First F-35 AMRAAM Release.

F-35 Armament, fuel tanks, internal and external hardpoints, loadouts, and other stores.
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by spazsinbad » 17 Dec 2020, 13:08

Corsair1963 wrote:What's the word Sidekick??? Is it still progressing as planned on the F-35C and what about the F-35A for the USAF and Export???

Posted here with excerpt below: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=53320&p=442203&hilit=sidekick#p442203
Lengthy F-35 Upgrade List To Transform Strike Fighter’s Future Role
20 Jul 2020 Steve Trimble

"...If the current schedule is maintained, the TR-3 and Block 4.2 upgrades arriving in Lot 15 aircraft will include more than improved computing power. Lockheed is modifying the internal weapons bay to enable the “sidekick” upgrade, which increases the Raytheon AIM-120 missile loadout by 50% to six missiles. As the Lockheed AIM-260 becomes available, the same loadout will become possible with a missile measuring the same length as the AIM-120 but with significantly more range.

The same modification also accommodates the dimensions of the Air Force’s new SiAW missile, which adds a new warhead to the Navy’s Advanced Antiradiation Guided Missile-Extended Range...."

Source: https://aviationweek.com/ad-week/length ... uture-role

Diagram: https://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/ ... 3-2020.pdf (8.5Mb)
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by boogieman » 17 Dec 2020, 13:51

The same modification also accommodates the dimensions of the Air Force’s new SiAW missile

Now that's an interesting little tid-bit. More than 2 AARGM-ER per F35? Makes for a bad day to be a red team GBAD operator...


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by ricnunes » 17 Dec 2020, 14:37

boogieman wrote:
The same modification also accommodates the dimensions of the Air Force’s new SiAW missile

Now that's an interesting little tid-bit. More than 2 AARGM-ER per F35? Makes for a bad day to be a red team GBAD operator...


I would say that's the case in 'beast mode' with two (2) internal AARGM-ER's and four (4) external AARGM-ER's, eh?
“Active stealth” is what the ignorant nay sayers call EW and pretend like it’s new.


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by wrightwing » 17 Dec 2020, 17:12

aussiebloke wrote:A comment from Raytheon back in 2016 on AIM-120 range:

Neil Jennings, AMRAAM's business development director at Raytheon Missile Systems told IHS Jane's:

"The AIM-120C-5 extended the range of the AIM-120B fairly significantly, by shortening the control actuation system in the back and adding fins to the back end of the rocket motor. That added pretty decent range capability when you go from AIM-120B to AIM-120C-5. The C-7 and the D share the same rocket motor, and the same form, fit, function, size, and control actuation system. And both the C-7 and D have the same rocket motor as the C-5. Throughout AMRAAM's development, there have been improvements into the flight profile of the missile to get to the target. These improvements have led to range increases as well, and the jump from the B to the C-7 was fairly significant. The D can fly slightly farther than the C-7, and the C-7 can fly farther than the C-5. But this range increase is in the order of low double-digit percentages."

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/thread ... 127/page-2


Here's another comment from the same article.

"A development of the earlier AIM-120C, AIM-120D (P3I Phase 4, formerly known as AIM-120C-8) retains the same PN G672798-1 Plus 5 solid propellant rocket motor of the AIM-120C-5 and C-7 variants. However, AIM-120D delivers significant improvement in no-escape envelope and high-angle off-boresight capabilities over earlier variants. The missile now incorporates GPS-aided navigation for improved mid-course guidance and a two-way datalink for greater control over the missile's end-game targeting. The AIM-120D also features revised guidance software to improve kinematic performance and overall effectiveness, and improved electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM)."


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by spazsinbad » 15 May 2021, 01:38

AMRAAM Completes Two Free Flight Test Shots
13 May 2021 Ross Novack, Program Manager for F3R Program - Edited for clarity by PEO(T)/PMA-259 PAO

"EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.--The Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) joint program office completed the second live fire test of the new AIM‑120D-3 missile variant, incorporating upgraded hardware into the guidance section on May 12.

The weapon safely launched from an F/A-18F Super Hornet and flew the expected flight path over the Point Mugu Sea Test Range in California. Preliminary analysis provided by the prime contractor, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, indicates all primary and secondary objectives of the shot were met.

