Moderadores: Lepanto, poliorcetes, Edu, Orel
the USAF has introduced a fourth generation of the Northrop Grumman APG-77 radar in the Common Configuration programme, new air to ground weapons and radar modes under Increment 3.1, new air-to-air weapons during the ongoing Increment 3.2 and planned communications upgrades called TacLink 16 and Tactical Mandates.
The USAF also plans to introduce a helmet-mounted cueing system for weapons and a "billion dollar" sensor upgrade for the Block 30/35 fleet, the report says.
Though still in development, the service plans to field TACLink 16 and TACMAN on Block 30 and 35 aircraft in fiscal year 2021 and 2022 respectively. The USAF recommends including TACMAN and TACLink 16 in the update to avoid creating a split fleet configuration.
Orel escribió:Madre mía...............
By: Tara Copp 14 hours ago
WASHINGTON — In a first use of expanded military authorities in Afghanistan, U.S. warplanes destroyed eight Taliban opium production facilities in Helmand Province Sunday, the top U.S. general there said Monday.
U.S. Forces Afghanistan commander Gen. John Nicholson said U.S. and Afghan forces in total took out 10 facilities on the first day of Operation Jagged Knife, a combined air operation that involved Afghan A-29s and U.S. B-52s and F-22s to take out a series of factories that Nicholson said were used as a revenue source for the Taliban.
The operation marked the first use of the F-22 to conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan. The highly advanced stealth fighter has capabilities that exceed what should have been necessary to destroy a Taliban target, raising questions as to why that platform was selected.
On Monday, Nicholson said the F-22 was selected in a last-minute decision, based on what aircraft was available with the capability to carry a small diameter precision bomb. Nicholson showed a clip of a target hit by an F-22 that dropped 250-pound small diameter bombs inside a compound. The bombs destroyed two of the structures inside the compound, leaving one, “to avoid collateral damage,” Nicholson said.
“It wasn’t because of some of the other capabilities of that aircraft,” that the F-22 was selected, Nicholson said.
In a statement, U.S. Air Forces Central Command said the F-22 was used “for a variety of reasons, but primarily to mitigate collateral damage and civilian casualties by employing small diameter bombs carried by the aircraft.”
In another strike, B-52s dropped 2,000-pound bombs on another drug production facility.
The ongoing operations reflect how the U.S. military has changed tactics since August, when President Donald Trump approved expanding the authorities under which U.S. forces could attack the Taliban and other militant groups in Afghanistan, Nicholson said. Before, U.S. forces could strike only in defense of Afghan forces and when they were fighting in close proximity to them.
Previously, “these targets were much harder to get to and really were not part of the [old] authorities,” Nicholson said.
“These new authorities allow us to attack the enemy …. to attack their financial networks, their revenue streams,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson said U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies estimate that the Taliban earns about $200 million a year from opium production in Afghanistan. The strikes are focused on the drug production facilities, not Afghan farmers growing opium poppy, the core ingredient in heroin and other opiate drugs, Nicholson said.
The Marines also provided overhead fires support with the High-Mobility Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and the Army provided surveillance support, Air Forces Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart said.
Nicholson declined to say how many U.S. aircraft were involved in the operation or how many facilities the U.S. intends to strike in the continuing operation. Nicholson estimated that there are about 400 to 500 opium production facilities in Afghanistan.
Pickart said the F-22s took off from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates and the B-52s were from the 69th Expeditionary Bomber Squadron assigned to Al Udeid Air Base’s 379th Air Expeditionary Wing,
The airstrikes were supported by KC-10 and KC-135 refuelers, surveillance aircraft and command and control aircraft, Pickart said.
En EEUU ya estan empezando a pedir una actualizacion del F22 pues, a pesar de todos los problemas de desarrollo, parece que el radar del F35 es superior a de estos en AA.
Air Force boosts F-22 development funds to support jet through 2060
June 09, 2017
The Air Force's fiscal year 2018 budget request nearly doubles its investment in F-22 research and development -- a boost that service officials say is critical to keep the fifth-generation jet flying through 2060. The Air Force's FY-19 budget, if approved, would accelerate development work for future F-22 upgrades -- adding $624.5 million in research and development, up from the $423 million the service projected it would need in its FY-17 budget request.
https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/ai ... rough-2060
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a total estimated value of $7,000,000,000 for F-22 sustainment. This contract provides for comprehensive F-22 air vehicle sustainment. Work will be performed at five operational bases Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; and at six support locations Edwards Air Force Base, California; Palmdale, California; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas; and Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, as well as at other potential stateside and overseas locations, combat deployment and enroute support bases, potential locations through depot partnering agreements, and system program office locations. The contract has a five-year base ordering period with work expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2027. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $1,906,535 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8205-18-D-0001).
...
Chema escribió:Si, pero una cosa es actualizaciones para poder trabajar con el F35 y otra es que el radar , en funcion AA, ya sea inferior al del F35 que teoricamente es AS.
Usuarios navegando por este Foro: No hay usuarios registrados visitando el Foro y 0 invitados