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Date Posted: 21-May-2004
JANE’S DEFENCE WEEKLY – MAY 26, 2004
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USAF builds Raptor modernisation plan
MICHAEL SIRAK JDW Staff Reporter
Marietta, Georgia; Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; and Washington, DC
The US Air Force (USAF) is defining the improvements it will incorporate into the F/A-22 Raptor over the next decade to enhance the stealth multirole fighter’s connectivity, lethality and reach.
While the programme’s current focus is on forming two operational Raptor squadrons by the end of 2005, it is also laying out a capabilities road map through Lot 11 production in 2013, after which the service expects to have 277 operational aircraft, although this depends on funding (JDW 12 May).
Under the plan, the air force intends to have three blocks of Raptors with homogeneity of capabilities for all aircraft within a given block, according to Col Dave Watt, acting director of the F/A-22 system management office at Langley Air Force Base (AFB), Virginia.
Block 20 Raptors, encompassing production Lots 3 and 4, are known as the Global Strike Basic configuration. They will build on the initial Block 10 aircraft being delivered to the air force now for operational testing and training. Block 10 aircraft will have capabilities against aircraft and cruise missiles and the ability to deploy the 1,000 lb (454kg) Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) at subsonic speeds by the end of 2005, according to the air force.
Block 20 aircraft will add software upgrades to allow for JDAM employment at supersonic speeds. They will also incorporate changes to pilot-aircraft interfaces based on pilot feedback during the operational testing. The air force will maintain two squadrons, about 50 Raptors, for training at Tyndall AFB, Florida, as it moves to the Block 30 variant, said Col Watt.
Block 30 Global Strike Enhanced Raptors will be the aircraft coming off the production line between 2007 and 2009, altogether about 90 F/A-22s. They will feature an advanced fourth-generation radar that has high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar modes for enhanced all-weather ground-attack capabilities. They will also incorporate a Link 16 datalink that initially will be able to receive data from outside sources, but will later add the capability to send as well.
These aircraft will also have the capability to record sensor data that can be passed to other users, like the intelligence community, on completion of a mission, said Col Watt. Later on, Block 40 aircraft will have the ability to pass this data in near-realtime, he noted. Block 30 connectivity enhancements will also lay the foundation for interfacing with unmanned aircraft.
The air force is planning to incorporate the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb onto these aircraft around 2008, several years ahead of the initial estimates, Col Watt said.
Block 30 aircraft will also feature initial electronic attack capabilities. One official from Lockheed Martin, the aircraft’s manufacturer, told JDW that this could include side-staring radar arrays that could be used to direct high-energy narrow beams of radar energy against objects to disrupt their electronics.
The Block 40 variant, much of which is still being defined, will include the aircraft produced starting with Lot 8 in 2010. Under the 277-aircraft plan, this amounts to about 120 Raptors. Improvements will be made over two spirals, known as Global Strike Full and Enhanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
The focus of this block will be to enable the aircraft to operate fully in a network-centric environment and penetrate deeper into enemy airspace for longer periods. A key enhancement will be fourth-generation computer processors, said Col Watt. The aircraft will receive satellite communications links and pilots will receive a helmet-mounted situational-awareness display for “immediate and intuitive understanding of the situation”, according to air force briefing charts.
Another option is for low-observable external wing-mounted fuel tanks to extend the aircraft’s range, according to air force and Lockheed Martin officials.
Depending on how many Raptors the air force can procure, there may be a Block 50 at some point, said Col Watt.
Over the course of the aircraft’s life, the service will continue to integrate new air-to-air weapons and air-to ground munitions. Lockheed Martin engineers are working, for example, on how to integrate the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile externally on the aircraft, said J R McDonald, the company’s F/A-22 programme director.
Options include designing the missile so it can fit in a low-observable manner on the Raptor’s wings, each of which has two hardpoints to carry external stores, or to design the pylons so that they are low-observable. The latter scenario would call for launching the missiles before the aircraft enters enemy territory, unless air supremacy has already been achieved.
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May 24, 2004 at 8:11 pm