“Completing the first two free flight shots of upgraded hardware and software is a significant milestone in the integration and test phase of the new AIM-120D-3 missile,” said Col. Sean Bradley, AMRAAM Senior Materiel Leader at the U.S. Air Force’s Armament Directorate. “These successes are important to the overall execution of the Form, Fit, Function Refresh (F3R) program; a program implemented to address an increasing number of production challenges due to obsolescence of various electronic components within the AIM-120.”

Combined with software upgrades, AIM-120D-3 will deliver advanced capabilities to improve missile effectiveness against advanced threats for Air Force, Navy, and Allied Partners. This missile shot from an F/A-18F Super Hornet tested the missile’s safe separation autopilot and free-flight navigation capabilities.

Together, with the first shot on December 9, 2020, these shots represent a critical first in a series of developmental flight tests that provides crucial data to assess the missile’s ability to acquire, track and guide to targets.

AMRAAM is the world's most sophisticated, combat-proven air dominance weapon. With AIM-120D-3 production deliveries beginning in 2023, the AIM-120 missile will continue to meet warfighter requirements in all weather and beyond visual range engagements. Its capabilities have been fully demonstrated in over 4,900 test shots and more than 13 air-to-air combat victories."



Source: https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/AMRAAM ... 32021-1510
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by boogieman » 22 May 2021, 07:58

Go big or go home:

https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing ... 66.article

Raytheon looking to put AMRAAM-ER in the F35. I'd bet you can get 2 in the bays plus 2 x AMRAAM/JATM to compliment. Ought to make a great long range spear against ISR aircraft, tankers and bombers.


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by doge » 04 Jun 2021, 16:32

boogieman wrote:Go big or go home:
https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing ... 66.article
Raytheon looking to put AMRAAM-ER in the F35. I'd bet you can get 2 in the bays plus 2 x AMRAAM/JATM to compliment. Ought to make a great long range spear against ISR aircraft, tankers and bombers.


F-35's Big Weapons Bay. 8)
Raytheon looks at integrating AMRAAM-ER in F-35A internal carriage
Garrett ReimBy Garrett Reim22 May 2021
Raytheon Missiles & Defense performed a digital fit check of its AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile-Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) variant inside the internal carriage of a Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter.
The engineering effort confirms speculation that the company is looking at offering the extended-range variant not only as a surface-to-air weapon, but also as an air-to-air missile. The disclosure also comes after Raytheon and Kongsberg of Norway completed the first live-fire test of the AMRAAM-ER from the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) on 12 May at Andoya Space Center in Norway.

AMRAAM-ER is about 16in (40.6cm) longer than the 12ft (3.7m) conventional AMRAAM, Steve Dickman, Raytheon’s senior director for air dominance, said on 19 May. The variant is about 3in wider in diameter than the 7in-diameter conventional missile.
“So, that’s where you get your additional motor capability: a little bit of length and a little bit of diameter,” he says.

The baseline extended-range variant in production today, intended for the NASAMS battery, uses a Raytheon AMRAAM-C7 guidance section, and RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow missile rocket motor and control actuation system, Raytheon says. The next production version of AMRAAM-ER will incorporate an AMRAAM-C8 guidance section and a new rocket motor made by Nammo of Norway, along with a new control actuation system made by Kongsberg.
Dickman says the company believes the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) F-35A could field two examples of the larger missile, one in each internal weapons bay. The F-35A can carry four of the smaller conventional AMRAAMs; two in each internal weapons bay.

Raytheon says it has not yet determined whether the AMRAAM-ER would fit inside the internal weapons bay of the Lockheed F-22 fighter. Presumably, the extended-range variant could also be more easily integrated under the wings and centreline of fourth-generation combat aircraft already fielding the conventional AMRAAM, such as the Boeing EA-18G, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed F-16, and Saab Gripen.
“Air-launched ARMAAM-ER is not a programme of record. However, we have had discussions with potential domestic and international customers about the capability and continue to fund its development through [internal research and development]”, says Raytheon. “A capability could be delivered three to four years after contract award. This timeline includes an estimate of one year for the operational testing of the new capability.”

When fired from the NASAMS ground battery, AMRAAM-ER has a 50% increase in range and 70% increase in altitude over the AIM-120 AMRAAM-C7, according to Kongsberg. It is not clear how that would translate to air-to-air range or performance measures. Raytheon declines to comment on details of performance.
“The AMRAAM-ER design will provide the same or similar target engagement performance as the AMRAAM-C7,” the company says. “The larger rocket motor provides greater range and altitude.”
The range of the AIM-120D has been reported to be about 87nm (161km). However, the exact range of the missile is classified, due to concerns about giving away information about combat aircraft limitations.

