Miss Febbraio - 6th gen. fighter USA

[Alpino]

Secondo me ci saranno sulla prossima generazione di aerei. In 10 anni i progressi sono stati impressionanti se considerate che oggi sono armi montate su navi e 10 anni fa l'impiego di queste armi era fantascienza

[Ein]

Può darsi. Io rimango un pò scettico, ma non resta che attendere fiduciosi.

[TT-1 Pinto]

Ora lo chiamano PCA ... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/air-force-scientific-advisory-board-takes-second-loo-431023/

[Athens]

Mi immagino un velivolo molto flessibile ed in grado di adattarsi a tutte le situazioni, quindi molto veloce, manovrabile, a grande autonomia e sicuramente stealth, con ordigni sempre più piccoli e compatti in stiva e armi ad energia diretta per attaccare e per difendersi.

 

Ai motori verrà chiesto un grande salto di qualità, perchè per avere velocità e maneggevolezza servono linee pulite e leggerezza, quindi possibilmente bisognerebbe evitare di fare un bidone volante pieno di carburante, ma qualcosa di più leggero che consuma combustibile con una efficienza decisamente superiore a quanto visto finora, sia alle basse che alle elevate velocità supersoniche.

Questa mi sembra una fotografia molto vicina al ruolo che dopo il pensionamento dell'accoppiata Tomcat/Phoenix mi pare sia rimasto scoperto per la protezione a largo raggio dei Carrier Battle Groups. Le nuove generazioni dei missili antinave, anche ipersonici, appaiono essere una minaccia credibile anche per una portaerei, ed è ovvio che tanto più lontano dal target si affronta la minaccia e tanto più elevata è la probabilità di neutralizzarla prima che giunga al bersaglio pagante. Non è detto che la piattaforma Aegis sia in grado di garantire una efficace intercettazione alle lunghe distanze, le quali distanze peraltro sono "accorciate" dall'aumento di velocità dei missili, e non credo che le future armi antimissile a energia diretta imbarcate sulla portaerei e/o sulle unità di scorta possano garantire l'incolumità della portaerei stessa, incolumità che rappresenta il presupposto essenziale di tutto il sistema di difesa. Un colpo a segno sulla portaerei è inaccettabile.

Presumo quindi che l'insieme di stealthness+compattezza+autonomia sia di per sé un requisito estremamente interessante per la US Navy in prospettiva delle minacce future di cui sopra, e deduco che queste saranno caratteristiche che il futuro caccia imbarcato dovrà comunque avere.

Modificato 10 Novembre 2016 da Athens

[TT-1 Pinto]

Laser per i caccia di prossima generazione ... l' USAF emette una RFP ...

The US Air Force (USAF) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) related to its efforts to field a laser-based self-protection system for its tactical combat aircraft.The RFP, posted by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate, Laser Division (AFRL/RDL) on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website on 5 January, seeks research proposals for the service's Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments (LANCE) project, which is geared at integrating a defensive laser weapon aboard current and future fighter-sized aircraft.

Fonte: Jane's (328 of 614 words) ... USAF issues RFP for fighter aircraft laser weapon ...

FedBizOpps ... Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments (LANCE) ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Prima del PCA potrebbe entrare in servizio il PEA ...

Gen. Hawk Carlisle thinks the Air Force’s nascent Penetrating Electronic Attack aircraft may actually go operational before the Penetrating Counter-Air platform that will notionally succeed or complement the F-22 and F-35 in the air superiority role.

The Air Combat Command chief, speaking with defense reporters on Friday, said the PEA, which he described as a “partnership platform” with the F-22, F-35, and B-21 bomber, could be “autonomous or semi-autonomous” and escort strike aircraft going into the most heavily defended enemy airspace as a stand-in jammer.

Fonte: AFA ... Penetrating Electronic Attack May Come Before Counter-Air Platform ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

PCA ... lo vogliono presto ... ma ... a pezzi e bocconi ...

The US Air Force could field its Penetrating Counterair platform on a fast track, according to the service’s head of Air Combat Command.

