Lockheed to Retrofit F-35s SEAD/DEAD Enemy Air Defense Role

F-35 Armament, fuel tanks, internal and external hardpoints, loadouts, and other stores.
User avatar
Elite 5K
Elite 5K
 
Posts: 28404
Joined: 05 May 2009, 21:31
Location: Australia

by spazsinbad » 03 Jun 2020, 11:41

More or less same stuff: https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news ... fc3923bef3
Lockheed to Retrofit F-35s for Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses Role
02 Jun 2020 John A. Tirpak

"The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin a $26.7 million contract on June 1 to develop a structural modification for the F-35 strike fighter to improve its Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses capability (SEAD/DEAD). The retrofit design will be applied to both U.S. and foreign F-35s in Lots 14 and 15, and will be completed by August 2022.

The contract, issued by Naval Air Systems Command on behalf of all F-35 users, says Lockheed will perform the engineering necessary to modify the aircraft to perform “full up” SEAD and DEAD. When the Air Force declared the F-35 operational in 2016, it described the F-35’s SEAD/DEAD suite as able to perform the mission in a “limited” fashion. The need for a structural modification indicates the aircraft will be fitted with new munitions and/or sensors to carry out the role, which usually involves detecting, fixing, and attacking ground-based air defense threats, which can be mobile or stationary.

When the service declared initial operational capability for the F-35A, the aircraft was in the 3i configuration, which gave it capability to release satellite-guided bombs. With the 3F version, the F-35 gained capability for the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb and AGM-154 Stand-Off Weapon—both used for SEAD/DEAD. The Block 4 upgrade will enable the F-35 to carry the in-development Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW).

The Navy plans to field its AGM-88E Anti-Radiation Guided Missile, a successor to the HARM anti-radiation missile, and the Air Force is considering the weapon, as well. The ARRGM and HARM home in on the last known emissions of a surface-to-air missile radar at high speed; their presence and success in previous conflicts has dissuaded enemies from turning their radars on in some instances, hence “suppression.”

The F-35’s ASQ-239 electronic warfare system can passively detect an enemy air defense system’s emissions and geo-locate these targets in concert with the F-35’s other systems. Air Force leaders have said the F-35, by virtue of its stealth, will become the main platform for the SEAD/DEAD mission in the coming decade. That role is now primarily performed by the F-16 with the HARM."

Source: https://www.airforcemag.com/lockheed-to ... nses-role/


User avatar
Elite 5K
Elite 5K
 
Posts: 28404
Joined: 05 May 2009, 21:31
Location: Australia

by spazsinbad » 20 Sep 2020, 04:39

VAQ-141 ShadowHawks HARM Valiant Shield Sep 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9RD6CPGqfI



Elite 5K
Elite 5K
 
Posts: 5319
Joined: 20 Mar 2010, 10:26
Location: Parts Unknown

by mixelflick » 24 Sep 2020, 16:38

Somewhat surprising IMO, given the F-35's primary mission.

The F-35's designers had to know that the S-300, 400 etc. was the primary threat. I can't imagine anyone on LM's design team missing that. My take on this development is that it was meant to kill those systems all along, but they now want a way of doing so faster. Meaning the F-35 could probably plink S-400's all day with SDB's or other GPS guided air to ground munitions, but none of them get to the SAM fast enough - or at least as fast as a HARM/HARM successor.


User avatar
Elite 1K
Elite 1K
 
Posts: 1870
Joined: 31 Dec 2015, 05:35
Location: Australia

by element1loop » 24 Sep 2020, 17:16

mixelflick wrote:... but none of them get to the SAM fast enough - or at least as fast as a HARM/HARM successor.


At a pinch AMRAAM is a similar price fast response option especially if F-35 ESM has it located, and held by EOTS.
Accel + Alt + VLO + DAS + MDF + Radial Distance = LIFE . . . Always choose Stealth


Elite 5K
Elite 5K
 
Posts: 5319
Joined: 20 Mar 2010, 10:26
Location: Parts Unknown

by mixelflick » 25 Sep 2020, 15:52

element1loop wrote:
mixelflick wrote:... but none of them get to the SAM fast enough - or at least as fast as a HARM/HARM successor.


At a pinch AMRAAM is a similar price fast response option especially if F-35 ESM has it located, and held by EOTS.


Wow, for real? Would have never thought AMRAAM would be flexible enough to use in that capacity.


User avatar
Elite 1K
Elite 1K
 
Posts: 1078
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 16:07

by doge » 02 Dec 2020, 16:50

New SEAD after a long time by USAF. (The URL looks like an EW specialized website.)
Plausible Opinion. 8) (The capitalized part I emphasize.)
https://armadainternational.com/2020/07 ... ggression/
Suppression Aggression
By Dr. Thomas Withington -July 1, 2020
US Air Force air defence suppression capabilities are being enhanced via the F-35.
The US Air Force is on course to receive a new Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) asset in the form of upgraded Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning-II combat aircraft. The official Air Force Magazine reported on 2 June that a contract worth $26.7 million had been awarded to the firm for structural enhancements to adapt the jet for the SEAD mission. Design work on SEAD structural modifications for the aircraft are earmarked for completion by August 2022. The modifications are to ensure that the F-35A/B/C can house the necessary sensors and weapons to perform SEAD.
The USAF has not taken delivery of a new SEAD aircraft since 1994 when it began to receive General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16CJ Viper Weasel. The USAF is thought to possess eight squadrons of these F-16C/Js, potentially totalling up to 100 aircraft.
The two crucial components used by the F-16CJ are its Raytheon AN/ASQ-213(V) High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) targeting system, better known as the HTS, and its AGM-88 HARM series air-to-surface missiles from the same company.
The report continued that these modifications would be backfitted to aircraft produced via the Lot-14 and Lot-15 production runs. Lot-14 sees the production of 169 aircraft for US and foreign customers. Reports in February 2019 stated that Lot-15 could also include up to 169 aircraft.

