Latest news with #GuyPlopsky
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
EA-18G Bristles With Rare Four Anti-Radiation Missile Loadout On Yemen Mission
Imagery has emerged of a rarely seen EA-18G Growler electronic attack jet loadout involving four examples of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), or possibly the earlier older AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), during ongoing operations against Houthi targets in Yemen. While many details of the Houthi air defenses and their associated radars and sensors remain murky, the imagery underscores the continued threat that they present. We have a deep dive into the Houthi's air defenses coming soon. However, it's also worth noting that the AARGM can be used against certain other targets, including ground targets not related to air defenses. USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) continues 24/7 operations against the Iran-backed Houthis #HouthisAreTerrorists — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 21, 2025 The imagery was published today in the form of a video posted to X by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). This shows an EA-18G Growler assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 144 (VAQ-144), 'Main Battery,' launching from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). As well as the four anti-radiation missiles, the aircraft is also carrying a pair of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) and three 480-gallon external fuel tanks. EA-18Gs are regularly seen with a pair of anti-radiation missiles carried under their wings, including on operations against the Houthis, although a set of four is far less common. More typically, the other stations are given over to the various jamming pods that the Growler carries and which you can read about in more detail here. Nevertheless, this remains an established, albeit rarely seen, loadout for the EA-18G and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Even the legacy F/A-18C/D can carry anti-radiation missiles on its outboard underwing stations, too. EA-18Gs on operations against the Houthis have appeared with some other interesting loadouts, with the Growlers getting expanded air-to-air missile capabilities via additional AIM-120 AMRAAM carriage options. These weapons are primarily intended to counter Houthi drones over and around the Red Sea. Meanwhile, carrier-based F/A-18E/Fs have been seen carrying a notably wide array of air-to-ground ordnance during these operations. Such stores include the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) and the AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile–Expanded Response, better known as SLAM-ER. More common are the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) that have also been seen equipping Super Hornets striking targets in Yemen, specifically equipped with 'bunker-buster' bomb bodies. 1/ Aside from the launch of F/A-18E/Fs armed with JSOW C/C-1s, the video also shows F/A-18Es armed with SLAM-ER ATAs parked on the fligh deck. — Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) March 16, 2025 The big question raised by this latest imagery is what kinds of targets are being prosecuted using these prized anti-radiation missiles. The Houthis operate ground-based air defenses, and although the kinds of radars and sensors they use for target detection and cuing are not widely known, they are clearly a significant threat. In particular, they've taken a heavy toll on MQ-9 drones — last month, Stars and Stripes reported that the Yemeni militants had downed 12 Reapers since October 2023, citing an anonymous U.S. defense official. The U.S. military has been targeting radars that the group has, also including coastal sea surveillance radars used for targeting ships. Meanwhile, the degree of threat that these air defenses continue to pose is also highlighted by the arrival of B-2 stealth bombers in the ongoing operations, as well as the continued use of expensive standoff munitions. Most likely, the missiles are AARGMs, a direct evolution of the older HARM, designed primarily to suppress and destroy enemy air defenses. This can happen defensively to protect other aerial assets or specifically for going after air defenses proactively. The AARGM can reach targets more than 80 miles away and reach speeds of well over twice the speed of sound. Different in a number of ways from HARM, AARGM offers a major advantage in that it can hit a threat radar with a high degree of precision even if it stops emitting radiation. An adversary air defense operator may shut down their radar mid-attack, but the AARGM will still strike it and do so with extreme accuracy. Even if the emitter is mobile and starts to move after having shut down, AARGM can still hit it, guided by its active millimeter-wave