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The 5 worst USAF’s fighters

by Till Daisd September 15, 2022

Several fighters have gotten the moniker “flying coffin” over the course of the last century of military aviation. Military aviation inevitably tests the limits of available technology and human endurance, especially when it comes to fighter and pursuit aircraft.

Even when nobody is trying to shoot you down, flying a fighter is extraordinarily risky. A capable fighter plane’s design is challenging as well. Many of the best fighters in history were initially looked upon with skepticism by their pilots; nonetheless, relatively minor improvements in engine, armament, and airframe design can transform a clunker into an elite combat machine. However, elite rank rarely endures for very long, particularly during World Wars I and II. As technology and tactics advanced, fighters that ruled the skies in one year turned into “flying coffins.”

Consequently, the gap between a great fighter and a bad fighter can be quite thin. The crucial effort is in choosing the criteria. Fighters must be assessed as strategic assets for the nation.

What is historically speaking the worst fighter aircraft? For these purposes, we’ll focus on fighters with 500 or more aircraft in production (mentioned in parenthesis); oddities like the XF-84H “Thunderscreech” need not apply.

Royal_aircraft_factory_BE2c_at_the_Imperial_War_Museum — Royal B.E.2 (3500)

Pilots and engineers probably struggled to get aircraft ready before anyone engaged in an air conflict. One of the first military aircraft put into substantial industrial production was the Royal B.E.2, which had a run of about 3500 aircraft. It was first flown in 1912 and continued to be used until 1919, albeit its duties gradually decreased as newer aircraft became available.

In a way, the B.E.2 served as an inspiration for the first generation of fighters by exhibiting all the flaws that were despised in fighter aircraft, such as poor visibility, low reliability, controllability issues, slow speed, and weak armament. The Fokker Eindecker’s introduction made flying the B.E.2 extremely risky. Improvements frequently caused more harm than good, with the plane getting gradually heavier and more prone to accidents.

Giving the first attempt a failing grade is difficult. However, the B.E.2 earns a spot on our list due to its difficulties and poor reliability as well as the British government’s choice to keep it in service much after its freshness date. In any case, the Royal Flying Corps’ tardy inability to successfully replace the B.E.2 served as fertile ground for the early proponents of the Royal Air Force, the first independent air force in history.

Finnish-Brewster-Buffalo-airplane — Brewster Buffalo (509)

The Buffalo, a short, squat, and ugly aircraft, entered service in the same year as the vastly superior Mitsubishi A6M Zero and Bf-109. The Buffalo was designed to be both a carrier-borne and land-based fighter, and some were transferred from the United States to Finland following the Winter War.

Provisions for more powerful weapons, additional fuel, and armor plates resulted in weight increases during the design phase. Unfortunately, this resulted in the aircraft being severely underpowered and unable to maneuver like its greatest competitors. Although the Finnish Air Force’s Buffalos performed admirably against the Soviets in the early stages of the “continuation war,” Japanese pilots in Zeros and Oscars slaughtered Buffalo pilots fighting with Dutch and Commonwealth air forces in Southeast Asia.

To make matters worse, the Buffalo performed poorly in the sweltering temperatures typical of the tropics. After the Battle of Midway, when the Buffalo performed appallingly against the Japanese, Marine Corps pilots referred to it as—you got it—a “flying coffin.” It was swiftly supplanted in American service by the Grumman F4F Wildcat, its more superior twin.

lavochkin-gorbunov-gudkov — Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 (6528)

The Soviet Union of the 1930s rebuilt its military industries a little too soon, maximizing output around technology that would lag behind foreign peers. Military modernization is frequently about timing. The LaGG-3, which debuted in 1940 but was a development of the LaGG-1, served as the Soviet Air Force’s primary fighter during the German invasion of 1941. It was such a failure that pilots dubbed it “the varnished guaranteed coffin” in a play on the fighter’s acronym.

The LaGG-3 was essentially helpless in battle against the Bf-109 despite having entered service five years later. The unfortunate combination of its weak engine and light wood construction prevented it from gaining a tactical edge over bigger German fighters, and when struck, it disintegrated. It is not surprising that German and Finnish aviators outperformed their Soviet counterparts by astoundingly high margins given the wartime Soviet pilot training methods. The LaGG-3 should have stopped being produced in 1942, but due to the Soviet military-industrial complex’s agility, production continued until 1944.

Convair_F-102A_Delta_Dagger_USAF — McDonnell F-101A (807)

It was difficult to choose a candidate from the Century series. The majority of the Century Series aircraft were created when the Air Force’s strategic bombing cadre still held sway and was primarily focused on the possibility of nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union. In an effort to tackle this issue, Tactical Air Command focused on fighters heavy enough to carry nuclear weapons as well as interceptors that could catch and destroy Soviet bombers. As a result, the USAF’s aircraft were underequipped to battle the PAVNAF’s fleet of small, agile MiGs.

The F-100 was a good second-generation fighter, and the F-106 was a fully functional interceptor, so the series wasn’t a total failure. The remaining ones encountered the kinds of issues typical of a mismatched collection of technological and strategic principles. The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was an interceptor that had been turned into a fighter bomber, a strange combination. It would mostly be used as a reconnaissance aircraft. Convair’s F-102 Delta Dagger served admirably as a remote-control target drone before failing miserably in its roles as an interceptor and a fighter bomber in Vietnam.

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, popularly known as the “Missile with a Man in It,” was a fast, elegant, and lethal aircraft that earned the moniker “flying coffin” due to the over thirty accidents it experienced for every 100,000 flight hours. In Canadian service, over 50% of F-104s and over 30% of German F-104s were destroyed in collisions. The massive Republic F-105 Thunderchief deserved better since, despite being built as a nuclear bomber, it was inadequate for the conventional bombing job required by the Vietnam War and was therefore a convenient target for the SA-2s, Fishbeds, and Frescos.

The aircraft of the Century series were made by various manufacturers and were designed to carry out various tasks. The United States Air Force’s failure to envisage warfare outside of the strategic sphere, despite the fact that they were acquired in vast quantities, was the root of all of their issues.

Mig-23-DNST8908431_JPG — Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (5047)

The MiG-23, a powerful swing-wing fighter with attack and interception capabilities, was intended to be the Soviet response to the large American fighters like the F-4 and F-111. And the Flogger was undoubtedly strong. The Flogger, however, proved difficult to fly and keep up. The American “Red Eagle” pilots tasked with evaluating the Soviet aircraft’s capabilities thought the Flogger was an accident waiting to happen. Lieutenant General Robert M. Bond perished in a Flogger operated by the USAF in 1984. The Flogger was a relatively big aircraft that lacked several of the best characteristics of its forebears, notably a low visual profile.

