Forum: General F-35 Forum

New EW Capabilities To Emerge With NGJ Jan 27, 2012 By David Fulghum Washington

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... adline=New EW Capabilities To Emerge With NGJ

"Technologies being offered up by the aerospace industry for the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) are still closely held, but clues are emerging.

The active, electronically scanned array (AESA), for example, is now a part of all the competing teams’ offerings, and that offers the potential for NGJ to become both an electronic sensor and a weapon....

...“We are looking at breaking a basic AESA array into four quadrants so that we can use each for a different function or point them at different targets,” says Mark Kula...

...In addition, there is already work ongoing to use an aircraft’s skin as antennas.

Raytheon is now building AESA panel arrays that are one-half to one-third the depth of traditional tile arrays. Elements that were stacked vertically are now arranged horizontally, which offers flexibility for installation.

Navy officials indicate that with the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (Uclass) platform, for example, they would not want to carry a pod that would degrade the stealth signature. As a result, panel arrays are essential so that sensor elements can be integrated on or into the skin...."

JUST SOME of the ideas in the article so go read it.

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Skin Panel arrays will bring us one step closer to 6th gen fighters as that was hinted as being one of the features of a 6th gen platform. For now I am just interested in seeing this type of tech be used for high energy broad-spectrum standoff jamming that can be attained without causing large amounts of drag and raising one's RCS by a large amount. I am wondering if that proposed "family" of next generation strike aircraft can be used for this role? It's supposed to be optionally manned, so such a bomber platform should make for a good standoff jammer especially with Low drag, Low observable ESM and EA capabilities.

spudman is right. What happens when you enter a turn circle? You put LV on the adversary, which means that in order to fight the bad guy, he has to be with +/- 60 of the nose. so unless the u.s has some super 9x which ive never seen than you're not going to kill sh*t.

Thus, as always...the mark one eyeball attached to the cromagnum excuse for a brain prevails yet again

NGJ pod is being built for the USN by either BAE (F-35/ EW) or NG (EF-18G) for the EF-18G. Can the AF or Marines adapt it, perhaps? The Marines are still flying Prowlers and have not received Growlers or SH. Will the pod or hardware or software be added to the F-35, maybe part of it is already there in the BAE EW system, or can be added to it? NGJ is a separate program with application for many and should be integrated as needed. We perceive it's main focus is on ground detection/ data links and fire-control units but also can be effective against missle (in the air) electronics and sensors. Will it be smart (autonomous) and will it use an AESA bandwidth comm link, yes? Will it require an EWO in the a/c, maybe? Yesterday, and today's EW tactics are not the only basis for NGJ design. Tremendous R&D has progressed since the ALQ-99, benefitting both the F-35 EW and the NGJ! Exclamation

Short answer, yet the pod will be included in the F-35.

Long (and unknown) answer is when this will happen.

You could also infer from the article that NGJ will skip over the F-35 installation in favor of a dedicated EW UAV(s) and MALD-J, utilizing "conformal" antennas built into the skin of the aircraft, thus negating the need for a podded solution.

Another AW article discusses the NGJ:

"Earlier options to upgrade the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with electronic information-gathering and electronic attack systems were not funded."

“We are looking at breaking a basic AESA array into four quadrants so that we can use each for a different function or point them at different targets,” says Mark Kula, Raytheon vice president for tactical airborne systems. “Or you can use the total array to provide a very high-power capability."

"In addition, there is already work ongoing to use an aircraft’s skin as antennas."

"Stealthy vehicles will likely have antennas or arrays embedded in the skin that are then fed by transmitters somewhere in the interior of the airframe."

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... el=defense

Same article cited a few entries above?

New EW Capabilities To Emerge With NGJ Jan 27, 2012 By David Fulghum Washington

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... adline=New EW Capabilities To Emerge With NGJ

spazsinbad wrote:

Same article cited a few entries above?

New EW Capabilities To Emerge With NGJ Jan 27, 2012 By David Fulghum Washington

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... adline=New EW Capabilities To Emerge With NGJ

Yup. The point is that the F-35 seems to be out, at least for the moment, as far as NGJ goes, for all the reasons quoted using different material from the (same) article.

Forum: General F-35 Forum

New Plan: NGJ To Go Unmanned (No F-35)