Posted on 07/20/2010 6:40:30 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Boeing yesterday revealed a number of surprising development efforts in the strike fighter market, including an external weapons bay for the F/A-18E/F and the existence of an in-production product stamped "proprietary".
The briefing appeared staged to showcase Boeing's long-term commitment in the manned fighter market despite losing the Joint Strike Fighter contract nearly nine years ago to Lockheed Martin.
Boeing now anticipates that production of F-15s and F/A-18E/F will continue through the mid-2020s, although both lines are scheduled for shutdown in 2012 and 2015 in the absence of new orders.
After unveiling a package of radar cross-section improvements for the F-15 last year named Silent Eagle, Boeing displayed a package of new enhancements offered as options on new sales of the Super Hornet.
The most visible change is an externally mounted pod mounted on the Super Hornet's centreline hardpoint. The pod is able to carry either a mix of two Mk82-class bombs and two AIM-120 missiles, or four AIM-120 missiles.
The external pod would help to reduce the Super Hornet's radar cross-section by removing missiles and bombs from external hard points.
Unlike the Silent Eagle, which was focused on reducing the F-15E's radar cross-section and updating the electronic warfare system and avionics, the new Super Hornet features are intended to provide a broader spectrum of improvements, says Shelley Lavender, Boeing vice-president and general manager of global strike systems.
Boeing also plans to offer other upgrades for the Super Hornet, including conformal fuel tanks and an infrared search and tracking system.
Beyond the F-15 and F-18 product lines, Boeing sees a bright future in the strike fighter market. As the supplier for the Lockheed F-22's operational flight programme,
(Excerpt) Read more at flightglobal.com ...
Ping
So, this is exclusively for the foreign market then?
What we need is an F-14 Super Tomcat.
Yes its for Nation of Islam
The Silent Eagle is aimed at current F-15 users such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea, among others.
Its the 21 Century now, where are all the Star Fighters with laser cannons that can go outside the atmosphere and loop around the moon and back in 10 minutes?
They're foreseeing a big procurement gap and hope to fill it with proven, relatively inexpensive aircraft.
Give it a couple of decades.
The F-35 is progressing at an agressive pace. I am very impressed with the milestones it has made in the last several months. Canada just placed a 60 plus order for the F-35. Israel is on the verge of placing an order.
So not being up on the arms market, is this a competitive move against the F-35 platform, or are those customers not in the running to bid on the F-35? (honest question.)
Of course.
Bidding always involved
Boeing still makes money from parts and consulting for every F-15/18 still out there in various countries’ air forces. This is a move to keep as many of those planes still in service as possible, and to encourage further orders from those countries for whom the F-35 isn’t really an option.
Fair enough. Strategically, then I wonder if we would want a wide proliferation of the latest tech (F-35), or if having allies with updated F-15/F-18s is ‘good enough’, or if this really is just a competitive global market action for US defense vendors that the DoD remains neutral on.
There was a thread a few days ago concerning a nano particle coating the Israelis had developed that scatters or absorbs radar waves.
A Silent Eagle w/ internal bays and coated w/ that paint would be awesome.
The F-15SE is the cheaper alternative to the F-35. There are several variants to the F-35. There is the F-35A which is the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant intended for the US Air Force .The F-35B is the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the aircraft.The F-35C is for carrier landings which the United States Navy will be using
That’s kind of the point - the universal platform, i.e., the right solution for many needs. Guess it’s like a new model anything, if you want the best while it’s new and before others are familiar with it, you pay a premium. If you are content to have pretty darn good, you can get a deal when the competitor comes out with a new model that you can’t compete with.
I think that both planes are worth consideration.
ping
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