Scaled Composites Model 151 ARES

Orionblamblam said:
So long as the target was the ground surrounding the truck, and not the truck itself...
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They are falling short in that still which has nothing to do with the yaw brought about by the off axis gun but rather the pilot pressing the trigget a fraction too early.
 
In any case, I doubt very much that the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps would be looking to use something like the Ares as a cannon-armed gun platform--even the A-10's tank-hunting days are pretty much over.

But an updated Ares-like light ground attack jet, armored against small arms fire, carrying countermeasures against MANPADS and armed with light missiles like the AGM-176 Griffin and guided 2.75 in rockets would be very handy as an inexpensive COIN platform for the USA and allied nations around the world. A couple of FN Browning M3 .50 caliber machine guns or one three-barreled GAU-19 .50 cal Gatling gun would provide flexibility in engaging thin-skinned ground targets, other aircraft and helicopters. Air-to-Air Stinger could even be an option.

And you could buy, train, equip and operate a couple of squadrons of them for less than the price of one F-35. I'm just saying....
 
Abraham Gubler said:
Orionblamblam said:
So long as the target was the ground surrounding the truck, and not the truck itself...
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They are falling short in that still which has nothing to do with the yaw brought about by the off axis gun but rather the pilot pressing the trigget a fraction too early.
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Me-109 was designed for the gun..it fired through the propellor hub..with devastating accuracy. Cannon barrel went though the engine literally.
 
Abraham Gubler said:
Orionblamblam said:
So long as the target was the ground surrounding the truck, and not the truck itself...
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They are falling short in that still...
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Actually, if you watch the video, the rounds are sweeping from side to side just before that still (thus the "wall" of dirt), and then they strike *beyond* the truck. I didn't see *any* rounds actually hit the truck, which kinda dumps all over the claim that every round hit the target.
 
Thanks for the link, thise are some great pictures. Anyone have any idea what the airraft is being used for these days?
 
yasotay said:
Thanks for the link, thise are some great pictures. Anyone have any idea what the airraft is being used for these days?
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It's been doing a lot of work at Pax River, probably simulating a threat.
 
quellish said:
yasotay said:
Thanks for the link, thise are some great pictures. Anyone have any idea what the airraft is being used for these days?
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It's been doing a lot of work at Pax River, probably simulating a threat.
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That Iranian toy looking, mini fighter? 303 something?
 
Still think the USN Test Pilot School is the most likely candidate.
 
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ARES gun installation.
 

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Kinda stubby barrels, aren't they? No wonder they make such a fireball.
 
Jeb said:
Kinda stubby barrels, aren't they? No wonder they make such a fireball.
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They're about 70 calibers long. Not that short.
 
Those are around 76 calibers, so in the same ballpark.

Of course, that's only half the story; internal ballistics vary between cartridges. I'm not sure how the 25mm cartridge burns -- it might be all-burnt later than the 20mm and 30mm rounds. I think the Bushmaster barrel is a bit longer (closer to 80 calibers) so that might be the "natural" barrel length.
 
Courtesy of Aviation Archives:
 

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flateric said:
https://www.facebook.com/ScaledComposites/posts/10154955770510658
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Back in the 90s there were one or two articles about ARES in Sport Aviation, the EAA newsletter/magazine that had some interesting details (and I believe this same illustration)
 
From what I understand the ARES or LCBAA concept had little chance of entering service following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with reduced NATO priority, and the start of the Persian Gulf War Part 1. Inter-service rivalry between Army and USAF seems a minor point with the Johnson-McConnell agreement of 1966.

The spectre of an all out Soviet armoured thrust backed by attack helicopters into Western Europe died out, so did any requirement for a Low Cost Attack weapon system. I'm not even certain if there was a formal requirement for the LCBAA or if it was a pitch by companies trying to convince the military that was a good idea - like the Phalanx Corp (taking it to the extreme).
 
Still one of my favorite airplanes.
 
Too bad it never entered into production, I loved the concept so much back at the end of the 80's...
 
