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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 0926.PDF
mm^ iiMwm Surviving the challenges Combining multiple resources $»« § Balancing complex requirements Introducing the human element Achieving control Providing more than air superiority Breaking down the boundaries Proving the power Making production affordable msmm m Creating a cover-up Proving mission effectiveness Training begins with aircraft design Facing new threats Looking inside the F-22 Written by Graham Warwick, with additional reporting by Guy Norris and Douglas Barrie Art Editor Alexis Rendell Production Editor Chris Thornton Artwork by the Editorial Artists Advertisement Production Howard Mason Film reproduction by J J Typographies. Southend-on-Sea, UK. Printed by BPC Magazines (Milton Keynes) Ltd. a member ot the British Printing Company Ltd of the UK. Published by Reed Business Information Ltd, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton Surrey, SM2 5AS. ©RBI Ltd 1997 Developing the F-22 has advanced the capabilities of the US aerospace industry m OOK AT FIGHTER evolution in 25- m year steps, and die technological advance m which can occur in a quarter-century is •T obvious. The 1915 Fokker DVII, 1940 North American P-51 and 1965 McDonnell Douglas F-4 were each the dominant fighters of their age, and illustrate the advances that have been achieved. Another 2 5 years - and a techno logical leap equally as great, its developers argue - separate the roll-out of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 from the first flight of die McDonnell Douglas F-l 5. Externally, the gap may not seem as great as that between the P-51 and the F-4, but the F-22 is designed to fight on die information battlefield of the 21st century, says programme general- manager Tom Burbage, who likens the F-15 to a "morse-code transmitter on the Internet". The F-22 is designed to exploit information while denying information to the enemy, through its sensors and stealth, he explains. The F-22 represents an advance over the F-15 in "traditional" areas of design, with its combina tion of stealth, speed and manoeuvrability, but heralds a revolutionary change in "non-tradi tional" areas, argues Burbage. The F-22 has twice die flight envelope of the F-15, he says, but more important is its computing power- 10.5 billion operations/s throughput and 300 megabytes memory, with 200% growth capacity. That computing power is used to provide the F-22 pilot with a fused, easy to read, picture of the information available from onboard sensors and offboard sources, and to handle all housekeeping tasks. "The pilot manages the mission, not die sensors," says Burbage. The design aim is to enable every F-22 pilot to be a fighter ace, by unlocking "human potential" and combining it widi stealth, speed and manoeuvrability to guar antee "...overwhelming lethality against air-to- air targets and high survivability against surface-to-air threats", he says. Burbage says that the F-22 presented unique m design challenges, requiring die combination of stealth widi agility and low observability with sit uational awareness. Apertures which enable die F-2 2 's sensors to look out while preventing direat sensors from looking in are "...the most advanced technology on the aircraft", he says. Aerodynamically, the F-22 is "...more than just an F-15 replacement", argues Burbage. Low drag and high power allow "supercruise" - sus tained high-supersonic speed without afterburn er - which reduces infra-red signature and extends range. "Speed and stealth compress the timeline of threat reaction," he says. The F-22's "unbounded manoeuvrability" will include the ability to fly at 60° angle-of-attack and 80kt (150km/h) and still roll the aircraft - although the pilot should rarely get into a dogfight, he says. "If the F-22 gets into a 9g turning fight, then we've done something wrong," says Burbage, for the operational concept is ".. .first look, first shot, first kill" - the ability to detect, identify and engage targets while still beyond range of their sensors and weapons. Targets will be identified passively by their emissions, or by information arrivingviadatalink from other F-22s or surveil lance aircraft. Radar will be used sparingly and covertly. Data will be fused, targets prioritised and a "shoot list" displayed. "The pilot does not care which sensor is pro viding what data," Burbage says. The concept is to "maximise information and minimise data", he adds. The pilot will move a cursor down the shoot list and launch AIM-120 advanced medi um-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM) - the F-22's primary armament- from the underfuse- lage weapons bays towards their targets, hope fully without ever coming under attack. DESIGN ENVIRONMENT Burbage's counterpart at the US Air Force's F-22 programme office, Brig Gen Michael Mushala, highlights die role which computing power has played in the design of the F-22. "The most sophisticated design environment available is used throughout the programme," resulting in significant savings, he says. Using the CATIA design system and COMOK modelling tool across the F-22 team, including subcontractors, has ensured that parts produced at different sites ".. .fit exactly together", he says. Final assembly has gone "very smoothly", Mushala says. Major assemblies have been mated A FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
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