Posted on 01/24/2011 5:58:39 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Officials took a step forward in the F-15E Strike Eagle's continuous technological evolution as the Air Force's most versatile combat aircraft here Jan. 18.
Officials from the 46th Test Wing launched the fourth generation fighter for the first time with a new and improved radar system, the APG-82(V)1.
The APG-82 uses active electronically scanned array radar technology composed of numerous small solid-state transmit and receive modules. The standard radar, APG-70, is a mechanically scanned array housed in the nose of the aircraft. Although the current F-15E radar has undergone numerous updates and upgrades, it is still the same system the aircraft had on its maiden flight more than 24 years ago.
"We've been able to get more out of it, but at this point it's pretty much maxed out," said 1st Lt. Nathaniel Meier, a radar modernization project manager with the Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force.
The new radar lacks the motors and hydraulics of the old system and includes a new avionics and cooling system.
Aircraft radar continuously sends out and receives energy to identify objects or targets around it.
Due to its unique capabilities, the F-15E radar operates as air-to-air and air-to-ground radar, officials said.
(Excerpt) Read more at af.mil ...
Good deal.
Ping
This is the radar designed to pick up the Chengdu J-20.
This is the radar designed to pick up the Chengdu J-20.
The U.S. should upgrade the A-10... with stealth and avionics.. and maybe VTOL versions..
I am sorry. I will make a promise to evryone. When I post a F-15 story, I will post a F-15 picture. I always keep my promise.
Any guy who sees an A10 and doesn't have a, uh, visceral reaction, isn't a guy.
When an airframe gets the job done, come up with a better one or just build and enhance what works! They ain't done the former so they should do the latter.
LOL! I am just following you around today showing people what you are talking about!
And it is my honor to do so, but I can’t always be there... Looking forward to your next F-15 thread :)
That is a beautiful airplane. I noticed the “ET” designation on one many years ago at an airshow at Eglin. There were quite a few pilots at static displays who would converse with the public.
I told one that I knew that “EG” meant Eglin but what did “ET” mean. He said it was not extra terrestrial, but “Eglin Test”.
The a-10 is my favorite aircraft...Oh so deadly to tanks!
If kill were nimble and could fly it’d look like the A-10.
It would STILL be the most effective air-superiority fighter in the world. Their current, unchallenged record is ~110 to 0.
Most pilots are smart enough to not come out against them.
The idiots destroyed the tooling.
I guess we’ll just have to do it the Chinese / Russian way and copy our own design to make a brand new A-10.
When we were looking at 5,000 Soviet tanks rolling across West Germany, I agree.
Nowadays, 350 is enough.
Yeah, but I want one for myself.
I thought we only had about half that amount in service. I think a lot of them are assigned to NG Units. Would those get the upgrades as well?
They did that. It is called the F-35.
Far more capable, and more importantly, far more survivable than any A-10. A-10s are great, particular in anti-tank, but against a modern adversary (that doesn't consider camels a major mode of transportation and RPGs an accessory) they are simply not survivable. A cold war FReeper stated some time back that in the Fulda Gap they were not expected to survive (and some story about who was expected to last longer between A-10 and AH-64 Apache pilots).
If one 'upgrades' the A-10 with stealth and avionics, you end up with the F-35A and C. You add STOVL you get the B version. The F-35 still needs some good amount of work, but the A-10 couldn't be used against any country with a real ability to defend itself.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.