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Fifth-generation fighter

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USAF F-22 Raptor launching an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile
F-35 Lightning II, marked AA-1, lands on 23 October 2008 at Edwards Air Force Base.
File:Pak fa in flight.jpg
PAK FA during its first flight test on 29 January 2010.

Under the system of combat aircraft classification devised and used by US officials, Fifth generation jet fighters are the newest and most advanced fighter aircraft, designed to incorporate numerous technological advancements over the class similarly dubbed Fourth generation, including all aspect stealth which may not be compromised by the carriage of air-to-air weapons, Low Probability of Intercept Radar (LPIR), high performance air frames, advanced avionics features, and highly integrated computer systems capable of networking with other elements within the theatre of war, and designed to precipitate situational awareness. The only currently combat-ready fifth generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 2005.[1][2][3]

History

Previous generation stealth aircraft, such as the B-2 Spirit and F-117 Nighthawk, lacked LPI Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, and LPI radio networks, and were thus limited to attacking ground targets, because use of RADAR to engage other aircraft, would have revealed the aircraft's position.

Current status

Currently the only combat ready fifth generation jet fighter is the F-22 Raptor.[1][4] US fighter manufacturer Lockheed Martin uses "fifth generation fighter" to describe the F-22 and F-35 fighters, with the definition including "advanced stealth", "extreme performance", "information fusion" and "advanced sustainment".[1] Their definition does not include supercruise capability, which has typically been associated with the more advanced modern fighters, but the F-35 lacks.[5] Lockheed Martin attempted to trademark the term "5th generation fighters" in association with jet aircraft and structural parts thereof,[6] and has a trademark to a logo with the term.[7]

Critics and alternate definitions

This use of the term fifth generation fighter has been criticized by companies whose products do not conform to these particular specifications, such as Boeing and Eurofighter as well as by other commentators, such as Bill Sweetman:[8] "...it is misleading to portray the F-22 and F-35 as a linear evolution in fighter design. Rather, they are a closely related pair of outliers, relying on a higher level of stealth as a key element of survivability - as the Lockheed YF-12 and Mikoyan MIG-25, in the 1960s, relied on speed and altitude."[9] The United States Navy and Boeing have placed the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in a "next generation" fighter category along with the F-22 and F-35,[10] as the Super Hornet has a "fifth generation" AESA radar, modest RCS reductions and sensor fusion.[11][12] A senior USAF pilot has complained about fifth generation claims for the Super Hornet: "The whole point to fifth generation is the synergy of stealth, fusion and complete situational awareness. The point about fifth generation aircraft is that they can do their mission anywhere - even in sophisticated integrated air defense [IADS] environments. If you fly into heavy IADS with a great radar and sensor fusion, but no stealth, you will have complete situational awareness of the guy that kills you."[13] Michael “Ponch” Garcia of Raytheon has said that the addition of his company's AESA radars to the Super Hornet provides "90 percent of your fifth-generation capability at half the cost."[14]

Apparently in response to the use of the "fifth generation" term, Eurofighter has made a fifth generation checklist placing different weights on the various capabilities, and arguing that the application of the label to strike aircraft such as Lockheed-Martin's F-35 is ill advised, and even inconsistent with the aircraft's specifications. Meanwhile, Eurofighter go on to refer to Link 16 capability, an already well established system, as fulfilling a requirement for 'net-enabled operations' seemingly assigning reduced importance to maintaining the undetectability of such operations.[15] In the same article Eurofighter GmbH appear to acknowledge the remarkable performance of Lockheed Martin's F-22 aircraft, while demonstrating that labels as simple as "fifth generation" may easily be devised to serve the interests of the writer.

Developments

In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union outlined a need for a next-generation aircraft to replace 4th generation fighter aircraft: MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker in frontline service. Two projects were proposed to meet this need, the 4.5th generation fighter aircraft: Su-47 Berkut and the MiG-1.44 Flatpack (although later modernized MiG-35 to 4.5th generation fighter). In 2002, Sukhoi was chosen to lead the design for the new combat aircraft. The 5th generation fighter aircraft - Sukhoi PAK FA (T-50) will incorporate technology from both the Su-47 and the MiG 1.44 and when fully developed is intended to replace the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian inventory and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA project being developed with India.[16][17] A fifth generation jet fighter, it is designed to directly compete with the American F-22 Raptor and American/British F-35 Lightning II. The Sukhoi PAK FA performed its first flight January 29, 2010.[18][19] Russia is now constructing a new stealth lightweight multirole fighter - MiG-LMFS (aka Projekt 1.27, MiG-1.27) by Mikoyan aircraft manufacturer. This jet fighter is based on the canceled MiG 1.44.[20]

Senior PLAAF officials have confirmed the existence of Chinese fifth generation fighter programs, grouped under the program name J-XX by western sources, which will enter service between 2017-2019.[21][22] Nevertheless, the United States has predicted that it may possess as much as 20 times more "advanced stealth fighters" than the Chinese by 2020.[23]

India is also developing Medium Combat Aircraft,a Twin-engined 5th generation stealth multirole fighter apart from Sukhoi/HAL FGFA project being developed with Russia.The main purpose of this aircraft is to replace the aging SEPECAT Jaguar & Dassault Mirage 2000. Unofficial design work on the MCA has been started.[24]

In the Republic of China the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) is developing fifth generation high performance stealth aircraft currently referred to as the "Advanced Defense Fighter." The jet fighter is believed to be an advanced upgraded stealth version of the Fourth-generation jet fighter AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo, commonly known as the "Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF)."[citation needed]

Common design elements

In order to minimize their RCS, all fifth generation fighters use chines instead of standard leading edge extensions and lack canards, though the Sukhoi PAK FA T-50 has wing leading-edge devices that seem to function somewhat like canards. Those fifth generation fighters with supermaneuverability achieve it through thrust vectoring.