The MiG-23 was initially meant to bolster the Warsaw Pact’s air forces, but most of the clients in the Soviet Union favored keeping their Fishbeds. In fact, because it was so challenging to maintain in service safely, the MiG-23 was essentially a cheap loss leader for the Soviet engine and technical support sectors in terms of exports. Because of their rapid engine burnout due to design, export customers who had lost favor with the Soviet Union swiftly lost access to their fighters. The Flogger has generally had a bad combat record while serving in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. It should come as no surprise that the MiG-23 will very definitely retire from service before the MiG-21.

Attention inevitably turns to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter when discussing potential additions to this list since it should surpass the 500 aircraft cap. As we have already stated, it is challenging to understand the strategic worth of the aircraft without a thorough understanding of its lifetime. For a while, we won’t know whether the JSF deserves to be on this list. For starters, it’s unlikely that the F-35 will see an accident rate anywhere close to those of the fighters on this list.

But given its enormous cost, the JSF is unquestionably a long-term contender for inclusion.

September 15, 2022 0 comment

Military

The stealth YF-118G: the unknown stealth fighter

by Till Daisd September 13, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Unlike the F-22 or F-35 stealth fighters, the stealth YF-118G is undoubtedly not a household brand and will never enter production like the NGAD. But for a variety of reasons, this plane will always have a special position in aviation history.

A group of engineers from McDonnell Douglas’ Phantom Works created and tested the Bird of Prey, a special stealth fighter that was hidden in Area 51’s secrecy, throughout the 1990s. The “YF-118G” Bird of Prey, unlike most stealth programs, wasn’t intended for active service, but parts of its design and manufacture are still finding their way into Uncle Sam’s hangars today.

But this amazing and exotic airframe’s audacity and eventual success may have had the greatest long-term impact on America’s defense system. While most stealth programs are notorious for being expensive, the Bird of Prey cost less than the price of one F-35 today to get from a pad of paper to the skies over Area 51.

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational stealth aircraft, was secretly introduced to service by the U.S. Air Force in October 1983. Even though the Nighthawk was given the “F” prefix, which is reserved for fighters, and even had the nickname “stealth fighter,” it was not a fighter at all. The F-117 Nighthawk was an attack aircraft masquerading as a fighter, but make no mistake: it was an attack aircraft, unlike anything the world had ever seen. It had no onboard radar, no guns, and a payload capacity limited to two 2,000-pound bombs.

The Nighthawk served as a turning point for the very direction of aviation technology and air warfare doctrine among the world’s most powerful nations after decades of focus on developing faster, higher-flying aircraft to overcome enemy air defenses.

The Nighthawk was slower and heavier than the F-15s and F-16s in Air Force hangars, but in a world where the F-117 had a radar cross-section of only a little over a tenth of an inch, America’s smallest fighter had a radar cross-section of 82 square feet (0.11 inches).

The F-117 Nighthawk was virtually undetectable to enemy radar, so to speak. The team at McDonnel Douglas’ Phantom Works had stealth goals of their own, and they had just the man they needed to pursue them. Less than ten years later, as Lockheed’s YF-22 and Northrop’s YF-23 competed for the Air Force’s Advanced Tactical Fighter contract, bringing the world’s first true stealth fighter to fruition, the team at McDonnel Douglas’ Phantom Works had stealth goals of their own.

In contrast to Lockheed and Northrop, whose high-performance stealth fighters benefited from direct tax support, McDonnell Douglas was responsible for paying the whole cost of the creation of their new stealth aircraft.
They chose Alan Wiechman to lead the effort to ensure that none of that money was wasted. Before working to create Lockheed’s Sea Shadow, which aims to equip stealth warships for the U.S. Navy, Wiechman gained experience in stealth at Lockheed’s Skunk Works, where he worked on the Have Blue program and its operational descendant, the aforementioned F-117 Nighthawk.

After the Air Force rejected McDonnell Douglas’ Advanced Tactical Fighter proposal in favor of Lockheed’s YF-22 and Northrop’s YF-23, McDonnell Douglas hired Wiechman to jump-start their low-observable efforts on track and to help in the establishment of their Phantom Works division.

Wiechman’s name doesn’t appear as frequently in the annals of aviation history as some other great engineers from the era, including Clarence “Kelly” Johnson. In fact, among the “Secret Pioneers of Stealth Aviation,” according to Aviation Week, he may be the engineer with the “lowest profile.”

However, widespread recognition isn’t always a reliable indicator of achievement. In fact, Wiechman made so many contributions to stealth aviation that the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) honored him with a Technical Achievement Award for his work in Low Observable aircraft design before the Bird of Prey was even declassified.

“Because of Wiechman’s work, the United States gained a 15-year lead over potential adversaries that it has not relinquished, and the effectiveness of his designs and products has been thoroughly proven in combat operations,” the award read. Due to budget constraints, Wiechman’s team at the Phantom Works used a rapid prototyping technique, which was revolutionary at the time, to create their new stealth aircraft.

The Phantom Works team employed computers to help in their design work, modeling performance to the best of the era’s computing capabilities, as opposed to designing physical prototypes, putting them to testing, making adjustments, and fielding new prototypes for further testing.
As a result, they were able to create prototype parts that were far more similar to the final product than was possible with earlier methods.

The YF-118G team, however, used other inventive methods as well to construct this revolutionary aircraft. Additionally, they made use of innovative single-piece composite structural designs that did away with many body panel seems that could jeopardize an aircraft’s stealth profile.

One of the trickier parts of building stealth aircraft is getting rid of any noticeable seams or microscopic gaps between the body panels that are linked to the aircraft. In fact, some contend that it’s still a problem for Russian stealth jet designs today.

However, Wiechman and his group didn’t want to create every component from scratch, so they used as many commercially available parts as they could to cut costs and speed up the design process.
With only 3,190 pounds of thrust, the Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5C turbofan engine would have been more at home in a Cessna business aircraft.

The rudder pedals, control stick, and throttle were taken from an A-4 Skyhawk, while the ejection seat, control stick, and throttle were taken from an AV-8B Harrier. Colonel Doug Benjamin, an Air Force test pilot, once jokingly remarked, “The clock was from Wal-Mart and the environmental control system was essentially a hairdryer.”
Four years after the program’s start, in 1996, Wiechman’s team was prepared to demonstrate the viability of their strategy with a flyable prototype.

They had built a technology demonstration with a single engine and one seat that was around 47 feet long, making it slightly longer than an F-16 Fighting Falcon. With an overall span of just 23 feet, or 10 feet less than the F-16, its angular, gull-shaped wings drastically differed from other fighter designs.

The fuselage was blended, and the tail portion was entirely absent, marking the most obvious deviation from conventional fighter design. The aircraft’s shape, the use of movable or flexible covers to disguise gaps, and the placement of the engine deep inside the fuselage—behind a curved inlet duct and in front of an infrared and acoustic defusing exhaust outlet—all contributed to the design’s holistic approach to stealth.

The Bird of Prey was given that moniker after the Klingon warship originally shown in “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” because of the aircraft’s odd design and combative stance once it was finished.

Air Force Colonel Doug Benjamin flew the YF-118G Bird of Prey for the first time over Groom Lake, better known as Area 51, on September 11, 1996.

