Raptor Program Goes On Offensive

Aviation Week & Space Technology
05/23/2004
F/A-22 Secrets Revealed
Raptor Unwrapped


With long-term military budget cuts looming once again, the U.S. Air
Force and Lockheed Martin are finally talking about some of the F/A-22
Raptor's closely held secrets that they hope will keep Congress paying
for the $132-million stealth aircraft.


While these conversations, many of them informal, didn't touch on
"even one-third of its classified capabilities," according to one
pilot, they included the ability to hunt down and destroy cruise
missiles well behind enemy lines, the introduction of a new missile
that allows the head-on attack and destruction of stealthy enemy
missiles, a tailless bomber derivative design, a planned electronic
attack capability so powerful that it actually damages enemy
electronics, and modifications that would allow the aircraft's
electronic package to invade enemy computer networks.


The tone of the conversations was sharpened by a still-unreleased
report about the series of air combat training engagements earlier
this year between Indian air force Su-30MKs and F-15Cs from Elmendorf
AFB, Alaska; the latter were equipped with the U.S.' newest
long-range, high-definition radars. Those who have read draft copies
of the report say the Su-30MKs and F-15 pilots were seeing each other
at the same time with their radars, but the Indian pilots were getting
off the simulated first shot with their AA-10 Alamo missiles and often
winning the long-range engagements. The Indian pilots also had more
flight time in the previous year than the U.S. pilots, roughly 300 hr.
compared with 250 hr., the pilot said.

Those factors are causing the U.S. to rethink the formula that they
always will be facing less well-trained pilots and inferior weaponry.
They also reinforce the argument that the U.S. needs a fighter with
greater radar range (the F/A-22's is more than 100 naut. mi.), stealth
(the F-15 has a huge radar cross section) and fused sensors so that
pilots can easily grasp what's going on around them.

Key to the F/A-22's capabilities is a complex of passive sensors,
basically for electronic surveillance, that line the outside edges of
the fighter's wings and tail surfaces. They gather electronic
emissions at frequencies up to 18 GHz., sort them by time and angle of
arrival for location, and analyze the signature automatically for
rapid identification. Electronic data are fused with detailed RCS
signatures gathered by the radar for additional identification.

How many F/A-22s the Air Force eventually gets is still a crap shoot.
Estimates range from a service requirement for more than 400 to
pessimistic predictions of only 100-150 if the congressional
budgeters, soured by the growing cost of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, are unsympathetic.

A primary mission for the F/A-22 is slated to be cruise missile
interception well behind enemy lines. "A cruise missile has stealth in
only one direction--straight ahead," says Lt. Col. Mike Stapleton,
operations officer for the 43rd Fighter Sqdn. The F-22s would operate
in an extended picket line so they can look at cruise missiles to
either side of their patrol area from a beam aspect where the missile
is not low-observable. In addition, the new, 200-naut.-mi. AESA radar,
in development for the E-10 surveillance aircraft, is to provide key
cueing of cruise missile locations.

Tactics used by cruise missile operators are instructive. One option
is to send waves of 10 missiles that would pull defenses to one side
while a following wave slips through. Another is to disperse a large
launch into many directions so that some actually approach the targets
from behind. Those tactics have led the U.S. to plan a multi-layered
defense that begins with F-22s deep in enemy territory.

While F-22s would normally operate at the 45,000-50,000-ft. level, for
cruise missile defense they would drop into the middle altitudes
around 25,000-30,000 ft. That would allow them the flexibility to
combat both AS-4 "Kitchen" or CAS-1 "Kraken"-type, high-speed,
air-launched missiles (predictable course, but little time to react)
or to pick "Silkworm"-type missiles (low speed, but unpredictable
course) out of ground clutter. Detailed information on missiles that
leaked through the F/A-22 line would be sent by data link to second
and third defensive layers comprising AESA-radar-equipped F-15s and
F/A-18Es operating in less well-defended areas.

Four of the initial seven cadre pilots in the 43nd Fighter Sqdn., the
Air Force's first F/A-22 squadron, came from the AESA-equipped F-15
squadrons in Alaska, where they developed concepts for airborne cruise
missile defense, Stapleton says. While F/A-22 crews will train to
attack cruise missiles with AIM-9s and 20-mm. cannon, the primary
weapon will be the AIM-120C Amraam.

A variant, the AIM-120C-6 (available by 2006), has been specialized
with an improved seeker to optimize the explosive cone of destruction
for small, slow targets in a head-on engagement with the F/A-22. The
upgraded Amraam incorporates improved fuzing through a new quadrant
target-detection device. One tactic for the F-22s will be to approach
a wave of cruise missiles head-on, get in a first shot and then turn
at Mach 1.7 supercruise speed for a second and third shot from behind.

