The “magical” brilliance and poverty of the American aviation industry
Roper believes that the secretly tested full-scale “demonstrator” - note, not even a prototype (!) (in the text full-scale flight demonstrator) - fully met the hopes of those who at one time approved the program for its creation. By the way, the name of the project is also quite eloquent - Next Generation Air Dominance, which literally means “Achieving air superiority in the next generation” (original article: The US Air Force has built and flown a mysterious full-scale prototype of its future fighter jet) .
However, in the harsh world of military-industrial realities, if magic happens, it is an unexpected bonus for the New Year or, for example, the film “Kin-dza-dza”, where the very magical pepelats of the artist Teodor Tezhik fly. Everything else is verified by calculations and tests.
But what to talk about with people who openly declare that they “built and flew a prototype based on a “virtual version of the future fighter”” (“the Air Force has proven it can use cutting-edge advanced manufacturing techniques to build and test a virtual version of its next fighter — and then move to constructing a full-scale prototype and flying it with mission systems onboard")? At the same time, Roper refused to say who the developer of the miracle device was, where and when it was tested.
© defensenews.com Article by Will Roper in Defense One.
Meanwhile, I cannot help but note that the majority of Russian publications and even many observers “bought” false information from an authoritative source. For several days in a row, the voices of experts could be heard from any iron, seriously discussing the possible advantages and disadvantages of the mythical American apparatus. And why? Yes, because it never occurred to anyone to look into the original source and see WHAT exactly the Americans experienced and WHAT they IT . It’s just that someone was the first to write that we were talking about a “prototype,” and other publications, afraid of being late, immediately picked up the general refrain.
Armed Forces. Forum about weapons and the army
These stunning photographs capture a year in the life of the world's largest air force.
US Air Force bases are scattered across many countries and continents. Airman magazine has selected the most impressive images of 2013 for a special issue: “Images of the Past Year.” The magazine's executive editor, Sergeant Technician Chris Powell, explains, “We are proud to feature the best of the Air Force photographers and journalists who document the busy lives of American aviators every day. These camera and pen professionals travel around the world - sometimes exposing themselves to various dangers - to bring visual images through the eyes of pilots and technicians to the general public."
The C-130 Hercules transport plane releases fire retardant over the mountains and forests of Palm Springs, California. The C-130 was deployed to help the public fight forest fires. Photo: US Air National Guard photo/Senior Airman Nicholas Carzis
A WC-130 Hercules military transport aircraft assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron is doused with water after completing a flight over the Gulf of Mexico. Water pressure removes salt that accumulates on the wings and fuselage as the plane flies through storms over the ocean. Photo: US Air Force photo/Senior Airman Andrew Lee
The 2013 graduates of the United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, Colorado) march into Falcon Stadium for the institution's graduation ceremony. On May 29, 2013, 1,024 cadets were promoted to officers. Photo: US Air Force Photo by Mike Kaplan
F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 8th Fighter Wing, 388th Expeditionary Wing and 38th Fighter Group of the Korean Air Force practice the "elephant walk" as they slowly approach the runway at Kunsan Air Base. ) in the Republic of Korea. This joint exercise is conducted to demonstrate the capabilities of the US and ROK air forces. Photo: US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Fowler
19th Airlift Wing technicians prepare a C-130J Hercules for flight at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. The 19th Wing's responsibilities range from humanitarian aid deliveries to airlift and paradropping of Army units into emergency operations areas in hostile territory. Photo: US Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Russ Scalf
Rows of F-4 Phantoms and T-38 Talons lined up on the 309th Maintenance and Repair Group site (jokingly nicknamed “The Boneyard”). Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. Photo: US Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III
Tech Sergeant Andrew Gravett walks around the upper fuselage of a C-17 Globemaster III strategic military transport aircraft while performing routine inspection and maintenance at Joint Air Force Base Charleston, South Carolina. Gravette is the 437th MRO Squadron's crew chief. Photo: US Air Force photo/Senior Airman Dennis Sloan
During a 2013 exercise, a New York Air National Guard UH-60 prepares to conduct an aerial refueling mission with a HC-130J transport from the 79th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Photo: US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tim Chacon
Maj. Greg Boland hugs his children Rylie and Carter on the runway at Spangdahlem Air Force Base in Germany after returning from a combat mission. Boland serves in the 480th Fighter Squadron. Photo: US Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Gustavo Castillo
C-130 Hercules cargo planes line up before takeoff during “readiness week” at Yokota Air Base in Japan. Photo: US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez
An Almaz fighter from the 'Thunderbirds' air demonstration unit performs the 'Echelon Pass in Review' maneuver during a training flight over Nevada. Photo: US Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez
A barrage of fire retardant foam was accidentally released into an aircraft hangar. This foam briefly covered part of the runway at Travis Air Force Base, California. No people or aircraft were injured in this incident. Photo: US Air Force photo/Ken Wright
Now let's talk seriously!
