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a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hybrid-Electric GHOST Strike-Recon Drone In The Works For USAF
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded General Atomics a contract for work on what is described as a 'hybrid-electric propulsion ducted fan next-generation intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance/strike unmanned aerial system,' or GHOST. A propulsion system of this kind can offer a very high degree of efficiency, which can translate to significant unrefueled range, as well as being very quiet. General Atomics has publicly touted work in this area in the past, tied in part to its Gambit modular drone family, which it has said could lead to a design capable of staying aloft for up to 60 hours, at least. The Pentagon included AFRL's GHOST award to General Atomics, a cost-plus-fixed-fee deal valued at $99,292,613, in its daily contracting notice today. The full entry reads: 'General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Poway, California, was awarded a $99,292,613 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for hybrid-electric propulsion ducted fan next-generation intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance/strike unmanned aerial systems (GHOST). This contract provides for the advancement of the hybrid-electric ducted fan next-generation intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance/strike unmanned aerial systems to provide capabilities across a spectrum of contested environments. Work will be performed at Poway, California, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 26, 2028. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and appropriations funds in the amount of $26,867,479 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA2931-25-C-B035).' Additional details about the GHOST effort, including what plans there might be now to operationalize what the program produces, are scant. TWZ has reached out to AFRL for more information. 'For more than 30 years, General Atomics has advanced unmanned aerial systems in ways never before achieved and often poorly replicated,' C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesperson for General Atomics, told TWZ when asked for more details. 'Satcom [satellite communications] control? Did it. Kinetic strike? That was us. Automatic takeoff and landing? That, too. Unmanned jets? We're building our third.' General Atomics' third jet-powered drone, at least that it has publicly acknowledged, is the YFQ-42A under development now as part of the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. It is derived from the experimental XQ-67A drone produced for AFRL's once-secretive Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) program. There is also the company's stealthy Avenger uncrewed aircraft. 'We've been promising something impressive related to hybrid-electric propulsion, and now I can't talk about it anymore,' he added. 'That's how it goes with these things. Contrary to what you see on the news, the revolution won't be televised.' In general, hybrid-electric propulsion systems offer improved fuel economy and other benefits by combining fuel-powered engines and electric motors. The system can be paired with batteries of various capacities to achieve its desired performance. Using ducted fans can offer additional performance and other benefits. Hybrid-electric configurations can also help reduce infrared and acoustic signatures on top of other low-observable (stealthy) design features. As noted, General Atomics has been very open in the past about its work on hybrid-electric propulsion involving ducted fans for future stealthy long-endurance drones. 'We are working on hybrid electric propulsion,' Mike Atwood, then Senior Director, Advanced Programs at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), told Breaking Defense in 2022. 'We believe that GA is going to pioneer a completely new way to propel airborne air-breathing [vehicles]. That will be unveiled in the coming years, but it is a completely disruptive technology. It uses a hybrid electric system where it's basically a Tesla Model S and an RQ-170 got together and you have a fully electric aircraft.' Atwood has since become GA-ASI's Vice President for Advanced Programs. At that time, General Atomics had presented a notional concept for a stealthy flying wing-type drone, referred to as MQ-Next, and pitched as a potential successor to the company's still-popular MQ-9. Two years earlier, the Air Force, the largest known operator of MQ-9s, had announced its desire to stop buying those drones largely over concerns about their vulnerability in future high-end fights, especially one against China in the Pacific. The service has continued to receive additional representatives since then. 'The key to this design is [a] heavy fuel engine, driving very efficient generators and motors. And that way we can get fairly low [fan] speeds, get really good efficiency,' Dave Alexander, GA-ASI's President, also told Breaking Defense in 2022. 