The DEW Line

F/A-18F CFT & Weapons Pod mockup in St Louis

2013-05-22T08:10:19Z

While it has been known for sometime that Boeing and the US Navy intend to fly a modified F/A-18F Super Hornet equipped with conformal fuel tanks (CFTs) and a weapons pod later this summer, some new details are emerging.

When the modified Rhino--as the Super Hornet is affectionately known--does fly in late August or early September over the Navy's Atlantic range with the new hardware, those CFTs and weapons pod will not be functional, says Mike Gibbons, Boeing's F/A-18 program manager. The idea is to test the aerodynamic qualities of those representative shapes, he says.

Mark Gammon, Boeing's Hornet advanced projects chief, also notes that the aircraft will have a mock-up of an internally-mounted infrared search and track system mounted along with a slew of radar cross-section enhancement measures.

Gammon, who has worked on the Hornet since the first days of the original F/A-18A classic model jets, says that the CFTs won't add any cruise drag at high subsonic speeds, but it will have a negative impact on drag at transonic speeds--but the company has done a lot of engineering work to try mitigate that. In fact, Gammon notes, at low airspeeds, sometimes overall drag with the CFTs is actually lower than a clean aircraft's.

Configured with the CFTs and weapons pod carrying four AMRAAMs, the jet performs roughly the same as a Super Hornet carrying four external AIM-120s.

Anyways, Boeing showed off this brand new real F/A-18F equipped with mockup CFTs, weapons pods and other hardware.

F-35B vertical takeoff video

2013-05-20T22:16:41Z

At long last, Lockheed Martin has released the video of the first F-35B vertical takeoff on 10 May. For whatever reason, NAVAIR and the F-35 Joint Program Office would not clear this for release at the time of the event.

Anyways, vertical takeoff is a US Marine Corps requirement, however it's only intended from repositioning the jet where a short takeoff is not possible. That's because the F-35B can only do a vertical takeoff while lightly loaded with about 4,500lbs of gas--meaning it wouldn't be carrying a tactically significant payload.

But then neither does the AV-8B Harrier carry a tactically significant payload when that aircraft performs a vertical takeoff. It's the same concept of operations for both jets.

Taming the Wildcat

2013-05-20T20:12:36Z

We like a good exclusive here on Flightglobal, so I was happy to get the chance to tag along with our helicopter test pilot Peter Gray in late April, as he became the first civilian to fly AgustaWestland's new AW159.

Being delivered as the Wildcat to the British Army and UK Royal Navy (which have so far received 14 and four examples, respectively), the 6t type is intended to perform battlefield reconnaissance and ship-based surveillance and strike tasks for the services. AgustaWestland also has already won its first export success with the type, with the South Korean navy's first of eight anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare aircraft to enter final assembly next year.

The AW159 has had a 50:50 success rate in international competitions so far in its short life (the first prototype was flown in 2009); winning in South Korea but losing out to Sikorsky's MH-60R Seahawk in a nine-aircraft contest in Denmark.

AgustaWestland has effectively ditched the product name Lynx for its new aircraft, as part of an effort to promote an extended family of products for the military, civilian, VIP transport and other sectors. That might seem a bit drastic, given the long-term success of that brand, but as our flight test report explains, while the AW159 might look a fair bit like the Lynx of old, it's an entirely different beast.

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X-47B touch and goes onboard USS George H W Bush

2013-05-20T18:32:23Z

The Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) made its first touch and go onboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) on 17 May.

"This landing, rubber hitting deck, is extremely fulfilling for the team and is the culmination of years of relative navigation development," says Don Blottenberger, UCAS-D Deputy Program manager. "Now, we are set to demonstrate the final pieces of the demonstration."

The Navy says the UCAS-D program plans to conduct shore-based arrested landings of the X-47B at NAS Patuxent River in the coming months before final carrier-based arrestments later in 2013.

F-35A departure testing at Edwards AFB

2013-05-16T02:34:10Z

Lockheed Martin recently released this video of test pilots at Edwards AFB, California, intentionally departing the F-35A and testing recovery procedures.

