More CUDA Info

Macross Plus also portrayed that technology very well

Macross/Robotech was the first anime I ever watched.

Macross Plus also portrayed that technology very well

Macross/Robotech was the first anime I ever watched.

It's a good way to get into Anime

It's a good way to get into Anime

that and if you're a young "man" going through puberty there were also other reasons to get into anime...
>Faye Valentine
>Major Misato Katsuragi

get the point yet? but this is all

I am guessing such advanced active counter measures in the near future will have to be carried in external pods for current aircraft (F-22 and F-35).

would something like MSDN make future missiles evolve to have many small warhead

I guess it'd depend on the specific capabilities of the MSDM, but I imagine something like a larger version of the Starstreak might be feasible:

https://youtu.be/D9qJg3wecH0?t=85

Basically it works by getting close to the target, then releasing 3 tungsten darts which each have semi-active laser guidance systems. With modern electronics you could probably give them IR seekers.

Or, if you packaged it more like a cruise missile, you could have the main stage of the missile moving subsonic when it gets near the outer engagement envelop of the MSDM, then deploy little boosted-to-Mach 3 darts while the subsonic missile platform provides laser illumination.

SACM = CUDA, spec and size wise.

= SDB = JAGM / Hellfire II (I think) = 1/2 AMRAAM
Moving toward a common weapon form factor. Actually, there are people tossing around the idea of full-on common modular weapon components (guidance, warhead, motor) for ships to provide fully customizable load-outs for their aircraft on demand.

Indeed. The USAF's AFRL has a GBU-X/AGM-X program where a SBD scale weapon would had the effect of a 500# JDAM. The 1,000# equivalent is same diameter but twice as long so AMRAAM sized. The 2,000# equivalent is a same length as the AMRAAM but diameter is 1-2 inches larger. All with common multi-mode seekers, wing kits and optional turbofan and solid rocket engine options. They've been working on it going back as far as 2002 from what I've seen but the idea is to replace most ordinance with this new family.

On the Miniature Self-Defense Munition (MSDM) I wonder just how small they will be. Lockheed's Extended Area Protection and Survivability (EAPS) program seems similar.

These interceptors are very small and highly agile rockets, only 69 cm (27 in) in length, about 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in diameter (not counting the fins), and weighing about 2.3 kg (5 lb). The MHTK is designed to defeat incoming rocket, artillery, and mortar fire out to ranges of 3 - 4 km (1.9 - 2.5 miles).

http://www.gizmag.com/eaps-miniature-hit-to-kill-interceptor-flight-tested/26824/.

Those are pretty small the diameters close to a chaff flare but far longer and a lot heavier. Since even AWACS, transports, and tanker are supposed to mount the system I assume it'll be podded for the non-VLO aircraft with the stealth aircraft drop them out their weapons bays.

https://www.google.com/patents/US9671200

Northrop Grumman's MSDM concept

Interceptors are contained in a missile pod. Pod will set outside the weapon bay so there is no impact to payload capacity.

BTW, who can see the ****** pictures?

https://www.google.com/patents/US9671200

Northrop Grumman's MSDM concept

Interceptors are contained in a missile pod. Pod will set outside the weapon bay so there is no impact to payload capacity.

BTW, who can see the ****** pictures?

I can see them here

http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0& ... S%3Dichino

https://www.google.com/patents/US9671200

Northrop Grumman's MSDM concept

Interceptors are contained in a missile pod. Pod will set outside the weapon bay so there is no impact to payload capacity.

BTW, who can see the ****** pictures?

I can see them here

http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0& ... S%3Dichino

lol

thx a lot

USAF Funds Lockheed’s ‘Half-Raam’ Missile Flights

The U.S. Air Force has funded a flight test demonstration program for Lockheed Martin’s Cuda air-to-air missile, pushing the concept forward more than five years after it first appeared, the company says.

The flight tests, funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), will evaluate how the Cuda compares to the range and terminal phase maneuverability of the Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile (Amraam), says Frank St. John, executive vice-president of Lockheed’s Missiles and Fire Control business area.

Sometimes called the “half-raam”, Lockheed designed the Cuda to achieve similar range to the AIM-120 in a package about half the size, allowing existing fighters such as the F-22 and F-35 to carry twice the number of air-to-air missiles internally.