'So, this is [a] game changer right here. This is a low-pressure ratio fan, so it's a little tricky and we got to be careful with it. But we believe once we nail this, get the thrust out of it and installed weight, then that'll drive that aircraft [to new lengths.].' Breaking Defense's report added that Alexander had talked about a 60-hour endurance for the MQ-Next concept and described it as particularly well suited for persistent long-range intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions over the hotly contested South China Sea. He also talked about a goal being for the drone to be able to operate from a 3,000-foot-long rough runway in alignment with the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment (ACE) expeditionary and distributed concepts of operations. Last year, Alexander again highlighted General Atomics' work on hybrid-electric propulsion systems utilizing ducted fans in an interview with Aviation Week on the sidelines of the annual Royal International Air Tattoo in the United Kingdom. At that time, he also directly linked these developments to the Gambit family of modular drones, and the Gambit 4 design in particular. General Atomics has presented a variety of very different potential Gambit drones, but they are all designed around a common 'chassis' that includes landing gear, as well as key mission and flight control computer systems. To date, Gambit 4 has been consistently depicted as a stealthy flying wing-type design intended for long-endurance persistent ISR missions that is fully in line with the MQ-Next concept General Atomics had previously shown, as seen in the video below. 'That part of the Gambit series is still out there and we want to make sure we don't lose sight of that,' Alexander said. 'It's very unique.' 'Heavy Fuel Engine 2.0 in development for the MQ-1C Block 25 is not the basis for Gambit 4's hybrid propulsion system, Alexander said,' Aviation Week's report added. 'A different diesel engine with eight cylinders will be developed to generate the power for the electric motors in Gambit 4.' Without knowing more about the work General Atomics is now doing for AFRL as part of GHOST, it is hard to say specifically what kinds of operational tasks the resulting drone might be capable of performing. However, in previous reporting about broadly similar designs, TWZ has highlighted the value that a stealthy, ultra-quiet drone with significant range and endurance could offer for conducting ISR missions, and doing so covertly, in denied areas. The GHOST contract announcement also mentions the potential for the drones to be capable of performing strike missions. The ability to immediately prosecute at least some targets of opportunity would be another major benefit of this kind of uncrewed aircraft. Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites is currently working on a different highly efficient and whisper-quiet hybrid-electric flying wing-type drone called the XRQ-73 as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program called the Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD). DARPA has been running SHEPARD in cooperation with AFRL, as well as the Office of Naval Research, since 2021. The XRQ-73 design is also a direct outgrowth of the XRQ-72A that Scaled Composites developed for a previous effort called Great Horned Owl (GHO), which the U.S. Intelligence Community's Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) ran from the early 2000s until sometime in the 2010s. AFRL was also involved in GHO. TWZ was the first to report in detail on the XRQ-72A, which featured a hybrid-electric propulsion system with ducted fan propulsors. The U.S. military and U.S. Intelligence Community have a long history of work on ultra-quiet crewed and uncrewed aircraft dating back to the height of the Cold War, and additional relevant developments could well be underway now in the classified realm. It's also worth noting here that the GHOST contract comes amid renewed concerns about the MQ-9's vulnerability even to lower-tier threats following a spate of losses to Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen in the past year or so. With General Atomics now on contract with AFRL for GHOST, it remains to be seen whether more details about that specific effort begin to emerge. Contact the author: joe@
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First Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
After Diego Garcia, US deploys warplanes in Guam to beef up Indo-Pacific presence
After Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, the United States has deployed heavy, nuclear-capable bombers in Guam to beef up the military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. read more A B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, takes off at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on April 14, 2023. (Representative Photo, Credit: US Air Force) In what appears to be part of a gradual build-up in the Indo-Pacific region, the United States has now deployed bombers in Guam after deploying more warplanes in Diego Garcia earlier this month. The deployment in Guam comes after the United States deployed B-1B bombers for the first time in Japan last month. While Guam in the western Pacific Ocean is part of the 'second island chain' strategy of the United States to contain China, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean is critical to operations in Central Command, Africa Command, and European Command. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US beefs up Inco-Pacific presence with bombers in Guam The US Air Force 2nd Bomb Wing, which operates B-52H Stratofortress long-range, heavy bombers, appears to have deployed an unspecified number of aircraft in Guam. A video cited by Newsweek shows the unit's bombers undergoing maintenance and post-flight inspections at the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on May 22. The B-52H bombers have a stated range of 8,800 miles and can carry up to 70,000 pounds of payload. They are also capable of carrying nuclear warheads. These aircraft are said to have 'worldwide precision navigation capability' and have a top speed of 650 miles per hour. The news of B-52H's deployment in Guam comes after the United States increased the strength at the Diego Garcia base in the wake of ongoing tense nuclear negotiations with Iran. In March, The War Zone reported that six B-2 bombers were deployed in Diego Garcia and the total number at one point reached 10 — an unusually large number in what was deemed as power projection amid rising international tensions. Even as the B-2s left Diego Garcia, the United States increased the deployment of F-15 fighter planes at the base, according to TWZ. In two tranches, TWZ has reported that the United States has deployed six F-15s in Diego Garcia to provide protection to the base and bombers stationed there. Since the October 7 attack, the base has been used to strike Yemen-based Houthis who have terrorised the Red Sea.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
F-15E Spotted Packing Big Laser-Guided Rocket Arsenal Ideal For Drone Hunting
A picture has emerged showing a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle loaded with at least three seven-shot 70mm rocket pods under its left wing. If the jet had three more pods on the right side, this would amount to a whopping 42 rockets, which could be carried together with eight traditional air-to-air missiles. Such a loadout would turn the F-15E in a flying counter-drone and cruise missile arsenal ship capable of an incredible 50 engagement opportunities, minus the gun. The Air Force has already proven the extreme value of laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets in the air-to-air role in combat on the F-16, news TWZ first broke earlier this year and has continued to follow very closely. Integrating APKWS II into the F-15E's arsenal isn't surprising, especially considering how active these aircraft have been in countering lower-performing aerial threats. The picture of the rocket-armed F-15E, seen below, first appeared on social media accounts for The Merge, a military aviation podcast and associated newsletter, yesterday. 'An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle testing laser-guided rockets was spotted with a 6-pod 42-rocket loadout in flight test,' The Merge wrote in an accompanying post on Instagram. That's a beast-mode-for-drones loadout. — The Merge (@MergeNewsletter) May 22, 2025 Though The Merge says the aircraft was carrying six rocket pods at the time, only three are clearly visible in the image on the jet's left underwing pylon, but a symmetric load makes perfect sense. Pods full of laser-guided APKWS II rockets are relatively easy to spot since the weapons are longer than unguided 70mm types and their noses protrude noticeably from the front as a result. As it exists now, APKWS II consists primarily of a laser guidance section sandwiched between one of a variety of warhead types and a standard 70mm rocket motor. In addition to the rocket pods, the Strike Eagle has an inert AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) without control fins and a flight test data pod under its left wing. An AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) and an AN/AAQ-13 navigation pod (which incorporates a forward-looking infrared sensor and a terrain-following radar) are seen loaded on the stations under the jet's left and right air intakes, respectively. The F-15E seen in the picture also has an 'ET' tail code, reflecting an aircraft assigned to the 96th Test Wing headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. 'I can confirm the pic was taken here at Eglin AFB,' Gabriel Myers, a spokesperson for the 96th Test Wing, told TWZ when asked for more information about the image of the rocket-toting F-15E. 'The Eglin AFB test community through strong partnerships have aggressively conducted integrated test of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System. By working at speed to ensure advanced capabilities have the intended effects, we increase warfighter readiness and lethality to meet the global demands of the joint force.' When the F-15E might be cleared to operationally employ APKWS II rockets is unclear. 