F/A-22s assigned the cruise missile defense mission would carry at
least six Amraams and possibly more when a compressed-carriage AIM-120
design is fielded, says J.R. McDonald, director of Lockheed Martin's
F/A-22 program. The range of the F/A-22 can be extended with two
600-gal., low-observable fuel tanks carried on two inboard hard points
that are plumbed to transfer fuel. However, there are a number of
concepts for a larger, longer range FB-22 that could also carry a
larger weapons payload. McDonald says the weapons bay on either the
F/A-22 or FB-22 concepts could be enlarged to carry more missiles.
Moreover, because of the improvements in stealth coatings, shaping and
RCS predictability, the changes could be made while actually improving
the signature of the aircraft, he says.

Some of the FB-22 derivative concepts being proposed by Lockheed
Martin include both one- and two-seat options, with and without a
vertical tail, McDonald said. The tailless version would be possible
because the wing would be expanded and made large enough to carry
sufficient flight control surfaces to provide adequate aerodynamic
authority. "We have a smorgasbord of options," McDonald said. The
objective is to preserve all the attributes of the F/A-22--stealth,
speed, integrated avionics--while giving up a bit of agility in order
to field a stable bombing platform. The aircraft would also be
designed to control a wide range of unmanned reconnaissance and
strike aircraft.

Most intriguing about the F/A-22's future were hints from various
sources that the fighter would have drastically improved electronic
attack capability and would introduce computer network attack to its
arsenal. Critics say some of the planning borders on the fanciful.

Officials have acknowledged that the F/A-22's AESA radar has a
projected capability to concentrate its transmission power onto a
narrow spot--most likely the electronic radars and communication links
associated with air defenses--with enough focus to jam them. The Thor
jamming system is to be active in 2008. Those working on improvements
say that with the addition of radar cheek arrays to the aircraft in
2010, it would be able to focus enough energy in a beam to actually
damage electronic components in enemy sensors.

An associated capability is airborne computer network attack that,
under project Suter, currently resides with the EC-130 Compass Call.
However, the aircraft is large, slow and can't penetrate defended
airspace. Futurists say a further modified F/A-22 will be able to
operate over key targets and carry out computer attack or surveillance
with much less power. "If you're 5 mi. from the threat, you don't need
the power of Compass Call" to penetrate an enemy computer network,
says one official.
Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

"If you're 5 mi. from the threat, you don't need
the power of Compass Call" to penetrate an enemy computer network,

In same token if enemy missile is 5 miles from the F22 it wont need
sophisticated sensors to kill it.
I wonder if F22 is going to satisfy its range criteria with external tankage.
BTW its all about a sales pitch to sell 80-110 EF22 aircraft to air force.Thats
their only viable option.

"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
...
Aviation Week & Space Technology
05/23/2004
F/A-22 Secrets Revealed
Raptor Unwrapped
....

The tone of the conversations was sharpened by a still-unreleased
report about the series of air combat training engagements earlier
this year between Indian air force Su-30MKs and F-15Cs from Elmendorf
AFB, Alaska; the latter were equipped with the U.S.' newest
long-range, high-definition radars. Those who have read draft copies
of the report say the Su-30MKs and F-15 pilots were seeing each other
at the same time with their radars, but the Indian pilots were getting
off the simulated first shot with their AA-10 Alamo missiles and often
winning the long-range engagements. The Indian pilots also had more
flight time in the previous year than the U.S. pilots, roughly 300 hr.
compared with 250 hr., the pilot said.

The difference in flight time is alarming. And the Chinese and the Russians
are developing a dual-pulse motor for AA-10 that substantially increases its
range.

Those factors are causing the U.S. to rethink the formula that they
always will be facing less well-trained pilots and inferior weaponry.
They also reinforce the argument that the U.S. needs a fighter with
greater radar range (the F/A-22's is more than 100 naut. mi.), stealth
(the F-15 has a huge radar cross section) and fused sensors so that
pilots can easily grasp what's going on around them.

That's somewhat suprising. I would think the F-22 AESA would have roughly
the same range as the F-15 one since they are roughly the same aperature and
use the same T/R modules. The reduction in own-aircraft RCS is the real key.
Nope, no need to gold plated F-22s.

From: "Paul F Austin"


"Ed Rasimus" wrote:
The Indian pilots also had more flight time in the previous year than the
U.S. pilots, roughly 300 hr. compared with 250 hr., the pilot said.

The difference in flight time is alarming.

Considering that India and Pakistan almost went head to head in a nuclear
exchange not too long ago, I would think that the Indian AF would have been
flying many many hours of practice missions to deal with that threat, and, that
this fact could account for the disparity.
Dave

On 25 May 2004 21:41:04 GMT, (Dav1936531) wrote:

From: "Paul F Austin"


"Ed Rasimus" wrote:
The Indian pilots also had more flight time in the previous year than the
U.S. pilots, roughly 300 hr. compared with 250 hr., the pilot said.

The difference in flight time is alarming.

Considering that India and Pakistan almost went head to head in a nuclear
exchange not too long ago, I would think that the Indian AF would have been
flying many many hours of practice missions to deal with that threat, and, that
this fact could account for the disparity.

Not to mention the fact that the SU-30 are the elite within the IAF,
and so will probably get significantly mor hours than the average
MiG-21 jockey.

Peter Kemp