Calm yourself Mr.Scorps. I’m only going on company statements for all three. Here for SPECTRA:
By “targeting emitters autonomously” did you mean an ARM against a ground based, fixed radar site? …Just that I don’t think the phrase “three-dimensional direction finding is excellent” instills much confidence against high performance fighters.
Also, Selex seem to think E-scan IFF operation with ESM is a nice thing to have:
http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2012-07-08/selex-galileo-leads-europes-e-scan-drive
…and the KRET article in English:
The question, T-VIP, is whether EF’s DASS & Rafale’s SPECTRA actually have the ability to track emitting targets. Official literature for the former claims only “broadband emission detection” and “high-accuracy direction finding”.
As for the Su-35S’ L-150-35, its spatial location of the emitting targets would by very definition have to be highly accurate in order for the E-scan IFF to interrogate them (supported by company statement below).
Company literature for the L-150-35 “System of electronic intelligence” (“станции непосредственной радиотехнической разведки”) states:
Designed and manufactured FTP module based on a monopulse receiver of direct amplification with a broadband phase difference microwave signals calculator, direct conversion of wavelengths, instantaneous transfer rate – that will ensure detection of radar sources, [their] precise targeting and guidance for modern high-precision weapons…
So clearly, it is much closer in capabilities to AN/ALR-94 than the ‘Eurocanards’ kit.
You do know that IFF requires you to know where the target is and the target has to answer back? The IFF (even this L-Band and version) will not help you find a target that you are not currently tracking.
Yes, but think of it like an AN/ALR-94 sensor-fused with an E-scan IFF (but both operating independently of radar).
You mean the results of IFF interrogations and ESM identification capabilities are fed into the sensor fusion engine? Everything else wouldn’t make much sense to me. Capabilities like these are available on some modern aircraft designs.
The 4283MP is known to employ digital beamforming with sophisticated algorithms, I would guess passive/LPI tracking at long range is quite a big deal…if the likes of EF and Rafale already employ something similar – then kudos, but iIrc, neither has a system comparable to AN/ALR-94 which the Su-35S’ L-150-35 is in all essence.
You say LEVCON, do you mean the slats or really the moving LERX?
LE slat on one:
…LEVCON for the other.
I was about to say that if the russians went into all this trouble of putting all that staff on the plane and risk having to solve the problem of a partially exposed engine facet and it is still only marginally faster than its direct competitor, the raptor, then all this was for what?
Never ending headache
This is the actual duct:
Do you see the engine has a high mounting (denoted by thick lower circular structural stringer sections) at least a quarter of the compressor is mounted above the wing) then the duct bends down sharply – denoted by the thickening upper circular structural stringer sections (in this port duct it bends around the MLG bay and offsets to the left but this is not visible).
Above is the lateral offset (that orange crate is vertically aligned with the upper, outer corner of the intake).
Very important to note here how the lower cowling departs significantly from the upper – a source of much confusion/misrepresentation:
http://forum.keypublishing.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=238845&d=1435841679
As can be seen from the top pic the duct extends thru a significant part (if not all) of that elongated yellow panel in front of the cowling:
http://sukhoi.org/img/gallery/wallpaper/1_29_01_10/1002101_80.jpg
…so as the actual duct is under that yellow panel, then it’s a very funky and revolutionary design (short & aggressive bend in the duct):
Incidentally, the height of the MLG wheel is approximately the same as the compressor, so one can easily visualise how much of the comp will be visible (now that we know precisely where the engine is mounted and what direction the duct takes).
That thing you refer to as “engine facet” (from that infamous ‘PAK-FA in the night’ pic, cannot be reconciled as the compressor either vertically, nor laterally. These observations (and most importantly the CAD screenshots) confirm insiders’ and the official patent claims of the existence of S-ducts.
Which begs the question of that ‘thing’ in the intake, what is it? Pay attention!
As intimated before, it is a device to facilitate high pressure recovery to the compressor (near 100%)- the fixed vanes are installed downstream of the bend and precisely orientated to match the static pressure field. In that infamous PAK-FA pic you can even see the same shade of grey duct behind the vanes as precedes them – this is the aggressive bend.
The T-50 would have a flight time of a few seconds if this guide vane structure wasn’t installed.
The beauty of it is that it doubles as a “radar screen” known as ‘Device 9/Устройсво 9’ in the official patent “set straight in the intake, offset and partially obscuring the [engine’s] guide vanes”- clearly neither the compressor nor duct are “set straight” vis-a-vis the intake.
The “radar screen” function of the vanes negates the need for a ‘long S-duct’ to absorb/neutralise incident and reflected radar waves. I’ll leave it to more learned members to explain the precise mechanics of the RCS of intake cavities but, clearly, it is a World apart from a radar ‘blocker’ in the conventional sense as installed on 4G legacy fighters.
The advantages of the design compared to conventional S-ducts are a huge reduction in system length (and hence weight) and overall a more integrated fuselage design as demonstrated by the T-50’s lower profile compared to the F-22/35/J-20 ‘fatties’.
It is advances in CFD software’s predictive accuracy and raw computing power that have made this revolutionary S-duct a reality* and I believe these design elements will be replicated in upcoming US 6G contenders.
Pics 1&3 ℅ Mr. Paralay.
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