The USAF will likely purchase its next standoff aircraft in batches and add capabilities along the way, rather than wait for years for an exquisite aircraft, Lt Gen Mike Holmes told reporters 29 March.

The service is already working with Congress to figure out what authorities would allow the air force to field a prototype and complete a fly-off, instead of a longer engineering, manufacturing and development process, Holmes says.

“If we did it the way we bought the F-22 and the F-35, it would still be 25 years away and I just don’t want to wait that long,” Holmes says.

“That’s why we’re talking about doing a different acquisition model where we’ll buy probably more than 100, but some number of a version and see how those do and see what’s available and see if we want to add something in the next round.”

Fonte: FlightGlobal ... Air Combat Commander hints at rapid acquisition for new standoff aircraft ...

Mi sto chiedendo se una soluzione del genere non sarebbe peggiore della famigerata 'concurrency' ...

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

NGAD (Next Generation Air Dominance) ...

Sembra che ora la Marina USA sappia veramente quale velivolo vuole ... e punti decisamente su velocità e raggio d' azione ...

The Navy is knee deep in an analysis on how best to replace its Super Hornet and Growler aircraft.

Though much work is still left to be done, the resulting platform could look a lot different than both those jets, with a much higher priority on range and speed.

The service kicked off its “Next Generation Air Dominance” analysis of alternatives in January 2016 to study potential replacements for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and E/A-18G Growler.

(Confusingly, the Air Force has used the NGAD term to describe its own analysis of alternatives for an F-22 follow-on aircraft, but the services’ efforts are not connected and there are no plans to pursue a joint fighter).

Now, after about a year and a half, the Navy team feels they have a complete understanding of what capabilities the future carrier strike group needs to have and, importantly, what threats it will face, Capt. Richard Brophy, who is working the AoA effort as part of the service’s air warfare division, said during a panel at the Office of Naval Research’s science and technology expo.

Fonte: DefenseNews ... Speed and range could be key for Navy's next fighter jet ...

[Flaggy]

Pensieri in libertà su NGAD e PCA.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/analysis-us-air-force-looks-to-the-future-of-air-su-440756/

[TT-1 Pinto]

LM ha ottenuto un contratto che prevede la messa a punto un'arma laser sperimentale installabile su un aereo da caccia ...

Lockheed Martin has received a $26.3 million contract to develop and produce a laser than can be tested on a fighter jet by 2021.

The initiative will see Lockheed develop a high power fiber laser as part of US Air Force's Research Lab's Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) programme, says Lockheed in a statement (*).

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... Lockheed to develop experimental laser for fighters ...

(*) ... Lockheed Martin Receives Contract to Develop Compact Airborne High Energy Laser Capabilities ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

NGAD ... siamo al "Vorrei ... ma (almeno per ora) non posso" ...

The US Air Force will need to replicate funding levels not seen since President Ronald Reagan's military spending build-up in the early 1980s in order to make its next-generation air dominance (NGAD) concept a reality, the head of Air Combat Command says this week.

The service has a solid grasp of what it would take to guarantee control of the air after finishing its 2030 air superiority study last spring, which assessed its limitations against future airpower threats.

What the USAF is still struggling with is where to find the dollars to fund its next ambitious acquisition programme.

“I don’t see a shortcut to doing it,” Gen Mike Holmes says. “Whatever path you choose, to go after maintaining that air superiority option, it’s going to cost about the same as it did 30 years ago.”

Fonte: flightglobal.com ... USAF needs Reagan-level dollars for penetrating counterair platform ...

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Ulteriori passi verso il caccia di nuova generazione ...

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, armed with the biggest infusion of cash for research and development the service has seen in years, is looking to pivot from the counterterrorism fight in the Middle East to preparing for a potential clash with China.

Key to that effort will be investing in maintaining air and space superiority as new threats emerge, Wilson said Feb. 21 during an interview ahead of the Air Force Association’s annual air warfare symposium here.

In particular, the Air Force is spending $2.7 billion more than planned over the next five years (almost $10 billion in total) to accelerate “Next Generation Air Dominance” (NGAD), a family of systems designed to ensure air superiority well into the century.

