Forum: F-35 Lightning II

JSF Sees Action in Alaska -- Virtually by Amy Butler at 6/20/2011

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/de ... d=blogDest

"Early results from the use of the F-35 Block III software are good after the Air Force used it during a recent Northern Edge exercise, according to USAF Maj. Gen. CD Moore, deputy director of the Joint Strike Fighter program.

The software and the JSF electro-optical and infrared distributed aperture sysem (DAS) was flown on a BAC 111 test surrogate; actual F-35 platforms were not used in the trials.

During the exercise, the software was pitted against various operationally representative threat systems. Moore says the EO/DAS system was able to track objects 360-deg. around the aircraft. This data was also properly displayed into the cockpit, he says.

Demonstrating the full Block III capability and full capability “is one of the hardest things” for the program, Moore tells Aviation Week during a June 19 interview.

Block III is in development now; delivery will be set upon completion of an integrated master schedule now being crafted."

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Great news.

On the matter of Blk 4 software, is there any preliminary information what this will include?

All this stuff that CATBird is doing is making the silly part of my brain ask a lot of "what if"s

They also had the APG-81 & data-links as part of the tests.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... sting.html

Quote:

Participating in the Northern Edge exercise for the second time, the AN/APG-81 radar demonstrated robust electronic protection, electronic attack, passive, maritime and experimental modes, and data-linked air and surface tracks to improve legacy fighter situational awareness.

Wow, so they have the 'Electronic Attack' mode working enough to be able to test it already? I'm pretty stunned by that. The individual systems and the system as a whole is really starting to sound very impressive indeed.

Any guesses as to what the experimental modes may be?

Air-to-air SAR modes, using the radar as a high-bandwidth data-link, etc?

popcorn asked: "On the matter of Blk 4 software, is there any preliminary information what this will include?" This graphic from the April 2008 Norway brief: http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_download-id-14514.html

spazsinbad wrote:

popcorn asked: "On the matter of Blk 4 software, is there any preliminary information what this will include?" This graphic from the April 2008 Norway brief: http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_download-id-14514.html

Thanks, lots of interesting stuff still to come. This would make for a very interesting albeit lopsided comparison vs. the roadmaps for legacy jets.

spazsinbad wrote:

popcorn asked: "On the matter of Blk 4 software, is there any preliminary information what this will include?" This graphic from the April 2008 Norway brief: http://www.f-16.net/f-16_forum_download-id-14514.html

Any idea what Blk 6 "cross platform canopy expansion" is all about. Could this be a 2-seater F-35?

Here is a shot of the BAC 111 with both the AGP-81 and AAQ-37 (EODAS) shown mounted.

Its not going to win any beauty contests is it!

no, but it can detect and track a rocket launch from 800 miles out and detect and jam F-22 radars at an unknown range....

SpudmanWP wrote:

Here is a shot of the BAC 111 with both the AGP-81 and AAQ-37 (EODAS) shown mounted.

I don't know why but seeing that picture of BAC 111 with the funny nose reminds of the fight scene from "Space Balls" with the dualing Schwartz's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S25Zf8svHZQ

I ran across another article on this exercise:
http://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=2874

Quote:

The AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and the AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar (AESA) were installed on board Northrop Grumman’s BAC 1-11 test aircraft. The AN/AAQ-37 DAS, which was designed mainly to track multiple aircrafts simultaneously in all directions, made its debut, demonstrating its spherical situational awareness in an air combat environment. The AN/APG-81 AESA, which is participating again in the Northern Edge exercise, has exhibited its robust electronic protection, passive maritime, electronic attack, data-linked air, experimental nodes and surface tracks, which would all lead to an improved legacy fighter situational awareness. The AESA also investigated the whole operating area of Gulf of Alaska, searching for surface vessels and precisely detecting and tracking them in a negligible amount of time.

Erik Etz, who is the Navy Commander of the Deputy Missions Systems Integrated Product Team at the F-35 JSF Program Office, revealed that both sensors had been rigorously tested during Northern Edge 2011 and this would prove to be a momentous risk reduction step for the F-35 JSF program. According to him, they had demonstrated key war fighting capabilities, much ahead of the scheduled operational testing by positioning these systems in a rigorous environment.

stereospace, thanks. Worth putting the article here I reckon...

F-35 JSF Sensors Successfully Tested at Northern Edge 2011 June 29, 2011 By Andy Choi

http://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=2874

"The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Sensors have participated in the Northern Edge 2011 for the second time, and have been tested in the multi-operational environment in Alaska from June 13 to 24, 2011.

The Northern Edge, hosted by Alaskan Command, is a biennial U.S. Pacific Command exercise, which prepares joint forces to react to crisis across the Asia-Pacific region. The performance of the F-35 JSF systems in numerous electronic warfare scenarios was an invaluable opportunity.

The AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and the AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar (AESA) were installed on board Northrop Grumman’s BAC 1-11 test aircraft. The AN/AAQ-37 DAS, which was designed mainly to track multiple aircrafts simultaneously in all directions, made its debut, demonstrating its spherical situational awareness in an air combat environment. The AN/APG-81 AESA, which is participating again in the Northern Edge exercise, has exhibited its robust electronic protection, passive maritime, electronic attack, data-linked air, experimental nodes and surface tracks, which would all lead to an improved legacy fighter situational awareness. The AESA also investigated the whole operating area of Gulf of Alaska, searching for surface vessels and precisely detecting and tracking them in a negligible amount of time.

Erik Etz, who is the Navy Commander of the Deputy Missions Systems Integrated Product Team at the F-35 JSF Program Office, revealed that both sensors had been rigorously tested during Northern Edge 2011 and this would prove to be a momentous risk reduction step for the F-35 JSF program. According to him, they had demonstrated key war fighting capabilities, much ahead of the scheduled operational testing by positioning these systems in a rigorous environment.

System operators had to face the seasonal weather challenges as this exercise was conducted in the month of June with its cloudy and inclement weather, which hindered in-flight visibility. The DAS provided discernable and clear horizons along with views of nearby aircraft and views of ground features. Night vision functions could not be tested as it was not dark enough. Further, a surrogate test visor was utilized to display DAS imagery for the operators.

Peter Bartos, Test Director at Northrop Grumman, stated that these sensor systems provided immense possibilities of usage for the F-35 JSF sensors in the air-land-sea battle. This testing had confirmed the operational utility and maturity of the systems and has also been useful for identifying areas, where refinement is necessary, even before formal operational testing could be carried out on the F-35 JSF airframe. According to him, this would eliminate the guess work out of testing and development and also minimize or totally avoid issues that have normally beleaguered several other major development programs.
Source: Northern Edge Joint Information Bureau"

Forum: F-35 Lightning II

F-35 'Does its Block' III Virtually - Northern Edge Exercise