Morten "Dolby" Hanche compares F-35 radar to F-16 radar.
https://nettsteder.regjeringen.no/kampf ... -anapg-81/F-35 radar sensors (AN / APG-81)
Posted by Morten Hanche, July 5, 2014
Having become acquainted with the F-35 through many tactical simulations, I would like to share some thoughts about the aircraft's sensors. One of the first things that struck me with the F-35 was how good the situation understanding I was flying in the "cockpit". The overview picture on the screens contained more information than I was used to from the F-16. The information was more accurate and presented in time. This was possible because the F-35's sensors are each better than the F-16. In addition, F-35 has more sensors than F-16. Together, the sensors help to give the pilot very good understanding of the situation - the very foundation of all the pilots' decisions.
The radar in the F-35 is required in all phases of a mission. The radar is built to search for vessels in the air, on land and on the sea. The radar in the F-35 is basically different from that of the F-16. The radar in our Norwegian F-16 moves its field of view by mechanically moving the antenna disc. Electric motors move the antenna disc both horizontally and vertically. The radar can thus alternately switch between different targets. Such radars can use about one second to move the antenna disc between two targets that are widely spaced at an angle.
The radar in the F-35 has no moving parts. The antenna disk is fixedly mounted in the hull, and the radar field of vision is instead controlled electronically by phase shifting the signals. This gives more benefits. For example, such a radar typically uses less than one millisecond - 1/1000 second - to move the radar beam from outside to outer edge of the field of view. Another advantage is increased reliability; no moving parts wear. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the fixed antenna helps make the F-35 less visible to other radars - it helps to make the F-35 stealthy.
The radar in the F-35 - AN / APG-81 - has been tested in the air since 2005 and is now a mature sensor. The performance is robust and cannot be compared with today's Norwegian F-16 radars. AN / APG-81 can follow many goals both in the air and on the surface at the same time. In addition, it is capable of generating high resolution images of the ground. In the F-35 world, AN / APG-81 is called a "Multi Function Array" (MFA) - a multifunction antenna. Maybe that's why. In the future, it is also likely that AN / APG-81 can have new and exciting features. Northrop Grumman, which produces AN / APG-81, already carried out a test between aircraft and ground station in 2007, where the radar was used as a data modem. The transfer rate in the first test was several hundred megabits per second. If our F-35 gets this capacity in the long term, it will be possible to transfer, for example, long video sequences in near-real-time, which again demonstrates the development potential throughout the lifetime of the aircraft.
Morten "Dolby" Hanche comparing the DAS to Radar and UV MAWS.
https://nettsteder.regjeringen.no/kampf ... re-system/The sensors in the F-35 - Distributed Aperture System
Posted by Morten Hanche, August 27, 2014
In the previous article, I wrote about how the radar in the F-35 helps build the pilot's understanding of the situation. In this article, I will say a little about the "Distributed Aperture System" (DAS) sensor system, which consists of a set of infrared (heat seeking) cameras mounted around the aircraft. DAS "won" originally its place on board the F-35 to alert missiles that were shot at the aircraft, part of what we call "threat alert." to maneuver the fighter plane in relation to the threat. Threat warning is still a major task for DAS today, but the system also has other functions that will often be so important.
First a little more about how a threat alert system works. Missile alerts have been around for a long time. A challenge for missile alerts is always the compromise between early detection and error alerting - that the missile alert mistakenly classifies something as a threat. Generally, high sensitivity means several error alerts. Such systems will therefore rely on one or more different strategies to be able to notify; radar detection, ultraviolet detection and infrared detection.
Radar sends out and receives radio pulses to find missiles that are heading for the fighter plane. Therefore, radar-based warning systems can detect both hot and cold objects, such as a missile at the end of the flight, when the engine has stopped burning. The radar can also "see" missiles through clouds, which an optical system cannot. Missiles stand out because they keep high speed, and it makes it possible to reduce the number of error alerts. The disadvantage of using radar is that it emits electromagnetic radiation that can be detected or disturbed by an enemy. This fits poorly with the F-35's role as "creeping wool blanket". Furthermore, radar-based missile alerts often provide a sector alert, where the threat is only roughly placed in relation to the fighter plane (such as "rear right" or "front left").
Ultraviolet sensors can pick up the powerful ultraviolet radiation from a burning rocket engine. Such sensors can avoid error alerts because burning rocket engines have distinctive signatures. Another important advantage is that the sensor is passive. The disadvantage is that the threat can only be detected as long as the rocket engine is burning. Long-range missiles often fly most of the flight without engine power; The rocket engine gives the missile a powerful puff to begin with. The rest of the flight is pure gliding. Nor can threats be detected through clouds.
Modern infrared sensors are very sensitive, and they can actually detect both the heat of a rocket engine and the friction heat of the missile's body. Therefore, infrared warning systems can also detect long-range missiles approaching the fighter plane in gliding. The disadvantage of such systems is that they can be overwhelmed with information and give many error alerts, nor can they see through clouds.
