The Pentagon is creating an unmanned fighter armed with air-to-air missiles»
The US and NATO air forces have dominated the skies since the end of the cold War, but a new generation of Russian and Chinese fighter jets and air-to-air guided missiles is rapidly changing the rules of the game. To overcome the gap that has appeared in the United States, the LongShot program is being developed, which can completely change the course of air battles.
Russian-Chinese dominance
Russia and China are working on a new series of very long-range air-to-air missiles that are designed to hit enemy aircraft before they can use their own weapons against them.
Such missiles, for example, include the Russian RVV-DB R-37M (NATO code name-Axehead), the tactical and technical characteristics of which were previously described in detail "Газета.Ru".
The starting weight of the product is not more than 510 kg, the weight of the warhead is about 60 kg. Type of warhead - high-explosive fragmentation. Fuze - radar active non-contact and duplicate contact fuze. The speed of the R-37M reaches Mach 6. The flight speed of the affected targets is 2500 km / h. The firing range is 200 km (according to other sources-300 km).
In China, the PL-15 missile is being developed. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that this product uses a ramjet engine, so that the PL-15 can accelerate to a speed of 4-5 Mach. According to various estimates, the range of the PL-15 can range from 250 to 400 km.
According to Popular Mechanics,
The AIM-120 AMRAAM radar-guided missile, which is the main air-to-air missile used by the United States and its allies, has an effective range of about 160 km. But the Russian R-37M missile with a firing range of up to 300 km and the Chinese PL-15 with an even longer range significantly surpass the American missile in this indicator.
Most modern rockets with solid-fuel engines tend to move by inertia at the far edge of the target zone, since the rocket fuel has already been used up. At the same time (in addition to providing high marching speed), the ramjet engine (RAMJET) on the Chinese PL-15 ensures that the missile does not start to slow down significantly at the maximum range of its combat use.
This means that Russian or Chinese fighters have the ability to launch aircraft guided missiles first at a Western fighter with low radar visibility.
This also means that both countries can open fire at extreme distances on refueling aircraft, long-range radar detection and control aircraft (AWACS and U) and other support aircraft, forcing them to operate even further from the sphere of air combat and making them less useful.
Changing the balance
The new U.S. Air Force F-15EX fighter, despite being armed with more than a dozen AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, can be hit in aerial combat by a Chinese Chengdu J-20 fighter armed with PL-15 missiles.
The Office of Advanced Research Projects of the US Department of Defense (DARPA) is working on it. The essence of the project boils down to the development of an air-based unmanned aerial vehicle, which will be equipped with air-to-air missiles. This is written by Popular Mechanics.
It is planned that the fighters will be equipped with armed UAVs, which will allow the aircraft to hit the aircraft of a likely enemy, located far beyond the defeat zones of existing aircraft guided missiles. The prospects for obtaining such an unmanned aerial vehicle open up a whole world of possibilities, including launching UAVs from combat aircraft, ships, and even from land.
DARPA has awarded contracts to General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman for the first phase of the Project LongShot program. The LongShot unmanned aerial vehicle "will increase the survivability of manned platforms, allowing them to be at standoff distances away from enemy threats, while the LongShot air-based UAV effectively reduces the gap for more effective missile launches," DARPA said in a press release.
In this case, the F-15EX can launch its LongShots, which then approach the launch distance to the enemy. The carrier of the F-15EX UAV remains behind and controls the LongShots, while at the same time taking the necessary actions to evade the approaching enemy missiles.
In this case, the Chinese J-20 fighter will have to fight not with one F-15EX, but with two LongShot drones, each of which will be as dangerous as a real manned fighter. The probability of survival of the F-15EX increases significantly, and the possibility of a successful exit from the battle for the J-20 is significantly reduced.
Potential carriers
Currently, only fighters are considered as carriers of LongShot UAVs. The fact that the United States is returning to service the fourth-generation fighters of the F-15EX type, which can potentially be used as carriers of the LongShot UAV, previously wrote "Газета.Ru".
But in the future, other platforms can be used for this purpose, writes PM. In terms of mass and overall characteristics, the LongShot UAV is relatively small and can be easily placed in the bomb bay of a B-2 bomber or a B-21 Raider strategic bomber currently under development.
This UAV (or its further development) in the future can be launched from land or even from Navy ships at sea. The US Air Force with LongShot UAVs can appear in the most unexpected places, thereby disrupting the enemy's plans.
LongShot UAV is still far from the first flight, but DARPA has not yet called the expected date of lifting the device into the air. There is nothing revolutionary about this technology. In essence, the LongShot is a cruise missile armed with air-to-air missiles.
Once DARPA successfully demonstrates this concept in metal, the Agency will transfer it to one of the branches of the US armed forces, for example, the Air Force, for final development and deployment. And then the conduct of military operations by America's opponents will become much more difficult, concludes Popular Mechanics.
Mikhail Khodarenok