'Unfortunately, we can't speak to specific timelines [for the test work], but we can say it was done rapidly,' Myers continued. In U.S. service, on the fixed-wing side, the precision-guided rockets have been integrated onto Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18C/D Hornets and U.S. Air Force F-16C/D Vipers and A-10 Warthogs. Marine AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters, as well as U.S. Navy MH-60R/S Seahawks and U.S. Army AH-64D/E Apaches, can also employ APKWS II. A full air-to-air loadout for the F-15E currently consists of eight missiles. Four missiles – either short-range AIM-9 Sidewinders or AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) – can be loaded on launch rails on either side of the Strike Eagle's two underwing pylons. Two more AIM-120s can be carried on pylons on each of the conformal fuel tanks (CFT) attached to the sides of the fuselage. The jets can also carry a wide array of air-to-ground munitions and other stores on the pylons under their wings, on the CFTs, and on their ventral centerline hardpoint. Adding APKWS II to the F-15E's already very expansive arsenal would give the jet an additional lower-cost tool for precisely engaging a variety of ground targets, as well. These can include light armored vehicles. As the newly emerged picture highlights in showing 21 engagement opportunities on a single pylon, the laser-guided rockets offer significant benefits when it comes to magazine depth. But it's the Strike Eagle and APKWS II combo's potential in the air-to-air role that is perhaps most exciting. As we noted earlier, Air Force F-16s first began employing the laser-guided rockets in an anti-air optimized configuration to shoot down Houthi drones during operations over and around the Red Sea last year, which TWZ was first to report. The Air Force had announced back in 2019 that it had demonstrated APKWS II's ability to be used as an air-to-air weapon in a test wherein an F-16 downed a surrogate for a subsonic cruise missile, something we were also first to report on. APKWS II is also combat-proven in the surface-to-air role against drones, as well as in air-ground modes and surface-to-surface modes. U.S. Fighter aircraft shoot down Iran-backed Houthi one-way-attack drones with AGR-20 FALCO Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Laser Guided 2.75" Rockets.#HouthisAreTerrorists — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 19, 2025 Since January, F-16s have been observed flying the Middle East carrying air-to-air loadouts that include one or two seven-shot 70mm rocket pods, as well as traditional air-to-air missiles and LITENING targeting pods. This had already underscored the magazine depth benefits of APKWS II. A typical air-to-air for the Viper consists of six air-to-air missiles. Just having a pair of rocket pods on one pylon effectively triples the number of anti-air engagement opportunities per sortie. The F-15E with six seven-shot rocket pods, along with eight air-to-air missiles, goes far beyond that capacity. APKWS II is also a significantly lower-cost anti-air weapon than traditional air-to-air missiles in U.S. military inventory today. The APKWS II guidance kit, which is the most expensive part of the munition, has a unit cost of around $15,000 to $20,000. The warhead and motor add a few thousand dollars more to the total unit price. Current generation AIM-9X Sidewinders each cost in the region of $450,000, while the latest AIM-120 variants are $1 million or more apiece. Even with the air-to-air specific upgrades developed for APKWS II, it does still has limitations when employed against aerial threats, as TWZ has noted in the past in the context of F-16 counter-drone missions: 'In an air-to-air engagement, the laser designator in the LITENING pod could be used to 'laze' or designate the target. LITENING's sensor turret can be slaved to the radar on the aircraft carrying it, or vice versa. So-called buddy lasing, where one aircraft designates the target for another, could also be useful in this case, especially given the speed differential between typical Houthi drones and F-16s. One jet could keep the target steadily lazed while the other makes its attack run.' 'APKWS IIs are usable against drones, as well as subsonic cruise missiles, in the first place because those are relatively steady, non-reactionary, low-performance targets. The rockets are not dogfighting weapons.' BAE Systems, the prime contractor for the APKWS II, is now developing a dual-mode guidance package that adds a passive infrared seeker to give the rocket a quasi-fire-and-forget capability. A laser designator would still be needed to provide initial cueing, but the launch platform would be able to move much more rapidly from engaging one target to the next with the addition of the infrared guidance mode, as you can read more about here. Pairing F-15E with APKWS II, even just with the guided rocket's existing capabilities, would offer additional advantages in the air-to-air role given the range and endurance of the Strike Eagle, as well as its substantial overall payload capacity. The F-15E is also a two-seat aircraft, which allows the pilot to remain fully focused on flying the aircraft while the back-seater handles targeting duties. Together with aerial refueling support, an F-15E armed with APKWS II rockets and traditional air-to-air missiles could provide a far more persistent counter-air screen with a huge magazine depth against drones and some cruise missile types. This kind of general scenario is what Air Force Strike Eagle crews found themselves in on multiple occasions while defending Israel from Iranian attacks last year, during which, running out of missiles became the limiting factor. Specifically, while responding to Iran's drone and missile attacks on Israel in April 2024, F-15Es had to land to rearm while threats were still flying overhead. At least one Strike Eagle crew switched to their aircraft's 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon after running out of missiles, but was unable to shoot anything down. 