A prototype of the Chinese PLAAF Type 075 attack helicopter
Even as the US Army begins selecting candidates for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, and other conventional rotorcraft are considered finalists in the Future Vertical Lift Aircraft (FVLA) selection process, the Chinese may have lapped the competition with their own next-generation “chopper”.
The Type 075 helicopter, which some are calling the “Super White Shark”, looks more like a flying saucer than a true combat helicopter, sporting a circular fuselage with a center-mounted bulbous cockpit, all of which is purportedly clad in a coating of radar absorbent material designed to defeat radar detection at both low and high altitudes. Shown for the first time at the recently held Tianjin military expo, The Super White Shark concept model was described by Chinese State media as a two-seat turbojet stealth aircraft with a ceiling of 6,000 metres (19,685 feet), a top speed of 650km/h (404mph) and a range of 2,950km.
Although the Super White Shark’s developer – known as the Parrot Laboratory – claimed to have learned from designs such as the US’ AH-64 Apache ground attack helicopter and Russia’s Ka-52 reconnaissance and combat chopper, it said no country had yet succeeded in developing and perfecting such wing-body-fusion technology.
A static prototype was shown sitting atop several square pedestals so it isn’t clear if the rotorcraft can actually fly and maneuver in flight as advertised or whether the aircraft was simply meant to spook western defense analysts.
General Dynamic’s Griffin III Infantry Fighting Vehicle Demonstrator
And then there was one. According to Defense News, the Army has disqualified Rheinmetall’s KF 41 Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle from its open competition to seek a replacement for the aging Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle. This means the Griffin III remains as the only viable contender left in the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle competition, which will undoubtedly run into the billions of dollars to procure once Congress has agreed to fund the program. Produced by General Dynamics, the Griffin III is an interesting choice to serve along side the M1 Abrams main battle tank because it can only carry six men into battle as opposed to a full squad of 9 men the Lynx could reportedly ferry. That said, the Griffin weighs in at only 40-tons compared with the 50-ton Lynx, making it far quicker on the open battlefield and more transportable in the event of hostilities breaking out far from home.
The Griffin will be armed with a 50mm main cannon capable of elevating 85 degrees and depressing 20 degrees. The vehicle can carry an operating crew of 2 or 3 men depending upon its multiple configurations, is clad in a hexagonal-shaped Infrared heat signature management camouflage system designed to reduce its detectable footprint on the battlefield, and sports the Israeli-created “Iron Fist” integrated active protection system that is aimed at defending against incoming rockets and missiles without causing injury to dismounted infantry.
Curiously, the overall profile of the Griffin III is still rather bulky for an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, making it just slightly smaller than the high-profile Bradley IFV. Since the ammunition used is larger than a standard 25mm round, the turret must be larger to accommodate the beefier rounds. And, in order for the gun to elevate 85 degrees, thereby making it capable of engaging and defending against multiple airborne threats that run the gamut from aircraft and helicopters to weaponized UAVs – the designers needed to increase the vehicle’s overall size. It is possible that an even newer iteration, heretofore dubbed the Griffin IV IFV, could be in the works in the not-too-distant future based upon what the Army concludes from testing the Griffin III and whether it currently meets or exceeds all of the Army’s requirements for a next-generation IFV.
The idea of cladding a vehicle in an Infrared heat signature management camouflage system is relatively new and remains an unproven technology on the battlefield of the 21st century. Instead of defeating a warhead as it strikes the vehicle by studding the vehicle’s exterior with a layer of explosive reactive armor cells – as is common with most of today’s armored fighting vehicles – the system has been created to make the vehicle appear more stealthy, similar conceptually to the employment of radar defeating materials used on several fifth generation aircraft. If a vehicle cannot be seen by the enemy, it is reasoned, then the need for up-armoring the vehicle is obviated.
In 2010, the Israeli company Eltics created an early prototype of a system of tiles for infrared camouflage of vehicles. In 2011, BAE Systems announced their Adaptiv infrared camouflage technology. It uses about 1000 hexagonal Peltier panels to cover the sides of a tank. The panels are rapidly heated and cooled to match either the temperature of the vehicle’s surroundings, or one of the objects in the thermal cloaking system’s “library” such as a truck, car or large rock.
According to Defense News, the Pentagon will stand up the US Space Command on August 29th, making it the fifth combatant command within the US defense hierarchy. “Upon its standup, SPACECOM head Gen. Jay Raymond will inherit 87 units, covering “missile warning, satellite operations, space control and space support,” said Gen. Joe Dunford, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Raymond has previously said he expects to start with about 642 personnel pulled from U.S. Strategic Command. Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson has been nominated to become the deputy commander.”
