icyplanetnhc (Steve)
Trekking into the cosmic ocean
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The story of how TOPGUN integrated the F-22 Raptor flights into its syllabus - The Aviation Geek Club
The story of how Topgun integrated the F-22 Raptor flights into its syllabus
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That interesting that the seemingly similar shape reduce RCS by that muchOne interesting characteristics of F-22, particularly the F-119 engine which carried over to F-135 is the "stealthy augmentor" which designed in specific shape to block view from the turbine blades. Aside from few short articles and photos. I'm curious if there is anything else released in public domain, we have patents on radar blockers and good images of its shapes but. This stealthy augmentor seems not as many.
As for what kind of effect it can have on RCS. I made a bit of speculation. Regarding the possible shape of the stealthy augmenter.
So i modeled a simple nozzle and jetpipe along with "bullet" and 2 stages of turbines.
View attachment 671414
The exhaust blocker in view based on F-22 Augmenter. This is very speculative as i only have image from Jay Miller's book. This may work in Radar cross section reduction wise but whether this can work aerodynamically. i have no means to test it yet. I in fact dont even know what people expect aerodynamically from such device.
View attachment 671416
Material wise. The augmenter is treated with "Perfect RAM" to basically emulate the "Best expected value achievable" The "bullet" also treated similarly. The turbines and engine casing are left as PEC.
The result :
Without the Blocker With BlockerView attachment 671417 View attachment 671418 View attachment 671398 View attachment 671395 View attachment 671401 View attachment 671402
The 3D plot however does not reveal much except apparently slight reduction in spikes. The 2D contour plot of the engine however reveals considerable amount of reduction, as can be seen in the 3rd plot of the table aobove. the "nasty" powerful red spikes from the untreated turbines are gone when the treated blocker are present.
The overall strength of the RCS Median wise also considerable reduced. The simulation is done in X-band (8 GHz), and in similar manner as one i did for Su-57 radar blocker. The Median value of the RCS are as follows :
Untreated nozzle without blocker : 1.8 Sqm or 2.57 dB
Nozzle and jetpipe with blocker : 0.052 Sqm or about -12 dB
Correspond to about 34 Times reduction. Using the value for the radar detection range this correspond to about 60% reduction in detection range for possible hostile radar. Sounds VERY promising. Further reduction can be achieved if one also treat the wall of the jetpipe. I tried that approach too but the result seems to be greatly unrealistic as i am using ideal absorber.
So yeah, What do you guys think ?.
No way. About 15 years ago I predicted the f22 would get a pop out sensor in one of the winder bays for a2g missions. That's probably where it'll go and will sacrifice one of the 9x.Now reported by Aviation Week.
USAF Seeks Third-Party Vendors For F-22 Sensor, Capability Upgrades | Aviation Week Network
A long-range infrared search and track sensor, manned-unmanned teaming capability and a Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display are on a list of new upgrades by third-party vendors sought by the U.S. Air Force for the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.aviationweek.com
Long range IRST is interesting, perhaps they'll make use of that empty bay under the nose? A third party vendor for the IRST is rather odd, as Lockheed Martin is the incumbent for both the AAR-56 and dedicated systems like the IRST21 for possible integration.
I am curious why they are pursuing the monocle-style Scorpion rather than a full display system like the JHMCS-II. It's true that the canopy shape of the F-22 is a limiting factor in terms of how bulky a helmet-mounted system can be, but the updated JHMCS appears to have cut down on the bulk from the original version.
Predictive maintenance sounds interesting and might be a hidden gem if it can significantly improve readiness and availability. Operating costs and readiness have been the main factors behind the USAF’s considerations for retiring the F-22 early, so improving these areas is vitally important for the future of the fleet.
Why take up one of the Winder Bays when you already have space in the nose for it?No way. About 15 years ago I predicted the f22 would get a pop out sensor in one of the winder bays for a2g missions. That's probably where it'll go and will sacrifice one of the 9x.Now reported by Aviation Week.
