Forum: F-35 Armament, Stores and Tactics

may be iam a little bit wrong fighter can also detected , attack ship by their radar sea-surface search mode ( different from SAR mode i think ) Mig-35 radar like Zhuk AE can detect a destroyer size target at a range of 200 km
http://defense-update.com/features/du-1 ... huk_AE.htm i think it has the same power with Apg-81 so may be the F-35 can do the same
can it ,but this is the figure for destroyer size target , what is the range against stealth ship
P/s :anyone have any info about fighter radar range against surface target or ship RCS ?

if iamnot wrong they only said F-35 was designed to be survivable against S-300 not S-400 ,

from some sources i have read radar like the SPY-1/D can detected targets with RCS about 0.001 m2 from 150 km (not to mention this radar use S-band {range from 2 to 4 GHz} while the F-35 low RCS characteristic is mainly on X-band {8.0 to 12.0 GHz}) ,

i dont see how the F-35C can detected ,attack a modern ship before it is destroyed by SAM ,(remember that ESM doesn't work against AESA radar ,

SAR mode have range < 100 km ,EOTS laser range < 70 km ,and support aircrafts like SH-60 and E-3 can be shoot down easily ) the only option is flying low but this make the F-35 no different from any other aircraft Eg : F-18 E/F

The APG-81 is considerably more capable than a Zhuk AE, so you can safely assume that any quoted range figure for the Mig, is going to be less than for the F-35. The F-35 can detect a 1m^2 target at over 100nm. A ship would be detectable at many times that range, limited only by the radar horizon. In exercises in Alaska, it was able to scan the entire Gulf of Alaska(~50,000 square miles), and rapidly acquire all seaborne targets.

The F-35's low RCS is effective against a wide range of frequencies, not just X band, and has exceeded the specification.

ESM is less effective against radars operating in LPI mode, would be a more accurate statement. Of course it would be effective against any other omni-directional emissions, which a non-stealthy ship would, in non EMCON conditions would exhibit.

I'm not sure why you're hung up on SAR. There are plenty of air to surface modes, where the F-35 would only be limited by the radar horizon in detection range. SH-60/E-2 wouldn't be operating close enough to threats to be in range. They could look over the horizon, and spot targets long before the target could engage.

Well, what threat nations have LO ships?? Russia doesn't, China doesn't, none of the EU nations do. I somehow don't see us picking a fight with the Swedes, either...

The F-35's low RCS is effective against a wide range of frequencies, not just X band, and has exceeded the specification.

just some example

Netherlands : HNLMS Evertsen (F805)
China :Houbei class missile boat
French : La Fayette class frigate
Finnish :Hamina class missile boat
Turkish : Milgem class corvette
Swedish : Visby class
VietNam : Gepard class frigate
Russian : Steregushchy class
............... bla......bla

What are you basing this on wrightwing?

There were statements made to this effect last year by (I think) Venlet, and others.

"Venlet said, is why Lockheed’s performance on LRIP-4 is so important. Venlet said, thus far, he is very pleased with the F-35’s radar cross-section, which has undergone testing over ranges."

The F-35 has cleared its first radar cross-section test and the program office says there are no “major potential changes contemplated for any of the stealth design.”

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35 fighter jet has passed its initial radar-evasion testing and there are no “major potential changes contemplated for any of the stealth design,” according to the U.S. program office.

The program office has collected radar cross-section information on the Air Force version of the aircraft and “we are very pleased, very pleased,” U.S. Navy Vice Admiral David Venlet, the program manager, said in an interview. Still, "this is not a one-test ‘Eureka’ and it’s done," he said. The Air Force version will comprise the greatest number of the 2,457 planned F-35s.

Venlet said he expected similar results from the Navy and Marine Corps short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing versions when they are tested. Lockheed Martin in November measured two early- production Air Force models, which also passed with no "major variances," Venlet’s office said. "So we do not have major concerns," Venlet said. "We are always going to pay attention to it, because if you don’t, it will always be a source of rework and cost growth. But as early as we are, we are very pleased."

and actually SH-60 and E-2 can't see over the horizon they just help the ship detected , attack targets over the horizon of itself (because these aircraft flying at high altitude so their horizon is much longer than the ship's one )