Forum: F-35 Lightning II

It's just occurred to me that catbird doesn't have EOTS ... what's the story there? You'd expect that to be a pretty crucial part of the avionics integration testing.

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EOTS Tested on F-35 CATBird Tuesday, August 17, 2010

http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/militar ... 70600.html

"Lockheed Martin said Monday it successfully conducted the first flight of the F-35 Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) on the Cooperative Avionics Test Bed (CATBird) platform. The company said the EOTS maturation on the CATBird is the final step prior to integration on the BF-4, the first mission systems-equipped F-35 test aircraft.

"The CATBird's dynamic flight environment provides the first opportunity to test and evaluate how EOTS integrates into the F-35's fused sensor architecture," said Rich Hinkle, program director of F-35 EOTS at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "After three years of rigorous testing on the Sabreliner aircraft, EOTS is more than ready for CATBird integration and we're excited to reach this important milestone."

The CATBird, a modified 737 aircraft, contains an actual F-35 cockpit and test stations to perform real-time analysis as mission systems are evaluated. The CATBird also provides the capability to fuse sensor information, which mimics how the F-35's fused sensor architecture will offer pilots higher quality, shared sensor information compared with legacy platforms' federated sensor architectures. During the current Block 1.0 software system test, EOTS operated in an integrated mode and collected aircraft navigation data for sensor alignment."
&&
THREAD: Ist EOTS CATBird Test Flight

http://www.f-16.net/index.php?name=PNph ... p;p=184902

The testbed at Bold Alligator was the BAC1-11, not CATBIRD

My response about EOTS was to 'munny' query: "It's just occurred to me that catbird doesn't have EOTS ... what's the story there?..." Perhaps that should have been made clear. Question now is what stuff is on the BAC1-11?

sensor-wise is APG-81 and EODAS

From page1

Quote:

During Bold Alligator 2012, the BAC1-11 is being configured with the F-35's AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the AN/AAQ-37 infrared distributed aperture system (DAS)

...

The F-35 AN/APG-81 AESA radar and AN/AAQ-37 DAS have demonstrated exceptional maturity well in advance of formal operational testing timelines. Participation in Bold Alligator is integrating these advanced capabilities in the maritime domain.

Thanks. And a pic to go with it: http://dmn.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-c ... web-lr.jpg

Bold Alligator 2012 Confirms Capabilities Of 2d MAW Aviation Feb. 15, 2011 By LCpl Scott L. Tomaszycki

http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/ ... w-aviation

"An AV-8B Harrier from Marine Attack Squadron 231 takes off from the USS Kearsarge, Feb. 1, 2012, during Exercise Bold Alligator. The Harriers are planned to operate from the Kearsarge while conducting operations such as active air defense, combat air patrols, and close air support."

http://www.mca-marines.org/files/imagec ... 23-187.JPG

Story about an aspect of the exercise at first URl. I note the proximity of deck personnel on the bow similar to the F-35B trials. Same same VL photo - Deck Chief proximity to VL AV-8b same same F-35B. QED. Very Happy

http://www.mca-marines.org/files/imagec ... 23-226.JPG

"A Marine AV-8B Harrier from MAS-542 utilizes its vertical landing capability to land aboard the USS Kearsarge, Feb. 1, 2012, for Exercise Bold Alligator 2012. The Harrier is capable of vertical/short takeoff and landings which are important aboard amphibious assault ships due to the small flight deck and expands the seabasing advantages of the Navy and Marine Corps team."

I was curious to get feedback on how the F-35 sensors suite fared during BOLD ALLIGATOR 12 after hearing the positive feedback from previous exercises e.g. NORTHERN EDGE.
It would seem that the systems did not disappoint and continued to impress even if they are still under development. Maybe in the near future Gen. Davis will have multiple F-35s, actual jets and not surrogates, more fully explore the NCW potential of the jet

SLD: You were on the BAC1-11 where you saw the F-35 combat systems in operation. The platform is not an integrated sensor suite, but you could see the AESA radar function and the DAS system among others. How would describe the migration from the Harriers to the F-35s in terms of what these systems can do and will do?

General Davis: Currently, we put up 16 Harriers off of the USS Kearsarge during the exercise. You have sensors on each plane with a range of 40-50 miles of scan capability, limited to using one sensor at a time.

What I saw on the BAC1-11, I have exponentially greater ability to scan and “see” the battlespace with exponentially greater fidelity than ever before, locating and positively identifying everything from air to sea targets. I can look at the battlespace with the radar, the DAS, a host of other sensors and basically can bring all that information together into one data system, fuse that information —which makes it a flying sensor.

The V-22 changed things physically with regard to projecting power from a sea base. With the F-35 we will change things physically again, but on another level we will bring in another huge leap forward in capability from it sensors and its ability to see and share information – from our sea base.

I just witnessed tremendous potential on the BAC1-11 to bring in high fidelity data, not only to know what is out there but also to be able to able to target at a much higher degree of accuracy than I have ever been able to do before. I almost felt like I was in an E2D, able so see that much battle space. What was missing for me was there was not another BAC1-11 out there to tie into and to share the sensor data, as we will do with the operational F-35s.

But even as a single platform, it was exponentially better than anything that I have seen in any platform. And I fly both the F-18s and Harriers now.

SLD: When thinking of the potential of the ESG-MEB operating off of a distributed sea base, the F-35 appears to provide a key match to managing the distributed three dimensional air and surface space within which the ESG-MEB will operate.

General Davis: It does. The F-35 community of users – sea based and land based — will be able to create a pretty tight air grid over the top of the distributed battle space so we can share information very freely out there.

To me, the key is to have these airplanes networked overtop, where they’re able to see deep into the enemy battle space, or the objective area, but also sharing that information. I want not just the airplanes to share their information, but the ships as well to be able basically pass that information back and forth freely.

To me that is the next big step we need to take. We need to take the information, which these planes are bringing to us and sharing them with the ships and other combat elements in the operation.

With regard to the evolution of the ESG-MEB with the introduction of the F-35B, you can disaggregate your forces because you can bring them under an umbrella that has the kind of protection currently only available with the Prowlers or the Growlers off of the large deck carrier. Now I will have my own organic capability that I can protect these assets. Now I can spread out, like that tsunami that Colonel Boniface talked about. I can actually move my forces out and I can protect them. They can be separated from the ESG, or from the land based assets in our expeditionary Forward operating bases our MWSSs (Marine Wing Support Squadrons) build and sustain.

http://www.sldforum.com/2012/03/the-bac ... dog-davis/

BOLD ALLIGATOR SLDinfo PDF report here:

Bold Alligator 2012 and the Future of the Expeditionary Strike Group

http://www.sldinfo.com/wp-content/uploa ... Report.pdf [39Mb]
VIA:
http://www.sldinfo.com/special-report-b ... ike-group/

Forum: F-35 Lightning II

Bold Alligator 2012: The USN-USMC Team Shapes the Future