This sort of testing is vital since operational pilots will find a way to depart the jet no matter how departure resistant the aircraft is. It happened during operational testing for the F-22 when one of the pilots managed to get himself into an inverted spiral despite assurances in the Raptor's dash one manual that the jet could be maneuvered with "reckless abandon." If it can happen to a veteran Weapons School instructor pilot, it can and it will, at some point, happen to some brand new B-course graduate--it's just a matter of time.

Incidentally, the Lockheed pilot in the video is Dave "Doc" Nelson, who was formerly a F-22 developmental test pilot, and as he points out, the F-35 really does have excellent high angle of attack (AOA) characteristics. And if what Lea Haubelt, one of the flight test engineers, says in the video is true about the high AOA handling characteristics being better than expected, I'm not sure why the angle of attack limit is set at 50 degrees AOA when they have gone much higher during flight tests.

It may not be a capability that is used often, but extreme AOA performance can be useful at times. A good friend once described pulling more than 63 degrees AOA in the Raptor to escape being from being "shot down" by a high off-boresight missile-equipped Red air threat. It may have been useful for only a few moments, but sometimes it's the difference between life and death.

CV-22s over Afghanistan

2013-05-15T15:22:21Z

Boeing has released a new CV-22 Osprey video that describes the story of a mission flown by the US Air Force's 20^th Special Operations Squadron in 2011 over Afghanistan.

"Approximately one mile out, we began experiencing small arms fire," says Capt Will Thompson. "And right as we were passing over it, I could say the valley exploded with fire. I'd never seen anything like it before."

While the video describes the mission, the footage was obviously not shot during actual combat operations.

The day of the unmanned aircraft.

2013-05-14T23:02:54Z

Unmanned aircraft have been grabbing the headlines today. First, there is now a clearer picture available of what appears to be China's first stealth UAV--but little more than that is really known, everything else is pure speculation. However, one industry source says that to his very experienced eyes, the aircraft is a genuine advance in Chinese aerospace development--unlike the farce that is the Iranian toy that was presented last week.

Meanwhile, the US Navy launched a Northrop Grumman X-47B from the USS George H W Bush earlier today--our very own Zach Rosenberg was there. The Navy got Flightglobal a slot on the helicopter even though they initially told us there was no room. The launch looks like it was quite successful--take a look below.

However, the X-47B did not carry out an arrested landing upon returning to Pax River. That could be because the unmanned jet was having difficulty making even that first trap it did the week before where the Navy showed off a video of the aircraft snagging a wire. Sources told the DEW Line, at the time of the earlier trap, the aircraft now had a 10 percent field boarding rate... So hopefully, this isn't an indication of a major problem. The X-47B guys have had to redesign their tail hook a number of times now due to the same inaccurate Navy-supplied wire dynamics model that was partly responsible for the F-35C's woes.

Meanwhile, back in scenic Crystal City, Lockheed showed off this picture of their Unmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft mockup. Lockheed hopes to displace Northrop's entrant--likely X-47B derived--for the Navy's UCLASS effort. The UCLASS program will actually take four separate designs to a preliminary design review before downselecting to one. The UCLASS, which is an operational successor to the X-47B demonstrator, will likely be smaller than the Northrop-built prototypes and will likely only have a light strike capability. Speaking of Lockheed--the company showed us a video of the F-35B performing a vertical take-off from last Friday, but paradoxically because of the Navy and Joint Program Office, are not allowed to release it--which sucks for you guys. Frankly, it's just bizarre--it's a big base with lots of people and when a large 40,000lbs fighter takes-off vertically and hovers, folks are going to take notice.

F-35B performs first vertical take-off

2013-05-13T01:23:27Z

Sources say that test pilots at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, performed the first Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) vertical take-off on 10 May.

The US Marine Corps' short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) variant has always had a requirement to perform vertical take-offs right from the outset of the JSF programme. However, the capability is not emphasized because the F-35B would not be able to carry a tactically significant payload in that configuration. Operationally, the USMC envisions its F-35Bs performing short rolling take-offs carrying a full load of ordnance and fuel and only performing a vertical landing once the aircraft returns to the amphibious assault ship or expeditionary airfield.

The concept of operations is similar to those currently flown by the USMC's Boeing AV-8B Harrier II squadrons. Though the Harrier is often touted as a vertical take-off and landing machine, it normally flies a similar short take-off and vertical landing profile for the overwhelming majority of its missions.

The original X-35B prototype demonstrated the ability to take-off vertically in 2001.

Below is an image of the F-35B hovering--but this is not the aircraft that performed the VTO.

Iran rolls out "stealth' unmanned aircraft

2013-05-10T20:34:06Z

Iran unveiled on 9 May what it claims is a new stealthy unmanned combat aircraft called the Hamaseh. According to the official FARS state news agency, the Hamaseh--which means Epic in Farsi--can be used for both intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions.

"This drone has been built by defense industry experts and is simultaneously capable of surveillance, reconnaissance and missile and rocket attacks," Iranian defense minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi tells Iranian state television. "This aircraft with its stealth quality can avoid detection by the enemy," he adds.

Iranian deputy defense minister for industrial and research affairs Mohammad Eslami says that the Hemaseh has improved capabilities compared to previous Iranian-built unmanned aircraft, according to FARS. It apparently flies at higher altitudes and has better endurance.

The Hamaseh bears similarities to Western unmanned aircraft like the Israeli-developed Aeronautics Defense Systems Aerostar and the US-built AAI Corporation RQ-7 Shadow. While the Hamaseh appears to be a viable design, the assertions that it is a stealth aircraft are patently ridiculous as the aircraft has none of requisite features found on a low observable platform.

Iran has made dubious assertions about developing technologically advanced combat aircraft before. Earlier in February, the country rolled-out the Qaher-313 "stealth fighter" with much fanfare, but Western analysts immediately ridiculed the aircraft for what it was--a subscale mock-up best used for domestic propaganda.

Turkish fighter concept breaks cover

2013-05-09T11:12:33Z

We've seen some exciting news from the IDEF show in Istanbul this week, where Turkish Aerospace Industries has revealed imagery showing three potential designs for the nation's TFX future fighter.

Two are single-engined concepts - with and without canards, while the best-looking (to my mind, at least) is the twin-engined beast pictured below. Keen-eyed DEW Liners will detect a peculiar curve to the forward fuselage, but that's just due to the angle at which the TAI poster was photographed by our correspondent Tolga Ozbek. Thanks to Flightglobal's ace editorial artist Tim Bicheno-Brown for adding the new background.

If the programme proceeds, we could see this Turkish delight take to the air as an F-16 replacement around 2023. Click here to see Tolga's full article about the designs elsewhere on Flightglobal.

Over on our FG Club, you can read our pre-show review of TAI's other current military programme activities, which also include the Anka UAV, Hurkus turboprop trainer and T129 attack helicopter. Please take the time to register if you haven't already done so, as it's the best place to read the feature articles published in Flight International each week. And it's free.

Raptor 4007 starts testing Inc 3.2A upgrade on its 1000th sortie

2013-05-07T19:55:21Z

Last month on 19 April, the US Air Force's F-22 Combined Test Force (CTF) completed the 1,000th sortie on tail number 4007 at Edwards AFB, California. The aircraft is currently testing the Increment 3.2A software upgrade package which will add new electronic protection measures and new combat identification capabilities to the Raptor fleet.

"This sortie was one of the first flight tests of Increment 3.2A, the next major software upgrade to the aircraft which will enhance its lethality and self-defense capability," Lt Col Devin Traynor, F-22 CTF director of operations.

Though the USAF says that 4007 is the oldest Raptor out there flying--it's been flying since the engineering manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the program, there is an older Raptor that's still on flyable status--4006. Other old EMD jets, 4004 and 4005 are being used as maintenance trainers at Tyndall AFB, Fla., and Langley AFB, Va., respectively.

There has been some debate as to what to do with Ship 6--as an old one of a kind EMD jet, it's expensive to maintain. While it's on flyable status, there have been discussions about retiring it, and as of right now, there are no plans to fly it again. That being said, it's not heading to a museum anytime soon.

The USAF has only a tiny fraction of the Raptor fleet it once envisioned, so there has been some talk about bringing 4006 up to the Block 10 standard. It would be expensive, but it would cost far less than a new airframe--not that a new airframe is a realistic option since the F-22 production line ended last year.

The money could be drawn from the funds allocated to modernize tail 4013, which crashed late last year, and therefore will never use the cash allocated to bring it up to the Block 20 standard. "The sequester has put a damper on things for now," a source says.

X-47B makes its first trap on land

2013-05-06T22:15:19Z

The US Navy's Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System-Demonstrator (UCAS-D) made its first shore-based landing using a carrier's arresting gear system on 4 May. This first trap is the beginning of a series of tests before the X-47B makes its way onto the boat later this month.

"It moves us a critical step closer to proving that unmanned systems can be integrated seamlessly into Navy carrier operations," says Capt Jaime Engdahl, the Navy's UCAS program manager.

Carl Johnson, vice president and Navy UCAS program manager for Northrop Grumman, says, "The X-47B air vehicle performs exactly as predicted by the modeling, simulation and surrogate testing we did early in the UCAS-D program."

For the arrested landing, the X-47B used a navigation approach that closely mimics the technique it will use to land on an aircraft carrier underway at sea according to the Navy.

Apparently, there will be reporters on the carrier when the X-47B is shot off for the first time. Unfortunately we were not able to secure a slot--apparently due a lack of space, according to the Navy.

UK drone moan reaches home

2013-04-29T12:01:34Z

As expected, the UK Ministry of Defence's confirmation last week that some of its Reaper UAV missions in Afghanistan are now being piloted by personnel located at the Royal Air Force's Waddington air base hasn't pleased the anti-drone lobby.

Saturday 27 April saw a first "Ground the Drones" protest march conducted near the Lincolnshire base, involving several hundred people supporting the message of four campaign groups: CND; the Drone Campaign Network; Stop the War; and War on Want. Thanks to the latter for the use of the below image.

Fresh investment at RAF Waddington has added a new ground control station for the Reaper, with this following (and joining) equipment already used by UK personnel located at the US Air Force's Creech AFB in Nevada.

"Activists warn that Britain switching control of drones to Waddington away from US bases marks a critical expansion in the nation's drones programme," says a War on Want press notice, which also notes that the RAF is in the process of upping its Reaper inventory from 5 to 10 aircraft.

It's good that the protesters can have their voices heard, and I'm sure that the peace camp at Waddington will remain there for some time - probably until combat operations in Afghanistan end late next year and all the Reapers get stuffed into boxes as they can't yet be flown in UK airspace. But claims that the UK's "drones" are participating in "extrajudicial assassinations" and the slaughter of innocent civilians "without democratic oversight or accountability to the public" simply aren't supported by the facts.

The massive majority of RAF Reaper missions now being flown over Afghanistan (Crown Copyright image above) do not result in any weapons being released, and when kinetic action is involved, the rules of engagement are exactly the same as for the crew of a Tornado or Apache, with the same accountability if a mistake is made. But I guess that if your stated objective is to have all unmanned air systems banned, regardless of what they do, and though most of them aren't even armed, then you wouldn't be interested.

Eglin AFB Marines fly first F-35B eight-ship

2013-04-26T20:01:46Z

The US Marine Corps' VMFAT-501 training squadron, which is assigned to the US Air Force's 33^rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, launched its first F-35B eight-ship earlier today. The unit flew one mission and then conducted a hot pit refueling before going back up again.

F-22 Raptor over Alaska

2013-04-25T23:28:13Z

Lockheed Martin's in-house magazine, Code One, posted this photo that was taken when the first F-22 Raptors were being fielded at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. Doesn't feel like it was that long ago, but more than half-a-decade has gone by since then. Here you can see a Raptor (probably either tail 087 or 090--if memory serves) followed by a Boeing F-15C and F-15E.

Back in 2007, the US had a monopoly on fifth-gen fighters, but now Russia and China are working on their own stealth fighters. In fact, Vladimir Putin told Ria Novosti earlier today that the PAK-FA will in service with the Russian Air Force by 2016--which is one year behind the original schedule.

Meanwhile, the US Marine Corps intends to declare the Lockheed F-35B operational with the interim Block 2B software build in 2015 at MCAS Yuma, Arizona. The Pentagon hasn't yet said exactly when the F-35A and C will be declared operational, but initial operational testing for the full Block 3F software is scheduled to be completed by 2019 according to the GAO.