Its not clear what types of weaponry will be attached to the new command or the exact units subordinate to it. Aircraft such as the Lockheed-Martin SR-72 are likely components thereby giving the command near real-time intelligence gathering and active response capability. The SR-72 is an American hypersonicUAV concept intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It is also believed that the platform will be weaponized with advanced hypersonic missiles still in development, thereby giving the command the ability to strike targets anywhere in the world within two hours of an attack order.
According to the article, Space Command will start with a nominal strength of 642 personnel pulled from Strategic Command, but will likely grow in size and strength as additional assets are placed under its command.
At this stage, it isn’t clear if the US Space Command will be a participatory command of sorts enabling certain allied nations — who may be unable or unwilling to create a similar command – be granted certain rights and/or protection gleaned from this enhanced surveillance and response system. Canada, for instance, long a member of NORAD, will likely fall under the umbrella protection of the US Space Command as a means of guarding the entire North American continent against a quick strike attack.
I have to admit that prior to today I’ve never heard of a web site called Air Recognition, which purports that Russia has given the go-ahead towards producing the MiG-41. Previously known as the PAK DP, the MiG-41, according to the article, “will be able to fly into space,” said Ilia Tarassenko, CEO of the Russian aircraft manufacturer Mikoyan-Gourevitch (MiG) during a news conference broadcast by Reuters.
Tarasenko stated that “the aircraft will use new types of weapons, will be created with new stealth technologies, can carry a large volume of weapons and will operate at a very large intercept radius.”
“In addition to flying at very high altitude, claims Air Recognition, “the MiG-41 will be able to shoot down hypersonic missiles according to the former commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Viktor Bondarev. It will be the fastest plane in his class, he says. The device could even be autonomous or be remotely piloted like a drone.”
We’ll do some digging to determine if this is a hoax or couched in fact, especially since it comes on the heels of Russia giving the go ahead to the Su-57, previously known as the PAK FA. If true, this could be a game changer since it sounds more like a sixth generation jet fighter looking to outpace several competing designs put forward by a handful of Western nations.
If you thought AmazingViz’ rolling visual presentation of the American tanks of World War II was truly incredible, you had better think again. Apparently, they are just as talented when it comes to depicting some of the German armor that took to the battlefield in the name of Blitzkrieg. Here now the German viewpoint, from the early assault guns to the mightiest of heavy tanks, all rendered in crisp 3-D detail.
By the way, a quick trip to their YouTube page shows that they have been at this for some time. They have equally interesting videos on aircraft, buildings and other vehicles, all rendered in the same manner. Goes to show the lengths some people/organizations will go to pursue their life long passions.
Even though they haven’t signed up a single export partner to defray some of its huge development costs, that doesn’t seem to be a stumbling block for either Suhkoi or the Russian government who have apparently decided to move forward and go into full production with the Su-57. Billed as a fifth generation fighter, the Su-57 is actually less advanced than either the F-22 or F-35 largely because it isn’t nearly as stealthy as either Lockheed aircraft. The Indian Air Force was supposed to purchase the aircraft from Sukhoi to help alleviate its overall cost, but they decided to back out of their commitment a few years ago largely for this very reason.
Popular Mechanics had this to say about the Russian decision to move forward on the project. “According to TASS,
a Russian government-owned state media source, Moscow signed a contract
for 76 Su-57s last June. At the time, Russia had only committed to
buying 16 of the fighters. United Aircraft Corporation, the parent
company of the Sukhoi bureau, somehow made the jet twenty percent
cheaper, prompting the larger buy.
The big question is how the Su-57 magically got cheaper. Currently there are nine Su-57 prototypes flying, all powered by the AL-41FM1 engine. The AL-41FM1 generates 32,000 pounds of thrust, and the big Su-57 is equipped with two of them. However, the Su-57 is supposed to be equipped with the more powerful Item 30 engines and reportedly cannot cruise at Mach 1 or faster without them. The Item 30s have proven difficult to develop but the Su-57 finally flew with them in 2017. Does the cheaper price reflect the use of the older, less powerful engines? If not, did UAC cut corners on some other aspect of the aircraft’s design?”
For more information on the Su-57, visit Popular Mechanic’s run down on the new aircraft.
Every so often, I noodle around the web looking for interesting things that might pertain to our business or simply give the average collector cause for celebration. Earlier today, I was blown away by the accompanying video, which was posted on YouTube back in July. Produced by AmazingViz, it shows most of the American tanks that saw action in World War II along with a number of proposed designs that never actually saw combat for one reason or another. Considering how many Sherman tanks Forces of Valor plans to introduce in 2020, I immediately thought it pertinent, and helps to give everyone a better sense of the scale and size of our US armored forces tasked with staving off the Axis onslaught. Enjoy!