For me, the most surprising aspect of the Model 151 ARES is that it is considered to be a low-observable design. To look at it, I would never have thought it would be stealthy.
 
flateric said:
Considered by who?
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An organization was stood up at the test site in 2014 for developmental flight testing of a new low observable (LO) platform. They created a graphic that commemorated previous legacy LO aircraft, starting with the Project RAINBOW U-2 (circa 1957) and progressing through various others up to the F-35. It was not surprising to see the RAM-covered PASSPORT VISA T-33, A-12/SR-71 Blackbird, HAVE BLUE, etc. - all the usual suspects. I was, however, surprised to see ARES on that list.
 
Whisperstream said:
For me, the most surprising aspect of the Model 151 ARES is that it is considered to be a low-observable design. To look at it, I would never have thought it would be stealthy.
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ARES is constructed primarily of fiberglass and kevlar - both of which are transparent to radar. I have seen diagnostic radar cross section images of ARES myself, and you can see the metal hardware under the skin clearly as major scattering sources. The control surface hinges, etc. are very visible to radar, not to mention the engine.
 
quellish said:
ARES is constructed primarily of fiberglass and kevlar - both of which are transparent to radar. I have seen diagnostic radar cross section images of ARES myself, and you can see the metal hardware under the skin clearly as major scattering sources. The control surface hinges, etc. are very visible to radar, not to mention the engine.
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As would be expected, of course. Yet, it's on the list of LO aircraft. One of life's mysteries, I guess.
 
Whisperstream said:
As would be expected, of course. Yet, it's on the list of LO aircraft. One of life's mysteries, I guess.
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Maybe it's a veiled reference to the Model 401, which has apparently been nicknamed Son of Ares. 2014 is a little early for the public timeline of the 401 proper (24 months culminating in first flight in October 2017) but maybe there was a precursor to the 401 that has not been shown off?
 
TomS said:
Maybe it's a veiled reference to the Model 401, which has apparently been nicknamed Son of Ares. 2014 is a little early for the public timeline of the 401 proper (24 months culminating in first flight in October 2017) but maybe there was a precursor to the 401 that has not been shown off?
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On the graphic in question, the 2014 artwork is encircled by aircraft silhouettes accompanied by year of first flight. In three cases, a single silhouette represents two distinct but related models. For example, a Blackbird silhouette represents both the A-12 and SR-71 and is accompanied by first flight years for both, 1962 and 1964 respectively.

Here is the list of aircraft represented (and, yes, I would argue that there are some glaring omissions):

U-2 RAINBOW (1957)
T-33A PASSPORT VISA (1958)
A-12/SR-71 (1962/1964)
HAVE BLUE (1977)
F-117A (1981)
TACIT BLUE (1982)
B-2 (1989)
Model 151 ARES (1990)
YF-23 (1990)
YF-22/F-22A (1990/1997)
YF-118G Bird of Prey (1996)
RQ-3A DarkStar (1995)
X-36 (1997)
X-35/F-35 (2000/2006)
X-32 (2000)
X-45A (2002)
X-47A (2003)
P-175 Polecat (2005)
 
Whisperstream said:
On the graphic in question, the 2014 artwork is encircled by aircraft silhouettes accompanied by year of first flight. In three cases, a single silhouette represents two distinct but related models. For example, a Blackbird silhouette represents both the A-12 and SR-71 and is accompanied by first flight years for both, 1962 and 1964 respectively.

Here is the list of aircraft represented (and, yes, I would argue that there are some glaring omissions):

U-2 RAINBOW (1957)
T-33A PASSPORT VISA (1958)
A-12/SR-71 (1962/1964)
HAVE BLUE (1977)
F-117A (1981)
TACIT BLUE (1982)
B-2 (1989)
Model 151 ARES (1990)
YF-23 (1990)
YF-22/F-22A (1990/1997)
YF-118G Bird of Prey (1996)
RQ-3A DarkStar (1995)
X-36 (1997)
X-35/F-35 (2000/2006)
X-32 (2000)
X-45A (2002)
X-47A (2003)
P-175 Polecat (2005)
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OK, that does make it less likely. Very strange inclusion then.
 
IIRC, ARES started off as an engineering challenge: "Can a composite airframe survive the recoil of a 25mm GAU12 without being ripped apart in flight?"

Of course, Burt Rutan says "hell yes it can, gimme a couple million and I'll prove it with a flying aircraft!"
 
Desertfox said:
I'm wondering if the Army is looking into the Ares as a UCAV? Or FAC?
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ARES is privately owned. It is contracted for various flight test projects.
 

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