Washington announced the start of work on a sixth-generation aircraft quite a long time ago.
Reference
The first publications on this topic appeared in the professional English and foreign language press at the turn of 2016 and 2022. In fact, the logic of developing a new combat aircraft fits into the overall strategy for updating the aircraft and engine fleet of the overseas power until 2035-2040.
However, experts have not received any data that would allow us to somehow understand what kind of aircraft the Americans so loudly announced. The heroes of the occasion themselves categorically refused to provide specific tactical or flight characteristics or even a photo of the “magic pepelats”. In other words, humanity was invited to rejoice for the American pig in a poke, which no one is allowed to see.
In fact, the Anglo-Saxons play their favorite national game - poker. That is, Will Roper’s declarations can be trusted, but they can also be disbelieved. Because no one has seen this technology - even in the form of a “full-scale demonstrator,” as Will Roper himself called it.
Which completely coincides with the line of the American president, who is also scaring all of humanity with some kind of American “super-duper” missile, which - again - no one has ever seen anywhere.
And here it would be quite appropriate to ask the question: what is the difference between a fifth-generation fighter and a sixth-generation fighter. It would also be correct to ask: what, unlike the Americans, aren’t other countries conducting research in the field of creating a sixth-generation combat aircraft? Why are Americans so confident in the uniqueness of their research?
Reference
In 2022, Great Britain, represented by Theresa May, announced the start of work on the sixth-generation Tempest fighter, which is intended to replace the European Eurofighter Typhoon fighter currently in service. About two billion pounds sterling is expected to be invested in the project.
France and Germany are also working jointly on a similar project.
A similar project exists in Russia, which was announced 2 years ago by Dmitry Rogozin, who held the post of Deputy Prime Minister at that time.
China has its own project to create a sixth-generation fighter, although, taking into account the experience of developing the J-20, we cannot yet expect miracles in this area from our ally Beijing.
©baesystems.com
The UK is looking to create its own sixth-generation fighter, the Tempest.
The fact is that just some 5-6 years ago, professionals could not agree on clear criteria for defining a fifth-generation fighter. As a result, the astronomically expensive American F-35 categories A and B, F-22 Raptor, Russian Su-57 and Chinese J-20 were recognized as such. The latter does not have a fully controlled thrust vector. The power plant of the Chinese fighter also does not allow it the full range of maneuvers that its Russian and American counterparts are capable of.
Neither France, nor Sweden, nor Europe in general, nor Korea or Japan, despite all their efforts, has such technology today. That does not prevent some countries from making ambitious statements and trying to jump over one step.
“The USA is ahead of us forever. We don't even understand what they are doing."
The American sixth-generation fighter project has baffled Russian experts
US Air Force General Mark Kelly said that the American sixth-generation fighter program will consist not only of the aircraft itself, but also of drones, spacecraft and cyber platforms. Military columnist for Gazeta.Ru Mikhail Khodarenok looked into why this topic is almost not discussed in the Russian expert community.
The head of the US Air Force Air Combat Command, General Mark Kelly, in an interview with Defense News, spoke about a secret program to create sixth-generation fighters called Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD). Last September, a US Air Force spokesman reported that a full-scale NGAD demonstrator had made its first flight, with the program supposedly "progressing significantly further than many aerospace analysts had predicted."
The NGAD program, the general said, involves fielding a “family of interconnected systems” for airspace warfare that could include fighter aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, satellites in space and platforms in cyberspace. In this regard, NGAD is sometimes referred to as a “system of systems.” General Mark Kelly is the program's main supporter at the Pentagon.
“I strive to disclose as much information as possible on the NGAD program, taking into account the requirements for maintaining military and state secrets. Frankly, I think the more people know about our capabilities, the better we will look in terms of implementing this program,” explained General Kelly.
Earlier, at budget hearings in Congress, US Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown revealed some details of the NGAD project.
In particular, fighters must be able to enter the so-called A2/AD - Anti-Access/Area-Denial areas (high-risk areas into which NATO troops cannot penetrate without unacceptable damage even with superior forces), breaking through any air defense systems , destroying aircraft and the most important enemy targets.
In April 2022, the Defense News portal wrote that the fifth-generation fighter F-35A Lightning II is not capable of covering significant distances over the Pacific Ocean without aerial refueling, which is why in the latest war games the US Air Force turned out to be useless for penetrating deep into Chinese airspace.