'The drone war is kind of like a video game. You just gotta get the jets up in the air and position them correctly for an intercept. The radar will easily see them after they're launched and then it's just how many missiles you have versus how many drones are launched. The technical aspect of detecting them and downing them is easy,' Daren 'Shotgun' Sorenson, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew F-15Es, told TWZ in an interview last summer. 'It's easy work. You can do it all day long until you run out of missiles.' The Air Force also recently sent a detachment of F-15Es to the highly strategic island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, explicitly to provide force protection for forces currently there, including B-52 bombers, a deployment TWZ was first to report. This only further underscores the key role Strike Eagles are already playing in shielding high-value assets, especially from drones and cruise missiles. All of this also applies at least equally, if not more so, to the Air Force's incoming F-15EX Eagle II aircraft. The F-15EX is the latest and most capable variant to emerge in the extended Strike Eagle family, and is expected to be used primarily in the homeland air defense role in U.S. service, at least initially. Last year, TWZ laid out in detail how the Strike Eagle's performance in the anti-air role in the Middle East had bolstered the case for the EX in U.S. and Israeli service. Indonesia also plans to buy F-15s derived from the EX variant, and other foreign customers, including Poland, could be on the horizon. 'The proliferation of one-way attack drones is driving a massive demand signal for counter-UAS capabilities,' The Merge also told TWZ directly when asked about the picture of the rocket-armed Strike Eagle. 'The cost exchange afforded by APKWS rockets–and the flexibility and magazine depth by putting them on the F-15E/X–should make a meaningful difference.' Adding APKWS II to the F-15E's arsenal, especially for air-to-air use, could be a factor in ongoing debates about the future of the Air Force's Strike Eagles, as well. Congress recently blocked the service, at least until 2027, from pursuing plans to retire more than half of the heavily in-demand Strike Eagle fleet. It would also not be surprising at all to see APKWS II join already growing air-to-air loadouts available to U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. A year ago, Houthi drone threats in and around the Red Sea had already prompted that service to launch a crash program to increase the number of AIM-9Xs a Super Hornet could carry on a single sortie. The Navy has since officially dubbed F/A-18E/Fs armed with five AIM-120s and four AIM-9Xs as 'Murder Hornets.' Regardless of the threat of partial retirement, many F-15Es remain in Air Force service in the coming years, there are clear signs the jets are now in line to get an important firepower boost, including when it comes to shooting down drones, in the form of APKWS II. Howard Altman and Tyler Rogoway contributed to this story. Special thanks to The Merge for sharing the picture of the rocket-armed F-15E and additional information. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
World's Most Secretive 737 Just Made A Very Rare Appearance
RAT55, U.S. Air Force Materiel Command's extremely shy NT-43A/737-200 converted into a grotesquely modified radar cross-section measurement platform just flew across the country for an unknown reason. During its trip, it made two stops, one in Arkansas and one in Texas, the latter offering very rare close-up views of Earth's most fascinating 737 going about its business. RAT55 arrived at Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas, 'at 2:40 pm and departed at 3:40 pm. It was cleared back to Tenopah Test Range Airport,' Jason Zicker, an aviation photographer who took the videos below and posted them on social media, told TWZ. Zicker said he was alerted to RAT55's arrival by a fellow plane spotter. — Jason (@JasonZicker) May 22, 2025 RATT55 departing KAMA — Jason (@JasonZicker) May 22, 2025 'As far as I know, it was just for gas,' said Zicker, who was kind enough to let us use his video. 'RAT55 did have a flight plan to come here a couple of months ago, but never showed up.' The aircraft flew from the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) to Northwest Arkansas National Airport. It stopped at Amarillo on the way back, likely for fuel. It isn't clear why it went to Arkansas at this time. We asked Air Force Materiel Command if they could provide any information as to RAT55's puzzling trip and they replied: 'Regarding your query, I do not have any details to provide.' It is interesting to note that King Aerospace has a presence at Northwest Arkansas National Airport. In 2022, RAT55 appeared at a different King Aerospace facility at Admore Municipal Airport in Oklahoma during another rare outing. Whether or not its latest trip is again tied to a visit to this company, which specializes in heavy maintenance and deep modification work, including for the U.S. military, is unknown at this time. TWZ has reached out to King Aerospace for more information. #A10635 as #RATT55/#STORMY29Up from Groom Lake KXTA to Northwestern Arkansas National