F-35 Block 4

[hythelday]

Looks like Block 4 shuts down "F-35 has closed architecture" and "F-35 isn't system of systems" arguments from SCAF thread.

The "code" is still closed, ie not available to view.

What they are doing is improving and opening up the existing APIs that are in the jet. This is how Israel is adding its C4 functionality without needing to see any of the code that operates the jet. Block 4 already is bringing the UAI API (not F-35 unique) that will open up the weapons capability without having to do block upgrades each time.

Software for SCAF won't be freeware either.

[SpudmanWP]

Software for SCAF won't be freeware either.

?????

[hythelday]

Software for SCAF won't be freeware either.

?????

US isn't giving away source code, but I am fairly sure neither will the French. It remains to be seen how open an architecture SCAF shall become, e.g. what priveleges SCAF users will get in terms of plugging their own gear and homegrown devrlopment.

[SpudmanWP]

"open" does not mean free.

"Open" means accessible and expandable in a standardized format. In the F-35 this will take the form of standardized APIs that will allow users to develop their own "apps", like Israel's C4 system that runs on the F-35's CNI.

Currently, it's only for "Apps", but plans are to open it up to custom "pods" such as ISR, jamming, etc.

[spazsinbad]

No subscription so no more text....

BAE Systems Wins Major F-35 Electronic Warfare Upgrade
21 Aug 2019 Steve Trimble

"Electronic warfare has emerged as the new focus of a larger, multiyear $10 billion makeover of the Lockheed Martin F-35. Ending a yearlong negotiating process that involved discussions with potential alternative suppliers, Lockheed has selected BAE Systems to deliver a package of upgrades under the Block 4 program to the ASQ-239 electronic warfare/countermeasures subsystem, both companies announced on Aug. 21. New upgrade preceded by recent technology insertion Block 4 could ...

Source: https://aviationweek.com/combat-aircraf ... re-upgrade

[beepa]

[quote="spazsinbad"]No subscription so no more text....


BAE Systems Wins Major F-35 Electronic Warfare Upgrade

Electronic warfare has emerged as the new focus of a larger, multiyear $10 billion makeover of the Lockheed Martin F-35.

Ending a yearlong negotiating process that involved discussions with potential alternative suppliers, Lockheed has selected BAE Systems to deliver a package of upgrades under the Block 4 program to the ASQ-239 electronic warfare/countermeasures subsystem, both companies announced on Aug. 21.

- New upgrade preceded by recent technology insertion
- Block 4 could expand frequency band coverage, add cognitive capability...

...BAE also announced the insertion of a critical new technology into the ASQ-239 to help pave the way for future Block 4 upgrades. In addition to a towed decoy, multiple apertures, and the dispensers and controller for radio-frequency and infrared countermeasures, the ASQ-239 also includes technique generators—called Rack 2A and Rack 2B—to counter electronic threats.

BAE has now inserted the DTIP system into the ASQ-239 to upgrade Racks 2A and 2B. The acronym DTIP is a combination of two other acronyms: DCRTG, for the Digital Channelized Receiver/Techniques Generator, and TIP, for the Tuner Insertion Program. The combination results in a centralized electronic warfare processor that is more powerful, yet smaller. As a result, the DTIP will allow Lockheed to commission BAE to deliver new capabilities under Block 4.

[spazsinbad]

Thanks 'beepa' for this interesting article text.

[doge]

Stealth + ROVER...Its power is...?
https://www.defensedaily.com/cubic-corp ... navy-usmc/

Cubic Corporation Working on Full Motion Video Link for F-35
By Frank Wolfe |9 days ago |08/27/2019
San Diego-based Cubic Corp. [CUB] is working on a Video Data Link (VDL) for the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 to provide ground force Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) full-motion video and thus better situational awareness for improved targeting and fewer chances of fratricide and collateral damage.

“The requirements driver is really the JTAC mission supporting troops on the ground–being able to get video feeds down to support their mission on the ground,” Mike Twyman, the president of Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS), said in a recent interview.

Earlier this month, during a 3rd quarter earnings call, Cubic Corp. CEO Bradley Feldmann said that the company’s “video data link capability for the F-35 will significantly increase the aircraft’s combat capability and is essential to the overall F-35 follow on modernization program.”

In April, the F-35 debuted in combat for the U.S. military when Air Force F-35As equipped with Boeing [BA] Joint Direct Attack Munitions struck “an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache deep in the Hamrin Mountains” in Iraq, according to the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO). At the time, the JPO highlighted the F-35’s ability to share sensor data with other advanced aircraft.

Fighter and strike aircraft, such as Boeing F/A-18s, Eurofighter Typhoons, Dassault Aviation Rafales, and Fairchild-Republic A-10 Warthog Close Air Support aircraft, have flown with the capability of exchanging full-motion video with ground forces through various models of the L3Harris Technologies [LHX] Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) system. ROVER is compatible with targeting pods, such as the Northrop Grumman [NOC] Litening and Lockheed Martin Sniper.

Developed after Sept. 11, 2001 under the Air Force’s Big Safari program for special mission aircraft, ROVER initially served to give Lockheed Martin AC-130 gunships real-time ground surveillance video from General Atomics RQ-1 Predator UAVs and then to give ground forces video links with those aircraft. Since then, U.S. and allied militaries have bought thousands of ROVER units. Newer models, such as the ROVER-5 and ROVER-6, are laptop-sized or smaller and can fuse data and imagery from dozens of aircraft.

