Now USN is acknowledging rough dimensions, weight and range. If you buddy a few Rhinos and a Wedgetail in combination with some Ghost Bats the enemy should be in for a bit of a surprise. Only thing is their weight and size. Full loaded you would only have the centreline tank. I wish the USN had gone ahead with the conformal. Would also be keen to know if we are getting the centreline tank with IRST21. It appears to be bogged down with regard to development and also eats into fuel reserves.
Royal Australian Air Force [RAAF] News, Discussions and Updates
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
I guess the USN and Boeing did not want to continue developing conformal tanks that could only be used for land based SHs. Development ended when it was determined the conformal tanks placed too much stress on the SH airframe during carrier operation.
RAAF has ordered 12x IRST systems mounted in centreline tanks, for it’s Super Hornet fleet.
From wik…
- 1939: Formed as the Government Aircraft Factories under the Department of Aircraft Production in Melbourne.
- 1987: Replaced and corporatised into Aerospace Technologies of Australia (ASTA).
- 1995: Sold off by the Federal Government to Rockwell International for roughly $20 million after splitting off troubled units.
- 1996: Remaining maintenance and airport sectors, including Avalon Airport and ASTA Aircraft Services, were wound down or sold off, ending federal ownership.
- 2008: Nomad aircraft design rights and type certificates were transferred to Gippsland Aeronautics (GippsAero)
Allegedly 450 km range. AIM-424 "Malice" Very Long-Range Air-To-Air Missile Emerges From The Shadows (Updated)The US Navy has done it again. At its annual Tailhook symposium, it revealed the AIM-424 'Malice' Long Range Air to Air Missile which it says will go on all Navy fourth, fifth, and sixth generation fighters
AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missiles (LRAAM)
U.S. Navy File Photo - Four AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missiles (LRAAM) are loaded on an F/A-18E Super Hornet for a test event. The AIM-424 LRAAM is the Department of the Navy's next-generation, long-range air-to-air missile, built to give Marine and Naval aviators the capability they need to...www.dvidshub.net
U.S. Navy File Photo - Four AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missiles (LRAAM) are loaded on an F/A-18E Super Hornet for a test event. The AIM-424 LRAAM is the Department of the Navy's next-generation, long-range air-to-air missile, built to give Marine and Naval aviators the capability they need to defeat advanced threats and defend the force.
AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM)
U.S. Navy File Photo - An AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM) is mounted in the internal weapons bay of an F-35C with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) mounted on the weapon bay door. The AIM-424 LRAAM is the Department of the Navy's next-generation...
U..S. Navy File Photo - An AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile (LRAAM) is mounted in the internal weapons bay of an F-35C with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) mounted on the weapon bay door. The AIM-424 LRAAM is the Department of the Navy's next-generation, long-range air-to-air missile, built to give Marine and Naval aviators the capability they need to defeat advanced threats and defend the force.
MARKMILES77
Well-Known Member
Do Australian RAAF bases in the North already have "Alert Systems"?
Or is this something new? 10 to be installed at Tindal and more for Scherger, Townsville etc.
www.australiandefence.com.au
Or is this something new? 10 to be installed at Tindal and more for Scherger, Townsville etc.
North coast company deploys alert system - Australian Defence Magazine
A small north coast engineering company has developed an innovative deployable alert system for remote RAAF bases | Max Blenkin
www.australiandefence.com.au
RAAF deploy 2x F-35A to RNZAF Ohakea.
The F-35s are conducting bilateral training with NZ JTACs and P-8A aircrew, as well as rehearsing Forward Arm and Refuel Point (FARP) serials.
The F-35s are conducting bilateral training with NZ JTACs and P-8A aircrew, as well as rehearsing Forward Arm and Refuel Point (FARP) serials.
Lack of progress on approvals obviously led to Government decision to re-announce prior decisions already made. I think Tomahawk holds the record for 3x announcements to say the same thing.
Approval for AIR-6500. Again. No effectors of course, again.
They are also describing our (entirely non-existent) ”medium ranged air defence system” as “accelerated”…
An arthritic snail would accelerate harder than this project has to date.
Approval for AIR-6500. Again. No effectors of course, again.
They are also describing our (entirely non-existent) ”medium ranged air defence system” as “accelerated”…
An arthritic snail would accelerate harder than this project has to date.
Last edited:
RAAF has announced it has reached IOC on AGM-158B - JASSM-ER on Super Hornet and AGM-158C LRASM on Super Hornet AND on P-8A.
Some pics below. More pics and vids at the link above.
Good work RAAF. Actually providing a decent update on substantial tax-payer investment…
Some pics below. More pics and vids at the link above.
Good work RAAF. Actually providing a decent update on substantial tax-payer investment…
Attachments
John Newman
The Bunker Group
Actually the Government and Oz media were both slow off the mark in reporting the LRASM capability for the P-8A fleet.
FlightGlobal produced an article six weeks ago regarding LRASM back in late July:
www.flightglobal.com
FlightGlobal produced an article six weeks ago regarding LRASM back in late July:
RAAF P-8As hunt subs, surface ships at RIMPAC exercise
The exercise provides the RAAF P-8A community with its first experience using a new anti-ship capability.
RAAF were announcing IOC for the capability, not just a weapons release…Actually the Government and Oz media were both slow off the mark in reporting the LRASM capability for the P-8A fleet.
FlightGlobal produced an article six weeks ago regarding LRASM back in late July:
RAAF P-8As hunt subs, surface ships at RIMPAC exercise
The exercise provides the RAAF P-8A community with its first experience using a new anti-ship capability.
John Newman
The Bunker Group
Not really. There is a lot more to IOC than a weapons drop. Training capability, logistical capability, weapons integrations and testing, warstock delivery and so on.
The live weapons drop might have been the signal or the threshold to show everyone IOC had been reached or at least was close, but it could also have just been yet another test point.
Flight Global also didn’t break the news that LRASM was going onto P-8A. We all knew integration work had been on-going for that for years. Nice confirmation of how far along the work was though.
I’d be interested to know what impact this has on Harpoon now. Do we just end Harpoon operations at some pre-determined point or will these capabilities operate side by side for years to come, given Harpoon will remain in ADF use for at least 10 more years on various platforms (meaning sustainment will have to continue - and I am aware of different Blocks in-service so lets not go over that discussion again…)
Thanks for the update.RAAF has announced it has reached IOC on AGM-158B - JASSM-ER on Super Hornet and AGM-158C LRASM on Super Hornet AND on P-8A.
Some pics below. More pics and vids at the link above.
Good work RAAF. Actually providing a decent update on substantial tax-payer investment…
A positive start
Just to clarify
158B - JASSM-ER is yet to be integrated at this stage with the P8
The F35 is yet to integrate 158B - JASSM-ER or LRASM.
I’m particularly interested in the P8 with 158B - JASSM-ER as this combination is a strike option of over 3000km.
This is a significant sovereign capability option for government.
Trust this is on the way
I’m not aware that RAAF plans to arm the P-8A with the JASSM-ER missile. Happy to be corrected, but I don‘t recall ever hearing of such plans…
Integration of both weapons are supposed to happen on F-35 but that is likely awaiting the roll out of capabilities under the Block IV program…
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
I wonder how many block 4 increment roll-outs will be required to complete all the promised capabilities? As per my post on the F-35 thread, the ECU production (required for full Block 4 upgrade) won't start until 2031 (hopefully, at least P&W promises are more reliable than LM's)
The purchase of the SHornet has proved a prudent purchase as it is carrying the weight of expectations that the F35 is yet to fully deliver.
The F35 was the correct purchase back in the day and it will get there ,but gosh,
it’s just taking too long.
It’s been flying over twenty years now!
I get it’s technically clever and cutting edge,
bla bla but having a fancy bow is no good without the arrows.
It’s a package.
The ADF is not Americas defence force.
We don’t have their array of assets and therefore
very much rely on the broad range of capabilities from our few platforms.
We need the full potential of the F35 now not waiting for block whatever !!!
Re P 8 with long range strike, agree probably not on the horizon technically, but technically should not be too difficult and very much a good fit for the ADF if not a priority for the US.
Cheers S
Weird to think that the near 50 year old Hornet design is in many ways still more capable than the F-35.
Depends on the horizon. Lockheed Martin would certainly argue long range strike from a P-8A across differing domains is certainly technically possible.
Lockheed Flexes To Modular AGM-158 JASSM Missile Concept
FLEX aims to give the JASSM missile family modular weapons architecture spanning longer-range, anti-ship, and new launch configurations. FLEX aims to give the JASSM missile family modular weapons architecture spanning longer-range, anti-ship, and new launch configurations.
www.twz.com
Aircraft 'ages' are interesting:
Production F-18 Super Hornets first flew around 1995 (31 years ago).
Production F-18 Hornets first flew around 1980 (46 years ago).
The YF-17 first flew in 1974 (52 years ago).
Heck, the F-5 Tiger (I count it as the father of the hornet) first flew around 1959 (67 years ago).
Yeah, that's a plane with a VERY long design legacy, but you can track major updates to the design every 15 years or so.
By contrast, the F-35 first flew around 2006 (20 years ago). Its only 11 years 'younger' than the Super Hornet, but a new design.
If the F-35 had a similar history to the Hornet family, we should have seen an evolved design emerge in the past five years. I know there's the 'blocks' but that's not really the same thing.
Also interesting: The first RAAF F-18F Super Hornet flew in 2009, and the first RAAF F-35 was completed in 2014, so our F-35s are only about 5 to 8 or so years younger.
We could/should see the entire RAAF combat force being retired around 2040-2045. Gonna be an EXPENSIVE decade...
But could there be a 'Super Lightning II' by then? Seems unlikely.
Not sure where I was going with this - it's just interesting that we think of one design as 'old' and the other 'new', when in fact the they're not that far apart in some ways...