It is also continuing to offer a similar proposal to the Japanese government and is now reportedly willing to let companies in Japan handle a significant portion of the research and development and production of the aircraft. Air Force on the idea of hybrid design that blends elements of its two previous stealth fighter offerings.
The company would also be able to incorporate lessons learned in stealth coatings and other complex manufacturing processes required for stealthy and other advanced aircraft that it has learned from the F into the design and production of the new aircraft. Not only could this positively impact production cost and overall capability, but it could also significantly lower the cost per flight hour when compared to the F The Raptor's radar-absorbent skin is notoriously demanding on maintainers and negatively impacts the availability and cost of operating the jet.
The F introduced a new, lower maintenance concept that supposedly solves many of these issues. Between the F, F, and other advanced projects , the company has gained an extensive knowledge base to draw from to potentially help keep costs down and speed up the development process of a hybrid fighter jet. Totally new stealth fighter programs have become notoriously lengthy and expensive endeavors. The War Zone has long supported Japan's desire to procure Fs and has proposed this exact aircraft and arrangement in the past.
As we described before, if the U. Air Force acts even as a minor stakeholder in a project that its Japanese counterparts were leading, it could help significantly in spreading out the development cost burden.
DoD watchdog: Air Force failed to effectively manage F-22 modernization
Now it seems very likely that Lockheed Martin itself is presenting this exact reality to both parties. The company has reportedly been proposing an arrangement under which it or its subcontractors would initially build the main fuselage, engines, and mission systems in the United States, but using a steadily increasing percentage of Japanese parts, according to Nikkei.
Flight control surfaces include leading-edge flaps , flaperons , ailerons , rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers , and all-moving horizontal tails; these surfaces also serve as speed brakes. The F is among only a few aircraft that can supercruise, or sustain supersonic flight without using fuel-inefficient afterburners; it can intercept targets which subsonic aircraft would lack the speed to pursue and an afterburner-dependent aircraft would lack the fuel to reach. The F's structure contains a significant amount of high-strength materials to withstand stress and heat of sustained supersonic flight.
The F is highly maneuverable at both supersonic and subsonic speeds. Computerized flight control system and full-authority digital engine control FADEC make the aircraft highly departure resistant and controllable. The Raptor's aerodynamic performance, sensor fusion, and stealth work together for increased effectiveness. Altitude, speed, and advanced active and passive sensors allow the aircraft to spot targets at considerable ranges and increase weapons range; altitude and speed also complement stealth's ability to increase the aircraft's survivability against ground defenses such as surface-to-air missiles.
The MLD features six sensors to provide full spherical infrared coverage. Tom Burbage, former F program head at Lockheed Martin, described it as "the most technically complex piece of equipment on the aircraft. Depending on the detected threat, the defensive systems can prompt the pilot to release countermeasures such as flares or chaff. According to Bill Sweetman, experts had said the ALR can be used as a passive detection system capable of searching targets and providing enough information for a radar lock on.
Radar emissions can also be focused to overload enemy sensors as an electronic-attack capability. In a process known as sensor fusion , data from the radar, other sensors, and external systems is filtered and combined by the CIP into a common view, reducing pilot workload. The F's ability to operate close to the battlefield gives the aircraft threat detection and identification capability comparative with the RC Rivet Joint , and the ability to function as a "mini- AWACS ", though the radar is less powerful than those of dedicated platforms.
The F can designate targets for allies, and determine whether two friendly aircraft are targeting the same aircraft. The F's software has some 1.
- Air Force F Fighter Program - Digital Library.
- DoD watchdog: Air Force failed to effectively manage F modernization.
- How to become a blogger or a moderator.
- Now Are We In Christ Jesus?
- F Raptor vs F Lightning | Cost, Performance, Size, Top Speed!
- Shop the drive.
The F has a glass cockpit with all-digital flight instruments. The monochrome head-up display offers a wide field of view and serves as a primary flight instrument ; information is also displayed upon six color liquid-crystal display LCD panels. The USAF initially wanted to implement direct voice input DVI controls, but this was judged to be too technically risky and was abandoned. The F has integrated radio functionality, the signal processing systems are virtualized rather than as a separate hardware module.
The integrated control panel ICP is a keypad system for entering communications, navigation, and autopilot data. The Raptor has three internal weapons bays: Missile launches require the bay doors to be open for less than a second, during which hydraulic arms push missiles clear of the aircraft; this is to reduce vulnerability to detection and to deploy missiles during high speed flight. Each hardpoint can accommodate a pylon that can carry a detachable gallon 2, L external fuel tank or a launcher holding two air-to-air missiles; the two inboard hardpoints are "plumbed" for external fuel tanks.
The use of external stores degrades the aircraft's stealth and kinematic performance; after releasing stores the external attachments can be jettisoned to restore those characteristics. The F was designed to be highly difficult to detect and track by radar. Measures to reduce radar cross-section include airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets that prevent line-of-sight of the engine faces from any exterior view, use of radar-absorbent material RAM , and attention to detail such as hinges and pilot helmets that could provide a radar return.
The F was also designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye. Compared to previous stealth designs like the F , the F is less reliant on radar-absorbent materials, which are maintenance-intensive and susceptible to adverse weather conditions.
