertical tails used by the F-22 and F-35 enable extreme maneuvering but reduce their RCS (Radar Cross-Section). Despite efforts by the designers of the Lightning and Raptor to lessen this design penalty, the vertical tails nonetheless reduce RCS on both aircraft.

Because of this, the majority of sixth-generation ideas include a tailless or flying wing configuration. With exceptionally advanced flight control systems, it is believed that a vertical tail is not necessary, even for a highly agile fighter. To return to the bombers, the B-21 builds on the knowledge gained from the B-2 in this regard. Just consider the developments in computing technology since 1988; the Raider is probably the most stealthy aircraft on the market today, despite having an appearance that is identical to the Flying Wing design.

A benefit of the B-21 will include next-generation radar-absorbing materials or Ram code structures in addition to the Raider’s shape. According to reports, modern Ram Coatings are rated to absorb between 70 and 80 percent of incoming radar radiation.

These coatings, however, are very pricey, difficult to apply, and vulnerable to harm from the elements or even routine flight operations. Ram Coatings have largely been the subject of ongoing research to increase their cost-effectiveness and durability due to these limitations. The alternate high-frequency material, or AHFM, which has been used on the B-2 bomber fleet since around 2004, is one example of a more recent Ram coating.

This more recent material provided the same performance while costing less to maintain. The redesigned B-21 design has adopted recent advancements made to the coatings and coding systems. According to estimates, today’s more modern coatings might absorb up to 90% of focused energy while costing less, taking much less time to install, and being easier to maintain. The improved airframe design and these more recent coatings make it obvious that the B-21 will have a very small radar signature.

Amazingly, the B-21 debuted at the same Palmdale site where the B-2 did back in 1988. It may only come along once in a lifetime to have the chance to see aviation history being made. At a time when geopolitical unpredictability is reigniting the world, the introduction of the Raider will help America preserve its competitive edge because of the B-21’s enhanced health characteristics and large fleet size. A global fleet of stealth bombers capable of launching an undetected attack on any target within two hours is essentially an incredibly potent deterrent. Like the B-2 before it, it appears that the B-21 will once more usher in a new era of strategic deterrence.

The Next Generation Air Dominance or End Guide Fighter and the Navy’s fax fighter will likely follow the B-21 into service in the middle of the 2020s. It’s interesting to note that the B-21 Raiders did not plan to replace the B-52, only the B-2 and B-1.

December 7, 2022 0 comment

Military

The F-100 Super Sabre

by Till Daisd November 27, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The F-100 Super Sabre significantly altered the US Air Force. Chuck Yeager’s orange-painted Bell X-1 broke the sound barrier in level flight for the first time on October 14, 1947. Although the X-1’s rocket propulsion system was an experimental design, it was obvious that when jet engine technology advanced, a supersonic fighter would also be feasible.

The North American company decided to attempt to develop the F-86 Sabre, the best American fighter of the Korean War, into a supersonic aircraft on its own. The Sabre had enormous intakes in its nose and wings that were swept back 35 degrees for improved high-speed performance. The wing sweep of the F-100 “Super” Sabre was increased to 45 degrees, and the nose intake had a uniquely flattened elliptical form. The F-100 was known as the “Hun” because it was the first of the technologically advanced “Century Series” fighters built in the 1950s. The J-57-P-7 turbojet used by the Hun was built with an afterburner that was intended to dump unburned fuel directly into the exhaust pipe.

Despite consuming an enormous amount of fuel, this assisted in raising the F-100 to supersonic speeds of up to 850 miles per hour at high altitudes, enabling F-100s to break multiple speed records. In October 1954, the Air Force eventually accepted the design and put the F-100A type into service. The first supersonic fighter for the Air Force, nevertheless, was so prone to mishaps—among them a mid-air disintegration that claimed the life of flying ace George Welch—that the entire fleet had to be grounded. The small tail, which was unstable and could cause excessive yaw, was revealed to be the problem. The Hun had other shortcomings even after this was fixed.

It was a product of a bygone era of air warfare despite its swiftness and four powerful M-39 20-millimeter cannons. It was deficient in long-range search radar and air-to-air missiles, relying instead on drop tanks to compensate for its short range. In 1958, the F-100A’s steady phase-out of the crash-prone model started.