Airport KXNA. Audio of STORMY29/RATT55 getting cleared to land at KXNA. — Norb (@norb420) May 20, 2025 The name RAT55 is actually used for the jet's callsign, although as RATT55, with an extra t. On this particular outing, the jet has been using the callsign Stormy 29. Looks like their callsign today was STRMY29 and not RATT55 — Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) May 21, 2025 The 'RAT' in the name stands for Radar Airborne Testbed, while the '55' refers to the last two digits in its tail number. RAT55 spends most of its flying life in the vast and remote range complexes that span South-Central California and Southern Nevada. The aircraft seems to live at the high-security Tonopah Test Range Airport (TTR) — famous for its shadowy aircraft programs — and spends time in the skies near Area 51 and Edwards Air Force Base. While the one-off NT-43A has ventured beyond its usual protected operational confines — it needs major servicing just like any other 737 — usually these trips seem to be planned to expose the aircraft to minimal public eyeballs. That is clearly no longer the goal. Regardless, RAT55 is unlike any other aircraft on the planet, and it is absolutely critical to the development and sustainment of America's aerial stealth technology. Simply put, RAT55 uses its two huge radar arrays — one front and one back — to take fine measurements of the radar signatures of stealthy aircraft while flying through the air near them. It does this to validate low-observable designs and skin treatments. It also has electro-optical/infrared capabilities above its radomes and can be fitted with dorsal fairings for other systems. While there are facilities on the ground that can take similar measurements of aircraft flying through the air, doing it from another specially-equipped aircraft in the air allows the target to be measured from every angle, including from overhead aspects, and continuously. Even when B-2 Spirits come out of depot maintenance, they usually spend time in the sky with RAT55 to validate that the work done fits established design goals and parameters. That is the most visible of the NT-43A's work, but the aircraft is also involved with the most advanced and secretive stealth aircraft development programs in the Pentagon's portfolio, many of which we don't know about and likely never will. Got a glimpse of #rat55 while in Death Valley this week with a #B2 bomber — Marc Bierdzinski (@mbplan) October 29, 2020 Considering all of the combat aviation developments now underway in a new era of so-called 'great power competition,' RAT55 is presumably busier than ever, and will be flooded with work soon as many programs mature into a flying state. From the B-21, to a plethora of new advanced drones, to the F-47 next-generation fighter, the stealth business is booming. At the same time, RAT55 is a very old aircraft, and dwindling support for first-generation 737s is surely becoming an issue. With this in mind, it is somewhat puzzling why it isn't being replaced or at least augmented. Then again, it could be, and we won't know until that new aircraft materializes somewhere. That's the abbreviated version of what we know about RAT55, you can read more about the aircraft and see the best images ever taken of it in this past feature of ours. While we don't know why RAT55 came out of the shadows for this jaunt across the U.S., it sure was a great opportunity for aviation enthusiasts to spot a truly one-of-a-kind plane, and a very clandestine one at that. Contact the author: Tyler@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
French Navy Offers Sneak Peek Of Its Future Carrier Air Wing
A French Navy official has laid out a broad plan for the country's carrier air wing from up to 2045. While the plan likely highlights just one vision of the kinds of aircraft we're likely to see aboard the French Navy's carrier in the future, it's notable in that it includes a significant drone component, alongside advanced crewed aircraft. France has a single nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, currently in operation, and is planning to build an even more capable flattop to replace it, around 2038. The plan was presented in the form of a slide in a briefing by a French Navy official at the Combined Naval Event (CNE) that took place in Farnborough, England, this week. The event was conducted under Chatham House rules, meaning that information can be freely shared, but the identity of the speaker cannot be disclosed. The slide, seen below, was shared with TWZ by Navy Lookout, which provides independent naval news and analysis. The slide shows three different compositions for the French Navy's carrier air wing, starting in 2038. Whether coincidental or not, this is around the time that the Charles de Gaulle should be replaced by the Porte-Avions de Nouvelle Génération, or PA-Ng, which translates to New Generation Aircraft Carrier. You can read more about this warship here. As of 2038, the air wing is still based around the two main fixed-wing types now in service aboard the Charles de Gaulle, the Rafale M multirole fighter, and the E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. These are shown complemented by a rotary-wing drone, which appears to be the Airbus Helicopters VSR700, but it may also be intended to represent this kind of