They all have internal weapon bays in order to avoid high RCS weapon pylons, but they all have external hardpoints on their wings for use on non-stealthy missions, such as the external fuel tanks the F-22 carries when deploying to a new theater.

All fifth generation fighters have a high percentage of composite materials, in order to reduce RCS and weight.

All three of the revealed fifth generation fighters leverage commercial off-the-shelf main processors to directly control all sensors to form a consolidated view of the battlespace with both onboard and networked sensors, while previous generation jet fighters used federated systems where each sensor or pod would present its own readings for the pilot to combine in his own mind a view of the battlespace.[25][26][27] This means that while the F-22A was physically delivered without synthetic aperture radar or situational awareness infra-red search and track it will gain these functions later through software upgrades.[28] However any flaw in these huge software systems can knock out supposedly unrelated aircraft systems and the complexity of a software defined aircraft can lead to a software crisis with additional costs and delays.[29][30]

Sukhoi calls their expert system for sensor fusion the artificial intelligence of the PAK-FA.[31]

Situational awareness dominance

Sensor fusion and automatic target tracking are projected to give the fifth generation jet fighter pilot a view of the battlespace superior to that seen by AWACS aircraft that may be forced back from the front lines by increasing threats. Therefore tactical control could be shifted forwards to the pilots in the fighters.[32]

However the more powerful sensors, such as AESA radar which is able to operate in multiple modes at the same time, may present too much information for the single pilot in the F-22, F-35 and T-50 to adequately use. The Sukhoi/HAL FGFA offers a return to the two-seat configuration common in fourth generation strike fighters.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c 5TH Generation Fighters, Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  2. ^ Russia trails U.S. in pursuit of a fifth-generation jet
  3. ^ A 21st-century Concept of Air and Military Operations by Robbin F. Laird
  4. ^ Yoon, Joe. "Aerospaceweb.org | Ask Us - Fighter Generations". Aerospaceweb.org, 27 June 2004. Retrieved: 03 Jan. 2009.
  5. ^ "JSF FAQ." "No, neither the F135 or F136 engines were designed to supercruise." Pentagon
  6. ^ [1] United States Patent and Trademark Office, trademark serial number 78885922
  7. ^ [2] United States Patent and Trademark Office, trademark serial number 78896843
  8. ^ Eurofighter, 5th Generation; the Debate Heats up
  9. ^ [3] Editorial Insight by Bill Sweetman, Defense Technology International, December 2009.
  10. ^ F/A-18 as good as 5th gen: US Navy
  11. ^ Ferguson, Gregor 'Bridging fighter' packs quite a punch The Australian, 23 October 2010
  12. ^ F/A18-E/F Super Hornet .... Leading Naval Aviation into the 21st Century US Navy, 17 August 2009
  13. ^ Fulghum, David A. Super Hornet Radar Not Ready For Combat
  14. ^ Erwin, Sandra. "Joint Strike Fighter Delayed? Not a Big Deal for the U.S. Navy." National Defense Industrial Association, 24 November 2010.
  15. ^ Eurofighter World February 2010, page 8
  16. ^ Unnithan, Sandeep (September 29, 2008). "India, Russia to have different versions of same fighter plane". India Today.
  17. ^ Cohen, Ariel (January 16, 2009). "Russia bets on new Sukhoi fighter to match F-35". United Press International (UPI).
  18. ^ "Российский истребитель пятого поколения поднялся в воздух". Lenta.ru. Retrieved 2010-01-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Russia to test fifth-generation fighter in 2009". (December 6, 2007). RIA Novosti.
  20. ^ Light Multi-Function Frontal Aircraft (LMFS) GlobalSecurity.org
  21. ^ http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://news.ifeng.com/mil/2/200911/1109_340_1426743.shtml&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.co.uk
  22. ^ http://space.tv.cctv.com/video/VIDE1257691556223886
  23. ^ Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Abilene, KS, Saturday, May 08, 2010
  24. ^ India Develops Requirements For AMCA
  25. ^ F-35 avionics: an interview with the Joint Strike Fighter's director of mission systems and software
  26. ^ F-35 Electronic Warfare Suite: More Than Self-Protection
  27. ^ David C. Aronstein, Michael J. Hirschberg, Albert C. Piccirillo Advanced tactical fighter to F-22 raptor: origins of the 21st century air dominance fighter page 171, section: Avionics
  28. ^ F-35 Joint Strike Fighter leverages COTS for avionics systems
  29. ^ Johnson, Maj. Dani. "Lockheed's F-22 Raptor Gets Zapped by International Date Line: Raptors arrive at Kadena." Air Force, 19 February 2007. Retrieved: 9 May 2010.
  30. ^ Drew, Christopher. "Additional Costs Expected for Lockheed’s F-35 Fighter." The New York Times, 1 November 2010
  31. ^ Russia flexes military power with 'futuristic' fighter jet
  32. ^ "Shaping a New Con-ops: The Impact of the F-22 and F-35." 'SLDinfo.com', 5 November 2010
  33. ^ Sweetman, Bill. "Rivals Target JSF." Aviation Week 30 November 2010.
  • Spick, Mike. Brassey's Modern Fighters: The Ultimate Guide to In-Flight Tactics, Technology, Weapons, and Equipment. Potomac Books Inc, 2002. ISBN 157488462X.
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