For a short period of time, a high-speed reconnaissance RF-100A derivative with four cameras mounted and drop tanks in place of weapons performed well. It was stationed in Germany and Japan and carried out high-altitude sabotage operations at a height of 50,000 feet over Eastern Europe and maybe China and North Korea. These “Slick Chicks” were renowned for taking pictures of interceptors well below as they futilely tried to match their altitude, but in 1956 they were surpassed by even higher-flying U-2s. The J-57-P21 engine in the successor F-100C fighter bomber (476 constructed) increased its top speed to 924 mph and allowed it to carry 6,000 pounds of ordnance on six pylons. Its wings were also enlarged and strengthened. Additionally, it possessed a wing-mounted in-flight refueling probe and double the fuel capacity.

On May 13, 1957, three F-100Cs were able to break the single-engine distance record by flying in fourteen hours from Los Angeles to London. After purchasing F-100Cs in 1956, the renowned Thunderbird aerobatic team used them to entertain crowds with sonic booms until the FAA outlawed them. A seventh underbelly hardpoint, a radar warning receiver, and compatibility with early AIM-9B heat-seeking air-to-air missiles were later added to the Super Sabre’s definitive F-100D variant (1,274 of which were constructed). Both the C and D variants were able to carry a variety of armaments, including early AGM-45 Bullpup and AGM-83 air-to-ground guided missiles, cluster bombs, Zuni 2.75-inch rockets, and napalm canisters.

Four other types of tactical nuclear weapons were also prepared for deployment by NATO F-100 squadrons. But how could a quick, low-flying fighter bomber avoid the detonation of its own nuclear weapon? Even with conventional weaponry, this was a potentially fatal risk. The supersonic airplane would rocket skyward in a barrel roll as Hun pilots conducted “over-the-shoulder” toss-bombing.

The Super Sabre wheeled over, engaged the afterburners, and belted in the opposite direction as the Hun’s MA-2 Low-Altitude Bombing System automatically released the bomb as the Hun approached a vertical angle. The F-100 ZEL (Zero Length Launch), which used a massive rocket booster slung beneath the rear fuselage to launch a truck, was also put through its paces by the Air Force. Fear that NATO airbases might be destroyed by Soviet nuclear weapons led to the development of the strange truck-launched fighter, which required alternate takeoff techniques.

Although the ZEL underwent multiple successful tests, it was never put into service. F-100 Super Sabre was a workhorse in Vietnam and the first MiG to be killed during the conflict. The first American military aircraft sent to South East Asia were F-100Ds that were stationed in the Philippines and were transported to Thailand in April 1961.

They didn’t engage in combat until 1964 when they were sent to North Vietnam to attack anti-aircraft positions. Then, as part of the Rolling Thunder bombing campaign, they started escorting faster F-105 fighter bombers on March 2, 1965. In the first jet-on-jet engagement of the Vietnam War, four North Vietnamese MiG-17s bounced off the formation of Captain Donald Kilgus’ F-100 on April 4, 1965, when it was covering an attack on the Thanh Hoa bridge. The MiG-17s’ potent triple guns destroyed one F-105 and critically injured a second despite being slower than the American supersonic fighters and without missile weaponry.

Kilgus let go of his drop tanks and made a quick turn, catching up to one of the MiGs. Kilgus was enticed to pursue him by the Soviet-built fighter’s vertical drop toward the earth, which his heavier fighter couldn’t escape from. Kilgus fired his four cannons from a height of just 7,000 feet. He claimed, “I saw puffs and sparks on the MiG’s vertical tail, then very shortly I didn’t see anything. I might have been traveling at 580 mph. I won’t embellish the narrative by claiming that the Gulf of Tonkin sprayed on my windshield, but I had to abruptly leave. Two of the three MiGs lost that day were accidentally shot down.

Even though the Air Force only classified it as “probable,” Kilgus’ claim to have recorded the first MiG kill of the conflict may be supported by the undetermined fate of the third aircraft. The outdated F-100s were then transferred from aiding ground forces fighting the Viet Cong in South Vietnam to withdrawing from attacking the North. Four more F-100C-equipped Air National Guard squadrons were transferred in 1967.

At its busiest, over 490 Super Sabres were flying two ground support missions on average each day over South Vietnam, either attacking pre-determined targets or reacting to frantic calls for close air support. Out of the 439 F-100F trainers constructed, the Air Force also modified seven of them into the first “Wild Weasels” that were specifically designed to find and destroy enemy air defense radars.