The publication noted that this is precisely the task that the aircraft created as part of the NGAD program should perform, while the F-35A Lightning II should only “attack Chinese coastal targets and surface ships, protect American and Taiwanese targets from Chinese aircraft and provide protection from cruise aircraft.” missiles."
“In Russia, unfortunately, the NGAD program is not discussed in the public sphere. We do not understand the goals that the Americans have set for themselves. It is not clear how far they have progressed in their implementation, for example, in the field of radio photonics, that is, in the study of optical radiation and RF/microwave signals for radar tracking purposes. That is, we don’t know whether we can see the Americans, and we don’t know what they see,” a high-ranking representative of the Russian aviation industry told Gazeta.Ru.
The expert believes that the topic of NGAD is not discussed in Russia due to “ignorance of the texture.”
“We can only hope that such a discussion is still taking place at some secret level in our country. However, at the expert level there is almost complete silence regarding NGAD. With the exception of voicing some of the most common phrases. And this is a big problem. The USA is ahead of us here forever. Now we don’t even understand what they are doing,” concluded Gazeta.Ru’s interlocutor.
At the same time, the United States hopes to stimulate the defense industry with the help of NGAD.
“Because the advanced manufacturing technologies that are critical to the creation of NGAD were first applied in the commercial sector, the program could open the door to new contractors for mass production of this aircraft,” said Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Will Roper. at the Air, Space and Cyberspace Conference hosted by the United States Air Force Association.
Roper even offered to “give a chance” to Elon Musk to participate in the development of this aircraft.
“I can imagine it! That there will be many engineers, perhaps well-known names, with billions of dollars to invest, who will decide to start the world's largest aircraft company to build the greatest aircraft in the world," Roper said at the time.
Mikhail Khodarenok
Parameters of 5th and 6th generation fighters
In principle, fifth-generation winged technology is characterized by the use of stealth technologies, a phased antenna array, a certain set of weapons, a power plant that allows not only an exorbitant speed of Mach 1.5-2, but also maneuvering using a controlled thrust vector in several planes at once, a certain level of avionics and much, much more.
But what can be said about the flight characteristics and performance characteristics of winged vehicles that are at the next - sixth - stage of evolution?
In the absence of clearly and unambiguously approved and internationally recognized parameters, it can still be said that the sixth generation fighter must also be controlled by artificial intelligence, that is, it can be piloted by both a pilot in the cockpit and an operator who is on the on earth, rather, is designed to control and limit the actions of the on-board computer, which has many degrees of freedom.
According to some pre-stated criteria, it can be said that such equipment is also capable of controlling a swarm of drones. This is precisely the concept of modern air warfare, where there is one leader and a flock of followers who engage in direct combat and, if necessary, take the blow.
In Russia, such “swarm” UAVs are, for example, combat flying robots “Cube” and “Grom”. However, the range of domestic drones is much wider - from the Lancet loitering ammunition to the Okhotnik super-robot, which should soon begin to arrive in combat regiments.
© RIA Novosti
High-speed attack unmanned aerial vehicle "Grom" at the arms exhibition of the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2020".
Also, all experts agree on the possibility of flight of a 6th generation device at exorbitant speeds - even a figure of Mach 4-5 is mentioned - and even entering near space at suborbital altitude, which presupposes an appropriate level of engine construction, since an atmospheric engine can function at altitudes , exceeding 30 kilometers, cannot.
Also, all American developers of sixth-generation cruise technology, be it Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin, agreed on the need to integrate innovative technologies into the weapon system of such equipment. Initially, it was planned to include a combat laser in the arsenal of the “aircraft of the future.” However, already in the summer of 2022, information appeared that such an aircraft would not be armed with a pulse cannon capable of causing damage to other military equipment, but only with a laser electronic warfare system that would blind air-to-air missiles of a potential enemy. Naturally, there is nothing supernatural in this for today’s technology.
Their answer is "Checkmate"
And a way out has been found. Or, at least, they are trying to find it in the new “digital design/engineering” - in what the entire “purchasing” department of the Pentagon and especially its aviation part are now raving about. The details are not disclosed, but if you look through the slogans and declarations, often cobbled together from parasitic words, then we are talking about the maximum digitalization of the process and a change in the approach to the development of weapons systems due to the massive borrowing of operating principles from the commercial sector. In particular, from the IT sector and the automotive industry. The latter industry, by the way, was cited in the above-mentioned DAPRA report as an example of reducing development time.
