Lockheed Martin Awarded Air Force ICBM Contract

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  3 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Lockheed to Retrofit F-35s for Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses Role

  June 2, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin a $26.7 million contract on June 1 to develop a structural modification for the F-35 strike fighter to improve its Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses capability (SEAD/DEAD). The retrofit design will be applied to both U.S. and foreign F-35s in Lots 14 and 15, and will be completed by August 2022. The contract, issued by Naval Air Systems Command on behalf of all F-35 users, says Lockheed will perform the engineering necessary to modify the aircraft to perform “full up” SEAD and DEAD. When the Air Force declared the F-35 operational in 2016, it described the F-35's SEAD/DEAD suite as able to perform the mission in a “limited” fashion. The need for a structural modification indicates the aircraft will be fitted with new munitions and/or sensors to carry out the role, which usually involves detecting, fixing, and attacking ground-based air defense threats, which can be mobile or stationary. When the service declared initial operational capability for the F-35A, the aircraft was in the 3i configuration, which gave it capability to release satellite-guided bombs. With the 3F version, the F-35 gained capability for the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb and AGM-154 Stand-Off Weapon—both used for SEAD/DEAD. The Block 4 upgrade will enable the F-35 to carry the in-development Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW). The Navy plans to field its AGM-88E Anti-Radiation Guided Missile, a successor to the HARM anti-radiation missile, and the Air Force is considering the weapon, as well. The ARRGM and HARM home in on the last known emissions of a surface-to-air missile radar at high speed; their presence and success in previous conflicts has dissuaded enemies from turning their radars on in some instances, hence “suppression.” The F-35's ASQ-239 electronic warfare system can passively detect an enemy air defense system's emissions and geo-locate these targets in concert with the F-35's other systems. Air Force leaders have said the F-35, by virtue of its stealth, will become the main platform for the SEAD/DEAD mission in the coming decade. That role is now primarily performed by the F-16 with the HARM. https://www.airforcemag.com/lockheed-to-retrofit-f-35s-for-suppression-destruction-of-enemy-air-defenses-role

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  30 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  America’s F-22 stealth fighter may be limited in Asia-Pacific conditions, China’s J-20 designer says

  Aircraft has been sent to the region but was designed for combat in Europe, which could affect its capabilities, according to Yang Wei China's answer to the Raptor has yet to be put to the test in a real combat situation, military expert notes Minnie Chan Published: 12:00am, 30 Jul, 2020 America's F-22 Raptor stealth fighter was designed for combat in Europe but is now being used in the Asia-Pacific, according to a top Chinese aircraft designer, who says the different conditions will limit its capabilities there. Yang Wei, general designer of China's first stealth fighter the J-20, said the twin-engine F-22s could face the same challenges in the region as the F-4 fighter-bombers the Pentagon sent to the Vietnam war between 1965 and 1973. “The complex environment and political constraints in Vietnam caused the F-4 to almost fail to show its high-speed performance and over-the-horizon combat capabilities,” Yang wrote in a paper published in Chinese aeronautics journal Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica last month. He said the F-22, a tactical fighter inspired by the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union, was designed for battle in Europe and could face similar problems now that it had been deployed in the Asia-Pacific. Yang did not draw any comparisons between America's F-22 and China's J-20 both fifth-generation, twin-engine heavy fighter jets and of a similar size. But military experts said his remarks indicated that the J-20 Weilong, or Powerful Dragon, was clearly seen as China's answer to the F-22. Comparing the two, Song Zhongping, a military commentator in Hong Kong, said the J-20's biggest advantage was that it was developed later, meaning its designers could learn from the F-22 – including how to fix shortcomings, and what type of new technologies could be used to optimise the aircraft. “The F-22 was originally designed for combat with the former Soviet Union, or today's Russia, in Europe, but now the Raptor's main opponent is the [People's Liberation Army] in the Asia-Pacific,” Song said. “China's J-20 was inspired by the F-22's deployment. The Chinese aircraft designers used the Raptor as a rival and the F-35 [stealth multi-role fighter] as a tactical opponent to help them to come up with a more practical and capable fighter jet.” Both the F-22 and the J-20 have a ceiling of 20km (12.4 miles) and a maximum speed of over Mach 2 (2,470km per hour, or 1,535mph) – faster than the speed of sound. The F-22 has a comparatively shorter range – with a combat radius of 800km (497 miles), while the J-20's large internal fuel tank can sustain a longer combat radius of 1,100km (684 miles). But Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming noted that the J-20, which entered service in 2017, had yet to be put to the test in a real combat situation. Andrei Chang, founder of influential military magazine Kanwa Asian Defence, said that in contrast, the F-22's combat capabilities had been seen, most recently last year when the stealth fighters were sent to Qatar as tensions rose with Iran. “The operation of the F-22 has been perfected since it joined the US military in 2005. The Raptor has taken part in countless actual combat situations around the globe, including in the Middle East, Singapore and Okinawa in the Pacific,” Chang said. A military source close to the PLA believed the J-20 could counter the F-22 in a one-on-one combat situation, but said far fewer of the fighter jets had been made compared to America's Raptors. “At the moment China has about 60 J-20s – just one-third of the total number of F-22s,” said the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. “Now the US has deployed hundreds of F-35s to the region, so it's an even bigger threat to China,” he added. With F-22s being deployed to the Asia-Pacific region – and as relations worsen with Washington, including over the disputed South China Sea – Beijing has stepped up development of its new stealth fighter. Mass production of the J-20B began earlier this month. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3095219/americas-f-22-stealth-fighter-may-be-limited-asia-pacific

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  11 novembre 2024 | International, Terrestre

  Israel and Germany move forward with Arrow 3 missile system deployment 

  Israel's Ministry of Defense is moving forward with the deployment of the Arrow 3 missile interception system on German soil in 2025 and has initiated joint preparations with the German Federal Ministry of Defence.