The EF-100F type was equipped with two radar receivers to locate enemy radars as well as rocket pods to mark their locations for pursuing F-105s to target and destroy. The Weasels then carried AGM-145 Shrike radar-homing missiles to strike the radars directly, killing nine for two losses. The Air Force phased in more contemporary F-4 and F-105 aircraft to carry out the Wild Weasel mission after being satisfied with the testing. The back seats of the F-100F also acted as “Fast Forward Air Controllers,” identifying targets and marking them with smoke rockets to guide air strikes by other planes. Fast FACs flew over locations with a lot of air defenses that were too risky for more conventional spotter planes while using the call sign “Misty.”

Up until the F-100’s retirement in 1971, the Super Sabre operated at an astoundingly rapid pace, dropping 40 million pounds of bombs and napalm and flying more than 360,283 sorties than any other type of aircraft, including the more well-known F-4 Phantom and F-105. Over 242 F-100s were destroyed over Vietnam, including 186 due to enemy fire and seven due to airfield attacks, exacting a heavy price on the F-100 pilots. Even more fatal was the Super Sabre’s alarmingly high accident rate, which was frequently brought on by compressor stalls, wing fractures, and persistent yaw instability. Out of the 2,294 F-100s manufactured, more than 889 were lost in accidents, killing 324 pilots. Numerous F-105D and F aircraft were also used by France and Denmark, with the former sending them on attacks against Algerian rebels.

Taiwan purchased 118 F-100A fighter aircraft and equipped them with Sidewinder missiles and radar warning devices. These allegedly engaged in combat with Chinese Migs and carried out risky espionage missions. More than 200 F-100C, D, and F aircraft were sent to Turkey. These aircraft were also used to breach Soviet airspace, dodging Su-15 interceptors numerous times, however, at least one was brought down by a surface-to-air missile. Between July 20 and July 23, 1974, Super Sabres conducted 500 missions in support of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, losing six to ground fire and two to mishaps.

Turkish F-100s bombed Nicosia Airport with 750-pound bombs, covered a helicopter landing, and sunk the Turkish destroyer Kocatep by mistaking it for a Greek warship. 1980 saw the final Super Sabres retired by the U.S. Air National Guard. Though a few F-100s are still in flyable condition, 325 concluded their service as bright orange QF-100 target drones employed as missile test targets. Although America’s the first supersonic jet struggled as a fighter and had a horrendous accident rate, it still invented ground-breaking new techniques and technologies, and in the end, it supported the ground forces in the Vietnam War by doing much of the dirty work.

November 27, 2022 0 comment

Military

Su-47 Berkut: Russia’s fifth generation stealth fighter

by Till Daisd November 20, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The Su-57 next-generation air superiority fighter entered frontline service in 2020, making Russia the third nation in the world to do so after the United States and China. The United States introduced the F-22 Raptor into service in 2005, and China introduced the J-20 “Mighty Dragon” in 2017. The Su-57 made its first voyage in 2010, and the program appears to be largely focused on building an aircraft with sixth-generation capabilities. Future variants of the jet are anticipated to get orders far larger than those for the current fifth-generation variant.

The fighter underwent its first combat tests in February 2018 when cutting-edge combat-capable prototypes were deployed to Syria. The fighter is planned to integrate a variety of next-generation technologies, including hypersonic ballistic missiles, stealth coatings, laser defenses, laser weapons, artificial intelligence, and more. Although the Su-57 program seems to have a lot of potentials, it is only the most recent of several Russian next-generation fighter programs designed to replace the fourth-generation Su-27 Flanker. The Su-57 is the only one to have advanced past the early prototype stages and entered serial production. The Su-47 Berkut stealth platform was one unique project to create a fifth-generation fighter, which saw its first flight thirteen years before the Su-57 in the same month as America’s F-22 Raptor.

Uncertainty still exists regarding the Su-47’s potential for active duty in the Russian Air Force. There are hints that the Western Bloc did think about it as a possibility and anticipated the platform competing with the F-22 Raptor for air superiority in future conflicts. The Su-47 was only ever built as a single prototype, but it made its first flight in September 1997. The platform served as an invaluable testbed for a variety of cutting-edge technologies, including fly-by-wire and advanced composite materials, which later benefited both the Su-35 and Su-57 programs.

The Sukhoi design bureau started working on the plane in the 1980s, along with Mikoyan Buraeu’s MiG 1.44 fifth-generation fighter program and plans for an improved Su-27 that would eventually become the Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35. The Su-47’s prototype used the non-stealthy fuselage from the Su-27 due to budget constraints after the fall of the Soviet Union but recently obtained pictures show that the fighter was intended to be developed around a much stealthier airframe.

The Su-47 was renowned for having forward-swept wings, which set it apart from all other fifth-generation fighter designs. These wings gave the fighter an almost unmatched turn rate, and when coupled with thrust vectoring technologies, they made the Su-47 one of the best dogfighters in the world. A higher lift/drag ratio, superior stability at high angles of attack, a lower minimum flight speed, improved stall resistance, and anti-spin characteristics were all provided by the fighter’s wing design.

The fighter’s wing configuration also increased its subsonic range significantly and, thanks to the increased lift it produced, allowed it to take off and land on far shorter runways. The forward-swept wing design’s disadvantage was that it limited the fighter’s speed to just Mach 1.6, making it the slowest Russian fighter in service even if it was powerful for visual range battles and lighter than the American F-35A fifth-generation version.

However, this was not the only factor in the program’s abandonment, and it might have been justified in view of the significant benefits to flight performance. But the forward-swept wing design also caused wing twisting, which bent the wings under the weight of the aircraft and put them under a lot of stress. As a result, about 90% of the materials used to make the fighter’s wing panels had to be sturdy composites; nonetheless, even these would wear out far more quickly than the wings of normal aircraft.

To cut expenses, the Su-47 prototype borrowed the forward fuselage, vertical tails, and landing gear from the Su-27 together with the DF-30 engines from the MiG-31 interceptor. The Su-27, at the time Russia’s premier air superiority fighter, shared dimensions with the fighter, making it possible to reuse some design elements. The Su-47 was primarily built to perform well in visible-range combat, but it was also capable of firing sophisticated long-range air-to-air missiles, which when coupled with contemporary radar systems may have made it a successful platform for fighting beyond visual range.

It is still unclear whether the design would have entered production in the 2000s if the Soviet Union hadn’t disintegrated because funding for performance problems was much easier to come by during that time, and the Soviet defense industry was in much better shape than that of its Russian successor.

November 20, 2022 0 comment

Military

10 cool fighters you may not know

by Till Daisd November 13, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Fighter jets are among the most extreme forms of machinery that mankind has ever produced. They are capable of flying faster than the sound itself, doing feats of gravity-defying, and delivering terrifying payloads.

Because of this, of all of a nation’s military equipment, fighter jets are usually the most recognizable. But here are 10 cool fighter jets that you probably had never idea existed.

10. Atlas Cheetah

Atlas_Cheetah_3_orientation — Atlas Cheetah

The Atlas Cheetah, a fighter developed by South Africa, is as swift as its name implies and is strikingly similar to the Dassault Mirage, a delta-wing aircraft developed by France. South Africa, which was the target of an arms embargo, had previously flown French Mirage III fighters and sought to modernize them in the face of being unable to purchase more aircraft. The Cheetah updated the aged jet’s airframe with contemporary avionics, armament systems, and re-designs, keeping only around 50% of the Mirage III’s original airframe. With a top speed of about Mach 2.2 at altitude, the Cheetah, which entered service in 1986, is regarded as the classic Mirage III’s ultimate evolution.

9. IAI Kfir

Colombian_Air_Force_Kfir_cropped — IAI Kfir

The IAI Kfir is an Israeli fighter plane developed to replace their fleet of outdated French Mirage fighters, in this case, the Dassault Mirage 5. Its development is remarkably similar to that of the Atlas Cheetah. Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) switched to an American engine, notably the GE J79—the engine that propelled fighters like the F4 Phantom—after basing development on the Dassault Mirage 5’s subpar engine. 100 Kfirs were initially constructed by IAI before they were put into service in 1977. Israel deactivated the Kfir in the 1990s after numerous generations of development; however, they had previously been leased to the US Navy and sold to other countries like Sri Lanka and Columbia, where they are still in use today.