DAS consists of six infrared cameras built into the F-35's hull. Each camera covers a wide sector, and together the cameras provide visibility in all directions, which we would call "spherical coverage". The six video slots are digitally assembled into one continuous image, and because DAS stays in every direction all the time, the F-35 is unlikely to detect a missile heading for the fighter plane.
The large coverage area also makes it possible to use the information from DAS for other tasks. DAS helps the pilot in the dark by showing a view from the DAS in the pilot's helmet. This image complements the pilot's night camera, which is built into the helmet. The night camera amplifies existing light and relies on some light to work. DAS also works in dumb darkness - for example, under a cloud cover on a moonless night - because the sensors "look" radiated warmth and not reflected light.
Another example is that the pilot can use DAS as a video camera, which is "pointed" to an interesting target in the air or on the ground, but without the DAS cameras themselves moving on. What varies is which digital slice is shown to the pilot on the screen in the cockpit.
DAS also makes it possible to detect other flying objects - not just missiles. The sensitive cameras detect the heat of other aircraft so that they can also be pointed out to other sensors and the pilot; if the DAS sees an interesting heating signature, the F-35 will instruct the other sensors to examine the same area
In technical tests, DAS has now also been used to locate both ballistic missiles and artillery fire. According to the manufacturer Northrop Grumman (who released the video you can see below), DAS is able to detect where a projectile or ballistic missile was shot from, and categorize what kind of firing is involved. This is not a core role for DAS, but shows what potential this system has.
In other words, DAS is a tool that fills several roles - not just notification of missile shots against F-35. As the F-35 matures, DAS is likely to become a very flexible information collection tool.
Morten "Dolby" Hanche's explanation of HMD. (I do not quote because it's long...)
https://nettsteder.regjeringen.no/kampf ... vanskelig/https://nettsteder.regjeringen.no/kampf ... en-i-f-35/Morten "Dolby" Hanche has commented on Red Flag 17 in the past.
https://forsvaret.no/aktuelt/f-35-knuste-motstandenF-35 broke the opponents
Published March 1, 2017
The combat aircraft, which Norway receives in the fall, dominated during the world's largest air combat exercise. "The F-35 is a beast," says Norwegian flyer.
With the 20: 1 "kill rate" - that is how many you shoot down for each aircraft you lose yourself - the US Air Force recently dominated the US F-35A Red Flag exercise.
The A model is the same as the Armed Forces will receive, and our first two flights arrive in Norway in November.
One of the Norwegian F-35 pilots, Morten "Dolby" Hanche, is not surprised by the crushing result ..
- With F-35 you will find your opponent long before he finds you. Then you can shoot first and become much more deadly in the air, says Hanche, who daily works in the 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base in the United States.
The squadron has both Americans, Italians and Norwegians who work together on a daily basis.
UNEVEN MATCH
Hanche says that the air struggles often become very uneven when the fifth generation F-35 - with its stealth features and advanced sensors - meets the previous generation aircraft, such as F-18 and F-16.
- What we see in exercises against other aircraft is that the fight becomes very uneven and that we have all the benefits. It's rarely the opponent at all getting fired shots before the match is over.
"It's hard to defend against something you don't see," he adds.
- IT'S A BEAST
Hanche describes an aircraft that is very fast, easy to maneuver and difficult to detect.
- The fight is really over before it has started. While one party is wondering what is happening, our missiles are already on their way. The F-35 is a beast. It's simply raw.
For the opponents, it also means that there is a psychological effect in going up against an "enemy" that is superior technologically.
- The F-35 is a frightening opponent to meet! You can't catch up when you don't know you're in battle.
HELPING THE "OLD"
In addition to being a strength in itself on the battlefield, with its invisibility and superior sensor capacity, F-35 also helps friendly "old" planes to improve.
- The F-35 sensors are good and let us detect an opponent long before, for example, F-16 would. We can share this information with other own forces. Therefore, the F-35 can in practice make other own forces better: F-35 lets them "see" opponents they would not otherwise know, "Hanche says.
"The F-35 can share target data with both air, sea and ground forces," he adds.
REJECTS PROBLEM MACHINE
There has been a lot of focus on errors and problems along the way in the testing of the new fighter aircraft. This has sometimes frustrated the Norwegian test pilots.
- People have probably had some unrealistic expectations of what is an unfinished and finished product. The whole point of a test period is to uncover the most possible mistakes or things you need to rectify, Hanche explains .
- There has been great openness about the testing of F-35. Therefore, the media has got a lot of "exciting" reading material about the F-35. I think the media has often grasped individual issues, each of which may not be so important. The whole is important.
EARLY INVOLVED
Hanche says that this is far from new, the new is that Norway has been involved in the process at a much earlier time.
- Then there is nothing perfect, just like that. That's how it was with the F-16, says the experienced pilot with thousands of hours behind the levers, even on the F-16.
- We know much more about F-35 than we did about F-16 when we got it. There came many more rabbits out of the hat later, while now we have been from the start and know what we have to relate to. F-35 has been thoroughly tested to a greater extent than the F-16 was in its time.