Unlike the B-2 , which requires climate-controlled hangars, the F can undergo repairs on the flight line or in a normal hangar. The F features a Signature Assessment System which delivers warnings when the radar signature is degraded and necessitates repair. The effectiveness of the stealth characteristics is difficult to gauge.
The RCS value is a restrictive measurement of the aircraft's frontal or side area from the perspective of a static radar.
Blogging rules
When an aircraft maneuvers it exposes a completely different set of angles and surface area, potentially increasing radar observability. Furthermore, the F's stealth contouring and radar absorbent materials are chiefly effective against high-frequency radars, usually found on other aircraft.
The effects of Rayleigh scattering and resonance mean that low-frequency radars such as weather radars and early-warning radars are more likely to detect the F due to its physical size. However, such radars are also conspicuous, susceptible to clutter , and have low precision. The name "Lightning II" was later given to the F The aircraft was also briefly dubbed "SuperStar" and "Rapier". The F designation was reinstated in December , when the aircraft entered service.
F-22 Raptor vs F-35 Lightning II
In May , a released report documented a problem with the F's forward titanium boom, caused by defective heat-treating. This made the boom on roughly the first 80 Fs less ductile than specified and potentially shortened the part's life. Modifications and inspections were implemented to the booms to restore life expectancy.
No sorties were missed because of maintenance or other failures; a single F was judged lost against the defeated opposing force. The aircraft returned to Hawaii by following tanker aircraft. Within 48 hours, the error was resolved and the journey resumed. In April , Fs have been rotating into Al Dhafra, less than miles from Iran; [] [] the Iranian defense minister referred to the deployment as a security threat.
On 22 September , Fs performed the type's first combat sorties during the American-led intervention in Syria ; aircraft dropped 1,pound GPS-guided bombs on Islamic State targets near Tishrin Dam. In late , the USAF was testing a rapid deployment concept involving four Fs and one C for support, first proposed in by two F pilots.
The goal was for the type to be able to set up and engage in combat within 24 hours. Fs participated in the U. Each aircraft requires a month-long packaged maintenance plan PMP every flight hours. The canopy was redesigned after the original design lasted an average of hours instead of the required hours. According to Lieutenant Colonel Wade Tolliver, squadron commander of the 27th Fighter Squadron, the stealth coatings of the F are more robust than those used in earlier stealth aircraft, being less sensitive to weather and wear and tear.
To reduce operating costs and lengthen the F's service life, some pilot training sorties are performed using flight simulators, while the T Talon is used for adversary training. Operational problems have been experienced and some have caused fleet-wide groundings. Critically, pilots have experienced a decreased mental status, including losing consciousness. There were reports of instances of pilots found to have a decreased level of alertness or memory loss after landing.
Other problems include minor mechanical problems and navigational software failures. Long-distance flights were resumed, but were limited to lower altitudes until corrections had been made. The carbon filters were changed to a different model to reduce lung exposure to carbon particulates. New backup oxygen generators and filters have been installed on the aircraft. The coughing symptoms have been attributed to acceleration atelectasis "collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absent gas exchange" , which may be exacerbated by the F's high performance.
The presence of toxins and particles in some ground crew was deemed to be unrelated. The X MANTA , or multi-axis, no-tail aircraft , was a planned experimental aircraft based on the F with enhanced thrust vectoring controls and no aerodynamic surface backup. Funding for this program was halted in Air Force Materiel Command. Air Force Reserve Command. The test pilot, Tom Morgenfeld, escaped without injury.
Air Force F Fighter Program: Background and Issues for Congress – Nimble Books LLC
The cause of the crash was found to be a flight control software error that failed to prevent a pilot-induced oscillation. The first F crash occurred during takeoff at Nellis AFB on 20 December , in which the pilot ejected safely before impact. Following a brief grounding, F operations resumed after a review. An Air Force Materiel Command investigation found that Cooley momentarily lost consciousness during a high-G maneuver, then ejected when he found himself too low to recover.
Cooley was killed during ejection by blunt-force trauma from windblast due to the aircraft's speed. The investigation found no design issues. Fs were restricted to flying below 25, feet, then grounded during the investigation. The accident review board ruled Haney was to blame, as he did not react properly and did not engage the emergency oxygen system. She later reached a settlement [] [] A design flaw with the oxygen system was described in a document. The pilot ejected safely and no injuries were reported on the ground. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see F22 disambiguation. F Raptor in fiction. United States Air Force portal Aviation portal. Jumper exceeded Mach 1. Reliability goes up above 70 percent for missions with lower stealth demands. F Team, 4 November Archived from the original PDF on 4 March Fighters should be used for spying. Air Force , March Retrieved 30 October Fiscal Year available on this site. Physical Description 66 pages. Who People and organizations associated with either the creation of this report or its content.
Author Gertler, Jeremiah J. Specialist in Military Aviation. Publisher Library of Congress. About Browse this Partner. What Descriptive information to help identify this report. Background and Issues for Congress Series Title: Identifier Unique identifying numbers for this report in the Digital Library or other systems. Collections This report is part of the following collection of related materials. About Browse this Collection. Digital Files 1 file. When Dates and time periods associated with this report.