capability more generically. The VSR700 is in development for the French Navy, after flight tests of a demonstrator version from one of its FREMM frigates in 2023. The drone is being proposed for intelligence, surveillance, targeting, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) and anti-submarine warfare operations, but could also undertake logistics, especially valuable aboard an aircraft carrier, and other tasks. There are various other alternatives to the VSR700, as well, most notably Austria's Schiebel S-300 rotary-wing drone, which will likely compete with it for French Navy orders. By 2038, the slide indicates that the French Navy will be operating the F5 version of the Rafale M, which will bring a host of new capabilities compared with the current F3 model. The F5 version of the Rafale, which will be in both land-based and carrier-compatible versions, is something we have discussed in the past. Standard F5 is planned to keep the Rafale in frontline service until around 2060. This latest iteration of the aircraft will focus on collaborative combat, as well as incorporating new-generation weapons, among them the ASN4G, the next-generation standoff nuclear weapon. #ASN4G – is the planned nuclear-armed #hypersonic cruise #missile intended to replace the ASMP-A #supersonic nuclear missile currently in service. The missile will equip the F4 variant of the Rafale fighter as well as Future Combat Air System vehicles#ArméeDelAir #FrenchAirForce — 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱△ (@TheDeadDistrict) May 28, 2020 Other new weapons for Standard F5 are expected to include successors for the SCALP conventional cruise missile and the Exocet anti-ship missile, with a hypersonic design being examined for the latter requirement. Air-to-air munitions should include an upgraded Meteor beyond-visual-range missile. Very significantly, the F5 version is also planned to be fielded alongside a new, French-developed uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV), of which more later. The next configuration of the carrier air wing is for 2040, by which time two new types of drones are shown as being in service. These are described loosely as an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and an uncrewed combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) on the slide and are illustrated with an MQ-9 and a Dassault nEUROn demonstrator, respectively. The F5 version of the Rafale M and the E-2D will also still be in service at this point. The UCAV, illustrated by the stealthy flying-wing nEUROn, may well be intended to represent the drone that France plans to introduce to work alongside the F5 Rafale, as well as independently. We already know this drone program will be headed up by Dassault Aviation and will draw upon the company's experience with the nEUROn. The new UCAV has already been billed as being 'complementary to the Rafale and suited to collaborative combat.' It will also have stealth characteristics, including an internal payload. The drone will feature autonomous control, with a human-in-the-loop (in the case of collaborative operations, the pilot in the cockpit of the Rafale). According to Dassault, the UCAV 'will be highly versatile and designed to evolve in line with future threats.' Its missions are expected to include suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD), in which the Rafale would benefit hugely from a low-observable loyal-wingman-type drone to operate in concert with the crewed fighter. As for the MQ-9, the land-based Reaper is already in French service, but its manufacturer, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), is busily pursuing ways of adapting MQ-9-series drones for aircraft carrier operations. The company has devised a wing-kit which turns the MQ-9B into a big deck ship-deployable drone. It has also demonstrated its Mojave, specifically developed with the ability to perform short takeoffs and landings, including from different aircraft carriers. The same capabilities found in the Mojave demonstrator have meanwhile been ported over into the Gray Eagle STOL — a design we have discussed in depth in the past. Should the French Navy be interested in fielding a member of the wider family of Q-1 lineage drones aboard its carrier, that would certainly be an option. A drone of this kind could also serve as a sea control/anti-submarine warfare platform, as well as take on other roles such as airborne early warning radar and a networking node 'truck.' Meanwhile, in low-threat environments, it could even be used for reconnaissance and strike. The final carrier air wing configuration shown is for 2045, by which time, more significant developments will have changed the face of the aircraft on the deck of the French Navy's carrier. The spearhead of the 2045 carrier air wing is the navalized version of the Next Generation Fighter (NGF). This will be provided with its own air-launched Remote Carriers, a type of store that will increasingly blur the distinction between cruise missiles and drones, and which will deliver kinetic effects as well as carrying other types of payloads. As TWZ wrote about in the past: 'The requirement to have NGF — or a version of NGF — able to operate from French Navy aircraft carriers will bring additional challenges to the design, chiefly in the form of landing