Lately, it seems as if every nation on Earth is working on a fifth/sixth generation fighter. So many projects are in the offing that we wouldn’t be surprised if several third world countries jumped on the band wagon, claiming they too have the ability to develop and field an aircraft that can hold its own against either the F-22 or F-35. Frankly, its hard to take some would-be candidates seriously, among them Iran’s supposed IAIO Qaher-313 “Conqueror”, which was shown taxiing around an airfield a couple of year’s back, with no real attempt to take off.
The latest nation to unveil efforts to deploy a stealth aircraft is Turkey, who, at the recent Paris Air Show, showed off conceptual drawings and a CGI-rendered video of their TF-X program, which looks remarkably similar to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Apart from sporting two engines as opposed to one, it might be difficult to tell the two aircraft apart, no doubt paying homage to an aircraft they were supposed to purchase but were denied approval because they were pandering to Russia.
Developed in response to the US refusal to sell Turkey the F-35 stealth fighter because they chose to purchase S-400 missiles from Russia instead of a NATO-aligned nation, the TF-X is currently scheduled to enter service in 2028, provided it can overcome a myriad of hurdles associated with building a true fifth generation fighter. In fact, Turkey has little experience building an indigenous aircraft, its aging fleet of US-built F-16 Falcons representing its last foray into acquiring a cutting edge aircraft. Amazingly, the nimble F-16 is still serving as its front line fighter, and will likely do so well into the 2030s. Frankly, its hard to take Turkish Aerospace and the Turkish government seriously with its proposed TF-X program when other nations — with far more experience building aircraft and deeper pockets to fund them — are already looking towards building a sixth generation fighter that could outclass the TF-X before it can even be deployed.
A week after Boeing and the RAAF unveiled their “Loyal Wingman” UCAV, designed as a strike package force multiplier, the USAF did them one better by introducing their own autonomous UCAV, dubbed the XQ-58A Valkyrie Experimental Combat Drone. According to a USAF press release, “The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator, a long-range, high subsonic unmanned air vehicle completed its inaugural flight March 5, 2019 at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. The Air Force Research Laboratory partnered with Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems to develop the XQ-58A.
This joint
effort falls within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Low Cost
Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) portfolio, which has the
objective to break the escalating cost trajectory of tactically relevant
aircraft. The objectives of the LCAAT initiative include designing and
building UAS faster by developing better design tools, and maturing and
leveraging commercial manufacturing processes to reduce build time and
cost.
Developed
for runway independence, the aircraft behaved as expected and completed
76 minutes of flight time. The time to first flight took a little over
2.5 years from contract award. The XQ-58A has a total of five planned
test flights in two phases with objectives that include evaluating
system functionality, aerodynamic performance, and launch and recovery
systems.
“XQ-58A is the first example of a class of UAV that is defined by low procurement and operating costs while providing game changing combat capability,” said Doug Szczublewski, AFRL’s XQ-58A Program Manager.
For more information on the Valkyrie, we recommend you pay a visit to The Drive.
By now, most of us have heard that fighting has erupted between India and Pakistan near the embattled Kashmir region. What is surprising is that the Indian Air Force employed aircraft that are decades old, famous for last seeing combat in the 60s and 70s during the Vietnam War.
According to sources, India has steadily been upgrading its fleet of 110 MiG 21 fighters, so that it no longer resembles the MiG 21 of old. The MiG 21 “Bison”, as it is now called, was radically upgraded in 2006, and have been equipped with powerful multi-mode radar, better avionics and communications systems. The pilots have even been given helmet-mounted sights capable of providing all-aspect acquisition and targeting of enemy aircraft. That said, it is now plausible that an upgraded MiG 21 could have indeed shot down a Pakistani F-16 in air-to-air combat, which, on the surface, is infinitely more capable than the MiG 21. For more information on the engagement and background information on the MiG 21 “Bison”, we recommend you visit NDTV.
Update: Indian military authorities, responding to questions regarding the employment of the MiG 21 in this week’s engagement between the Indian and Pakistani Air Force, have cited the need to press the MiG 21s into service despite their age. Earlier that day a pair of Indian Air Force MiG 29s were rotated off of combat air patrol along the contested border to rest the pilots as well as refuel the aircraft. As a result, the MiG 21s were used to temporarily spell the MiG 29s but were nevertheless caught up in the ensuing conflict.