NEW SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE ADDS RANGE
Raytheon’s efforts to develop an air-to-air variant of the AMRAAM-ER comes after the company demonstrated the ability to add range to its conventional AMRAAM, some 30 years after the USAF declared the missile had initial operating capability.
The USAF claims that it achieved the longest known air-to-air missile shot in March using an AIM-120D AMRAAM. As part of that test, an F-15C fired the missile at a BQM-167 subscale target drone and achieved a “kill” at an undisclosed distance.
Raytheon is finding ways to unlock greater range for the AIM-120D with rolling hardware and software updates, says Dickman.

“There’s inherent capability beyond what they typically used it at,” he says. “And, there’s probably some things we could do to change flight profiles, for example, to even squeeze more range out of it. But, those are the [trade studies] that we’re doing.”
Nearly 25,000 examples of AMRAAM have been produced for air forces the world over. All US fighter aircraft use it as the primary beyond-visual-range missile. However, AMRAAM is facing competition from newer weapons, including MBDA’s Meteor and Lockheed’s in-development AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile.
The Meteor entered service in 2016 and is thought to have a range greater than the AMRAAM. The missile gets its longer reach from a solid-fueled ramjet motor, which allows it to maintain powered flight in its final stages. Solid rocket-powered missiles, like the AMRAAM, accelerate and then burn out quickly, meaning in the later stages of flight the weapon is effectively coasting – albeit at supersonic speeds – a scenario in which a target aircraft might be able to out-manoeuvre it.

The Lockheed AIM-260 is the USAF’s intended replacement for the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The missile’s range and propulsion are classified. It is partly a response to China’s PL-15 missile, which is thought to have a range close to 108nm.
The USAF has said that it wants AIM-260 to reach initial operating capability as soon as 2022. Upon successful ramp-up of production of the new missile, it would buy its last AMRAAMs in fiscal year 2026, the service has said.
Still, even if production of the AMRAAM winds down in the mid-2020s, the missile will likely be in the inventories of world air forces for years after that. In March, the Pentagon granted Raytheon a $74 million contract to support flight testing and integration of AMRAAM into current fighters and “next-generation platforms that may join the air force or navy inventory before the end of fiscal 2029”.
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by ricnunes » 05 Jun 2021, 13:47

boogieman wrote:Raytheon looking to put AMRAAM-ER in the F35. I'd bet you can get 2 in the bays plus 2 x AMRAAM/JATM to compliment. Ought to make a great long range spear against ISR aircraft, tankers and bombers.


Makes sense!

It's clear that there's a future "market" for "long range" air-to-air missiles (with longer range than current medium range BVR missiles like the AMRAAM) and this "market" in the west is currently and solely dominated by the Meteor.
Then there's the upcoming AIM-260 developed by LM which should enter in service soon.
So the AMRAAM-ER would be a logical response by Raytheon to get some share in this same "market".
“Active stealth” is what the ignorant nay sayers call EW and pretend like it’s new.


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by ricnunes » 05 Jun 2021, 13:49

doge wrote:
boogieman wrote:Go big or go home:
https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing ... 66.article
Raytheon looking to put AMRAAM-ER in the F35. I'd bet you can get 2 in the bays plus 2 x AMRAAM/JATM to compliment. Ought to make a great long range spear against ISR aircraft, tankers and bombers.


F-35's Big Weapons Bay. 8)


Thanks for sharing the article, doge! :thumb:
“Active stealth” is what the ignorant nay sayers call EW and pretend like it’s new.


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by luke_sandoz » 05 Jun 2021, 15:03

In related news, some Saturday morning missile & plane porn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONK4RDagLPw&t=333s
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by pron » 15 Oct 2021, 16:43

Next step for Nasams after AMRAAM-ER are the new Raytheon GaN-radar GhostEye MR («medium range»).
This new radar will give the Nasams quite a big upshift in performance, and together with the «multi-missil canister launcher» where you can place what you like of AIM-120 Amraam, AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder and Amraam-ER it's up to the operator to select.

With three missile types with different characteristics, Nasams represents a completely unique capability in the short-to-medium-range segment.

https://www.raytheonmissilesanddefense. ... nd-missile


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