Abilities to Use with Stealth Technology

If you've been following articles on stealth technology, you'll find this interesting as well. The F-22, the first air superiority / domination targeted fighter jet of the US Air Force, which is the source of this current, has a very low radar cross section. However, the high maneuverability expected from it as a fighter jet prevents it from having stealth at all wavelengths. For this reason, it is known that it can be detected especially by low frequency band radars.

The stealth technology B-2 bomber has superior invisibility compared to the F-22. Although it has quite large physical dimensions compared to the F-22, it gives a much lower image in all frequency bands. In other words, it passes over you and you may not even be aware of its existence unless it hits you.

There is a very simple reason for this known situation. Design philosophy. Unless you need to perform sharp maneuvers like a fighter jet, if you don't need to be as fast, if you don't need to handle stress loads as high as he is, you can focus on further improving his stealth ability. This is actually the way to carry a high volume, heavy and smart ammunition into the depths of the enemy by preventing them from noticing you. But if you pay attention, no rival country except China has an aircraft project like the B-2 / B-21. We can already say that the project initiated by Russia in this sense will be delayed. Taking into account this delay, Russia has decided to reopen the production lines of the old generation T-160 BlackJack strategic bombers.

Today, all countries with developed technological infrastructure are working on stealth or at least low observable (low visibility) warplanes. We even observe that these aircraft comply with the popular swing / multi / omni role conceptual design requirements. In other words, the development of multi-purpose warplanes that can be used air-to-air or air-to-ground is in question. Of course, it is important for every country to make warplanes more difficult to detect and track. Being able to penetrate deep into enemy airspace without being noticed, at least until it hits its assigned target, is also an extremely useful skill. But should only 5th generation fighter jets be used as the most accurate and ideal solution? As soon as we start asking this question, we see that our game plan also has to change. Let's try to reach an alternative solution path by adding some other factors / trends to this new reality.

One of the most fashionable factors of today's military aviation is the concept of "misilse truck". As you know, 5th generation jets carry the war load in their internal stations in order to maintain their stealth characteristics. This situation therefore causes them to carry much less ammunition compared to older generation aircraft and are limited by using less fuel. You can make up for this shortcoming with network-enabled capabilities. The best way to do this is to send a high-capacity and non-stealth aircraft loaded with full-capacity ammunition. In this way, the ammunition to be carried by the said "missile truck" can be guided by your stealth aircraft, so that your fifth generation aircraft can be used in enemy depths without harming your stealth ability. In addition, ammunition carried in their internal stations can act as a kind of critical backup.

There are also complementary benefits to this type of practice. For example, in a package arm consisting entirely of stealth aircraft, some aircraft need to activate their radar or activate different types of active sensors. Therefore, all aircraft, which are necessarily in the package arm, may be adversely affected by this situation, even if it is stealth. However, you can give this task to your planes that do not already have stealth feature. Thus, all 5th generation warplanes of your pack arm can perform operations with lower risk by taking advantage of both the network-centered operation and the reflection of your sensors on the target. In addition, the enemy fighter jets that will head towards your mixed arm in the air will target these truck planes, which they see clearly for the first time. This may offer you the opportunity to ambush them by trying different tactics, and to develop new methods of destruction with the cooperation of stealth and non-stealth aircraft.

For this purpose, different solutions have been studied for a long time within the US Air Force. From bombers such as the B-1B to F-series warplanes, from turboprop engine airplanes to different or new platforms with special missions, trials continue to be carried out in this context. As a matter of fact, this issue lies as the main motivation behind the purchase of the F-15EX aircraft, which is one of the most up-to-date armament programs for the USA. In addition, the first important sign of this was given with Japan's F-15J modernization program. Because this country, which produced a large number of F-35s in its own country under license, was delaying this modernization, which it needed for a long time, due to the concern of maturation of its joint operations infrastructure. The second important sign came with Canada's F-35 selection. Because this was the technical issue that kept this country away from the purchase of the aircraft for a long time, even though it was also a part of the program. Of course, there were other political reasons as well.