gear able to absorb deck landings, as well as catapult launch and arrester gear. The airframe would also have to be more robust for carrier operations, adding mass to the design, and that naval requirement would have to be accounted for in the wing and control surface design in order to allow for optimized carrier recovery. At the very least, this would necessitate a variant that is built for carrier operations, which would increase cost and timeline.' It has also been reported that the NGF may be too large to be easily accommodated on the Charles de Gaulle. The new fighter is likely to weigh in the region of 33 tons, compared to around 27 tons for a fully loaded Rafale. A larger airframe could translate to considerable range, as well as the ability to carry a significant payload internally. However, with the new carrier planned to be available from around 2038, the navalized NGF likely won't have to embark on the Charles de Gaulle. At the same time, the F5 version of the Rafale M and the E-2D will continue to serve alongside the NGF, at least for a while. The Rafale M could also be a potential launch platform for Remote Carriers. The NGF is being developed as the centerpiece of the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS), not to be confused with the U.K.-led effort of the same name. The pan-European FCAS will include uncrewed air vehicles as well as uncrewed effectors and the aforementioned Remote Carriers. Perhaps most intriguingly, the uncrewed component for the 2045 carrier air wing now also includes the Airbus Wingman uncrewed concept aircraft, which was not previously known to be intended for carrier operations. The French Navy is clearly giving some thought to the potential of a fighter-like, stealthy drone within its carrier air wing, and as a capability to be introduced after a flying-wing-type UCAV. The Wingman, unveiled by Airbus last summer, is also intended to fly collaborative missions alongside crewed fighters. It has been pitched as a low-cost solution, with a price tag equivalent to one-third that of a modern crewed fighter, that can be brought into production and fielded rapidly. According to Airbus, the German Air Force has 'expressed a clear need' for a drone of this kind that would be able to operate in conjunction with crewed fighters before the arrival in service of the pan-European FCAS. As we noted at the time, it's hard to envisage that Airbus could develop and build the Wingman solely to meet a German requirement, and interest in a carrier-based version from France could give the program a valuable boost, were that to become formalized. Once again, it should be noted that this is very much a suggestion of possible carrier air wing configurations through to 2045 and very much not a program of record. It is, however, interesting to see that the French Navy is considering the possibilities of operating different types of drones aboard its carriers, including the fighter-like Wingman and some kind of development of the nEUROn, or equivalent, which could provide powerful strike and ISTAR capabilities, if pursued. The timeline also suggests that France is first looking to introduce a heavier, carrier-based, traditional stealthy UCAV with added collaborative capabilities, rather than a loyal wingman-type drone, first. It is likely that one reason for this is the need to combine the non-stealthy Rafale with a higher-end drone partner to remain relevant in highly contested combat environments in the future. Range is also likely an issue, with UCAV concepts generally possessing a combat radius in multiples of their manned fighter counterparts. This is key to the relevancy of the carrier going forward. Also worth noting is the fact that China also appears to be betting big on a similar concept, starting with carrier-based UCAVs, something that the U.S. Navy has passed over entirely. With its increasingly unmanned carrier air wing, the French Navy is very much following broader trends in China, the United States, and elsewhere. In the past, the U.S. Navy has said it wants to have uncrewed platforms make up the majority of its future carrier air wings, with up to 60 percent of all aircraft on each flattop being pilotless in the coming decade or two. More recently, however, the Navy has talked about scaling back its ambitions for developing and fielding carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), at least in terms of how quickly it might want to pursue them. Instead, the U.S. Navy is putting more effort into its MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone and its supporting infrastructure. Meanwhile, although it is experimenting with the CCA concept, the Navy is allowing the other services, especially the U.S. Air Force, to prove this out in a full-operational service context. With that in mind, the French Navy's apparent consideration of stealthy UCAVs as part of its future carrier air wing is especially notable. Again, it highlights a glaring gap in the U.S. combat aircraft space, one we have been pointing out in detail for many years. Undoubtedly, there's growing interest in stealthy UCAVs around the world, including for embarking on carriers. It will be interesting to see what direction the French Navy takes as it starts to assemble the air wing for its next-generation carrier. Contact the author: thomas@