Boeing’s Bird of Prey, like its namesake, which would cloak to hide from hostile starships, relied on stealth rather than outstanding performance to accomplish its mission.
Col. Benjamin lifted the aircraft off the ground while leaving the landing gear extended, which revealed the first of several issues.

The platform had performed well during the wind tunnel testing, but all of the tests were done with the landing gear retracted.

Benjamin quickly understood that the gear’s drag was at least three times worse than they had anticipated.
Additionally, the aircraft had stability problems, which were gradually and painstakingly fixed during subsequent flights.
With the one Bird of Prey prototype they had built, the crew completed 37 additional successful flights over the course of the next three years. Benjamin and two Boeing test pilots, Rudy Haug and Joseph W. Felock III flew the aircraft.

By the time it made its final flight in 1999, the aircraft was thought to be aerodynamically stable without the kind of computer correction that contemporary stealth fighters depended on. This was true even though it had gull wings and a tailless design.
The stealthy aircraft’s maximum operational ceiling of 20,000 feet meant it could fly less than half as high as a World War II P-51 Mustang, and its cruising speed of only about 300 miles per hour was slower than a C-130 Hercules. However, like the F-117 Nighthawk Wiechman worked on before it, the Bird of Prey wasn’t intended to outfly the fighters of its day.

Its goals went much beyond that. The Phantom Works team had demonstrated their ability to construct a stealth aircraft for less than $67 million. That means that Wiechman’s Phantom Works successfully created, prototyped, and flew a clean-sheet stealth platform for about $111 million, or less than the price of one F-35B today, when adjusted for inflation to modern money.

“Early investments in technology demonstration projects such as Bird of Prey have positioned Boeing to help shape our industry’s transformation,” Jim Albaugh, president, and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems said in 2002.
“We changed the rules on how to design and build an aircraft.”

Boeing’s Bird of Prey made its final flight in 1999, but its journey was far from over.
The X-45A Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, which flew for the first time just months before the Bird of Prey was officially presented to the public in 2002, included the innovations and lessons acquired during the development.

The X-45A was created by Boeing’s Phantom Works, just like the Bird of Prey, but unlike its Klingon cousin, it had an automated flight system.

Boeing claims that the X-45A’s design was largely inspired by the Bird of Prey program. The UCAV incorporated features from its predecessor’s angular design, which defeated radar, and distinctive dorsal intake.
The X-32, which ultimately lost out to Lockheed Martin for the Joint Strike Fighter contract just one year after the Bird of Prey program was shut down, was developed by Boeing using some of the design strategies used for the Bird of Prey.

Today, there are no platforms in service that can draw a direct lineage to Alan Wiechman’s unusual Bird of Prey, and that may be part of the reason it’s not a frequently discussed facet of the American stealth technology race that came at the twilight of the Cold War.

A lesson America has struggled to learn in the decades since the Bird of Prey prowled the skies over Area 51 is that it doesn’t always need a bottomless budget and twenty years’ worth of delays to develop a stealth fighter. However, for a brief period in the 1990s, the Phantom Works showed that.
Atop the museum’s F-22 Raptor in the Modern Flight Gallery of the National Museum of the United States, Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the only YF-118G Bird of Prey ever built.

September 13, 2022 0 comment

Military

F-22 Raptor vs Su-57 Felon

by Till Daisd September 10, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The fifth-generation fighter market is going to get more competitive, as evidenced by Russia’s formal designation of the PAK-FA/T-50 jet as the Sukhoi Su-57. All six countries—the United States, China, Russia, Japan, and Korea—are developing fifth-generation designs of their own, but only three of them—the F-22 Raptor, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and the Chinese J-20—are already in service. People are questioning how the Su-57 will compare to the F-22 Raptor once it becomes operational given the rising tensions between Russia and the United States, NATO on the one hand, and Russia on the other.

Similar to the F-15C Eagle, which it was initially intended to replace, the F-22 Raptor began life as a dedicated air superiority fighter. The F-117A Nighthawk stealth “fighter” was the first operational stealth warplane constructed by Lockheed Martin, who also designed and built the aircraft.

Due in significant part to its emphasis on stealth and mobility, the YF-22 fighter prototype beat the Northrop YF-23 Black Widow II in a fly-off in 1990. The F-22 was built with stealth as a core component, and the plane’s stealthy profile was partially determined by simulations run on the Cray supercomputer, one of the first supercomputers. With wings that were formed like diamonds and sharp, faceted surfaces, the F-22 design enhanced sensor evasion. While the huge, vertical, canted tails lessen the fighter’s infrared signature from some angles, the speed brake, weapon bay doors, and engine exhausts are serrated to diminish the radar signal of the aircraft.

In addition, radar-absorbent materials and paint are also applied to the aircraft’s metallic surfaces. The F-22 was made much more agile, especially at high angles of attack, thanks to the employment of the Cray supercomputer. Thrust vectoring in the pitch axis is a critical F-22 characteristic that enables the aircraft to employ engine power and maneuver at high angles of attack to gain an advantage in dogfights. The huge bubble canopy, which provided the pilot with a great view, was the largest single piece of polycarbonate manufactured while the F-22 was in production. A pilot is better able to notice and respond to hazards in the visual range thanks to maneuverability and visibility.

The F-22 is propelled by two F119 after-burning turbofan engines, which provide a combined thrust of 70,000 pounds, which is 40% more than the F-15 Eagle. Because it can’t carry extra fuel tanks into battle, the Raptor’s engines increase its range by enabling it to supercruise at Mach 1.4 without using afterburners. The primary sensor of the aircraft, the AN/APG-77 radar, is built to out-range adversary threats, identifying and categorizing them before the Raptor does, giving the American jet the advantage of not just seeing but also firing first.

Three weapons bays are available on the Raptor, two of which can hold a single AIM-9M/X Sidewinder infrared guided missile and a third belly bay that can hold six AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missiles with a maximum range of 65 miles. JDAM satellite-guided weapons and up to four 600-gallon fuel tanks can also be stored in the center compartment. The right-wing root of the F-22 conceals a twenty-millimeter M61A2 six-barreled Gatling gun with enough ammo for little under five seconds of continuous fire.

The information on the Sukhoi Su-57 is much less. Seven years of test flights have not revealed all there is to know about the aircraft. What is known is that Sukhoi had difficulty developing the aircraft, especially crucial parts like the engine. 2019 was the year for the first operational aircraft to join the Russian Aerospace Forces. Although they are both fifth-generation fighters, the Su-57 and F-22 Raptor have quite different design philosophies. The Raptor placed a strong emphasis on mobility and stealth. Contrarily, the Su-57 prioritizes maneuverability and speed, making it comparable to the YF-23 Black Widow II.

According to experts, the Su-57 is an updated version of the Su-27 Flanker with increased maneuverability while maintaining low radar observability. According to aviation author Piotr Butowski, a plane with considerable static instability may move “much more at supersonic speeds than any previous fighter.” For avionics, fuel, and weaponry, the internal volume is increased by the blended wing design.