radar seeker. Thanks to its standoff precision strike capability, AARGM has a secondary role as a rapid-response strike weapon against non-air defense-related targets. In this scenario, the missile is programmed to hit selected coordinates, rather than home in on emissions. The missile's high speed and its range make it a very useful time-sensitive target effector for these kinds of engagements. Last year, during the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) to the U.S. Fifth Fleet region, the Navy confirmed to TWZ that the first combat use of AARGM was from an E/A-18G deployed aboard that warship. At the same time, the Navy confirmed to us that an EA-18G assigned to VAQ-130 'Zappers,' from the Dwight D. Eisenhower, had used an AARGM for a ground kill against a Mi-24/35 Hind attack helicopter in Yemen. Did this Growler from VAQ-130 operating in the Middle East kill a hind recently? Maybe a Houthi one since this squadron was with the Ike in the Red Sea. — IntelWalrus (@IntelWalrus) May 15, 2024 For a non-radiation-emitting target like the Hind, something in the Navy's 'kill chain' or pre-mission intelligence will have likely spotted the target and the AARGM will have been used to destroy it as it sat on the ground, using GPS/INS to make its way to the target, then homing in on it using its millimeter-wave radar seeker. Via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, TWZ received confirmation of some of the types of targets depicted in 'kill marks' on specific EA-18Gs seen aboard the Dwight D. Eisenhower last year. Of these, one referred to a helicopter kill (the aforementioned Hind), two to Houthi drones downed over the Red Sea, and the remaining six were unspecified Houthi radars. The EA-18G in question's unusually heavy anti-radiation missile configuration is the latest indication the Houthi's air defenses are more advanced than most think and that after all these months, they remain a threat that the Navy is clearly focused on eliminating. Stay tuned for our deeper dive into the murky enemy air defenses situation in western Yemen. Contact the author: thomas@
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Deeply Upgraded Mirage 2000DRMV Strike Jet Enters French Service
The French Air and Space Force has officially reintroduced the modernized Mirage 2000DRMV strike aircraft in a ceremony yesterday. By the end of this year, the force will have 50 upgraded examples of the delta-wing jet, which, despite its relative age, remains a highly capable conventional strike and close air support asset. It will now continue in frontline service until at least 2035, when it will finally be replaced by the Rafale — expected to be complemented by a planned uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) and eventually also an all-new pan-European crewed combat jet. The modernized Mirage 2000DRMV (RMV for Rénovation Mi-Vie, or midlife update) adds various new weapons, with air-to-ground options now including the U.S.-made 1,000-pound GBU-48, 500-pound GBU-49, and 2,000-pound GBU-50 Enhanced Paveway II precision-guided bombs. In terms of locally developed ordnance, there is the laser-guided version of the locally made AASM rocket-assisted bomb — versions of which have seen extensive use in Ukraine. Other offensive options include the Thales/TDA ASPTT (Air-Sol Petite Taille Tactique) lightweight, laser-guided, air-to-surface munition, also known as the BAT-120LG. For the first time, the Mirage 2000D also has gun armament, with the CC422 30mm cannon pod installed on the left chin pylon below the air intake. Aircraft guns, once again, can be a valuable close air support tool. However, since the Mirage 2000D was derived from the airframe of the nuclear-strike Mirage 2000N, this was never fitted with internal cannons. The upgraded Mirage is also better equipped to use these weapons, thanks to the introduction of the more modern Targeting Long-range Identification Optronic System (TALIOS) pod, as used on the Rafale. This replaces the aging ATLIS II, PDL CTS, and Damocles pods that were previously used by the Mirage 2000D. TALIOS is also a dual-use pod, which provides tactical reconnaissance as well as targeting. For reconnaissance, the pod generates high-resolution color imagery, which can be transmitted in real time via the Link 16 datalink. For air-to-air missions, the MICA NG infrared-guided air-to-air missile replaces the old Magic IIs. Meanwhile, the Mirage 2000DRMV is provided with a new centerline drop tank, which carries fuel and also has built-in countermeasures dispensers. This doubles the available chaff and flare launchers on the jet to four. An alternative centerline drop tank also contains an electronic intelligence (ELINT) system, meaning that the jet can fly longer-range missions of this type. Previously, the older ASTAC pod had to be carried on this station, meaning the centerline fuel tank had to be omitted. Stills from a new Russian MoD video showing a French Mirage 2000D escorted by a Rafale C in international airspace over the # 2000D: 2x R.550 IR-guided AAMs, 2x drop tanks & 1x ASTAC ELINT C: 2x MICA AAMs (likely IR-guided variant) & 1x drop tank. — Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) December 8, 2021 In addition to these weapons and stores, the Mirage 2000DRMV has a modernized cockpit, including a more intuitive digital instrument panel. Reportedly, the pilots of the modernized jet are also being issued with the Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display, an item already provided to French Rafale crews and also notably used by the U.S. Air Force A-10 and F-16 communities, among various other applications. However, other key avionics — including the Antilope 5 terrain-following radar — remain unchanged. All of this is being done at a reported cost of around 530 million euros, or roughly $590 million. The Mirage 2000D emerged as a more flexible, conventionally armed derivative of the Mirage 2000N two-seat, all-weather, nuclear strike aircraft. Originally, the Mirage 2000N had no ability to carry out precision attacks with conventional weapons. The Mirage 2000D addressed this. Externally very similar to the Mirage 2000N, the original D-model also featured an entirely reworked cockpit with new displays and hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) controls. As well as targeting pods, the Mirage 2000D added an improved electronic self-defense suite. Initial offensive weapons for the Mirage 2000D comprised the laser-guided AS30L missile, the BGL 1000 laser-guided bomb (LGB), as well as the U.S.-made 500-pound GBU-12 and the 2,000-pound GBU-24 Paveway II LGBs. The Mirage 2000D could also carry a single SCALP-EG or APACHE standoff missile on its centerline pylon. The APACHE, which carried cluster submunitions for airfield denial, has since been withdrawn from service, while France has donated considerable numbers of its SCALP-EG cruise missiles to Ukraine. Production of the Mirage 2000D spanned from 1993 to 2001, with 86 Mirage 2000Ds completed. These soon became workhorses of the French Air Force, in the course of extensive operations flown over Afghanistan, in Africa's Sahel region (Operation Barkhane), as well as in the Middle East (Operation Chammal). Reflecting their important role, the Mirage 2000D had already been progressively upgraded, before the DRMV program, adding new weapons including dual-mode GBU-49 laser/GPS-guided bombs, as well as Link 16 datalink, an Improved Data Modem, and encrypted radios. As well as being delayed, the Mirage 2000DRMV program has been scaled back since it was first launched, from 71 upgraded jets to the current 50 due to be redelivered to the French Air and Space Force. However, the aircraft is still very much in demand, including for the kinds of high-intensity conflicts that NATO's European air arms are increasingly preparing for, faced by the growing Russian threat. The first modernized Mirage 2000DRMV was handed over to the French Air and Space Force in early 2021 and was used for evaluation. Today, the operational Mirage 2000D fleet is operated from Base Aérienne 133 Nancy-Ochey in northeast France. The base's three squadrons are equipped with 67 Mirage 2000Ds. With ongoing operations, especially in the Middle East, the upgraded Mirage 2000DRMVs are likely to be deployed sooner rather than later, to make the most of their new capabilities. These French Middle East deployments, targeting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, send rotations of jets to H4 Air Base in Jordan and to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. As it stands, the Mirage 2000D is set to be the last of the illustrious line of delta-wing combat jets serving the French Air and Space Force. The Mirage 2000N was retired in 2018, followed by the basic Mirage 2000C air defense version in 2022. Today, the fleet of improved Mirage 2000-5F air defense versions is also being drawn down, with examples being donated to Ukraine. Mirages of different versions have served the French Air Force since 1961, when the first-generation Mirage III entered service. Suitably modernized, the Mirage 2000DRMV is now set to continue in frontline French service until 2035. At that point, the Rafale should be available in numbers such that the D-model Mirage can finally be withdrawn. Around the same timeframe, the French Air and Space Force plans to also be operating a new crewed combat jet, known as the Next Generation Fighter (NGF), as well as complementary 'loyal wingman' type drones. However those more ambitious plans take shape, the Mirage 2000D looks certain to eventually record an impressive four decades in service. Contact the author: thomas@
