The Core Component Jammer (CCJ) could be the next big thing in
electronic warfare. Mounted on the wings of a B-52s, these jamming pods
would wipe out enemy radar tracking from hundreds of miles away,
clearing the airspace for air-to-ground strikes by fighters, bombers
and, possibly, UAVs.
This assumes, of course, that the CCJ will survive the US Air Force's byzantine budgeting process, and, of course, the gauntlet of technical challenges that surely lie ahead.
For now, all we have to show for the CCJ is this very interesting marketing video made by Boeing.
I found this video on a CD lying around on a table with other give-aways at Boeing's exhibit booth at the Air Force Association's Air & Space 2008 convention in Washington DC.
This assumes, of course, that the CCJ will survive the US Air Force's byzantine budgeting process, and, of course, the gauntlet of technical challenges that surely lie ahead.
For now, all we have to show for the CCJ is this very interesting marketing video made by Boeing.
I found this video on a CD lying around on a table with other give-aways at Boeing's exhibit booth at the Air Force Association's Air & Space 2008 convention in Washington DC.
on September 19, 2008 8:58 PM | Reply
Why does a stealthy F-22 need that type of support?
on September 20, 2008 6:09 AM | Reply
OMG Lockmart/Pentagon won't like that. A solution that doesn't involve the F-35 and worse.... shows the F-22 taking out fixed targets (something it is qualified to do.... and survive in a stiff IADS)....
on September 20, 2008 6:13 AM | Reply
--Why does a stealthy F-22 need that type of support?--
Because it is only stealthy vs. Gigaherz-band radars (most fire control radars) and not the bigger (lower band) search radars)... Historically stealth aircraft don't go anywhere without some kind of offboard jamming support.
on September 20, 2008 7:33 PM | Reply
I would think that a couple of GPS guided cruisemissiles would do this much more efficiently...
on September 20, 2008 8:39 PM | Reply
ELP has got it right. Low-band, early warning radars are stealth-busters. But it's understandable if people are confused, if only because USAF sold the 1997 retirement of the EF-111 jammer fleet by telling the world that the "all-stealth" fleet of the future wouldn't need such baggage in the strike package.
GPS guided cruise missiles only work when you know exactly (and I mean really exactly!) where the radar antennas are located on enemy soil. Sometimes, that's not an easy thing to figure out until you can get close enough to the source to fire a HARM/AARGM/HDAM at the target.
on September 22, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply
Well Stephen, IF we put a cluster warhead back into the Tomahawk, then it IS POSSIBLE to send a cruise missile to take out the antennae.
on September 23, 2008 8:08 PM | Reply
A single ICBM would do the trick without the need for all these expensive planes, decoys and SEAD headaches. I mean, sure, anywhere in the world in 12 hours, but have you seen the price of aviation fuel?? Besides, 12 hours is a long time to wait in today's world of instant gratification--with a nuclear missile, it's anywhere in the world in half an hour--nearly 25 times faster! The problem will be solved before lunch, not right in the middle of American Idol. Besides, a 300-kt nuclear explosion hinders enemy weapons production a lot more than a few smart bombs: You won't see any turbaned heathens turning out white-people-killing weapons at THAT site for years.
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on September 23, 2008 9:11 PM | Reply
Great comment dziban, it really raises the bar. Too bad it had nothing to do with the topic at hand. Thanks for ruining the post... I'm sure you have some Jewish friends who'll vouch for your character and say that you're not really that bad of a human being.
on September 24, 2008 12:47 PM | Reply
I don't know - there's something beautifully ironic about brand-new, supercruising, super-stealthy F-22s getting escorted by lumbering geriatric B-52s... kinda like Vimys escorting Spitfires...