The performance of the Su-57 is greatly influenced by its two engines. The thrust output of each Saturn izdeliye 30 engine is intended to range from 24,054 to 35,556 pounds, with the top end falling within the capabilities of the F-22’s F119 engines. These are designed to propel the aircraft to supercruise speeds of up to Mach 1.5. Unfortunately, the izdeliye 30 is having issues, therefore the first 12 of Moscow’s new planes will be powered by two Su-35-like Saturn AL-41F1 afterburning turbofan engines that provide a combined 65,000 pounds of thrust.

The L402 electronic countermeasures suite and the N056 Byelka radar system will be installed on the Su-57. The 101KS Atoll electro-optical package, which includes an infrared search and track system, will help the pilot track and engage targets with infrared-guided missiles at shorter ranges while L-band arrays will be the fighter’s primary way of detecting stealth aircraft at longer ranges.

The Su-57’s two substantial internal armament bays are positioned side by side and occupy nearly the whole length of the aircraft. Up to four K-77M beyond visual range radar-guided missiles can fit in each compartment. The K-77M missile, also known by the NATO codename AA-12 Archer, has a bigger body than earlier models of the K-77 and an active electronically scanned array radar seeker, which enable it to engage highly maneuverable targets at distances of up to 100 miles. Additionally, the K-74M2 short-range infrared-guided missiles are kept under the underwing fairings of the aircraft.

The two aircraft each have various benefits depending on the range according to their varied design priorities. Priorities and armament of the Su-57 support the identification and eradication of threats at great distances. The Su-57’s radar must be able to identify stealth aircraft at a distance, which is essential to this tactic. The aircraft can react fast and retreat from battles it cannot win thanks to its concentration on speed. However, the Su-57’s combination of mobility and infra-red search and track will make it a lethal opponent once the two opposing fighters are close to visual range.

On the other side, the F-22 Raptor places a strong emphasis on mobility and stealth. Long-range opponent detection is another capability of the F-22, and if it can avoid hostile radar, it can set up an ambush before the enemy is even aware it is there. As a result, the F-22 has a higher chance of seizing the initiative first and winning the conflict before the two aircraft can get into the visual range of one another.

The F-22’s stealth must shield it from the prying eyes of Russian radars, which is essential to the Raptor’s strategy. Given that we don’t know how maneuverable the Su-57 is, it’s tough to predict who would win a dogfight. However, the Russian jet’s infrared search and track system—which the American stealth fighter lacks—will be a significant advantage in combat.

One of the best aircraft in the world and the current leader in performance is the F-22 Raptor. For the first fifth-generation fighter to achieve operational status, the Su-57 could demonstrate to be a strong and deserving rival in a variety of ways. Our world will be significantly worse off as a result of their conflict, should they ever meet. We can only hope that the only thing we ever get to do is speculate about the encounter.

September 10, 2022 0 comment

Military

The Swedish Saab 35 Draken

by Till Daisd September 9, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The Saab 35 was a revolutionary Swedish design that, in contrast to certain common Nordic furniture, was very durable and had a long lifespan. The Saab 35, a novel jet fighter designed by Saab engineers, would have two delta wings.

Large, triangle-shaped wings that are largest at the back and taper inward closer to the plane’s nose are known as Delta wings. There are some advantages to delta wings. In comparison to conventional wings, delta wings often have larger interior space for fuel. Although they incur more drag than traditional swept-wing aircraft, delta wings can also be structurally stronger. After the Second World Conflict, Sweden upheld a neutrality policy but also anticipated that, if war broke out, it would likely be against the Soviet Union.

The Swedish Air Force anticipated the requirement for a jet fighter that could combat fighters while also being able to intercept bombers at high altitudes. Such an interceptor was developed soon after the Second World War, and it represented a significant advancement in aviation technology.

Saab engineers came up with a daring design for the Saab 35 Draken, an all-weather supersonic jet fighter. After researching various methods of storing the fuel and equipment, Erik Bratt, an aircraft engineer, and a group of more than 500 experts conceived the idea of a special “double delta” wing shape.

The Draken, which translated means “dragon” was actually intended to mean “kite” due to the curvature of the wings and was the first successful aircraft to use the double delta wing design. These are easily identified as the broad, triangular wings that are widest at the back and taper inwards closer to the nose of the plane.

The first is that compared to conventional wings, delta wings can be structurally stronger and have greater interior space for fuel. Higher drag compared to ordinary swept-wing aircraft is the trade-off. The Saab-210, a sub-scale test plane that was informally dubbed “Lilldraken” or “little kite,” was first flown in 1952 to establish Saab’s still-unique double-delta wing configuration. The double delta design appeared promising to Bratt and his team after three years of intensive design study.

In the era before modern flight simulations and computer-aided design (CAD), such scale prototypes were required.

The double delta layout was effective. The Saab 210 flew over Stockholm in 1952 to commemorate the city’s founding’s 700th birthday. The double delta was actually rather effective. The Cobra Maneuver, a technically difficult aerobatic show in which a quick lift of the nose forces an airplane to fly forward perpendicular to the ground, was done by Swedish Saab pilots in the early 1960s.

The minute the pilot turns to face the sky, the airframe becomes a massive airbrake, rapidly slowing the aircraft. The Cobra Maneuver proved the Saab 35’s capabilities even though it is not always appropriate to combat situations. It is a sign of excellent maneuverability.

For its day and given that it had only one engine, the Saab 35 was a very capable jet. In addition to air-to-air missiles and one or two 30-millimeter internal cannons, depending on the variant, the fighter had a Mach 2 top speed.

The Saab 35 proved to be a reliable supersonic interceptor and skilled dogfighter during the Cold War. This was one of the first combat aircraft made in Western Europe to surpass Mach 2 in level flight. The aircraft was first used by the Swedish Air Force before being exported to Denmark, Finland, and Austria.

The aircraft underwent several improvements, 651 were made in total. A tribute to the Saab 35 Draken’s efficient design and capabilities is the fact that the last one, which was serving with the Austrian Air Force, was only retired in 2005. Despite never participating in actual combat, the aircraft would have performed admirably in its mission as an interceptor against Soviet bombers and would have easily outperformed Soviet fighters of the time.

Outside of Sweden, the Saab was successful and exported to some of Sweden’s neighbors, including Finland and Denmark. Up until 2009, twelve formerly Danish Saab 35s were operated by the US as training aircraft. Austria also purchased several unique Saab 35s. The Austrian State Treaty restricted Austria from using air-to-air missiles, therefore they equipped their Saabs with internal cannons for air-to-air combat.

In 1993, the prohibition was lifted. The Saab 35 Draken continued in operation in some capacity until the mid-2000s, a run of around fifty years, even though it was eventually superseded by the more powerful Saab 37 Viggen (which also employed a modified delta wing design).