Another method stands out as designing various unmanned special mission aircraft and carrying out operations with them. Again, the popular "manned - unmanned team" approach, that is, manned and unmanned systems team, is focused in line with this goal. Frankly, as soon as you include modern technologies and unmanned systems, the limit of what you can do expands considerably. The issue will no longer be limited to aircraft used as a missile truck. It is about to turn into an alternative system that will affect all other areas of air operations. We observe the leadership of the efforts in this regard under the leadership of the US Navy.

Unmanned aircraft, which focuses on air refueling, stands out as the first tangible development in the carrier task group. (MQ-25 Stingray. It is meaningful to choose a deadly fish with a sting in its tail.) Again, which mainly provides platforms to navy aviation, Boeing is managing the Loyal Wingman study for F-18 E/F/G user Australia. In fact, the navy is opening the door to a new era by sharing cost and risk factors with countries like Australia, which it accepts as its strategic partners. Likewise, I am of the opinion that we will see the experiences to be gained from here, especially the Navy NGAD, in a systematized manner. Likewise, the experience and capabilities accumulated with the (carrier-capable) X-47 aircraft are on a corner for those who are interested. In short, I consider that the US Air Force and Naval Aviation are advancing towards the same goal with different schools and methods. The Strategic Air Force Command, on the other hand, is struggling to acquire capabilities that will fulfill its functions somewhere in between.

Let's get to the bottom of the development work together and ask the question: What is the main function of a fighter jet? In its simplest form, our answer is to carry a sufficiently large/number of duty load and hit enemy targets during the war. It could be an air missile or a bomb. Targets can be very variable, deployed in very different places, namely in land, air, sea, space and even cyberspace. In the near future, we will see cruise missiles, which gain intelligent operational capability like a warplane, and are supported by swarm capabilities, on the operational fields. We'll also want combatant or special-duty unmanned swarms. We will have munitions families to dominate cyberspace. I'm assuming that these will not only be in the bomb structure like EMP. Robots will be designed to cut the communication and intelligence of the enemy. We will feel compelled to scale our own most important combat intelligence (ability), feeding it with enough energy and placing it behind enemy lines. For this we will need both volume and privacy. A skill that is too important and critical to a conventional fighter jet. The American equivalent of all this is the B-21 Raider program, which has great secrecy, especially in the operational concept (ConOps) part.

• Stealth (to have stealth technology from all directions.)

• Carrier (with the potential to carry exponential loads that are not normally expected)

• Bombardment (in the form of a classic bomber that will highlight to lull/mislead opponents)

We are faced with a platform that combines all three features within itself. In addition, three different main elements will stand out on the battlefield of the future.

• A fighter aircraft focused on air dominance but also with multi-role capabilities. (NGAD)

• Network-centric drones with limited artificial intelligence.

• Non-stealth and purpose-built vintage jets, or newly produced modernized versions (brand-new fighter jet to replace F-16 with new digital engineering techniques, popular discussion with Kingsnake.)

In the four-legged future air warfare strategy that the American Air Force hopes to complete, there will be two separate classifications of mission payloads, one unique to each leg, the other scalable and available for joint use. Of course, it is highly likely that we will also see new digital engineering techniques in the creation of new rapid and special-purpose ammunition types/derivatives inherent in the battlefield. In short, behind this air concept, there will be an operations center equipped with capabilities that allow rapid and agile assessment and support. (Agile Assessment and Support Office that can cooperate with the wide industrial connections.)

So far, we have tried to understand the vision and thoughts of the USA on the next generation of air warfare. While doing this, we did not consider the different approach of the navy aviation, which has limited space and logistics, but the more comfortably designed concept of the standard air force. I would like to end my article with the following question: Assuming that we will have to fight with the USA or a similar dominant air power, what are our exponential and disruptive strategies that we can use to disrupt this plan and organization?