The effort likely will include a next-generation fighter to replace the F-22, F-35, or both.

Fonte: aviationweek.com ... USAF Speeds Next-Gen Fighter Family, With Eye Toward China ...

[TT-1 Pinto]

Dal Daily Report dell'AFA del 7 Marzo 2018 ...

USAF Buying Back Sixth Generation Development ...

The Air Force’s Fiscal 2019 budget request contains a big jump in funding to develop next-generation air dominance, or a sixth generation air superiority system, Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, said Tuesday.

The Fiscal 2019 budget request, released last month, shows “we put a ton of money back in, but that’s money pilfered” from previous budgets where the service was forced to fund current operations over long-term planning.

“All we’ve done is put it back,” Harris said.

The Air Force’s Fiscal 2019 budget request calls for $504 million in research, development, test, and evaluation for Next Generation Air Dominance.

This is up from $294.7 million in Fiscal 2018.

This funding will dramatically increase to $1.4 billion in Fiscal 2020 and $2 billion the year after.

The next generation of air superiority is not going to just be an airborne platform, it will also need to work with space assets and sensors that are “not typically associated with an air vehicle,” Harris said.

This also needs to be coupled with development of new weapons, because the Air Force “can’t continue to shoot fourth generation weapons off fifth and six generation” aircraft, Harris said.

- Brian Everstine

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Opera di contenimento ...

Quote

The Aircraft and Weapons division chief with the US Air Force Cost Analysis Agency has made a series of suggestions in a research paper for keeping the price of a sixth generation fighter down after analysing a myriad of cost-overruns by the B-2, F-22 and F-35 programmes.
A reoccurring theme throughout many of the suggested measures is a need for the USAF to maintain a disciplined focus on a narrow set of unchanging priorities for their next generation fighter. 
The research paper was presented at an International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association workshop in June 2018.
One suggestion is that the USAF develop their next aircraft by focusing on one major item at a time and then incrementally adding other system upgrades – an approach that has worked on previous aircraft programmes.

Fonte: flightglobal.com ..... "USAF analyst suggests ways to avoid cost overruns on 6th-gen fighter" .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Non collaboreranno ...

Quote

After developing the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II together, the US Navy (USN) and the US Air Force (USAF) are parting ways.
The USN’s next-generation fighter won’t be jointly developed with the USAF. 
That’s because the USN does not plan to use its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft on penetration missions in highly-contested air space as the USAF aims to do with its next-generation fighter, says Angie Knappenberger, USN deputy director of air warfare, at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space conference in National Harbor, Maryland.

... flightglobal.com ... Future US Navy fighter will not be joint effort with USAF ...

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Combattimento aereo ravvicinato e intelligenza artificiale ... la DARPA lancia la ricerca ...

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The Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to launch a competition to teach artificial intelligence (AI) software programmes how to control aircraft and their weapons in dogfights.
The research agency sees the competition as the first step in developing software that would automate air-to-air combat. 
AI-controlled fighter aircraft could react faster in combat and free up pilots to spend more time managing a larger air battle, says DARPA. 
Ultimately, the Air Combat Evolution (ACE) programme aims to develop AI dogfighting software programs that are reliable and trusted enough by pilots to take over air-to-air combat.

... flightglobal.com ... DARPA to launch competition for AI-powered aircraft dogfighting ...

... darpa.mil ... Training AI to Win a Dogfight ...

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NGAD ... in servizio più presto di quanto previsto ?

Quote

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to radically alter the acquisition strategy for its next generation of fighter jets, with a new plan that could require industry to design, develop and produce a new fighter in five years or less.
On Oct. 1, the service will officially reshape its next-generation fighter program, known as Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, Will Roper, the Air Force’s acquisition executive, said during an exclusive interview with Defense News.
Under a new office headed by a yet-unnamed program manager, the NGAD program will adopt a rapid approach to developing small batches of fighters with multiple companies, much like the Century Series of aircraft built in the 1950s, Roper said.
“Based on what industry thinks they can do and what my team will tell me, we will need to set a cadence of how fast we think we build a new airplane from scratch. Right now, my estimate is five years. I may be wrong,” he said. 
“I’m hoping we can get faster than that — I think that will be insufficient in the long term [to meet future threats] — but five years is so much better than where we are now with normal acquisition.”

defensenews.com ... The US Air Force’s radical plan for a future fighter could field a jet in 5 years
 
In precedenza: airforcemag.com ... Holmes: What ACC Expects from New “Century Series” ...