September 9, 2022 0 comment

Military

The H-20, the Chinese stealth bomber

by Till Daisd September 3, 2022

written by Till Daisd

As it strengthens China’s nuclear triad and significantly widens its nuclear assault range to encompass a significant chunk of the continental U.S., the H-20 stealth bomber, which is being dubbed a “B-2 copycat”, is projected to present an altogether new realm of threat dynamics to the U.S.

According to the UK’s Sun, the new H-20 bomber, which is anticipated to arrive in a few months, has a range of up to 7,500 miles, making it possible for one sortie from mainland China to reach targets over the United States without the need for refueling.

This is a significant breakthrough because uninterrupted stealth bomber attack missions with that type of reach increase the risk of an undetected nuclear assault on important U.S. targets. Refuelers can, of course, help disclose the position or existence of a stealth bomber.

According to an article in the Asia Times: “the South China Morning Post, which cited a London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies report, the state-of-the-art H-20 can carry a massive weapons payload of 45 tonnes and fly great distances without mid-air refueling.”

Although the precise makeup of its stealth capabilities or radar-signature-reducing technologies may not be fully understood, the images and renderings that are now available show an aircraft that, in some ways, resembles a U.S. B-2.

Given China’s well-known and well-documented propensity to steal or replicate American weapon systems, nothing about this is particularly surprising. This is especially true in the case of the H-20. The similar rounded upper fuselage, wing bodies that meld together, curved upper air inlets, and almost no vertical structures distinguish it.

To show China’s overt “copycat” action, there seems to be quite a bit of proof that is visible. During Operation Enduring Freedom in the early days of the Afghan conflict, American B-2 aircraft made 44-hour missions from Whiteman AFB, Miss., to Diego Garcia, a small island off the coast of India. The B-2 is also noted for its long-endurance flights.

In support of American ground forces, B-2s launched bombing sorties over Afghanistan from that location. Although refueling was probably necessary for this operation, it does highlight the benefits and tactical advantages of the long-endurance bombing. Annual “China Military Power Report” from the Pentagon for 2018 and 2019.

The 2019 report pinpoints that the new H-20 will likely have a range of “at least 8,500km” and “employ both conventional and nuclear weaponry.”

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force Commander General Ma Xiaotian announced the development of the H-20 in public remarks in 2016 and stated that the weapon could appear at some point in the next decades. The following decade has arrived, and early representations seem to confirm part of what Xiaotian said regarding Chinese aspirations for the bomber.

He said that the H-20 will “employ 5th generation technologies,” according to the Pentagon’s China report. Although there are still many unanswered questions, the Chinese have already developed several possibly fifth-generation aircraft with the J-20 and J-31, so the ability to engineer and deliver fifth-generation technology into the bomber may remain to be seen to some extent.

The exterior does, at the very least, seem stealthy; it appears to have an embedded engine, a blended wing body, no vertical structures, and engine air ducts woven into the frame on top of the fuselage. In the Pentagon report, it is noted that “a possible H-20 prototype depicted a flying wing airframe akin to the B-2 bomber and X-47B stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle.”

A B-2 bomber’s reported range of more than 6,700 miles looks to be a little shorter than the reported range of 8,500 kilometers. Pentagon reports have raised worries that the Chinese “may also be developing a refuelable bomber that could “reach initial operating capability before the long-range bomber.”

Given the extensive enhancements and modifications the Air Force made to the platform in the 1980s, it is also unclear if the H-20 would be able to compete with a U.S. B-2. A thousand times faster computer processor, air defense evasion Defensive Management Systems sensors, and upgraded weaponry, including the capability to drop the B-61 Mod12 nuclear bomb, will shortly be installed on the B-2.

The B-2 will look very different in a few years compared to its 1980s origins as the Pentagon seeks to ensure the platform remains relevant and effective for many years into the future. The B-2 is scheduled to fly alongside the new B-21 until sufficient numbers of B-21s arrive.

There might simply be too many unknowns for it to be competitive with a B-2 or B-21. A few things do, however, come to mind. For example, the B-21 airframe seems to have few, if any, external exhaust pipes, which begs the issue of whether it uses innovative thermal management or heat dispersion technology.

To make stealth bomber airframes less visible to thermal sensors, it is important to aim toward making them match or align with the ambient air temperature. Additionally, senior Air Force officers have stated that the B-21 platform features a new generation of stealth technologies and can “hold any target in the world at any time” even though many facts about the B-21 remain “black” for understandable reasons.

This suggests that there may be a great degree of confidence in the new B-21’s ability to defeat the most sophisticated air defense systems in use today and projected in the future. Given the new generation of technology used in advanced Russian air defenses like the S-400 and S-500, it would be quite an achievement to be able to avoid both surveillance and engagement radar in the current technological period.

They claim to be able to detect “stealth” to a significant extent in addition to using digital networking to connect radar nodes, relying on faster computer processing, and tracking aircraft on a wider range of frequencies. Even though it is a claim made by the Russian media, this may still be unverified, but it has motivated American weapon developers to look for newer paradigms for stealth technology.

Additionally, top Air Force weapons developers have said that stealth is just “one arrow in a quiver” of ways to dodge and destroy enemy air defenses, at least when it comes to stealth planes. This is likely due to the sophistication of these sophisticated air defenses.

Despite this, there is little evidence to suggest that a new B-21 would face any difficulties when facing the most sophisticated air defenses; discussions in this vein are likely to continue for years, at least until much more information about the B-21 is known. Officials from the Air Force claim that the B-21 will be nearly “undetectable,” which may very well be the case.

September 3, 2022 0 comment

Military

The Swedish Saab 37 Viggen

by Till Daisd August 28, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Few aircraft may have a more fitting name than the Saab 37 “Viggen,” which means “Thunderbolt” and alludes to the three-forced lightning produced by Thor’s hammer. During the darkest years of the Cold War, Sweden maintained a strict neutrality stance but was well-prepared for a potential war with the Soviet Union.

Stockholm also upheld a strong policy of domestic design, development, and production of its frontline military equipment, particularly combat aircraft for the Flygvapnet, to aid in that effort. The Saab 37’s moniker, “Guardian of Neutrality,” fits it perfectly. In the early Cold War era, the Royal Swedish Air Board demonstrated its ability to forge ahead of other countries. In 1958, it started developing what was then known as “System 37,” which was created to be integrated with the STRIL 60 air-defense infrastructure of radars, computers, and displays.

The result was the single-engine, single-seat Saab 37 Viggen fighter, which had a low double delta wing and two canards with flaps. The first of seven 37 prototype/pre-production Viggens, intended to replace the outdated Saab J35 Draken, was rolled out in November 1966, and the aircraft made its first flight in February of the following year.

The Viggen joined the Swedish Air Force in 1971 after rapid advancement had been made. It was the first canard-designed aircraft to be mass-produced, and at the time of its introduction and up until the Panavia Tornado entered service in 1981, it was also the most technologically advanced fighter jet in Europe.