USAF Seeks Third-Party Vendors For F-22 Sensor, Capability Upgrades | Aviation Week Network
A long-range infrared search and track sensor, manned-unmanned teaming capability and a Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display are on a list of new upgrades by third-party vendors sought by the U.S. Air Force for the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.aviationweek.com
Long range IRST is interesting, perhaps they'll make use of that empty bay under the nose? A third party vendor for the IRST is rather odd, as Lockheed Martin is the incumbent for both the AAR-56 and dedicated systems like the IRST21 for possible integration.
I am curious why they are pursuing the monocle-style Scorpion rather than a full display system like the JHMCS-II. It's true that the canopy shape of the F-22 is a limiting factor in terms of how bulky a helmet-mounted system can be, but the updated JHMCS appears to have cut down on the bulk from the original version.
Predictive maintenance sounds interesting and might be a hidden gem if it can significantly improve readiness and availability. Operating costs and readiness have been the main factors behind the USAF’s considerations for retiring the F-22 early, so improving these areas is vitally important for the future of the fleet.
Back in 2017, Ken Merchant, who was then Lockheed’s vice president for the F-22 program, told Air Force Magazine that “we really don’t have the real estate” to fit an internal IRST in the jet, at least in an installation comparable to the Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) in the F-35.
Good job.One interesting characteristics of F-22, particularly the F-119 engine which carried over to F-135 is the "stealthy augmentor" which designed in specific shape to block view from the turbine blades. Aside from few short articles and photos. I'm curious if there is anything else released in public domain, we have patents on radar blockers and good images of its shapes but. This stealthy augmentor seems not as many.
As for what kind of effect it can have on RCS. I made a bit of speculation. Regarding the possible shape of the stealthy augmenter.
So i modeled a simple nozzle and jetpipe along with "bullet" and 2 stages of turbines.
View attachment 671414
The exhaust blocker in view based on F-22 Augmenter. This is very speculative as i only have image from Jay Miller's book. This may work in Radar cross section reduction wise but whether this can work aerodynamically. i have no means to test it yet. I in fact dont even know what people expect aerodynamically from such device.
View attachment 671416
Material wise. The augmenter is treated with "Perfect RAM" to basically emulate the "Best expected value achievable" The "bullet" also treated similarly. The turbines and engine casing are left as PEC.
The result :
Without the Blocker With BlockerView attachment 671417 View attachment 671418 View attachment 671398 View attachment 671395 View attachment 671401 View attachment 671402
The 3D plot however does not reveal much except apparently slight reduction in spikes. The 2D contour plot of the engine however reveals considerable amount of reduction, as can be seen in the 3rd plot of the table aobove. the "nasty" powerful red spikes from the untreated turbines are gone when the treated blocker are present.
The overall strength of the RCS Median wise also considerable reduced. The simulation is done in X-band (8 GHz), and in similar manner as one i did for Su-57 radar blocker. The Median value of the RCS are as follows :
Untreated nozzle without blocker : 1.8 Sqm or 2.57 dB
Nozzle and jetpipe with blocker : 0.052 Sqm or about -12 dB
Correspond to about 34 Times reduction. Using the value for the radar detection range this correspond to about 60% reduction in detection range for possible hostile radar. Sounds VERY promising. Further reduction can be achieved if one also treat the wall of the jetpipe. I tried that approach too but the result seems to be greatly unrealistic as i am using ideal absorber.
So yeah, What do you guys think ?.
It's an SBIR solicitation, so the goal is to seed money to nonprimes.A third party vendor for the IRST is rather odd, as Lockheed Martin is the incumbent for both the AAR-56 and dedicated systems like the IRST21 for possible integration.
Is SBIR strictly for third party vendors, or can the prime/incumbent also bid?It's an SBIR solicitation, so the goal is to seed money to nonprimes.A third party vendor for the IRST is rather odd, as Lockheed Martin is the incumbent for both the AAR-56 and dedicated systems like the IRST21 for possible integration.
It's also Phase II, according to the article here, so a pool of small companies have been looking at this doing R&D for at least six months-- possibly longer. Couldn't get the link to the solicitation to open, so I don't have any particulars.