The “AIM-120-like” range of the proposed Cuda missile may seem counter-intuitive in such a relatively small package, but Lockheed insists it’s possible. After launch, the AIM-120’s rocket motor boosts for only several seconds, then uses momentum and control fins to maneuver as it nears the target.
The half-sized Cuda also is a boosted missile. To compensate for the reduced volume of propellant, Lockheed adds a divert and attitude control system (DACS) derived from the ground-based PAC-3 missile. The DACS inserts small rocket thrusters in the nose of the missile. Combined with aft-mounted control fins, such thrusters could, in theory, render the Cuda more effective than the AIM-120 during the terminal-phase of a long-range intercept.
In addition to the F-22 and F-35, Lockheed also views Cuda as playing a potential role in the Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. Lockheed’s Aeronautics business area, with its Skunk Works division in Palmdale, California, leads the company’s discussions with the Air Force on the NGAD area, but Missiles and Fire Control also participates with a suite of technologies, St. John says.

In addition to new missiles, Lockheed also is evaluating how to pair such weapons with a range of sensors, including infrared search and track (IRST).
“There’s actually AFRL funding now for moving Cuda along. There’s also sensors — distributed aperture sensors, IRST sensors being funded as well,” St. John says. “We’re doing the collaborative [operational analysis] work with the folks in Palmdale about how do those sensors and weapons enable a future air dominance platform. I can’t get into too much more than that because of the security classifications.”

http://aviationweek.com/awindefense/usa ... le-flights

If they can pull this off, it's going to be a game changer..

Not just for the F-22/35, but 4th gens as well. How many could an F-15C carry, 16-20? I'm thinking 6 on each fuselage fairing, 2 under each underwing station and possibly 4 more on its centerline station.

Even if it's a modest increase to 12, that's 4 more shots per plane. Even moreso if a Viper could carry 8, two on each underwing station with a pair of wingtip AMRAAM's. Going to significantly up the lethality of any one of those aircraft, and going to make it a very long day for Russian, Chinese etc pilots...

I'll do one better, how many could an F-15E/SA/QA carry on the CFT? I'm thinking twelve, same as Mk82 class weapons.

USAF Funds Lockheed’s ‘Half-Raam’ Missile Flights

The U.S. Air Force has funded a flight test demonstration program for Lockheed Martin’s Cuda air-to-air missile, pushing the concept forward more than five years after it first appeared, the company says.

The flight tests, funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), will evaluate how the Cuda compares to the range and terminal phase maneuverability of the Raytheon AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile (Amraam), says Frank St. John, executive vice-president of Lockheed’s Missiles and Fire Control business area.

Sometimes called the “half-raam”, Lockheed designed the Cuda to achieve similar range to the AIM-120 in a package about half the size, allowing existing fighters such as the F-22 and F-35 to carry twice the number of air-to-air missiles internally.

The “AIM-120-like” range of the proposed Cuda missile may seem counter-intuitive in such a relatively small package, but Lockheed insists it’s possible. After launch, the AIM-120’s rocket motor boosts for only several seconds, then uses momentum and control fins to maneuver as it nears the target.
The half-sized Cuda also is a boosted missile. To compensate for the reduced volume of propellant, Lockheed adds a divert and attitude control system (DACS) derived from the ground-based PAC-3 missile. The DACS inserts small rocket thrusters in the nose of the missile. Combined with aft-mounted control fins, such thrusters could, in theory, render the Cuda more effective than the AIM-120 during the terminal-phase of a long-range intercept.
In addition to the F-22 and F-35, Lockheed also views Cuda as playing a potential role in the Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. Lockheed’s Aeronautics business area, with its Skunk Works division in Palmdale, California, leads the company’s discussions with the Air Force on the NGAD area, but Missiles and Fire Control also participates with a suite of technologies, St. John says.

In addition to new missiles, Lockheed also is evaluating how to pair such weapons with a range of sensors, including infrared search and track (IRST).
“There’s actually AFRL funding now for moving Cuda along. There’s also sensors — distributed aperture sensors, IRST sensors being funded as well,” St. John says. “We’re doing the collaborative [operational analysis] work with the folks in Palmdale about how do those sensors and weapons enable a future air dominance platform. I can’t get into too much more than that because of the security classifications.”

http://aviationweek.com/awindefense/usa ... le-flights

I think the author got this bit wrong: "To compensate for the reduced volume of propellant, Lockheed adds a divert and attitude control system (DACS) derived from the ground-based PAC-3 missile. The DACS inserts small rocket thrusters in the nose of the missile. Combined with aft-mounted control fins, such thrusters could, in theory, render the Cuda more effective than the AIM-120 during the terminal-phase of a long-range intercept."

The divert motors aren't there to "make up for reduced volume of propellant". CUDA is a hit-to-kill missile and that REQUIRES those divert motors. It gets it's extra range from not having to haul a 50 pound warhead. By being hit-to-kill it doesn't need it.