8. HAL Tejas

IAF_Tejas_full_size_32941198511 — HAL Tejas

The HAL Tejas, an indigenously developed modern fighter jet from India, flies at supersonic speeds and is light, agile, and quick. It has an incredible and distinctive delta-wing design. The HAL Tejas was a product of India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program, which was created to replace its outdated Soviet-made MiG-21 fighters. The first prototype of the aircraft took to the skies in 2001. One of the smallest multi-role fighter fighters in the world, the Tejas entered service in 2016 and is presently undergoing trials with the Indian Navy for deployment on aircraft carriers.

7. Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut

The Su-47 and its peculiar wings, a proposed next-generation fighter with promised performance and capabilities, were delayed to the point of obsolescence by the fall of the Soviet Union. The Su-47 has tremendous mobility thanks to the wings’ backward installation, which, combined with the aircraft’s cutting-edge sensors and armaments, may give the impression that a manufacturing error occurred. The Su-47 has previously taken to the skies at many air shows, but due to the protracted development delays it encountered, it never became a real force on the battlefield.

6. Saab J-35 Draken

Saab_SK_35C_Draken_DragonKite_SE-DXP810-1 — Saab J-35 Draken

The Saab Draken, whose name translates to “Dragon,” is one of the coolest fighter jets ever made. Add to that its impressive set of capabilities and the Draken is unquestionably a badass machine. The Draken, which went into production in 1957, was Sweden’s first fighter with a Mach 2 capability. This performance capacity, which was still in its early stages, successfully served some Scandinavian countries until 1998, when it was phased down. Although its kite-style delta wing may appear unusual, the Draken’s exceptional performance and mobility for a supersonic fighter jet of the time contributed to its long service life. It is an excellent aircraft through and through.

5. Saab J-37 Viggen

Saab_AJS-37_Viggen_angled — Saab J-35 Draken

The Viggen, which translates to “Thunderbolt” in English, was the formidable Draken’s successor and had a similarly distinctive delta wing design. The Viggen, like the Draken, was a beast capable of Mach 2, outfitted with cutting-edge weaponry and an unusual but effective airframe. The Viggen was designed with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities in mind, and its massive engine, with a thrust rating of 28,100Ibs, was its main attraction. The last Viggen, which entered service in the early 1970s, left Swedish service in 2007.

4. Lockheed YF-12 Blackbird

One of the most radical jet aircraft designs ever created, the YF-12 is essentially an SR-71 built to carry missiles. The A-12, the forerunner of the SR-71, had reached its last phases of development in 1962, and worries that the plane would be made public during test flights were a serious worry. The White House unveiled an armed YF-12 interceptor prototype in 1964, omitting any mention of its role in the development of the SR-71 and A-12, rather than run the danger of the aircraft being made public due to circumstances outside government control. The YF-12 was possibly the most powerful interceptor ever made, detracting from the program’s real spy-plane goal.

3. Douglas F4D Skyray

Douglas_F4D-1_Skyray_of_VMF-115_in_flight_4_April_1957_NNAM.1996.253.7328.029 — Douglas F4D Skyray

The F4D Skyray, a manta-ray-like fighter jet that lived up to its name, was one of the best interceptors of its era but was mostly forgotten as a result of the aviation industry’s rapid development. The F4D Skyray, which was contracted to develop the fighter in 1948, was influenced by German plans from World War II that had been recovered. When the F4D entered service in the middle of the 1950s, it had already shattered previous records for time-to-height and won the Collier Trophy for aviation achievement in 1953. Skyray interceptor squadrons were regarded as some of the greatest America had since they could break the sound barrier in a dive and were in use until 1964.

2. De Havilland Sea Vixen

Duxford_Air_Festival_2017_-_sv3_34932299646 — De Havilland Sea Vixen

The strange-looking Sea Vixen is a jet from the early Cold War era that was the culmination of de Havilland’s odd twin-boom fighters. The Sea Vixen, which was derived from the Vampire and Venom, first took to the air in 1957, breaking the sound barrier for the first time in testing, and seeing 119 units enter service with the British Royal Navy. The Sea Vixen was one of the strangest-looking fighters in British history, but as it was built specifically for naval defense, its capabilities weren’t all that unusual. The Sea Vixen, though a capable aircraft that entered service, was never engaged in battle.

