A legend about a daring flight of design ideas, lost money and unfulfilled hopes. A hymn to the greatness of the human mind and a parable about the crazy paths into which technical progress sometimes turns. The saga is about how the timid outlines of truth melt in the veil of the fog of human delusions. A parabola about greed and gullibility that go hand in hand for centuries, fueled by the unrealizable human dream of the "philosopher's stone" and "perpetual motion machine".
All this is the history of the "fifth generation" fighter. The myth of a fantastic winged ship that will bring victory laurels to the feet of those who can build such a machine.
No other aircraft in aviation history has been presented with such fanfare as the formidable Raptor fighter. The merciless fury of heaven. The absolute technical superiority of the US Air Force. A miraculous remedy for winning any wars. An invisible and destructive weapon that brings death to everyone who dares to "raise a hand" against its creators.
The paradox is that to date, none of the 187 "fifth generation" fighters took part in hostilities. It would be fine if wars stopped on Earth - but since 2003, when the first production F-22 arrived at Nellis AFB, the world has been rocked by many conflicts - the US Air Force has flown tens of thousands of sorties, wiping out two states.
Excuses related to the "excess power of the aircraft" and "the discrepancy between the conditions of local conflicts and the appointment of the F-22" can only infuriate the American taxpayers: the military spent 60 billion dollars to create an aircraft for which there are no suitable tasks!
Comparison of the F-22 with nuclear weapons does not work - the Raptor does not have a fraction of the stopping effect of the Strategic Nuclear Forces. Unlike the Tridents and Minutemans, this is a purely tactical weapon designed to solve the pressing problems of our time. But alas …
Air Force pilots prefer to carry bombs and dominate the air using the proven F-15 and F-16.
It turns out easier, cheaper, and most importantly - no worse than using a "fifth generation" fighter.
Much more fun is another fact: the F-22 will probably be of little use in solving "serious problems". The controversy about the aircraft's stealth is still not abating - experts lament that the Raptor, most likely, will not be able to work effectively in the coverage area of the S-300 anti-aircraft systems.
A simple survey should be asked here: What did you expect? Twelve guidance channels. Six speeds of sound. Warhead weight 150 kg. A solid set of radars and detection systems capable of detecting air targets at a distance of hundreds of kilometers.
Climbing headlong into the S-300's coverage area is pure suicide. And no "Raptor" is a panacea here - the US Air Force pilots will refuse to get into the cockpit, and the one who gave the order to break through the enemy air defense with the help of the "Raptors" will face a tribunal.
What do we need "Raptor"! Will we throw our hats?
Not at all. The 300th anti-aircraft complex is a really serious weapon, even eminent foreign experts admit it. Another thing is that a "fifth generation" Überplane is not required to break through the S-300 barrier.
How can this be?
Brute force and nothing more. The detected positions of the air defense missile systems are crushed in a simple way: with a salvo of HARM anti-radar missiles aimed at radio emission sources. The missiles are launched on a ballistic trajectory, on homing - the carrier aircraft themselves remain outside the coverage area of the air defense missile system, and the number of "Kharms" fired is usually in the thousands.
The dull-headed "Kharmas" will kill all the microwave ovens and radio transmitters in the area, but several of them will surely explode near the radar station of the anti-aircraft complex, taking it out of the game. Even if the operator, sensing something was wrong, has time to turn off the radar - "Harm" will remember the last coordinates of the radiation source and continue its mournful journey in the direction of the intended target.
The explosive cocktail from "Kharms" is abundantly flavored with Tomahawk cruise missiles, squalls of electronic jamming, UAVs and sabotage groups of special forces.
Anti-radar missile AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radar Missile (HARM)
A very rude, costly and dirty trick - but this is the only way to break through modern air defense. It is this scenario that we have observed in all conflicts of recent years - both Wars in the Persian Gulf, Yugoslavia, Libya.
Only when the command is convinced of the inoperability of the enemy air defense system, do the "carriers of democracy" invade the airspace - hundreds of combat aircraft of the air forces of NATO countries. Regular F-15 and F-16.
The ÜberF-22 Raptor was again unemployed. Like its counterpart B-2 Spirit. The super-capabilities of these machines are simply not in demand.
Who are you, fifth generation fighter?
Modern pilots have everything - supersonic aircraft, capable of automatically breaking through to the target, almost tearing off tree crowns with their wings. Fantastic sighting systems that can distinguish a woman from a man from the stratosphere, an armed man from a peaceful man in the street, or see the heat trail of a passing car - the sensitivity of these systems is amazing. Jet combat vehicles can fly over the continent in a matter of hours, and their combat load exceeds that of strategic bombers during the Second World War. Incredible aerobatics, guided missile weapons, optoelectronic defense systems and jamming systems.