Advanced and Rugged Warbird: The Saab 37 was a single-seat aircraft with cutting-edge avionics, including a central computer and heads-up display to take the position of a human navigator. The CK 37 (centralkalylator 37), the first airborne computer to use integrated circuits, was among them.

The eight thousand words “vocabulary” memory unit of the miniature digital computer allowed it to give the pilot automatic navigation, target location, and even firing control. Additionally, it was connected to the STRIL 60 ground defense network.

The Viggen was the only European aircraft of its time with such sophisticated radar, a wide speed range, and a full “kit” of avionics and weaponry. The Saab S37 was built to be tough in addition to being a highly technological aircraft. The Royal Swedish Air Board also demanded that the multirole fighter be “battlefield friendly,” including the capacity to take off and land on short runways and, in an emergency, even use highways and off-road routes.

Stockholm was determined to mount a substantial defense in case the Soviets invaded, therefore the new fighter also needed to be simple for conscript-level personnel to assist refueling.

Additionally, the Saab 37 Viggen lived true to its lightning bolt name. A Volvo RM 8 turbofan, which was essentially a license-built version of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine that propelled commercial airliners in the 1960s, provided the aircraft with power. The S37 received an afterburner, and the airframe included a thrust reverser that could be used during landings.

The Saab 37 has the distinction of being the first aircraft to have both an afterburner and a thrust-reverser, a feature later used on the commercial airliner Tornado and Concorde. The Viggen was only capable of short takeoff and landing (STOL) from airstrips that were around 500 meters long.

The aircraft had a service ceiling of 18,000 meters, a top speed of Mach 2.1 (1,385 miles per hour), and a maximum range of 2,000 kilometers with internal fuel. A rate of ascent of 203 meters per second was given by the RM 8 engine. The Viggen was a true fighter with a 30mm Oerlikon KCA gun and six underwing/under-fuselage hardpoints for air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry, which initially comprised Rb04E or Rb05A missiles for the attack and Rb27, Rb28, and Rb324 missiles for defense. Typical late-stage weapon load-outs also included RB71 Skyflash missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinders, and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles.

The Viggen was initially intended for 800 units, but the order was reduced due to expenses after it was decided not to sell the Viggen for export. The United States also prevented a potential sale to India by refusing to give an export license for the engine since it employed American technology. Initially, Saab had marketed the aircraft all over the world, but Swedish export rules were one obstacle.

Only 329 Viggens of all models, combined, were ever produced, and they flew for the Flygvapnet until 2005. The fighter was never employed in battle and less than twenty modern aircraft remain today, and most of them are housed in military and aviation museums abroad.

August 28, 2022 0 comment

History

The C-141 aircraft: a history of service

by Till Daisd May 19, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter debuted in 1963. It was the first aircraft designed to carry troops and cargo on the same flight, which is accomplished by using a double-deck fuselage configuration. The maiden flight occurred on December 17, 1963; however, it wasn’t until October 1967 that active service began with the United States Air Force (USAF). The last aircraft delivered was retired from active service in May 2006 and was replaced by the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.

The total number of aircraft built was 285; however, only 284 were delivered because one crashed during training at McChord AFB in 1978 due to mechanical failure due to contaminated fuel supply from an engine fuel pump module (FPM) which had cracked on previous flights but went undetected until it caused catastrophic engine failure during takeoff roll for this final mission.

The C-141B was designed to be more powerful and have more range than the original version. It can carry up to 120,000 pounds of cargo, or 70 tons of cargo compared to the 60-ton capacity of its predecessor. It also has a maximum speed of over 500 miles per hour and a range of 3,900 miles—over 1,000 miles greater than the C-141A.

During its time in the Air Force, the C-141 made many advances in the travel industry. The C-141 has been part of the Air Force since 1964 and has played a major role in many areas of service. In its early days, the C-141 was used for medical evacuations between hospitals on American soil. This allowed injured soldiers to receive treatment without having to travel far from their homes or bases.

The next use for this aircraft was as an airlift plane when it was required to transport cargo across long distances with little personnel needed to operate it. The Department of Defense (DoD) started using this plane as transportation for troops who were being deployed overseas or moved around within bases within the US itself. It could also be used during humanitarian missions such as helping out with relief efforts after natural disasters struck various locations around the world, such as earthquakes in Haiti or tsunami warnings at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Its most recent use before retirement was by DoD officials who wanted equipment sent overseas quickly but didn’t want them shipped through commercial airlines because they thought this would take too long and could potentially cause delays due to flight cancellations due to bad weather conditions during the winter months which may hinder delivery times beyond expectation levels set forth by military commanders overseeing operations abroad.

The C-141 set many aviation records, including the most passengers carried over the longest distance in 100 hours.
In February of 1967, a C-141 made the first nonstop flight from Tokyo to London carrying 141 crew members and 112 passengers. The flight took 10 hours and 45 minutes without refueling. The aircraft flew at an average speed of 752 miles per hour (1,203 kph) during this time—which was faster than a Boeing 747 on its initial commercial flight! By carrying so many people at once, this record-breaking flight demonstrated that it would be possible for future military operations to transport large numbers of people quickly around the globe.

The C-141 also holds records for any twin-engine cargo aircraft and any four-engine cargo aircraft that has flown between New Orleans and Phoenix, Dallas and St. Louis, or Toronto and Los Angeles. These flights were completed on March 6th, 1972 by a crew of six including two pilots and four loadmasters in 1 hour and 50 minutes.

The fastest flight time between New Orleans to Phoenix was set by Air Force Reserve Colonel Paul Wittenberg who piloted the aircraft flying 2 hours 35 minutes at an average speed of 711 miles per hour; while the fastest flight speed between Dallas/Ft Worth International Airport (DFW) and Lambert-St Louis International Airport (STL) was set by Captain William Fogleman who piloted another C-141A on October 22nd, 1975 reaching 710 miles per hour over a distance of 921 nautical miles with an average cruise altitude of 43,000 feet. In 2002, the last flight of a C-141 Starlifter was made by Lt. Col. Bob Broome on May 6.

The C-141 has been retired from active duty, but the aircraft still flies in civilian hands as well as with the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard.

The C-141 was an important part of military history serving our country for nearly 40 years. The aircraft served in numerous missions, including support for the Berlin Airlift, Vietnam War, and Operation Desert Storm.
The C-141 also played a vital role in President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1953 trip to Korea, where he met with South Korean president Syngman Rhee at Kimpo Air Base near Seoul. The plane carried Ike and his entourage from San Francisco to Hickam AFB in Hawaii then onwards to Tokyo where they boarded another plane for Korea.

The aircraft is no longer used for the majority of the transport flights that it was initially designed for. Many of these duties have been shifted to the C-17 aircraft, but the C-141 will continue to be used in some capacities through 2017. The length of time that this aircraft is flown around the world will ensure that it marries its history with future endeavors.

More than 700 men and women of the 7th Airlift Squadron of the 315th Air Mobility Wing delivered the final flight to Dover Air Force base by way of Dover, Bermuda, and Bangor, Maine. This was the finale for the military version of this aircraft; however, there are some commercial airlines that still use this plane.

