Design a Close Air Support aircraft

[Scott Kenny]

Today, I'd have to think about an unmanned drone capable of flying nap-of-the-earth, reaching speeds over 500 km/h and able to pull 12 gees, and enough endurance to fly a grid... have it lob a missile or bomb. There is still the issue of targeting, navigation and jamming. I'm not sure if a radar mounted on such a low flying fast moving platform would be sufficient to detect vehicles and navigation could be a challenge if it is flying so low.

Honestly, these days I'd want to use a whole flight of drones. One super stealthy TACIT BLUE type for radar data (and optionally EO), a handful of drones that carry boom, and an as-stealthy-as-possible airborne quarterback with guns.

Given that a close support aircraft is talking about Army troops with the enemy within a couple hundred meters, some of the CAS aircraft need guns. My mental model has been that the Quarterback gets the guns, nothing else [edit] gets guns.

Edited for conceptual clarity.

 

[Halcyon66]

Drone it dot com

Regards,

 

[asVAL]

Just use spare F-35s and XQ-58s for fixed target CAS lol. Hand over the A-10 roles to the Army and FVL.

My ideal force mix is a combo of F401 A-16 and Cheyennes. A real missed opportunity.

 

[asVAL]

Honestly, these days I'd want to use a whole flight of drones. One super stealthy TACIT BLUE type for radar data (and optionally EO), a handful of drones that carry boom, and an as-stealthy-as-possible airborne quarterback with guns.

Why would your gun-armed quarterback be designed with LO? It's supposed to get down in the weed anyway.

Given that a close support aircraft is talking about Army troops with the enemy within a couple hundred meters, some of the CAS aircraft need guns. My mental model has been that the Quarterback gets the guns, nothing else.

Agreed. I used to be a proponent of "just SDB it luz" but quellish words on the topic are very enlightening. But a 25mm is no-no for me except for the near-term investment. Maybe a turreted 30mm for multi-axis engagement on a single strafe... The pilot directs his gun through a HMS/DAS combination. Or true aerial artillery with a 90mm dual recoil tube spitting guided ramjet KE shells on FVL carriers. Maybe @jsport would know...

 

[Scott Kenny]

Why would your gun-armed quarterback be designed with LO? It's supposed to get down in the weed anyway.

Because most of the quarterback's weapons are honestly best from medium altitude, not from the weeds. APKWS, SDBs, JDAMs, etc. Gun is the last resort for when the enemy is way too close, as a function of the various danger-close distances.

Also, it may end up being an Army tiltrotor, which isn't easy to stealth.

Agreed. I used to be a proponent of "just SDB it luz" but quellish words on the topic are very enlightening. But a 25mm is no-no for me except for the near-term investment. Maybe a turreted 30mm for multi-axis engagement on a single strafe... The pilot directs his gun through a HMS/DAS combination. Or true aerial artillery with a 90mm dual recoil tube spitting guided ramjet KE shells on FVL carriers. Maybe @jsport would know...

Which gun depends on who owns the quarterback. If it's USAF, I expect it to be a 25mm gun. But if it's a US Army tiltrotor or helo, I expect it'd use the 30x113mm gun. For someone using Soviet/Chinese calibers, probably 30x165mm. Or maybe Rhinemetall finally gets their 30x250mm recoilless revolver cannon working.

 

[jsport]

Between extreme technological conservatives, and an inability for the government to assume risk, pilot cultural ego, and LSI government capture a standoff battery won't happen.

 

[Grey Havoc]

To be fair, there are concerns of things like a Cordis Die scenario occurring in real life, that is, someone managing to hack or backdoor ones drone fleets at a strategic level.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Between extreme technological conservatives, and an inability for the government to assume risk, pilot cultural ego, and LSI government capture a standoff battery won't happen.

You mean the CAS CCAs?

It's a way for the Army to take control of their close air support and take it away from the USAF. Army is already flying armed drones without the USAF losing its mind.

The F-35s get to do the Battlefield Air Interdiction and maybe the deeper interdiction strikes like they're designed for.

 

[asVAL]

Because most of the quarterback's weapons are honestly best from medium altitude, not from the weeds. APKWS, SDBs, JDAMs, etc. Gun is the last resort for when the enemy is way too close, as a function of the various danger-close distances.

If, assumed, the primary operating environment for your "quarterback" will be at med alt, with specific conditions for the employment of gun strafe, and sensor, self analysis and comms fidelity are potent enough, I'd suggest going full VLO with an upsized X-47B toting full-on Boeing's IWB deployed airborne howitzer, true multifunction DEWs, off/defensive missiles and mini-drones ala super stealth AC-130.

Seriously though, your quarterback operates with a gun anyway, and the employment of a gun place severe limitations on the configuration and tactics of a CAS plane without some major breakthrough eg hyper accurate airborne mini SLRC. Maybe some basic shaping and (which is the opposite of as-much-as-possible in my understanding) like a blended, chined Scorpion with Supabug intakes.

Also, it may end up being an Army tiltrotor, which isn't easy to stealth.



Which gun depends on who owns the quarterback. If it's USAF, I expect it to be a 25mm gun. But if it's a US Army tiltrotor or helo, I expect it'd use the 30x113mm gun. For someone using Soviet/Chinese calibers, probably 30x165mm. Or maybe Rhinemetall finally gets their 30x250mm recoilless revolver cannon working.

I prefer the turreted M230 the most cuz it allows for easy off-axis engagement, removing the need for long reattack/orbit. A big wing A-16 with A-6E/F equivalent attack avionics, auto GCAS, DIRCM and a double sight/gun turret would've been evil to the Iraqis. Low speed accurate bomblet dropping and the agility/self defense necessary to escape most low level threat.