The question is: Guys, what else do you need? Immortality and endless bullets?
Of course, progress does not stand still - the fourth generation of fighters must be replaced by the fifth. But what exactly is the difference between the "fifth generation"? And here, even the most daring theorists have a collapse of consciousness.
- Stealth!
No one has yet succeeded in making the plane completely invisible - the techniques of stealth technology are in clear contradiction with the laws of aerodynamics. The work to partially reduce the visibility is not decisive - the risk of being detected is still high.
Paradoxically, measures to drastically reduce visibility can be implemented on aircraft of the previous generation - it has been confirmed in practice: serial Super Hornet fighters, promising F-15SE Silent Eagle and Silent Hornet aircraft.
F-15SE Silent Eagle.
"Nudges" on engine nacelles are internal weapon bays. Changed the tail unit - the keels are deflected to the sides for better dispersion of radio waves
- Super maneuverability! Tell us about it Su-27 and its modifications Su-35.
- Multifunctionality! Tell the creators of the F-15E Strike Eagle about this.
- Supersonic cruising speed without using afterburner!
Can. You will need "only" super-powerful (and gluttonous) engines. In principle, the only significant difference between the "fifth generation". Another question is how great is the need for such abilities? And isn't the price paid too high?
Analyzing the requirements for the "fifth generation", it becomes obvious - they are literally "taken from the ceiling." What could really come in handy: unmanned aerial combat control, absolute invisibility for any means of detecting the enemy - still remain attributes of science fiction. The same thing that modern industry offers under the guise of a "new generation fighter" - nothing more than a daunting and ultra-expensive machine, whose tasks are duplicated by conventional aircraft with much greater efficiency (cost / benefit).
It would be possible to put an end here, if not for one important circumstance:
Fighters of the "fifth generation" really exist! But that has nothing to do with the F-22 Raptor.
Who are these mysterious machines? "Sukhoi" PAK FA? Chinese prototype J-20?
No, a new generation of fighters appeared long before the creation of the PAK FA. It was a long-term systemic process that took its final form about 20 years ago.
The aircraft itself has not undergone changes - the engines, the airframe - everything remains the same. Maybe it's all about avionics - the high-tech "stuffing" of the aircraft? And again, by. Radar stations, INS, "fly-by-wire" (fly-by-wire control system) - no fundamental changes were noted here. The increase in the productivity of on-board computers and the emergence of "glass cabins" did not lead to a revolution in aircraft construction. Which generation the aircraft belongs to - 4+ or 4 ++ does not matter as much as it is commonly believed.
The changes affected, first of all, organizational issues - new tactics and special techniques made it possible to dramatically increase the power of modern aviation.
What does all this mean, comrades? Meet our first guest:
KC-10 "Extender" (extension) is an air tanker based on the DC-10 passenger airliner. 11 fuel tanks, 90 tons of aviation fuel. The tanker is designed to interact with tactical aviation: a telescopic refueling rod and a “hose-cone” system allow transferring fuel to any of the military aircraft of the NATO countries. The filling system capacity is 5678 l / min (boom) and 1590 l / min (hose-cone). The tanker is capable of simultaneously transferring fuel to three aircraft. In the upper part of the fuselage there is a filler neck for refueling the tanker itself.
240 air tankers (500 including the National Guard and Air Force Reserve) are where the source of the US Air Force's power lies.
"Elephant Parade". Tankers KC-135 at Mildenhall airbase (UK)
Fuck the Raptor fighters! Refueling systems open up absolutely fantastic prospects for tactical aviation: an armada of tankers allows you to quickly group forces and deliver a massive strike on any part of the planet. Patrolling over any region of the Earth or an "air bridge" for the emergency transfer of troops to another hemisphere … Refueling systems are installed on almost all American aircraft - combat fighters and bombers, early warning aircraft, transport vehicles, helicopters. Experiments are underway with drones.
Today, the Russian Air Force includes 19 Il-78 air tankers (based on the Il-76 military transport aircraft). Also, front-line bombers Su-24 (suspended refueling unit UPAZ-1A "Sakhalin") can be used as air tankers.
The pilots of the bomber aviation squadron of the airbase of the Western Military District (ZVO), after an 18-year hiatus, performed flights with refueling in the air
- Head of the Information Support Department of the Press Service of the Western Military District for the Baltic Fleet Vladimir Matveev, December 2012
Let's be objective: how many pilots of the Russian Air Force are capable of refueling in the air at night? In complete radio silence? After all, these are standard tricks of American pilots.