Cubic announced in June that Lockheed Martin had selected CMS to furnish the VDL for the F-35.

During the Cubic Corp. 3rd quarter earnings call this month, Feldmann said that CMS had bought 20 percent of Pixia Corp., a Virginia-based technology firm that supplies imagery management systems for the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. One of the tasks of Pixia systems is the integration of aerial and ground based full-motion video sensors.

CMS has the option to buy the remaining 80 percent of Pixia by February, 2020, Feldmann said.

The Cubic stake in Pixia is to dovetail with CMS capabilities.

“We made a bet in CMS on what I call the insatiable appetite for full motion video, pictures worth a thousand words, so that we can help our military have awareness of what’s happening on the battlefield,” Feldmann said. “We have distribution systems with [Cubic-owned] Teralogics. We have satellite systems to move these things around. We have networking systems and so it all fits in moving full motion video around.”

“What Pixia provides is, they’re doing the processing and storage and retrieval of very similar data called wide-area motion imagery,” Feldmann said. “And so wide-area motion imagery is like taking a picture of a big swath of a city and then when you see something of interest, you take this soda straw, if you will, and you take full motion video of it. So it’s sort of like helping you understanding what’s going on in a big swath area and then using our full motion video.”

[taog]

This was posted elsewhere but belongs here too:

Advanced Chaff: ARM-210

According to Steve Trimble, this is the first chaff system with an "ARM" prefix.

[doge]

I try to list the F-35's EW.

APG-81's [EA, ES, EP, etc]
ASQ-239 [EW/CM]
ALE-70 [Decoy]
MJU-61 [Flare]
ARM-210 [chaff]

It's so gorgeous, Luxury!
https://aviationweek.com/defense/docume ... em-details

Documents Reveal F-35 Chaff System Details
Sep 9, 2019 Steve Trimble | Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
Newly released U.S. Air Force documents reveal the identity and fielding schedule for a critical component of the electronic warfare system for the Lockheed Martin F-35.

The environmental impact statement released as part of the Air National Guard “beddown” process that establishes several new F-35A bases also identifies the unique radar chaff system tailored for the F-35.

“The ARM-210 chaff proposed for use by the F-35A is currently unavailable and undergoing testing,” the documents say. “It is expected to be available for use in 2020.”

That timeline loosely aligns with a previous disclosure by the F-35 Joint Program Office that the aircraft will receive an “advanced chaff” upgrade during the Block 4 follow-on modernization program.

Radar chaff is a standard defensive aid on so-called fourth-generation fighters. The environmental impact statement includes a detailed description of how the technology works.

“A bundle of chaff consists of approximately 5 to 5.6 million fibers that are cut to reflect radar signals, and when dispensed from aircraft, form an electronic ‘cloud’ that breaks the radar signal and temporarily hides the maneuvering aircraft from radar detection,” the document says.

The ARM-210 designation breaks from the traditional nomenclature for chaff. Besides the B-52 and some C-130 variants, the rest of the U.S. military aircraft fleet equipped with chaff carry cartridges with the designations RR-170, RR-180 and RR-188. For ARM-210, the “A” appears to stand for “air-launched,” and the “R” likely denotes “chaff.” But the meaning of the third letter “M” isn’t clear. It usually stands for “missile,” but it isn’t clear how that term may be applied to a chaff cartridge.

The F-35’s ASQ-239 electronic warfare suite also includes the ALE-70 towed decoy. When an F-35 pilot anticipates being targeted by radar-guided missiles, the ALE-70 can be deployed on a tether behind the aircraft. The decoy emits a radio frequency signal stronger than the F-35 to fool the radar seeker on the incoming missile.

As a back up to the decoy or for use when the ALE-70 isn’t deployed, the F-35 pilot also can dispense chaff to fool radar--guided missiles.

The F-35 also carries MJU-61 magnesium flares to counter incoming missiles guided by an infrared seeker.

[wrightwing]

What's funny (sad), is the folks at Best Fighter for Australia are trying to say "aha, these countermeasures are evidence that stealth doesn't work!"

[Corsair1963]

What's funny (sad), is the folks at Best Fighter for Australia are trying to say "aha, these countermeasures are evidence that stealth doesn't work!"

[ricnunes]

What's funny (sad), is the folks at Best Fighter for Australia are trying to say "aha, these countermeasures are evidence that stealth doesn't work!"

Ah ha!
So and and afterall it's not only the "Best Fighter for Canada" but there's also a "Best fighter for Australia" which is also and equally populated by lets say, "narrow-minded" people

Perhaps the folks at "Best Fighter for Canada" and "Best fighter for Australia" should join and create the "Best Fighter for New Zealand" group of something along those lines...

[element1loop]

Ah ha!
So and and afterall it's not only the "Best Fighter for Canada" but there's also a "Best fighter for Australia" which is also and equally populated by lets say, "narrow-minded" people

They're never going to be happy until they get vanilla Flankers.

[ricnunes]

Ah ha!
So and and afterall it's not only the "Best Fighter for Canada" but there's also a "Best fighter for Australia" which is also and equally populated by lets say, "narrow-minded" people

They're never going to be happy until they get vanilla Flankers.

You're much more optimist than I, LOL

I always thought that they were only going to be happy if they (or their countries) get WWI Sopwith Camels or something like that. Can't get much more retro than that and besides any country can manufacture them using 100% own built parts and technology.