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| NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – On June 14, F-35B Joint
Strike Fighter test aircraft BF-2 completed the first test flight for
the short takeoff and vertical landing variant with an asymmetric
weapons load. Cmdr. Eric Buus flew BF-2 with an AIM-9X Sidewinder inert
missile on the starboard pylon, a centerline 25 mm gun pod, and a GBU-32
and AIM-120 in the starboard weapon bay. Significant weapons testing
for the F-35B and F-35C variants is in progress, including fit checks,
captive carriage environment characterization, and pit drops. Aerial
weapons separation testing is scheduled for this summer. The F-35B is the variant of the Joint Strike Fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps, capable of short take-offs and vertical landings for use on amphibious ships or expeditionary airfields to provide air power to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The F-35B is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to delivery to the fleet. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin) |
Thursday, June 21, 2012
First asymmetric weapons load test for F-35B
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Prediction: After the first real world air to air combat test of the F-35, the B and C variants will be fitted with internal guns.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how the lessons of Vietnam were so quickly forgotten, but it will not end well.
When was the US's last gun kill from a fighter? Do you even know?
Deleteno room for an internal gun...both the B and C have refueling probes in the gun position. besides guns in pods for the Harrier didn't hurt the Brits in the Falklands...in gulf war 1 they were all missile kills except for maybe two of them and one of those came against a helo...in gulf war 2 i don't think there was a gun kill and the Israeli's in their latest conflicts have been missileers.
ReplyDeletethe prediction of Vietnam just came years late. besides why would you want to close with the enemy after all your missiles are gone? fire, and run...reload and repeat....or at least thats my layman's thinking.
Solomon is right. Recent history trumps ancient history. Favorite quote about the AMRAAM:
ReplyDelete“It’s like clubbing baby seals: Whomp. Whomp. Whomp.”
The real problem with the lessons-learned from Vietnam is that too many people learned the wrong ones and overlook the most salient ones.
Biggest one that gets overlooked is that in Vietnam, most of the pilots were not masters of their weaponry. That was from a lot of causes. Some of the most important:
1. Rules of engagement prevented maximum optimization and use of the weapons.
2. The generation(s) of A-A missiles at that time required 'too much' Man-Machine interface and/or depended too much on launch aircraft systems post-launch. The most successful missiles were the easiest to use, but those were the shortest-range: AIM-9s. If you are 'short-range' you may already be at a disadvantage.
3. A-A Missile performance at the time can't be judged by hit/miss ratios as pilots/WSOs liked to salvo/ripple fire offensively and often as pure defensive moves to get the other guy to do something stupid so they could take a real shot. Missile shop lore says the AIM-4D got the nickname of ‘$40000 Turn Signal’ because pilots seemed to launch it most often to give the other guy a launch indication in his cockpit so he go defensive and allow the launch aircraft to break off more safely. Salvo/Defensive use seems to still happen from time to time, but nothing like in Vietnam.
4. Pilots/WSOs rarely truly understood their weapons and their limitations. I'm not certain that isn't still the case, but the limitations are far fewer and less onerous now than they were in the 60s-70s. The lack of knowledge may simply be less important and masked today. When the pilots really knew their planes and missiles, good things happened. It's not by chance the Steve Ritchie was the only AF pilot ace in Vietnam, got all his ‘kills’ using the most-disparaged AIM-7, including 2 Migs in a 1-2 punch. He was the only pilot who EVER showed his face in the Udorn missile shop and asked questions about the missile's performance. When my Crew Chief (who was there) told me about Ritchie when I was stationed at Luke AFB in late ’73-early-74', I was gob smacked. I thought of ALL people the pilots and WSOs would know certain things about the missiles they used. Later I learned the Ritchie had even been an instructor at the Weapons School prior to his assignment, and wondered just a little if my Crew Chief had been BS-ing me. Flash forward about 3-4 years and now I'm the Missile Maintenance Crew Chief and stationed at Nellis. A 'Sierra Hotel' Aggressor Squadron's pilot with the additional duty of "Weapons Officer" arranges to visit the shop. He proceeds to pick my crew's brains on different weapons' performance. The answers seem to floor him: mostly little things like ‘max gyro spin-up time’ (he knew min) on one weapon, and what damage is tolerable (and where) on a particular waveguide come to mind. He leaves us swearing he's going to run the rest of the squadron though the shop on a schedule. We never see him again. Evidently no one else thought the trip to Area 2 was worth it.
I just need the gun for CAS. As long as you bolt it on before you come to play with the ground guys
ReplyDeleteNot exactly. Right now you need CAS, or what I believe more
Deleteaccurately describes the mission is the original (and more egalitarian) Brit term for it: "Army Cooperation" aircraft support. Whether by gun, bomb or missile it is the same as long as it works. The need for Army Cooperation missions SHOULD arise farther and fewer in between as small ground unit offensive capabilities improve. Expect precision direct and indirect fire weapon systems to become more portable AND lethal - to the point that ground troops getting themselves in a pinch so bad that they need Airpower ALMOST can't happen. [;-)
That's awsome and while the recent fielding of laser guided 2.75in rockets has added more and more percision, I still love the gun. I think a lot of times people get wrapped around this coin fight, eventually we will fight another actual fight where a gun run will be just what the doctor ordered, with the ability to go type 1, and bring that fire close to the line of troops its a tool we shouldn't go without
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