According to the new standards, for example, the B-21 Raider strategic bomber is being created, which should be shown to the public and begin flying next year. The American military verbally praises the pace of its development, although the extremely optimistic deadline for putting the new “strategist” into service (2026-27) is unlikely to be met.
What makes aircraft made “new” different is that their future modernization (for example, the introduction of new weapons systems) will become simpler - due to the fact that it will often be limited to updating software, not hardware. It is also likely that they plan to reduce the start of deliveries by delivering the vehicles in a simplified form (here, however, it would be nice to remember that they did the same with the F-35, resulting in the costly problem of fine-tuning the early vehicles).
The most radically minded experts even began to dream of returning to the times of the “century series” (Century Series, a conditional association of fighters of the 1950-60s, F-100/101/102/104/105/106), when advanced machines were created very quickly and almost simultaneously. It is said, in particular, that instead of the long development of a fighter designed for purchases on a scale of several thousand units (and therefore inevitably becoming obsolete during the production of this quantity), it would be great to quickly develop machines for changing conditions, produce them in several hundred and move on to the next one.
In a broad sense, NGAD, apparently, is precisely a set of systems and subprograms created “in a new way”, connected by the common theme of creating a new means of gaining air superiority. A brief background report to the US Congress (one of the few official documents on the program) says that the Air Force, as part of NGAD, is now studying the use of the latest technologies in new generation fighters in five areas, of which only new engines have been officially reported (possibly together with power supply). We can confidently add at least network-centric technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber weapons and directed energy weapons to this list.
It is equally safe to say that the American sixth-generation fighter will need to operate in conjunction with advanced UAV wingmen, which will serve as both remote sensors and weapons platforms. The fighter piloted by the pilot will then serve as a command vehicle, controlling light drones (including air-launched ones) and unmanned versions of full-size fighters. He will have to engage in battle on his own only in cases of extreme necessity or when it is possible to minimize the risk. This can be said in the context of ongoing testing of early prototype UAV wingmen, ongoing programs to create air-launched drones armed with air-to-air missiles, as well as the more open appearance of European advanced fighter programs.
Development programs for unmanned wingmen are also underway in Russia. And we can risk predicting that the creation of an effective combination of manned and unmanned platforms will be the largest breakthrough in the fight for air supremacy since the creation of normally functioning guided missiles.
What do we know
First of all, to create a full-fledged sixth-generation fighter, it is necessary to develop an appropriate power plant. And the creation of a new aircraft engine takes up to two decades (which is by no means the limit). Especially when we are talking about a fundamentally new unit.
In principle, the Americans are conducting research into the creation of an experimental power plant operating on hydrogen-oxygen steam. Essentially, these are two installations in one, with one of them “working” in the atmosphere, and the other in near space, at suborbital altitude.
The most interesting thing is that the Russian Igla project is more than a decade ahead of its American counterpart in this area. As is known, the United States does not have alloys capable of withstanding the temperature of the combustion chamber of a hydrogen engine. They also don’t have the appropriate materials for the power plant blades. American intelligence has repeatedly tried to buy up the formulas for the corresponding substances in Russia, but, thank God, so far to no avail.
© Photo from the archive
Model of the hypersonic aircraft "Igla".
In the field of development of artificial intelligence for the 6th generation fighter, the Russian side knows that tests of the “full-size demonstrator” prototype showed insufficient controllability of the American aircraft and failure during climb maneuvers. Also, some commands from the remote operator console were not executed.
Is it possible to move to the VI generation in Russia?
The Russian Su-57 is an open architecture aircraft. In other words, it is modular and allows the creation of new innovative modifications, which, for example, is impossible for the American F-22. In addition, the Su-57 is also unpretentious during combat operation, that is, it is capable of showing results even in harsh conditions close to combat ones.
In this regard, we can conclude that the current Su-57 already contains the ability to be upgraded to the sixth generation level.
© sukhoi.org
The Su-57 is unpretentious during combat operation and is capable of showing results even in harsh conditions close to combat ones.
As for drones (remember that the United States intends to make the sixth generation in two modifications at once - with and without a pilot), Russia has already tested drones that, with the help of artificial intelligence, remotely controlled a nearby Su-57 in the air . Note that, unlike the Americans, the Russian side does not hide where and what exactly was tested. That is, you don’t need to take your word for it in this case - there is always the opportunity to double-check.
In conclusion, we can say that, of course, “magic” in the spirit of Will Roper is probably good, but for adults it is somehow ... unreliable.
But Russian aircraft - unlike American "Pepelats" - can be touched and felt, and their commercial price, as a rule, is much cheaper than their Western counterparts, although our aircraft often have more advanced technologies.