Russian media and official sources regularly publish sensational comparisons of the Raptor and the Russian PAK FA. It is simply amazing what scandalous notoriety the "fifth generation" fighters have gained - aircraft that have not made a single combat mission and have dubious value in the realities of modern conflicts. At the same time, air refueling systems - one of the pillars of the modern Air Force - have received very little attention.
Star cluster
Our next guest, while not a fighter cohort, demonstrates the real priorities of the US Air Force. This plane is never shown on TV, the programs "Discovery" and "Shock Force" are not filmed about it. Unlike the much-hyped Raptors, he always remains in the shadows. While the F-22 and PAK FA are posing at air shows, this machine calmly performs its responsible work: the demilitarized zone along the 38th parallel on the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East, the border regions of Iran, North Africa - these are its areas of responsibility.
A regular U. S. Air Force transport plane? No, this is the E-8 Joint STARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) - a long-range surveillance and targeting aircraft complex designed to recognize and classify ground targets at any time of the day in any weather conditions, as well as for the coordination of hostilities and two-way exchange of information with ground forces in real time. Reconnaissance and air command post rolled into one.
In the event of a real armed conflict, you need to "bring down" it first of all - otherwise this bastard will figure out and hand over everyone. JStars patrols at a distance of several tens of kilometers from the battlefield, scanning the terrain with AN / APY-3 side-view radar, thermal imagers and high-resolution cameras - dozens of operators on board JStars are continuously monitoring the enemy's movements, promptly warning their own troops about possible ambushes, directions of evacuation and about any changes in the situation. There is an assumption that it was "JStars" who calculated the motorcade of Colonel Gaddafi.
Detection, control of ground units, multichannel satellite communications, signal relay and control of drones - there are no analogues of this aircraft in the world.
Today, the US Air Force has a half dozen E-8 "G Stars". And it matters much more than the notorious Raptor fighters. Alas, no work is underway to create analogs of the American G Stars - everyone is busy discussing the fifth generation fighter.
Play set "Young scout"
Versatility is an essential quality of modern combat aviation.
But those who are preparing for aerial combat need not carry ballast with them in the form of an aiming system for work on ground targets (for example, the LANTIRN system weighs half a ton)!
On the other hand, LANTIRN is indispensable during an attack flight - the complex allows you to make supersonic throws at extremely low altitude, detect and identify pinpoint ground targets. At any time of the day, in difficult weather conditions.
How to solve a difficult dilemma?
The solution was the ingenious concept of quick release suspension kits. Aiming and navigation containers, reconnaissance equipment, conformal fuel tanks, electronic warfare modules, towed trap systems, mounts, locks and a wide range of suspended weapons for all occasions. All systems are mounted on standard external sling assemblies and do not require structural changes. *
My name is Quasimodo!
Ugly humps on the back of the F-16 - conformal fuel tanks that turn the aircraft into a strategic bomber
This approach provides the aircraft with exceptional versatility and helps to improve precisely the capabilities required for each specific mission. Removable modules can be combined in any order, suspended the same units on different types of aircraft (standardization and economy!), And if necessary, it is easy to replace a damaged or faulty unit with a new one (simplicity, ease of use). At the same time, after the installation of an aiming and navigation container, any F-16 acquires detection capabilities comparable to the superplanes F-22 and F-35.
As a result, we get a relatively simple platform plane and a detachable set of equipment. This concept has brilliantly proved itself in all wars of recent years. Suspended containers LITENING, LANTIRN and SNIPER XR are successfully used on all types of fighters, attack aircraft and strategic bombers of NATO countries.
Navigational AN / AAQ-13 and sighting AN / AAQ-14 containers of the LANTIRN system (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night).
Combines forward-looking radar and thermal imagers, laser rangefinder, optical target tracking sensors and missile line-of-sight correlator
For example, the already mentioned LITENING is used in the US Air Force to equip the F-15E, F-16, A-10, B-52 … If necessary, the container can be hung under the wing of any carrier-based aircraft "Harrier" or F / A-18. The allies are interested in the system - LITENING is compatible with the onboard electronics of Panavia Tornado, Eurofighter Typhoon, Grippen …
Fifth-generation fighters are doing the same, but in a much more complex and costly way. They propose to initially equip the aircraft with super-electronics by mounting blocks inside the fuselage. As a result, the price of the aircraft skyrockets, and half of the installed systems are usually used as ballast.
Surprisingly, such important systems remained outside the scope of violent disputes about the capabilities of the Raptor and the PAK FA. Instead of discussing the really significant things, from year to year, meaningless debates continue around the "fifth generation" of fighters, which, in fact, does not solve anything in modern warfare.
Aiming container of the SNIPER XR system under the fuselage of the B-1B Lancer strategic bomber