There's always a chain that could have been broken, or Swiss cheese that lined up. What's most disturbing is the pervasive lack of discipline/attention to details throughout that unit. It's also telling that information came from a command directed investigation not an AIB.Interesting myriad of errors that caused the accident, from both the maintenance and the pilot side. The design of the flight control system could have been more forgiving, but still, this was an avoidable loss.
I hate to say "I told you so." But I told you so."“maintenance error made after the aircraft was washed” that “impacted control inputs transmitted to the aircraft.”"
Maybe water was where it shouldn't be and affected the air data system?
Or perhaps they installed plugs in the air data system to prevent water intrusion while washing the plane and forgot to remove one when they were done.
Those things look like cross eye jammer or maybe HPM weapon?Not really fond of a podded IRST solution. I suppose it may be better than nothing but I do question the harm it causes to the radar signature.
I'm not either. It's not clear to me that these are IRSTs or test shapes for IRSTs. The pod on the aircraft left wing appears to have a different coating on the nose than the one on the right and kind of looks like a treated sensor window. But it could also just be the angles of the pictures. What's odd is that these pods only appear to have LO shaping from the front, the sides are barn doors RCS wise. Nothing like those LO external weapons pods.Not really fond of a podded IRST solution. I suppose it may be better than nothing but I do question the harm it causes to the radar signature.
It's possible that they're looking to combine the functionality of ECM and EO into the pod. The front portion of the pod looks rather slimmer than the Legion pod, which makes me wonder why it couldn't be integrated into a fairing under the nose.
I believe you're referring to this.I do recall reading an article about IRST on the Raptor where a manager in the SPO said they may have room in the upper nose (ala flanker) to put a IRST if they were to install modern displays which would free up additional space behind the panel. That would be preferable IMO.
The flat panels in the F-22 cockpit were cutting-edge when they were built, but compared to modern flat screens, they are thick and bulky. Merchant sees a chance to replace them with an F-35-like display thin enough that the new processors could fit right behind them, allowing easier service and freeing up space elsewhere on the airplane for growth mission hardware.
I'm just in awe of the recent losses, the RAF/RN left a large air intake cover on, now we are using tape to cover a precision sensor, and leaving the tape on. Its been a few years since I handled aircraft, and I assume every aspect is documented and the equipment designed for every task.![]()
Human error, tech glitches and tape caused May 2020 F-22 crash
The Air Force declined to say whether anyone was disciplined for the incident.www.airforcetimes.com
Interesting myriad of errors that caused the accident, from both the maintenance and the pilot side. The design of the flight control system could have been more forgiving, but still, this was an avoidable loss.
Just like Raytheon don't have ther own testbedsCouldn't that just be a training aircraft to simulate the next Gen of stealthy cruise missile?
or version of ADVANCED AIR TO AIR PYLON from F-35 fleetThis year (and last) two efforts they have been working on are Low Drag Pylon and Sensor Systems. It probably has something to do with one or both of those.
Its pretty clear the pylons are frontal stealth only just from the from the flat slab sides.... Too me that indicates ground attack role. You would not degrade raptors stealth and speed for an air superiority role. That to me further indicates a sead/dead role. The raptor already has built in EW. Therefore this is some kind of directed energy type of system for defeating a specific threat that raptor currently may not be able too defeat or may need help defeating better. I would also bet it is able to be jettisoned so that the raptor may regain its LO for egress if required. All speculation and they may be for maritime strike for all we knowor version of ADVANCED AIR TO AIR PYLON from F-35 fleetThis year (and last) two efforts they have been working on are Low Drag Pylon and Sensor Systems. It probably has something to do with one or both of those.
A squadron of the world's most advanced air superiority fighters are being deployed to help the UAE respond to drone and missile strikes? Doesn't make sense to me.![]()
Air Force Deploying F-22s to UAE, CENTCOM Boss Says | Air & Space Forces Magazine
U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. announced a squadron of F-22s will go to UAE to combat drone and missile strikes.www.airforcemag.com
Yep. The "50% mission rate" F-22s are not deployed to UAE to just look for dronesIt’s probably a hedge against a potential Iran-Israeli conflict if the nuclear talks end without an agreement. Israel has been unambiguous about what the next step is.