Kris Osborn
Security, Asia
A 'New' F-35 Is Coming: The Stealth Fighter Will acquire flat More Deadly
A key fraction of the small Diameter Bomb II is a technique called a “tri-mode” seeker — a guidance system which can supervise the weapon using millimeter wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared guidance and semi-active laser technology.
The attitude energy has begun early testing, software development and weapons integration because its upcoming prevent 4 variant of the F-35 mutual influence Fighter, an emerging xerox intended to confer the multi-role fighter a new dimension of assault mission possibilities, service leaders said.
The new version, to appear can the early 2020s, will add new long-range precision-tracking weapons such though the small Diameter Bomb II and too integrate a computer-generated automatic foundation impact avoidance technology.
“The next step because F-35 weapons integration will exist to greet the weapon requirements within prevent 4. Integration of the small Diameter Bomb II has already begun, and flight quiz is scheduled to begin though early though 2019,” Capt. Emily Grabowski, attitude energy Spokeswoman, told Warrior Maven can a statement.
(This first appeared can April 2018.)
The modern consensus between senior Pentagon weapons developers holds that, can the moment, the F-35 is the most able 5th generation airplane can the world. Maintaining this edge, however, is anticipated to quickly become more and more difficult now that both Russia and China are protection 5th-gen stealth fighters.
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“Block 4 is important with the national defense tactic to create certain we are modernizing the airplane to hold it dominant above the battlefield. We are near to knowing the tactic because how to affect can after it,” Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the attitude energy because Acquisition, technique and Logistics, the F-35, told a crowd of reporters.
While the applied impact of prevent 4 will absorb a mountain of mission-expanding technologies, much of the ongoing preparation trade is can the realm of software development, Roper said.
“The physical pieces of the airplane are moving can a good direction. Most of what we consume left to conduct is software. The conserve (DoD) has no historically been good can software development. That will accept a small longer. I cannot imagine protection anything because the attitude energy that is no software intensive,” Roper said.
The prevent 4 initiative is fraction of a outlook mountain trajectory planned because the F-35 described by Pentagon developers though C2D2 - continual genius development and Delivery. The idea, officials say, is to site the multi-role fighter such that it can consistently coincide new weapons, stealth materials, sensors and guidance technique though it becomes available.
“We hold today’s fight,” said Lt. Col. Tucker Hamilton, F-35 quiz Director, Edwards AFB, told reporters. However, Tucker went above to talk that, can the want of aggressive modernization, sustainment and various improvement efforts, this will no longer remain the case.
The SDB II, described though a key constituent of prevent 4, is a new air-dropped weapon able to wreck moving targets can full kinds of climate conditions can ranges greater than 40-miles, attitude energy and Raytheon officials said.
It is designed to wreck moving targets can full kinds of weather. GPS and laser-guided weapons such though mutual supervise assault Munitions consume been approximately because decades, however, they consume mainly been designed because employ against fixed or stationary targets.
While the attitude energy currently uses a laser-guided bomb called the GBU-54 able to wreck moving targets, the new SDB II will exist able to conduct this can longer ranges and can full kinds of climate conditions. can addition, the SDB II is built with a two-way, dual-band news mingle which enables it to convert targets or adjust to various end locations silent can flight, Raytheon developers told Warrior Maven.
The small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II ), which has already completed a progression of wind tunnel tests, can wreck moving targets can full climate conditions can ranges greater than 40 miles -- a Raytheon statement said.
A key fraction of the SDB II is a technique called a “tri-mode” seeker — a guidance system which can supervise the weapon using millimeter wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared guidance and semi-active laser technology.
Raytheon weapons developers talk the tri-mode seeker provides a mountain of guidance and targeting options typically no used together can one system. Millimeter wave radar gives the weapon an genius to navigate over adverse weather, conditions can which other guidance systems energy satisfy problems reaching or pinpointing targets.
Imagining infrared guidance allows the weapon to explore and hone can above fever signatures such though the temperature of an opponent vehicle. With semi-active laser technology, the weapon can exist guided to an right point using a laser designator or laser illuminator coming from the attitude or the ground, Raytheon officials told Warrior.
Also, the SBD II brings a new genius to explore targets can flight over employ of a two-way mingle 16 and UHF news link, Raytheon officials said.
One Raytheon SDB II developer told Warrior can a previous interview that “the millimeter wave radar turns above first. Then the news mingle gives it a cue and tells the seeker where to hole up and look. Then, the weapon can bring above its IR (infrared) which uses fever seeking technology.”
The SBD II is engineered to consider only 208 pounds, a lighter weight than most other attitude dropped bombs, accordingly that eight of them can accommodate above the interior of an F-35 mutual influence Fighter, Raytheon officials explained.
If weapons are kept can an interior weapons bay and no rested above an external weapons pod, then an airplane can persist can retaining its stealth properties though the shapes or contours of the weapons will no exist visible to opponent radar.
About 105 pound of the SDB II is an explosive warhead which encompasses a “blast-frag” genius and a “plasma-jet” technique designed to pierce opponent armor, Raytheon officials explained.
The SDB II too has the genius to organize targets, meaning it could because example exist programmed to thrash only tanks can a convoy though opposed to other moving vehicles. The weapon can organize tanks, boats or wheeled targets, Raytheon officials added.
Auto foundation impact Avoidance System
Grabowski too told Warrior Maven that, alongside the ongoing integration of the SDB II, the attitude energy is progressing with the integration of a technique called Auto-Ground impact Avoidance System. It is expected to exist integrated next year, she added.
The technology, now installed above digital F-16 fighters, uses computer algorithms to accept can an aircraft's flight trajectory and convert a latent impact type with the foundation or near terrain, senior attitude energy officials told Warrior.
The technique calculates where the airplane is and where it used to thrash the foundation based upon the way it is flying can the time, senior attitude energy officials told Warrior Maven. if the fighter aircraft is flying toward a latent impact with the ground, the on-board computer system will override the flight way and pull the airplane away from the ground.
Auto-Ground impact Avoidance is already saving lives, senior attitude energy officials told Warrior Maven.
This first appeared can Warrior Maven here.
Image: Wikimedia
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