May 19, 2022 0 comment

History

The aircraft used in Operation Red Wings – what made them ideal for the task at hand?

by Till Daisd May 19, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Operation Red Wings was a military operation launched in 2005 by the United States Armed Forces. The goal of the mission was to capture or kill Ahmad Shah, a Taliban leader responsible for several attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The operation ended with four SEAL team members being killed: Marcus Luttrell, Michael P. Murphy, Matthew Axelson, and Danny Dietz. They became known as the “Lone Survivor” survivors because Luttrell was the only one who survived this operation (a fifth man named Thomas Keefe also survived but left before its conclusion).

To help secure their objective while keeping it under secretive conditions, they used three modified MH-47D Chinook helicopters with four pilots each flying overhead at around 5:30 AM local time on June 28th, 2005; this meant that there were two backups available should any problems arise during flight operations – which they did! One pilot experienced engine failure shortly after takeoff which forced him back down onto base while another suffered from mechanical issues causing him to abort his mission before reaching its target area altogether (he later made repairs).

After the Taliban fighters fled and Gulab returned, he told the local village elders about what he had seen. They then sent word to other villages, who in turn spread the news to neighboring towns. By midday on June 28th, reports of a U.S. military operation in Shah-e-Kot were broadcast across local radio stations and television channels. The official version was that two helicopters had been shot down while attempting to evacuate two soldiers injured during an earlier raid on a Taliban stronghold.

The publicity surrounding this incident led to rumors that members of SEAL Team 10 had been captured and executed by their captors after they refused to convert from Christianity back into Islam (although there is no evidence supporting this claim). This sparked outrage among some members of Congress who wanted answers as well as a swift action against those responsible for violating international law by killing unarmed prisoners without any legal process whatsoever; however, others argued that these actions were justified given how much danger American forces face when fighting overseas—and besides which revenge killings have always been part of warfare since time immemorial anyway!

The MH-47s that were used in the operation were modified Chinook helicopters. These choppers are known for their durability, speed, and cargo capacity. They’re also armed with M-240 machine guns, which allow them to fire on enemy targets without having to land first.

The terrain of Afghanistan is mountainous, rough, and hilly in places, making it ideal for sneaking up on an enemy target from above or below ground level. The MH-47s could use this advantage to sneak up on their prey during Operation Red Wings.

The Apaches sent in to rescue the survivors had a variety of features that made them ideal for the task. They have laser-guided rocket and missile systems, as well as a 25mm automatic gun. However, the most important feature of these aircraft is their LANTIRN system. The LANTIRN system allows pilots to pinpoint targets during low visibility conditions through infrared targeting systems. This can be extremely helpful in night operations when it would otherwise be difficult to see what you’re shooting at or where your shot will land (since you can’t see it).

While these aircraft were able to help save some of the SEALs’ lives during Operation Red Wings through air support, they were ultimately unable to prevent all casualties from taking place—which is why this mission has been so controversial since its inception.

The CH-47 Chinook is a robust aircraft, designed to withstand heavy loads and extreme conditions. The fuselage is constructed from titanium, which can withstand significant damage from small arms fire or shrapnel. In addition to its ability to resist puncture by bullets, the fuel tanks have a self-sealing capability that prevents them from leaking when damaged by gunfire or shrapnel. Even if the plane were shot down, it is so well-built that there would be very few casualties among the crew and passengers. The engines are also quite strong: they are powerful enough for rapid climbs at higher altitudes (which means less time spent in enemy territory) but also don’t overheat easily under normal flight conditions. Finally, thanks to its sophisticated flight management system and easy-to-use cockpit controls, virtually anyone could fly this craft with minimal training – even someone who had never flown before!

All things considered, the aircraft used in Operation Red Wings were ideal for their respective missions. However, the helicopters often came as secondary transportation to both personnel and much-needed supplies. While it was likely not an easy decision by any means, it is important to consider that even if the pilots on board had managed to avoid those three RPG rounds hitting them, they would have most likely been one of many aircraft shot down during the battle. Each life is priceless, but must not be considered above the success of a mission by any means. And for at least one of the — Marcus Luttrell — he will tell you that this mission was worth its weight in gold.

In the end, it all boils down to the fact that the MH-47 was the ideal aircraft for a mission like Operation Red Wings. We don’t know exactly what went wrong or who was to blame. And given that there is an ongoing investigation into the event, it’s not our place to point fingers. But looking just at the parameters of this operation, you can quickly see why this aircraft worked so well for the job at hand. It remains one of the fastest helicopters in existence, and it has routinely proven its usefulness and durability time and time again.

May 19, 2022 0 comment

History

The MiG-41: Russia’s answer to the F-22 Raptor?

by Till Daisd May 19, 2022

written by Till Daisd

The MiG-41 is a mysterious aircraft. It is a successor to the MiG-31, which was developed in the 1970s as a long-range interceptor. Unlike the F-22 Raptor, it can approach its targets at Mach 2.83 or 3,000 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 20 kilometers (more than 65 thousand feet).

The MiG-31 is a high-altitude interceptor, not an air superiority fighter. The MiG-31’s predecessor, the MiG-25 Foxbat, was famous for its ability to fly at Mach 2 and reach altitudes above 70,000 ft., but it was not designed to engage enemy aircraft.

Russian_Air_Force_MiG-31_inflight_Pichugin — MiG-31

Instead, Foxbat’s primary mission was to intercept cruise missiles and other high-speed targets at extreme ranges (and at extreme speeds). If you’ve ever seen Top Gun or any other movie where jets are trying to shoot down enemy fighters they probably used footage of a supersonic MiG-25 flying past them before they could get close enough to fire their missiles.

The MiG-31 also was one of the first aircraft to be equipped with an electro-optical sensor system, which could track up to ten airborne targets at once, and was also equipped with passive infrared detectors and radar as well as active infrared detectors.

The MiG-31 “Foxhound” interceptor is considered a highly capable aircraft. It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.83 or 2,200 mph (3,540 km/h) at high altitudes; however, its maximum speed at low levels is about Mach 1.2 (1,300 mph/2,092 km/h). The Foxhound’s service ceiling is 62 miles (100 km).

The MiG-31’s armament consists of 12 medium-range R36 air to air missiles or six larger long-range missiles R 100 PFM 3 or R 96 PFM 3 with a range of 25 nautical miles (46 km)

The U.S., however, does have some concerns about the MiG-31’s weapons capability, particularly its ability to carry out anti-satellite operations and conduct ballistic missile defense missions. The MiG-31 can intercept cruise missiles and has an electro-optical sensor system that allows it to track up to 10 targets at once. It also has a weapons bay for launching air-to-air missiles or anti-radiation missiles against enemy aircraft or ground targets.