[fabio-22raptor]

In 5 anni? O l'asticella è bassa o l'ottimismo è alto.

[TT-1 Pinto]

12 minuti fa, fabio-22raptor ha scritto:

In 5 anni?

O l'asticella è bassa o l'ottimismo è alto.

Ricordati del Progetto Apollo ... certo che erano tempi e situazioni diverse ... ma se dovessero decidere di impegnarsi veramente ... 

[Flaggy]

Sono situazioni molto diverse.

Qua si parla di usare lo stesso approccio dei caccia serie 100... decenni fa...Cambiare tipo di aereo con vita a vatica di 6000 ore ogni tot anni? 

Gli aerei di quegli anni erano molti grezzi (e pieni di difetti...) e un approccio come quello proposto mi pare utopistico e incompatibile con la complessita e la sofisticazione  comunque e sempre richieste oggigiorno.

Lo stesso T-X...pardon T-7 deve confermare la rapidità (comunque 3 anni per qualcosa che non è un caccia di sesta generazione...) e il basso costo su 350 pezzi e non su due prototipi/dimostratori...

[FrancescoBaracca]

Dall'altra parte, se questa metodologia fosse confermata ed avesse successo (ed ho dubbi riguardo ad entrambe le cose), renderebbe Tempest e FCAS vecchi prima ancora della loro nascita.

[TT-1 Pinto]

34 minuti fa, FrancescoBaracca ha scritto:

Dall'altra parte, se questa metodologia fosse confermata ed avesse successo (ed ho dubbi riguardo ad entrambe le cose), renderebbe Tempest e FCAS vecchi prima ancora della loro nascita.

Considerazione che non fa una piega ...

[nsauro]

10 ore fa, FrancescoBaracca ha scritto:

Dall'altra parte, se questa metodologia fosse confermata ed avesse successo (ed ho dubbi riguardo ad entrambe le cose), renderebbe Tempest e FCAS vecchi prima ancora della loro nascita.

Un po' come l'Eurofighter...

[TT-1 Pinto]

29 minuti fa, nsauro ha scritto:

Un po' come l'Eurofighter ...

L' Eurofighter, appartenendo alla 4^ generazione (come pure Rafale e Gripen), è già stato superato dai velivoli della 5^ generazione ...

E qui si sta parlando di quelli della 6^ ...

[Flaggy]

Appunto: come l'EF-2000 di quarta è arrivato in ritardo rispetto ai teen fighter, così il Tempest di 6 richia altrettanto di arrivare in ritardo rispetto a...Miss Febbraio (ecco, magari sarebbe ora di cambiare nome alla discussione...).

Da vedere però come si svilupperà questa benedetta sesta generazione. L'EF-2000 è arrivato in ritardo per motivi soprattutto gestionali anche se a rigore è pure stato avvantaggiato dal fatto che manco l'F-22 di generazione successiva abbia corso: da vedere se il Tempest e lo FCAS faranno altrettanto e se gli americani riusciranno a mettere in pratica quella supercazzola temporale scritta nell'articolo. Poi è da vedere cosa gli americani metteranno dentro quell'aereo e cosa faranno gli europei, che sappiamo hanno saltato la quinta a piè pari, o meglio l'hanno fatta (almeno chi l'ha voluto...) collaborando all'F-35.

Non è però un mistero che gli americani siano sempre un passo avanti: l'importante è che quello che metti in servizio non stia più indietro di un'era geologica e che possa essere tenuto al passo con opportuni interventi senza che l'impostazione generale te l'impedisca (come per l'EF-2000 che non sarà mai stealth...).