F-15EX: Has the US received the best fourth-generation fighter?
Quote: Vadim237
And everything is fine with ours Zircon is at the final stage of testing
Let's still wait for the tests to be completed and put into service. So far, Zircon has confirmed the possibility of flying at a range of 400 - 450 km and hitting stationary targets. Let’s wait for confirmation of the possibility of hitting sea moving targets at a range of “over 1000 km” and using them from underwater carriers, and then we will rejoice. I would really like to experience such joy.
Quote: Vadim237
new air-launched tactical air-to-surface missile undergoing initial testing
Well, here the chicken is still in the nest. You can only pray for such a product or wish it luck, but the result is still far away.
Quote: Vadim237
No matter how you look at it, the United States has made progress in putting hypersonic systems into service
In fact, only the “Dagger” has value, which is in trial operation and is currently being deployed on all major theaters of operations. In essence, this is an aeroballistic missile on a TTD, with a range of 2000 km and maneuvering on a final trajectory - a replacement for the previously prohibited MRBMs. The possibility of hitting moving sea targets has not yet been confirmed, but it is being taught, there is a seeker. If it can be taught to work against sea moving targets, it will really be a breakthrough... But for now - only the SD aeroballistic missile.
Quote: Vadim237
Vanguard combat unit
The product is one-piece - the number of them can be counted with the fingers of one hand, and the United States currently does not have a missile defense system capable of counteracting our previous generation ICBMs, because their countermeasures complex is designed specifically for the kind of missile defense system that the United States recently built for itself. Therefore, the usefulness of the Avangard is currently questionable, because instead of six (!) BBs on the UR-100UTTH, there is one, although it is maneuverable and very difficult to intercept. So in real weather conditions it does not.
The United States is indeed seriously behind in the rearmament of its strategic nuclear forces, but not because it could not, but because it decided that it had already defeated everyone and had no rivals left on the planet. They simply relaxed from the late 90s - early 00s, when they realized that the USSR would not resurrect and they just had to wait for the last Soviet missiles to rot. And take it all at once. But they were wrong. And they have already realized this. And they began to take very energetic measures. And they have and always have had the groundwork for this. And most importantly, there is money and the will of the ruling elite. They will be able to create an analogue of our “Dagger” in the coming years. And then he will go to the troops very quickly and in large quantities. They have developments and working models for ramjet engines and they will be able to revive the program - continuations of the X-51. And the future ICBMs that they are developing will probably have maneuvering gliders as warheads, work on which they have been working on since the 90s, and tests have been carried out since the late 2000s. We passed them from behind at the turn, but now they have realized their shortcomings, and the rising China will no longer allow them to live in “relaxation” - we are facing the fact of a new arms race. And the head start that we got at the start will not help us for long - the resources we have with the USA are incomparable... and the old Soviet designers are no longer alive... and new ones... WERE NOT BROKEN. They gave birth to effective managers and their sons and daughters, who, lacking a normal education and moral and business qualities, screw up every business they take on. Look at Rogozin and his offspring - the successes of Roscosmos and Ilyushin are witnesses to this. So there are not many reasons for a “hooray”. We simply forestalled them at the beginning of the development of these types of weapons. But they did not confirm the possibility of bringing the matter to completion (a finished product in service) and organizing its serial production. The president’s bravura speech about new types of weapons was already 4 years ago! AND ? ... 25 million high-tech jobs were also promised to us ... by the same person. He also promised that while he is in power, there will be no increase in the retirement age. MAN OF THE WORD! I’m already silent about the “cruise missile with a ramjet nuclear engine of unlimited flight range”... what was that about? “Poseidon” - everything is clear... it’s not clear why it needs underwater carriers? With such and such a range? They would let us in “from the pier”, or from any barge - cheaper, easier and faster...
... I really hope that Zircon will successfully complete the tests and be put into service with the previously declared characteristics. And that “Daggers” will be deployed on the MiG-31K in all directions in the required quantities. And if he can also achieve naval targets... I’ll be simply happy.
Quote: Vadim237
And everything is fine with ours.
Are we fine with our: - AWACS aircraft? - by planes (and helicopters) PLO? - reconnaissance and target designation aircraft? - radio reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft? - with military transport aircraft? - with tanker aircraft? - with naval missile-carrying aircraft and in general - with Naval Aviation as a whole? - with MAPL - multi-purpose nuclear submarines? Don’t call it “Ash” - this is about something else (SSBN). ... you can list questions for a long time about how “everything is great with us” ... But you can’t shout down propaganda with such questions ... its scope today is simply prohibitive.