The F/A 24 Super Hornet is also equipped with an infrared search and track (IRST) system similar to those on the Mig 31 and other Russian combat jets, but unlike those systems, it cannot track multiple targets simultaneously like its Russian counterparts can do because of their advanced radar systems which allow them to do so at long ranges without having to be in visual range first before using their IRSTs, instead of having just one primary sensor system like those found on western fighters used by NATO members, such as France and Britain who may need more than one set of eyes when fighting against advanced adversaries such as China’s People Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) which already has fighter jets armed with long-range air-to-air missiles/weapons capable enough reach Mach 5 speeds!

The MiG-41 is reportedly a fifth-generation fighter, which will be capable of operating from aircraft carriers. The Russian Ministry of Defense recently announced that it was developing a fifth-generation fighter capable of operating from aircraft carriers. The announcement came after the unveiling of Russia’s first sixth-generation T-50 PAK FA supersonic stealth multirole fighter at MAKS Air Show 2018 in August.

The MiG 41 is expected to make its maiden flight in 2025 and then enter service with the Russian military. It is currently unclear whether this new fighter will replace or supplement existing equipment in Russia’s arsenal, or if it will take on a different role entirely (for example, replacing older models).

In December 2017, the Russian Navy tested a new shipborne radar system called the Shipborne Radar System (SSR). The SSR is designed to be used on ships, aircraft carriers, and submarines as well as other vessels. It can detect ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and other threats at long distances with high precision. The system also can detect stealth aircraft and ships.

The Russian Navy is developing a new generation of aircraft carriers, called Project 23000E Shtorm, which will be capable of serving as the basis for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The MiG-41 fighters developed to operate from these carriers are expected to enter serial production in 2020 and begin replacing the MiG-29K/KUB fighter jets currently operating on Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier by 2023.

According to different sources, the MiG-41 may be equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar that could provide a better detection range than existing systems on other Russian military aircraft. The rumored engine powering this fighter includes two RD-33MK engines that could produce up to 60 tons (about 600 kilonewtons) of thrust each—an improvement over current engines used by Mikoyan’s MiG 29 Fulcrum (Fulcrum) fighters—and have increased fuel efficiency compared with previous models

The MiG-41 and the F-22 Raptor are both some of the most advanced fighter jets in the world. But, when comparing their capabilities, it’s easy to see that the MiG-41 is not a match for the American jet in terms of raw performance. Despite this, the Russian government plans to spend billions to procure these planes until 2020, and many aviation experts expect China to order similar planes from Russia soon. Only time will tell if these fighter jets will be worth their price tag.

The MiG-41 will likely be able to outperform the F-22 in terms of technology, resulting in heightened performance and defense capabilities. While Russia does not have the luxury of fielding more than a relatively small number of MiG-41 fighters, we’ll wait to see what Russia’s next move is. The United States will probably respond with a more advanced model in the next few years, which could spur Russia to further intensify its efforts to ensure that it keeps its technological edge.

May 19, 2022 0 comment

Aircraft on USS America CV 66 during attacks on Libya 1986

History

The El Dorado operation: How aircraft carriers changed naval warfare

by Till Daisd May 18, 2022

written by Till Daisd

It is hard to imagine how naval warfare would be conducted had it not been for the inspiration of the British Admiral John Fisher, who saw in 1909 how a string of islands distributed over the vast Pacific Ocean could be turned into aircraft carriers.

The advantages of using aircraft carriers over traditional naval warfare are obvious: instead of sending ships close enough to battle each other and risk being sunk by enemy fire, you can keep them at a safe distance from each other. Aircraft could then fly out and attack enemy vessels with little danger to themselves or your own ships. The same cannot be said about land bases; any country that establishes an airfield on land will have made itself vulnerable to attacks by other nations’ planes as well as ground troops and artillery units positioned nearby (unless they have some sort of agreement).

A year later, in 1910, he obtained the support of King Edward VII and by 1914 the Royal Navy already had three operational aircraft carriers.

HMS_Hermes_R12_underway_on_16_March_1982_6350754 — HMS Hermes

The first aircraft carrier was the HMS Hermes, which was converted into an aircraft carrier in 1913. The plane employed on this ship were Fairey IIID seaplanes. The first ship designed from the start as an aircraft carrier was HMS Ark Royal, which entered service in 1914. This vessel had a deck that extended over most of its length, with a single tall funnel located near amidships where most of the machinery and crew spaces were located. Later on, by 1918 when World War I ended, both Great Britain and Japan had built several warships that could carry up to 24 aircraft each; these included HMS Argus (a converted merchant ship) and Akagi (a battlecruiser).

Fisher’s idea was that naval forces used to be deployed in small groups in order to observe enemy movements, but radar observation had become much easier, so it was no longer necessary for ships to remain near each other for mutual protection.
Early aircraft carriers, like the HMS Argus, were too small to carry more than a few planes at a time. As jet propulsion technology advanced and aircraft became more capable, however, the size of naval aircraft carriers grew to accommodate them.

Aircraft carriers are used in naval warfare as mobile bases for planes and helicopters that can conduct reconnaissance over long distances and launch bombing raids on enemy positions. They are also equipped with defensive weaponry to protect themselves from attack by submarines or surface ships.

The result was that smaller elements could cover a larger area at a lower cost. It is a lot cheaper to build a small ship than a large ship, it is easier to train a smaller crew, easier to maintain one, easier to maneuver one and there are logistical advantages as well. The aircraft carrier has been called “the most valuable single piece of machinery ever built by man” because it allowed naval forces to project power anywhere on earth at will. This led Fisher to suggest that instead of adding any other type of vessel to naval fleets (such as fleet airships or submarines), what should be added were aircraft carriers for reconnaissance purposes.

Fisher’s idea of using aircraft carriers for reconnaissance and bombing missions was not a new one. The concept had been around since World War I, and by the 1930s, several countries were experimenting with it. However, that did not stop Fisher from proposing his own radical approach to naval warfare. In 1919 he suggested that instead of adding any other type of vessel to naval fleets (such as fleet airships or submarines), what should be added were aircraft carriers for reconnaissance purposes. He argued that these would be more useful than other options because they could move from place to place quickly when needed.

The aircraft would have been small and light enough to be launched and landed on a ship. They would also have been cheap enough to be expendable weapons, in case they were shot down during the battle. Finally, these aircraft could have been used for observation purposes or bombing runs against the enemy

Without Fisher’s insight, we would probably still see large ships closely maneuvering and firing off broadsides against each other.

El Dorado Canyon taught the Pentagon that Tomahawk cruise missiles, launched from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, could strike at a distant target with pinpoint accuracy. The operation was an important milestone in the evolution of carrier-based airpower and the ever-tightening cooperation between the Navy and the Air Force. Though nearly forgotten, it remains one of the most strategically significant air attacks since World War II.

Today, aircraft carriers are truly the “capital ships” of the modern era, a feat made possible through the lessons learned through operation El Dorado and other operations. They have become virtually irreplaceable on the modern battlefield and will remain so for years to come. The future is bright for carrier systems, and it is hard to imagine a major conflict where they don’t play an integral role.

May 18, 2022 0 comment

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