1. Horten Ho 229

Horten_Ho_229_concept_art — Horten Ho 229

If we go back to World War II, it might surprise you to learn that fighter jets as a category were in use all during the conflict. They were flown for the first time by Germany, which led to some absurd developments. The Horten Ho 229 was by far the most bizarre German WWII aircraft ever to fly. The Ho 229 was developed as a long-range fighter/bomber and an early attempt at stealth technology after receiving financing from the government in 1943. The Ho 229, despite appearing as though it were taken right out of science fiction, was actually built and put through a number of test flights. The only airworthy Ho 229 crashed during a test flight, however, as a result of the design’s severe unpredictability.

November 13, 2022 0 comment

History

The Battle of Berlin: How aviation played a key role in the defeat of the Nazis

by Till Daisd November 10, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Airpower played a crucial role in the Battle of Berlin. Aircraft were used to drop bombs on Berlin, protect advancing ground troops, and transport soldiers and equipment.
Aviation technology helped the allies take control of the skies long before they reached Berlin.
The Allies had an advantage from the beginning of World War II. The German Luftwaffe had better planes, but they didn’t have as many planes or trained pilots to fly them. They also lacked a clear strategy for air superiority and were often forced into defensive measures due to shortages of fuel and other resources. In contrast, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) was able to put together a well-defined plan that used multiple methods including radar technology, precision bombing tactics, and new aircraft designs such as modified Spitfires which could outmaneuver their opponents in dogfights above Berlin itself—all of these factors contributed significantly towards Allied victory during The Battle Of Berlin

The Luftwaffe was already a weakened force in the fall of 1944, as it had been fighting on multiple fronts since the beginning of the war. By this point, Germany was essentially surrounded by Allied armies from all sides, with only Italy still under Axis control.

In its weakened state, the Luftwaffe could not stop or even slow down Allied bombing missions during World War II. The Allies’ superior planes and pilots meant that they were able to drop bombs on Berlin without much interference from German forces. The bombings by British and American bombers resulted in high civilian casualties and contributed greatly to Germany’s defeat in World War II.

The Luftwaffe’s strategy had been to destroy the Allied bomber forces, but they were unprepared for the Allies’ use of heavy bombers, radar, and ground-based anti-aircraft guns. These factors combined to leave them with a lack of experienced pilots and inefficient planes. For example, the Bf 109 was one of their primary fighters but had only two machine guns compared to its British counterpart—the Spitfire—which had eight machine guns. The Luftwaffe also didn’t have enough fighters available; their production was limited by Adolf Hitler’s insistence that only he could authorize large-scale production changes or increases in aircraft numbers. This meant there were fewer planes available than needed during the Battle of Berlin.

The German air force also suffered from a lack of spare parts due to Allied bombing raids on factories producing such materials or destroying transportation networks necessary for moving them around Europe (such as bridges). A further complication was that if fuel supplies were interrupted then aircraft couldn’t fly out again once they landed back at base—and without fuel, there would be no way for them even if they did manage this feat! In addition, there wasn’t enough food leftover after the fighting started so pilots began starving too!

Aviation played a massive role in the outcome of the Battle of Berlin and the fall of Nazi Germany. The Battle of Berlin was the final battle of World War II in Europe. It began on April 16, 1945, and ended on May 2, 1945, when an Allied victory became imminent.

In the months preceding this conflict, there were thousands upon thousands of aerial raids that took place over Germany by Allied pilots and their aircraft carriers. The Nazis lost massive amounts of territory because they couldn’t keep up with all the bombings and attacks by pilots from Britain and America. There were also many small-scale skirmishes between airmen such as one where Americans shot down two German planes while another saw them lose three planes to friendly fire from British soldiers who were trying to guide them through enemy territory with flares but accidentally shot down their planes instead.

Airplanes played a vital role in transporting troops into battle zones during this period — they could fly over enemy lines without being spotted easily since they weren’t visible once they got high enough up above ground level (they weren’t tracked either because radar technology wasn’t advanced yet). They also helped deliver supplies quickly so that no one would get hungry or thirsty even if there weren’t any food left for days at a time – which happened often since most people didn’t know how long things might last before finding out whether or not peace had been declared yet.

Supermarine-Spitfire — Supermarine Spitfire

Hawker_Typhoon_MkIB — Supermarine Spitfire

The Battle of Berlin saw some of the most brutal battles in aviation history. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was pitted against the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Typhoon. Each side had a plane that represented their nation’s pride in aviation. The Me 109 and Spitfire are still of the top planes from World War II, each with its pros and cons.

November 10, 2022 0 comment

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