Sensors
The USAF has not revealed how the F-35A will detect and locate hostile radars. One possibility is that the necessary algorithms to detect, locate and extract the parameters of potentially hostile radars could be added to the F-35’s BAE Systems’ AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare system. More details on the latter can be found here. The AN/ASQ-239 is believed to cover a waveband of 500MHz to 40GHz. In theory, this allows the system to detect and analyse emissions from hostile radars. Whether extra hardware in the form of additional antennas to aid the aircraft’s precise location of hostile radars will be needed has not been revealed.
The AN/ASQ-213(V) is thought to cover a waveband of 500MHz to 20GHz. While aircraft can still deploy AGM-88 missiles without the HTS, the AN/ASQ-213(V) gives highly precise target coordinates derived from the radar’s transmissions. Adapting the F-35A for SEAD will place a premium on ensuring that at least an equivalent, if not better, level of precision vis-à-vis the AN/ASQ-213(V) can be conferred on the aircraft.
Missiles
As integral to the jet’s sensors will be the missiles it employs to engage hostile radars. The US Air Force is having an unspecified number of its AGM-88C missiles converted by Raytheon to the AGM-88F status. This adds a global positioning system and inertial navigation system to allow the missile to still target a radar based on its coordinates even if that radar’s transmissions are switched off in a bid to break the missile’s lock. The AGM-88F also includes a millimetric wave radar transmitting at frequencies above 30GHz. This aids battle damage assessment by gathering detailed imagery of the missile’s end game helping to ascertain the accuracy of the engagement.
Never Ending Story
The F-35A’s enhancement into the latest incarnation of the USAF’s Wild Weasel defence suppression aircraft is the latest chapter in a saga which commenced in 1965. The USAF was embroiled in the Vietnam War and facing serious losses from North Vietnamese surface-to-air missiles. 55 years later this mission is coming to the fore once more with the latest technology, against the backdrop of an enhanced Russian air defence threat.
by Dr. Thomas Withington

By the way... For the first time in 1994 years !?!? :doh:


User avatar
Elite 1K
Elite 1K
 
Posts: 1078
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 16:07

by doge » 02 Apr 2021, 08:11

SiAW follow-up. 8)
https://insidedefense.com/insider/air-f ... ompetition
Air Force to award SiAW contracts to select companies without competition
By Sara Sirota / March 17, 2021
The Air Force has chosen five companies that may receive contracts without full-and-open competition to field Stand-in Attack Weapon technologies on an accelerated schedule, according to a notice released today.

The Air Force is looking to rapidly prototype SiAW and deliver leave-behind assets within five years, the notice states. The service has found Boeing, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are the only companies capable of developing and integrating advanced technologies within this timeframe.

SiAW is a variant of Northrop and the Navy’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range and will be flown on the F-35 in anti-access/area-denial environments. The weapon will have a new warhead, electronic safe and arming fuze, universal armament interface and anti-radiation homing.


User avatar
Elite 1K
Elite 1K
 
Posts: 1078
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 16:07

by doge » 06 May 2021, 18:27

So... What happened? :roll:
https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/us ... grade-plan
USAF's SiAW program abandons sole-sourced, AARGM-ER upgrade plan
By Sara Sirota / April 12, 2021
The Air Force has changed its acquisition strategy for the Stand-in Attack Weapon -- a new strike capability for the F-35 -- and is no longer solely pursuing an upgrade to the extended-range variant of the Navy and Northrop Grumman's Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile. The service is instead opening competition to five defense companies, each of which will have the opportunity to propose a unique solution, Air Force spokeswoman Ilka Cole told Inside Defense in an email today. The...


Active Member
Active Member
 
Posts: 186
Joined: 27 Apr 2019, 19:48

by timmymagic » 07 May 2021, 19:23

doge wrote:So... What happened? :roll:
https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/us ... grade-plan
USAF's SiAW program abandons sole-sourced, AARGM-ER upgrade plan
By Sara Sirota / April 12, 2021
The Air Force has changed its acquisition strategy for the Stand-in Attack Weapon -- a new strike capability for the F-35 -- and is no longer solely pursuing an upgrade to the extended-range variant of the Navy and Northrop Grumman's Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile. The service is instead opening competition to five defense companies, each of which will have the opportunity to propose a unique solution, Air Force spokeswoman Ilka Cole told Inside Defense in an email today. The...


Fear of a procurement award challenge?


User avatar
Elite 2K
Elite 2K
 
Posts: 2339
Joined: 27 Mar 2015, 16:05

by eloise » 08 May 2021, 06:44

doge wrote:So... What happened? :roll:
https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/us ... grade-plan
USAF's SiAW program abandons sole-sourced, AARGM-ER upgrade plan
By Sara Sirota / April 12, 2021
The Air Force has changed its acquisition strategy for the Stand-in Attack Weapon -- a new strike capability for the F-35 -- and is no longer solely pursuing an upgrade to the extended-range variant of the Navy and Northrop Grumman's Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile. The service is instead opening competition to five defense companies, each of which will have the opportunity to propose a unique solution, Air Force spokeswoman Ilka Cole told Inside Defense in an email today. The...

That is great news, spending 4 years to develop Siaw if it is only basic AARGM-ER with a different warhead is kinda disappointing
It is much better if there is a competition for Siaw, possibly a ramjet version delivered from Thor-Er



Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests