People forget that the AN/APG-81 was first flown on an F-35 in 2005. That makes the radar nearly 20 years old. Mind blowing I know. Basically the tech available to them then vs now is like Blackberry vs iPhone 14. We’re going to see a lot of computational improvement.
The 2005 APG-81 is better than any other fighter Radar in operational service across the world in 2023. Also, the APG-81 never flew on an F-35 in 2005, because the first flight of the F-35A was in Dec 2006.
@@jacobbaumgardner3406 JSF avionics testbeds included multiple airliner-type aircraft platforms in the US and UK. The major 737-300 CATB testbed is an amazing airborne laboratory for JSF avionics and sensors development. Do a search on that. There are some very cool PDFs on it with detailed diagrams of how they modified the 737-300 with the nose, DAS, MADL, EW sensors, AESA, a cockpit inside the passenger galley, and 20 test stations for engineers and techs.
Nice thing about the XA-100 engine is that it will increase range/loiter, while also bumping the thrust to a very comfortable output, even with the weight-gain which the plane suffered over it's development cycle.
@@Karl-Benny It goes up to mach 1.8. Well, officially 1.6, but... Can go mach 1.2 for up to 20 minutes. Anyway, it's ideal cruising speed is mach 0.95, which is not supercruise. Supercruise was axed from the requirements pretty early. It's a tradeoffs thing. What you get for it is a higher bypass engine, with more thrust, cooler airframe, with cooler exhaust, & greater fuel economy. It could've been made to supercruise, but other tradeoffs became more desirable during development. I don't know if the XA-100 engine would allow it to supercruise or not. Or raise it's top speed. The aerodynamics were tailored around a slower airspeed. Only someone with an expensive wind tunnel could venture a guess. The XA-100 would give it greater than 1:1 thrust to weight ratio with full fuel tanks though. And 20% greater range (and it already has exceptional range).
@@Karl-Benny The PW F135 will push an F35 at more than MACH 1.6 (published), and on top of that the engine motioned is the 3 Stream ADVENT engine not yet in service... so you are just wrong all over the place.
@@kathrynck Those DSI intakes are the biggest limiting factor of the F-35s speed as it already has more than enough power to go Mach 2 of it had variable intakes.
In the case of the F-35, I look forward to the Adaptive Cycle Engines the most. Having the best of both high bypass and low bypass is bonkers to me, personally.
@@fawakamaha Umm, no. Look up what an adaptive cycle engine is to give you an idea of what it is. Hopefully a web search is better at explaining than me.
Many if not all of these upgrades, like the adaptive cycle engines, will also be translated into the B-21 Raider, which makes sense for a large order of non-theater based active assets.
Given that the Block 4 F-35s will have a new radar (AN/APG-85), new engine (XA-100 and/or XA-101), and various systems/sensor upgrades they should have new designations - F-35D, F-35E and F-35F.
@@morgitory Whether or not that's the case yeah variant has a different suffix because they are different also making the new versions of F-35 with new engines and avionics justifies a new suffix for each of the variants.
@@nicholasmaude6906 Block 4 nomenclature would be something like: F35A-4 for conventional takeoff F-35 Block 4 upgrade, or F35C-4 for CATOBAR F-35 Block 4
@@elijah_9392 WDYM? Japan didn't avoid the F-35, in fact they can't seem to get enough of it But the sidekick modification almost certainly will be greatly appreciated by the Japanese.
@@totalnerd5674 Initially, they wanted the F22. When denied, they looked at the F35, bought a few, and then decided to start a domestic program. But you are correct, now they are the biggest purchaser.
They recently completed the Tech Refresh 3 testing on an F35 and many older builds will be able to be upgraded to Block 4 with the new processing power. Which is awesome because it won't be just new builds with the An/APG-85 hopefully.
@@coreysuh6502 I read about the development of F15. The blathering how the plane is worthless....a few years later, it was completely another story. But, we should know, that there is an army of Ru and Chink trolls, trying to sway the ignorants to repeat the lies and eventually hinder the progress. One thing to remember: NO country has been able do make an ancient SR71 peer plane. They blather a LOT, but when it's time to show real metal: deafening silence.
Already done with the F135 EPE scheduled overhaul for existing motors when they go through depot-level. Thrust will be increased to 47,300lbs, with improved specific fuel consumption for increased range. That’s done without a variable cycle engine and no modifications required for the 3 different F-35 airframes.
The F-15EX's AESA is ~30% bigger than the APG-85. It's by far the biggest flying AESA on a fighter. Check it out! The -85 is epic though, without doubt. It is so good to see such big, frequent, iterative jumps in the capability of our tech.
The F-15EX's APG-82 isn't a GaN radar, though, so while it has a larger aperture, it isn't necessarily more powerful. The F-35 can also get closer to targets, which further enhances its situational awareness.
Son of a B. It hit me when I was watching this video why they're using the reflective coating. If you have one of those infrared thermometers that have got really popular over the past couple of years, take it and point it at a really reflective surface ( like a shiny piece of stainless ). It can't get a correct reading. I would bet just about anything that shiny coating they're putting on the planes has something to do with that.
Ya, it's definitely got something to do with irst, and if you can make a mirrored surface that's also radar absorbent, why not? It's not like these planes are worried about wvr combat at this point.
ECCM can be in the form of Range gate pull off or Velocity pull off besides burning through. Burn through has serious disadvantages, one being it let’s every surface to air battery for dozens or hundreds of miles know where you are. S2A batteries or even ships are all linked together just like the aircraft attacking them are. We won’t truly know how well any of this works until we are at war.
The high bypass engine is slick, no intense heat signature either. The bypass air probably has a cooling effect on the combustion exhaust. I wonder if the radar has enough power to "Zorch" at a missile approaching in the front quarter, I know with microwave field intensities high enough you can cook a circuit board with some nice arcs and sparks. Can the radar have a similar effect? Nice anti-drone defence method considering they are usually low cost and unshielded.
It definitely could have that effect, it's mostly a matter of output power. That's how jamming works, it only makes sense to me that if we could boost the emission power far enough, we could cook the missile off. The only issue I can see is that AESA radars aren't really designed to be a force projector in the same way lasers are, mostly due to the fact that the AESA emitters are omnidirectional instead of focused like a laser is. Maybe a form of AESA laser projectors could do something, but then we'd be right back in the Cold War of radars again (i.e. slewing the radar around with a mechanical mount), just with lasers instead of pulse-doppler radar.
I’d bet my left nutsickle that the chrome coatings are new ceramic RAM that is much more durable for heat/supersonic flight. The F-35 struggles with this currently.
I think it has more to do with confusing irst. AFAIK the issues with f35 sustained high speed flight has to do with the afterburner melting the ram coating near the exhaust nozzles, and not the speed itself. Ie, there's no reason to make the whole plane reflective for speed related friction, only the leading edges and areas near exhaust.
New radars, new engines, she ain't even going to be the same plane that rolled of the assembly line in the early models. When I took the photo of my avatar photo I said "The new kid on the block is a seggzy beast!!" and it's only getting better!!! Although I gotta ask, when it the pilot neural intergrator coming on line? 😄
All I needed to hear was that it's GaN. I knew they were working on this, but I assumed that the NGAD would be the first US fighter to field a GaN radar. I just assumed that there were no plans to integrate it on the F-35. This should make the force much more formidable.
Thanks for the updates on the F35 program. It seems that the F22 has been set aside while attention is being given to it's younger brother. If the ATF program has been replaced by the JSF one, it saddens me that such an outstanding fighter would phase out like that.
It makes a lot of sense though, there are a lot of f35s, and they were designed to allow plug and play upgrades. This makes upgrading them much more economical. They still haven't figured out a way to make helmet mounted cueing feasible on the f22, something most 4.5 gen fighter's have. It's not for lack of trying either. The f22 was designed in the early 90s, with early 90s computer tech, it's hard to make it interface with 2020s tech.
The F-22 is the McLaren F1 of fighters. Way too expensive to be anyone's daily drivers, but not competitive with the hypercars (Gen 6) that's going to be coming out really soon.
Could you please create a Vid about The Gun Pods on The F-35's B and C and how it affects its stealth capabilities, how big of a deal does it affect the RCS, and are the Gun Pods themselves stealthy!?👍
@@kqckeforyou4433 Power generation is an issue IF 4th gen aircraft don't get generation upgrades from their 40+ yr old designs and if they don't discard their hydraulic systems (which draw significant kinetic power from the engines; reducing what an electrical generator can provide). Seems that much less money could be spent AND also add this unit to 4th gen. Size of nosecone is harder to fix, but not impossible.
@@DBravo29er yeah you could also just adapt the size to the cone 😅 but that we're the things that came to my mind if we take the new Radar APG-85. But the biggest reason i think is there is no "need" as i understand those 5gen jets will be the one searching for enemy's were the 4/4.5 gen are the Weapon carrier. But atleast the F-18 Super hornet should get then but hey who knows?
@@kqckeforyou4433 Good Point and that def has been done. Yeah the Super Hornet AND I still think a 15 Silent Eagle could be viable. Full fly by wire with hotrod engines and 1/32 the RCS. Those two could provide a lot of support to 5th gen for not a ton of money IMHO. On a related note, it's good to see these new engines getting tested for B-21 and NGAD. They will be well-sorted by the time NGAD launches.
@@DBravo29er yeah but F-18 SH is a little bit special as F-35c needs time to really get in service and the block 3 upgrade is medicore at beast but with this upgrade and maybe adaptive cycle engine ^^ it becomes a beast other the sea
Not it out of the sky? Or simply compromise one or more systems, systems with effective redundancies, that may or may not diminish it's overall capabilities. Obviously intricate interconnected systems could potentially cause a snowball effect, despite systems in place to prevent just such a case, assuming those functions fail as well. Any system could be vulnerable to catastrophe from a seemingly minor cause. I'm absolutely not even close to a knowledgeable opinion on the matter, but if I had to guess, I'd think that the massiv6e amount of "bandwidth" between both internal and external systems poses a a more likely threat. Engineers have always championed the idea that if all other consideration is secondary or equal, you should never design something using 10 parts when 9 will do. The irony is that some of the best engineers on earth designed one of the most intricate engineering projects ever.
The upgraded radar is aspirational meaning it’s an idea on paper that has not been upgraded to a single F-35. Successful upgrade of the F-35 radar is contingent on successful installation of the new software which is still pending and facing delays. Lastly the cost is prohibited and will face funding challenges from Congress looking to scale back defense spending. Meaning, not all F-35 will receive the new radar.
ASSUME that this radar system has highly classified capabilities. It may do things that aren't even normally associated with radars. After all, the unit is a highly capable pairing of high bandwidth, high power digital transmitters and receivers that operate over a very wide range of frequencies. What can you do with that sort of broadband, high power, digitally controlled RF system? Pretty much anything you can THINK of, if someone can code it in software.
@@qwertyqwerty-zi6dr Looks like Vietnamese. The French imposed Latin alphabets on an East Asian tonal language hence you need all the ugly accent marks
The fact that no radar update is being pushed out to the F-22 (APG-77) tells you something about that program, too. These advanced AESA radars are useful for active electronic warfare employment, too.
That we know of. Obviously the F-35's are still being actively developed and produced, the F-22 on the other hand is a different story. It would be obvious that they're upgrading the 35, so why not admit it. However, any updates to the 22 would likely be done in extreme secrecy. Even if there's no mechanical, physical updates or upgrades, there still can be software updates to better utilize what's already there (see various F-16 blocks for evidence of this)
@@evangalinsky2499 The money has to come from somewhere and F-22 isn't a black program. There have been reductions in active F-22 air frames in the past couple of years. I'm thinking they'll coast on what they have pending the deployment of NGAD, which is why their giving a newer aircraft, with a newer radar, an even newer radar upgrade.
That makes no sense. Being America Would not fit export F-35s with it. Sensible would have been taken them as early as possible and get flight hours with it. Then retrofit update them as new updates are released. But we already know Canadians are the brightest
Thanks for commenting - the F-16 is planned to be operational into to 2070s and many are on order so it is definitely safe. In case you missed it check out this video on the Block 70 F-16: ruclips.net/video/htTamhPFuTc/видео.html
The engines are not necessary for electric power. There is more than enough engine power , it comes from having a bigger generator. Also the future laser will require more electric power, but this doesnt mean you need a bigger engine. The new engines give more thrust, less heat, and better range.
I know the allies or customers of the U.S. aren't getting the same F-35 that the U.S. will be receiving. I believe Great Britian might be an exception to this rule. Anyone have any ideas what technologies/aspects are most likely different in the different versions? I would think this radar, or certain aspects of it, are one such difference...
I can only imagine what these radars can do, I have a 20yr old Furuno on my boat and can pick up no wake markers at 1/2 mile when water isn't rough. And it was a cheaper radar at the time...lol
What is the latest on the decision about the engine? Will it be an upgraded F135 for the Block 4 version or a future new XA100 or XA101? Will it be decided in 2023?
I think P&W has an upgrade to the F-135 engine that'll be used for block 4 in the meantime until the fully adaptive cycle engines are ready. It adds some adaptive cycle tech to the F-135..I think it's called the EEP program?
The name changed of the update in 2022 from the Enhanced Engine Package (EEP) to Engine Core Upgrade (ECU) for the F135 engine. As far as the new adaptive engine, the USAF seems to be the only service pushing for this since the USN & USMC haven't committed let alone any of the partner allies? It would break the USAF budget if they had to bear the cost of development themselves! Have to wonder if this new engine will be saved for the future 6th generation fighter???
exactly, so people, the f-35 is NOT a pure dogfighter, so stop batching the f-35 that "oh it cant turn" or "its too slow" or "it cant hold alot of missiles" the f35 is a muitlrole. its more like a flying computer and stealth.
It might need the newest engines to power & cool it, who knows. Tell me which nation wouldn't want to retrofit their earlier blocks, given the huge jump in engine & radar performance.
What can that radar do to drone command systems? I have searched, and found little. There are hints that the radar is powerful enough to fry electronics. It might be that there is no drone revolution, against the USA.
GaN was not pioneered by SAAB. In fact, SAAB has yet to put an operational GaN radar on a fighter jet. The US has done so already. I mean I get that you SAAB-fanboys like to swallow SAABs marketing hook line and sinker but can you at least keep yourselves to SAAB:s own videos instead of vomiting your garbage everywhere? You are only embarrassing yourselves.
This video is mixing up lots of concepts. Think of GaN devices as more power dense and thermally capable devices compared to GaAs for example, but regarding frequency, there shouldn't be an important change at the band that this radar works. Airborne radars like this one have an issue which is that they have to be rather small. Thus, to be able to pack enough gain, they have to stick to higher frequencies, mostly the X band. Going higher in frequency is only going to decrease their performance objectively due to the increased free space and other attenuation losses that come with it. Another issue is the antennas, you might have a great system capable of generating an extremely wide range of frequencies, but as long as your antenna doesn't resonate, you can't radiate them. Airborne radars such as this one normally stick to a single band. Regarding the maximum range and resolution, as long as you can radiate more power you should get more range, but other factors such emitted pulse characteristics will also cap you on the range and allow for different resolutions. Moderns radars have stored a wide library of different pulses with different characteristics which they cycle through. All in all, expect more output power given by the GaN processes, better PRI and pulse compression characteristics, increased EW capabilities and maybe even direct conversion given by more modern ADCs, DACs and FPGAs. But not much change on the array or the antennas themselves, sticking a similar operating frequency.
I was thinking it was a coating that can be charged with electricity, which then alters the air resistance by modifying the air molecules as they come into contact. I think that tech is called "plasma actuator." I believe the Navy has a patent for it.
The F15EX radar is 30% bigger and higher powered. And the F15EX flies at Mach 2.5 at 50,000 feet. This makes the F35 radar obsolete as a sensor. Every additional F35 produced means 1 less F15EX produced. What a disaster
If flying in escort with very visible F-15 EX the F-35 can remain invisible. No need to turn on radar the EX radar is most powerful on any Fighter Aircraft.
It will for sure provide a chance for better data. But with out smart SW its no game changer at all. Its an enabler and it can become an important one. But it need to be paired with the right functions and componants to be any thing more.
PLEASE fix your mic clipping. Sounds like it's actually the mic it's self (most people probably won't even hear it but I do and it's a big reason I don't watch this channel as much as I used to)
I was wondering about that myself. And how can someone with a RUclips channel that seems to be interested in aircraft not know how to pronounce "radar". It's "RAY-dar" (where the second syllable rhymes with car) and not raider like the NFL team that recently moved to Vegas.
Odd why the Australian gov internal report says F35 program is a failure, gov should be asking for a refund as it does not meet half of what it claims.
That's the kind of stuff needed to kick the Ruzky in its ass! It will be very nice to see a confrontation with a "fifth generation" Ruzky aircraft like Su57...how long will it survive before being dashed into flying debris?
Either they already know, or we want them to have to spend $ to catch up. We have over 180 F-22’s, the Russians have produced something like 10 or less Su-57’s. We have hundreds of F-35’s, the Chinese copycat “stealth” fighter still struggles to do something as simple as a smooth barrel roll, and isn’t stealthy. I agree with you, let’s not tell them anything, but it’s not the end of the world that they know. When they finally copy our latest technology, it won’t be the latest technology anymore…
GaN or ghalium nitride based radar isn't anything new or groundbraking. Even the Turks are building home grown GaN based radars for the F-16 upgrade... 90% of the high end capabilities that the APG-85 brings are classified and will probably remain so. Also the F-35 won't be getting the adaptive cycle engine which is slated to be introduced on the 6th gen fighters like the here mentioned USAF's NGAD and the Navy's FA/XX.
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For the sake of your sense of fun and sanity I'd suggest avoiding this game.
@@Orphican I won't play don't worry... I'm more into futuristic stuff not past stuff😆
Sorry only if they make a Sci-Fi version 😁
@@Orphican I agree fully.
People forget that the AN/APG-81 was first flown on an F-35 in 2005. That makes the radar nearly 20 years old. Mind blowing I know. Basically the tech available to them then vs now is like Blackberry vs iPhone 14. We’re going to see a lot of computational improvement.
Great comparison on the mobile phone advances - it really puts the time gap in perspective! Thanks for commenting.
The 2005 APG-81 is better than any other fighter Radar in operational service across the world in 2023. Also, the APG-81 never flew on an F-35 in 2005, because the first flight of the F-35A was in Dec 2006.
@@LRRPFco52 thank you for catching that. It was a typo. It is true that the radar was first flown in 2005, just not on an F-35.
@@jacobbaumgardner3406 JSF avionics testbeds included multiple airliner-type aircraft platforms in the US and UK.
The major 737-300 CATB testbed is an amazing airborne laboratory for JSF avionics and sensors development.
Do a search on that. There are some very cool PDFs on it with detailed diagrams of how they modified the 737-300 with the nose, DAS, MADL, EW sensors, AESA, a cockpit inside the passenger galley, and 20 test stations for engineers and techs.
Meanwhile the Su-57 is still flying with an AESA worse than those in Rafale and Eurofighter lol
Nice thing about the XA-100 engine is that it will increase range/loiter, while also bumping the thrust to a very comfortable output, even with the weight-gain which the plane suffered over it's development cycle.
It can`t fly any faster than Mach 1.3
@@Karl-Benny It goes up to mach 1.8. Well, officially 1.6, but...
Can go mach 1.2 for up to 20 minutes.
Anyway, it's ideal cruising speed is mach 0.95, which is not supercruise.
Supercruise was axed from the requirements pretty early. It's a tradeoffs thing. What you get for it is a higher bypass engine, with more thrust, cooler airframe, with cooler exhaust, & greater fuel economy. It could've been made to supercruise, but other tradeoffs became more desirable during development.
I don't know if the XA-100 engine would allow it to supercruise or not. Or raise it's top speed. The aerodynamics were tailored around a slower airspeed. Only someone with an expensive wind tunnel could venture a guess. The XA-100 would give it greater than 1:1 thrust to weight ratio with full fuel tanks though. And 20% greater range (and it already has exceptional range).
@@Karl-Benny The PW F135 will push an F35 at more than MACH 1.6 (published), and on top of that the engine motioned is the 3 Stream ADVENT engine not yet in service... so you are just wrong all over the place.
@@Karl-Benny the air force limits speed to prevent damage to the stealth coating in actual combat those limits would not apply.
@@kathrynck Those DSI intakes are the biggest limiting factor of the F-35s speed as it already has more than enough power to go Mach 2 of it had variable intakes.
In the case of the F-35, I look forward to the Adaptive Cycle Engines the most. Having the best of both high bypass and low bypass is bonkers to me, personally.
Give the engine a good cigar on launch day.
It's been a holy grail for quite a while. Materials and control advances look like they've finally caught up!
@@PrimarchX Indeed. Hopefully it becomes the norm to use adaptive cycle engines in the future.
is that another term for rotational detanation engine? are they the same?
@@fawakamaha Umm, no. Look up what an adaptive cycle engine is to give you an idea of what it is. Hopefully a web search is better at explaining than me.
Many if not all of these upgrades, like the adaptive cycle engines, will also be translated into the B-21 Raider, which makes sense for a large order of non-theater based active assets.
Why would B-21 benefit from adaptive cycle?
Given that the Block 4 F-35s will have a new radar (AN/APG-85), new engine (XA-100 and/or XA-101), and various systems/sensor upgrades they should have new designations - F-35D, F-35E and F-35F.
By us 4th gen naming conventions this makes a lot of sense. What you describe is largely the difference between the f18a and c
No because the name designates use case not capability; A - airforce, B - STOVL and C being the carrier variant.
@@morgitory Whether or not that's the case yeah variant has a different suffix because they are different also making the new versions of F-35 with new engines and avionics justifies a new suffix for each of the variants.
@@morgitory 🤦😒
@@nicholasmaude6906 Block 4 nomenclature would be something like: F35A-4 for conventional takeoff F-35 Block 4 upgrade,
or F35C-4 for CATOBAR F-35 Block 4
Having variable bypass is like having having VVT and VTEC on a car, effectively getting multiple engines in one.
Amazing analogy, thanks for commenting!
I'm not sure if this is a part of the block 4 upgrades, but Lockhead is working to allow the F35 to carry 6 BVRAAM missiles internally.
It is, I believe. In fact it may already be available.
@@totalnerd5674 Wasn't Japan's primary reason for avoiding the F35 due to its limited internal capacity? Would this upgrade change their minds?
@@elijah_9392 WDYM? Japan didn't avoid the F-35, in fact they can't seem to get enough of it
But the sidekick modification almost certainly will be greatly appreciated by the Japanese.
The internal capacity isn't going to change.
@@totalnerd5674 Initially, they wanted the F22. When denied, they looked at the F35, bought a few, and then decided to start a domestic program.
But you are correct, now they are the biggest purchaser.
They recently completed the Tech Refresh 3 testing on an F35 and many older builds will be able to be upgraded to Block 4 with the new processing power. Which is awesome because it won't be just new builds with the An/APG-85 hopefully.
Tog, you’re in a league of your own when it comes to the quality of your videos, as well as your channel. Primo work, sir…once again, well done.
Thank you Ted! Already working on the next video.
As someone who has struggled to LIKE the F-35, this video really helped to win me over.
I’d highly recommend checking out Hypohystericalhistory’s video on the F-35. He provides some of the highest quality defense content on RUclips.
@@coreysuh6502
I'd second that. I'd also recommend Lazerpig's video on the F-35, for a more humorous but still highly factual take
Agree..
@@coreysuh6502 Just watched this one and now officially a convert. Lol. Thanks for the recommendation.
@@coreysuh6502 I read about the development of F15. The blathering how the plane is worthless....a few years later, it was completely another story. But, we should know, that there is an army of Ru and Chink trolls, trying to sway the ignorants to repeat the lies and eventually hinder the progress.
One thing to remember: NO country has been able do make an ancient SR71 peer plane. They blather a LOT, but when it's time to show real metal: deafening silence.
There's been a lot of discussion about an upgraded F-135 engine with more power and more range as well.
Thats what the adaptive cycle engine does.
Already done with the F135 EPE scheduled overhaul for existing motors when they go through depot-level. Thrust will be increased to 47,300lbs, with improved specific fuel consumption for increased range. That’s done without a variable cycle engine and no modifications required for the 3 different F-35 airframes.
The F-15EX's AESA is ~30% bigger than the APG-85. It's by far the biggest flying AESA on a fighter. Check it out! The -85 is epic though, without doubt. It is so good to see such big, frequent, iterative jumps in the capability of our tech.
The F-15EX's APG-82 isn't a GaN radar, though, so while it has a larger aperture, it isn't necessarily more powerful. The F-35 can also get closer to targets, which further enhances its situational awareness.
Son of a B. It hit me when I was watching this video why they're using the reflective coating. If you have one of those infrared thermometers that have got really popular over the past couple of years, take it and point it at a really reflective surface ( like a shiny piece of stainless ). It can't get a correct reading. I would bet just about anything that shiny coating they're putting on the planes has something to do with that.
Ya, it's definitely got something to do with irst, and if you can make a mirrored surface that's also radar absorbent, why not? It's not like these planes are worried about wvr combat at this point.
Sssssssh opsec. Could be Chinese Russians here.
@@seahawksfan9429 Lmao do you really think no one in China or Russia has thought of this?
ECCM can be in the form of Range gate pull off or Velocity pull off besides burning through. Burn through has serious disadvantages, one being it let’s every surface to air battery for dozens or hundreds of miles know where you are. S2A batteries or even ships are all linked together just like the aircraft attacking them are. We won’t truly know how well any of this works until we are at war.
The high bypass engine is slick, no intense heat signature either. The bypass air probably has a cooling effect on the combustion exhaust. I wonder if the radar has enough power to "Zorch" at a missile approaching in the front quarter, I know with microwave field intensities high enough you can cook a circuit board with some nice arcs and sparks. Can the radar have a similar effect? Nice anti-drone defence method considering they are usually low cost and unshielded.
It definitely could have that effect, it's mostly a matter of output power. That's how jamming works, it only makes sense to me that if we could boost the emission power far enough, we could cook the missile off.
The only issue I can see is that AESA radars aren't really designed to be a force projector in the same way lasers are, mostly due to the fact that the AESA emitters are omnidirectional instead of focused like a laser is. Maybe a form of AESA laser projectors could do something, but then we'd be right back in the Cold War of radars again (i.e. slewing the radar around with a mechanical mount), just with lasers instead of pulse-doppler radar.
I’d bet my left nutsickle that the chrome coatings are new ceramic RAM that is much more durable for heat/supersonic flight. The F-35 struggles with this currently.
I think it has more to do with confusing irst. AFAIK the issues with f35 sustained high speed flight has to do with the afterburner melting the ram coating near the exhaust nozzles, and not the speed itself. Ie, there's no reason to make the whole plane reflective for speed related friction, only the leading edges and areas near exhaust.
Very cool stuff. Frustrating how long it takes from the time you hear about something new to finally enter production.
Not if you're tasked with maintaining it. ;-)
That should change in the near future, with all the simulations and rapid prototyping...
New radars, new engines, she ain't even going to be the same plane that rolled of the assembly line in the early models. When I took the photo of my avatar photo I said "The new kid on the block is a seggzy beast!!" and it's only getting better!!! Although I gotta ask, when it the pilot neural intergrator coming on line? 😄
Lol, the sample code is @2:00 constructing an account verification email.
I wonder if they'll take the old hardware and engines out of the upgraded F35s for reuse in large a2a drones
All I needed to hear was that it's GaN. I knew they were working on this, but I assumed that the NGAD would be the first US fighter to field a GaN radar. I just assumed that there were no plans to integrate it on the F-35. This should make the force much more formidable.
GaN is magic it makes nice compact fast chargers aswell
I have no doubts about Block 4 updates. There is only one question: will the upgraded Lightning have an onboard combat laser?
The past year or two I've seen TONS of ECCM dev job postings on LinkedIn. Now I'm wondering if they were working on this!
Thanks for the updates on the F35 program. It seems that the F22 has been set aside while attention is being given to it's younger brother. If the ATF program has been replaced by the JSF one, it saddens me that such an outstanding fighter would phase out like that.
It makes a lot of sense though, there are a lot of f35s, and they were designed to allow plug and play upgrades. This makes upgrading them much more economical. They still haven't figured out a way to make helmet mounted cueing feasible on the f22, something most 4.5 gen fighter's have. It's not for lack of trying either. The f22 was designed in the early 90s, with early 90s computer tech, it's hard to make it interface with 2020s tech.
Thank Congress for shrinking the F22 order resulting in higher per unit costs. Otherwise, it would still be enjoying updates and in higher volume.
The F-22 is the McLaren F1 of fighters. Way too expensive to be anyone's daily drivers, but not competitive with the hypercars (Gen 6) that's going to be coming out really soon.
@@wisenber
Or selling them to trusted allies that wanted them, like Australia and Japan
@@tigerpjm Ironic that the more sophisticated one is an intended export.
Planes , even, before WW2, got upgrades. For example, the P51 went from an Allyson engine to a Rolls Royce.
Allison
Could you please create a Vid about The Gun Pods on The F-35's B and C and how it affects its stealth capabilities, how big of a deal does it affect the RCS, and are the Gun Pods themselves stealthy!?👍
Any reason this can't go in other 4th gen airframes like F-15EX/C, F-16 Block 50/70, F-18E/F, etc???
Size of the radar it self, maybe Power Generation and Cooling were some reasons
@@kqckeforyou4433 Power generation is an issue IF 4th gen aircraft don't get generation upgrades from their 40+ yr old designs and if they don't discard their hydraulic systems (which draw significant kinetic power from the engines; reducing what an electrical generator can provide). Seems that much less money could be spent AND also add this unit to 4th gen. Size of nosecone is harder to fix, but not impossible.
@@DBravo29er yeah you could also just adapt the size to the cone 😅 but that we're the things that came to my mind if we take the new Radar APG-85. But the biggest reason i think is there is no "need" as i understand those 5gen jets will be the one searching for enemy's were the 4/4.5 gen are the Weapon carrier. But atleast the F-18 Super hornet should get then but hey who knows?
@@kqckeforyou4433 Good Point and that def has been done. Yeah the Super Hornet AND I still think a 15 Silent Eagle could be viable. Full fly by wire with hotrod engines and 1/32 the RCS. Those two could provide a lot of support to 5th gen for not a ton of money IMHO.
On a related note, it's good to see these new engines getting tested for B-21 and NGAD. They will be well-sorted by the time NGAD launches.
@@DBravo29er yeah but F-18 SH is a little bit special as F-35c needs time to really get in service and the block 3 upgrade is medicore at beast but with this upgrade and maybe adaptive cycle engine ^^ it becomes a beast other the sea
The big question, imho, how does the mirror or chrome finish reflect color of surrounds, but without reflecting glare like a mirror in the sun?
Very well written with terrific visuals. 👍
Thank you Scott!
Does the radar give it additional range it needs to be effective? Or a combat load that's meaningful while maintaining stealth? Then Meh.....
With all that electronics on board, it seems like one stray bullet could knock the thing out of the sky.
That's no different from any other fighter. Fighters are surprisingly fragile.
Not it out of the sky? Or simply compromise one or more systems, systems with effective redundancies, that may or may not diminish it's overall capabilities. Obviously intricate interconnected systems could potentially cause a snowball effect, despite systems in place to prevent just such a case, assuming those functions fail as well. Any system could be vulnerable to catastrophe from a seemingly minor cause. I'm absolutely not even close to a knowledgeable opinion on the matter, but if I had to guess, I'd think that the massiv6e amount of "bandwidth" between both internal and external systems poses a a more likely threat. Engineers have always championed the idea that if all other consideration is secondary or equal, you should never design something using 10 parts when 9 will do. The irony is that some of the best engineers on earth designed one of the most intricate engineering projects ever.
Wow! No other fighter jet comes even close.
The upgraded radar is aspirational meaning it’s an idea on paper that has not been upgraded to a single F-35.
Successful upgrade of the F-35 radar is contingent on successful installation of the new software which is still pending and facing delays.
Lastly the cost is prohibited and will face funding challenges from Congress looking to scale back defense spending. Meaning, not all F-35 will receive the new radar.
ASSUME that this radar system has highly classified capabilities. It may do things that aren't even normally associated with radars. After all, the unit is a highly capable pairing of high bandwidth, high power digital transmitters and receivers that operate over a very wide range of frequencies. What can you do with that sort of broadband, high power, digitally controlled RF system? Pretty much anything you can THINK of, if someone can code it in software.
F35 🇺🇸👍. Vô địch thế giới không có đối thủ cạnh tranh. Không quân Mỹ rất mạnh 🇺🇸.
What language is this?
@@qwertyqwerty-zi6dr Looks like Vietnamese. The French imposed Latin alphabets on an East Asian tonal language hence you need all the ugly accent marks
@@Peizxcv ty
According to Google translate he said "World champion has no competitors. The US Air Force is very strong"@@qwertyqwerty-zi6dr
Can change anything if the F35 is grounded.
What they don’t tell you is that the radar itself is also a weapon and can disable enemy aircraft at up to 1500 miles away
The fact that no radar update is being pushed out to the F-22 (APG-77) tells you something about that program, too. These advanced AESA radars are useful for active electronic warfare employment, too.
That we know of. Obviously the F-35's are still being actively developed and produced, the F-22 on the other hand is a different story. It would be obvious that they're upgrading the 35, so why not admit it. However, any updates to the 22 would likely be done in extreme secrecy. Even if there's no mechanical, physical updates or upgrades, there still can be software updates to better utilize what's already there (see various F-16 blocks for evidence of this)
@@evangalinsky2499 The money has to come from somewhere and F-22 isn't a black program. There have been reductions in active F-22 air frames in the past couple of years. I'm thinking they'll coast on what they have pending the deployment of NGAD, which is why their giving a newer aircraft, with a newer radar, an even newer radar upgrade.
These new updates are one of the reasons Canada waited to order it's F-35s.
And politicians politicking.
I hope we get block 4 and the new engine on ours. Anyone know?
That makes no sense. Being America Would not fit export F-35s with it. Sensible would have been taken them as early as possible and get flight hours with it. Then retrofit update them as new updates are released. But we already know Canadians are the brightest
@@willberry6434 It is indeed the Block 4. I do not believe the new engine is fitted, at first, anyways.
@@jamiewhichelo9983 yeah just checked. It's block 4 which is fantastic, too bad about the engines and I hope we spring for those.
El "Fallas" 35, también conocido como el "no me ayudes compadre"... you better don´t retire the old F16
Thanks for commenting - the F-16 is planned to be operational into to 2070s and many are on order so it is definitely safe. In case you missed it check out this video on the Block 70 F-16: ruclips.net/video/htTamhPFuTc/видео.html
Thanks for the heads up on the gallium nitride / ngad comrade tonight we have vodka party
They advertize GaN as lower temp, higher power, but this is just a ruse. The real reason is classified.
A year passed, and now is known, that there will be no APG-85 radar and the new engine anytime soon.
The engines are not necessary for electric power. There is more than enough engine power , it comes from having a bigger generator. Also the future laser will require more electric power, but this doesnt mean you need a bigger engine. The new engines give more thrust, less heat, and better range.
I know the allies or customers of the U.S. aren't getting the same F-35 that the U.S. will be receiving. I believe Great Britian might be an exception to this rule. Anyone have any ideas what technologies/aspects are most likely different in the different versions? I would think this radar, or certain aspects of it, are one such difference...
Could you please create a Vid about Red Flag F-117's with Metallic Stealth Coating's!🙏
I can only imagine what these radars can do, I have a 20yr old Furuno on my boat and can pick up no wake markers at 1/2 mile when water isn't rough. And it was a cheaper radar at the time...lol
The APG77 can always be upgraded with software.
Upgrades are really an expected part of modern war planes but I must say this advancement is staggering
What is the latest on the decision about the engine? Will it be an upgraded F135 for the Block 4 version or a future new XA100 or XA101? Will it be decided in 2023?
I think P&W has an upgrade to the F-135 engine that'll be used for block 4 in the meantime until the fully adaptive cycle engines are ready. It adds some adaptive cycle tech to the F-135..I think it's called the EEP program?
The name changed of the update in 2022 from the Enhanced Engine Package (EEP) to Engine Core Upgrade (ECU) for the F135 engine. As far as the new adaptive engine, the USAF seems to be the only service pushing for this since the USN & USMC haven't committed let alone any of the partner allies? It would break the USAF budget if they had to bear the cost of development themselves! Have to wonder if this new engine will be saved for the future 6th generation fighter???
@@a.fredscullard162 Ahhh I gotcha, thanks for the response!
exactly, so people, the f-35 is NOT a pure dogfighter, so stop batching the f-35 that "oh it cant turn" or "its too slow" or "it cant hold alot of missiles" the f35 is a muitlrole. its more like a flying computer and stealth.
Wow, was that a mk13 single arm launcher that flashed? That was a weird choice.
Really nice vids and analysis! Keep up the info and quality!
It might need the newest engines to power & cool it, who knows. Tell me which nation wouldn't want to retrofit their earlier blocks, given the huge jump in engine & radar performance.
Mirrored finishes to the jets could be to reflect laser weapons? Or camouflage tech or both?
While I agree that all 5 of those things will be SIGNIFICANT upgrades... Some of them had almost nothing to do with the radar :?
Any news on Meteor compatibility? I'm really fanboying over that missile.
I’m not ready
What can that radar do to drone command systems? I have searched, and found little. There are hints that the radar is powerful enough to fry electronics. It might be that there is no drone revolution, against the USA.
F35 is a super computer
That flies
Is it possible for the APG-85 to focus all its energy like a MASER to defeat air-to-air missiles?
they should make the F23 as a budget jet. how cool
GaN was pioneered by SAAB, is superior to GaA, and has better performance with heat resistance.
GaN was not pioneered by SAAB. In fact, SAAB has yet to put an operational GaN radar on a fighter jet. The US has done so already.
I mean I get that you SAAB-fanboys like to swallow SAABs marketing hook line and sinker but can you at least keep yourselves to SAAB:s own videos instead of vomiting your garbage everywhere? You are only embarrassing yourselves.
This video is mixing up lots of concepts. Think of GaN devices as more power dense and thermally capable devices compared to GaAs for example, but regarding frequency, there shouldn't be an important change at the band that this radar works. Airborne radars like this one have an issue which is that they have to be rather small. Thus, to be able to pack enough gain, they have to stick to higher frequencies, mostly the X band. Going higher in frequency is only going to decrease their performance objectively due to the increased free space and other attenuation losses that come with it. Another issue is the antennas, you might have a great system capable of generating an extremely wide range of frequencies, but as long as your antenna doesn't resonate, you can't radiate them. Airborne radars such as this one normally stick to a single band. Regarding the maximum range and resolution, as long as you can radiate more power you should get more range, but other factors such emitted pulse characteristics will also cap you on the range and allow for different resolutions. Moderns radars have stored a wide library of different pulses with different characteristics which they cycle through. All in all, expect more output power given by the GaN processes, better PRI and pulse compression characteristics, increased EW capabilities and maybe even direct conversion given by more modern ADCs, DACs and FPGAs. But not much change on the array or the antennas themselves, sticking a similar operating frequency.
Could the Chrom finish help aiganst directet Energie weapons?
those weapons are nowhere near powerful enough to take out other fighters, what they will be used for is confusing and frying other missiles sensors.
The chrome finish is simply to make the pilots look cooler and get more chics 😂
@@wizardemrys thx
I was thinking it was a coating that can be charged with electricity, which then alters the air resistance by modifying the air molecules as they come into contact. I think that tech is called "plasma actuator." I believe the Navy has a patent for it.
@@TomT0m_ That’s interssting
The F15EX radar is 30% bigger and higher powered. And the F15EX flies at Mach 2.5 at 50,000 feet. This makes the F35 radar obsolete as a sensor. Every additional F35 produced means 1 less F15EX produced. What a disaster
Depends on which Block the Canadians are allowed to buy !
Knowing how the Americans operate it will not be the block 4
DML
APNG 85 radar for f15 or f18?
Why aren't people more skeptical about the J-20 ...? These things just don't happen overnight.
The is new radar he is a game changer but I believe the new jet engine will be the game-changer to the F35
If flying in escort with very visible F-15 EX the F-35 can remain invisible. No need to turn on radar the EX radar is most powerful on any Fighter Aircraft.
Love the F-35 lightning jet awesome jet fighter. ❤️💘👍🤗😁😁🇨🇦🇺🇲🇦🇺🇮🇱
Also it is battle tested
Great content.
Enough new power for s laser weapon?
This is certainly a game changer, TU.
It will for sure provide a chance for better data. But with out smart SW its no game changer at all. Its an enabler and it can become an important one. But it need to be paired with the right functions and componants to be any thing more.
PLEASE fix your mic clipping. Sounds like it's actually the mic it's self (most people probably won't even hear it but I do and it's a big reason I don't watch this channel as much as I used to)
I was wondering about that myself. And how can someone with a RUclips channel that seems to be interested in aircraft not know how to pronounce "radar". It's "RAY-dar" (where the second syllable rhymes with car) and not raider like the NFL team that recently moved to Vegas.
Thanks for the feedback, I’ll adjust my audio setup to get rid of the clipping.
@@PhillBogart pronunciation is usually a regional thing. Didn't bother me that much. No need to be like that.
Odd why the Australian gov internal report says F35 program is a failure, gov should be asking for a refund as it does not meet half of what it claims.
5 reasons Canada delaying the purchase of the F35 worked out for the best.
Get with Isreal,they have the best version of the F-35 bar none
3x more powerful, heating too
Let's have a look already...🏃....
Indeed, and you are the first commentor, thank you!
@@PilotPhotog great... I like to check out JSF videos and see how it relates to actual.
When is the block 4 coming
2024
Range ???
When will the F-35 get the Sidekick?
THEY WILL ALSO NEED MORE POWER FOR LASER WEAPONS.
That's the kind of stuff needed to kick the Ruzky in its ass!
It will be very nice to see a confrontation with a "fifth generation" Ruzky aircraft like Su57...how long will it survive before being dashed into flying debris?
I’ll never understand why we have to continually tell all of our enemies everything about our military and it’s technology upgrades
Either they already know, or we want them to have to spend $ to catch up.
We have over 180 F-22’s, the Russians have produced something like 10 or less Su-57’s. We have hundreds of F-35’s, the Chinese copycat “stealth” fighter still struggles to do something as simple as a smooth barrel roll, and isn’t stealthy.
I agree with you, let’s not tell them anything, but it’s not the end of the world that they know. When they finally copy our latest technology, it won’t be the latest technology anymore…
Why do we need a game changer radar when the plane itself is not used.
GaN or ghalium nitride based radar isn't anything new or groundbraking. Even the Turks are building home grown GaN based radars for the F-16 upgrade... 90% of the high end capabilities that the APG-85 brings are classified and will probably remain so.
Also the F-35 won't be getting the adaptive cycle engine which is slated to be introduced on the 6th gen fighters like the here mentioned USAF's NGAD and the Navy's FA/XX.
But can it fire long range radar guided missiles and intercept Chinese and Russian bombers?
Add a second engine
"rader"
Would be nice if this plane could stop crashing. 20+ yrs and the thing still falling off the sky.
Hopefully Canada gets there F-35s with this new Radar
Yes. They have ordered the Block 4 variant.
Extra extra advancer.