block 4 f-35

Block 4 F-35 - After years of expensive development, the first fully combat-ready F-35 Block IIIF stealth fighter will enter service in 2019. However, the Pentagon is already looking forward to adding dozens of additional capabilities to the advanced model called Block. 4 - a very ambitious upgrade, already budgeted at a cost of $16 billion.

A companion article describes major software and hardware upgrades for the F-35's sensors, communications and propulsion systems, as well as the problematic financial basis of Block 4. Here we will look at the new weapons systems that will be integrated into Block 4 which will significantly expand the maritime strike, air-to-ground and lethal air-to-air capabilities of the F-35.

Block 4 F-35

One important addition is the GBU-54/B Stormbreaker, also known as the Small Diameter Bomb II. Like the GPS-guided GBU-39 SDB already integrated on the F-35, the 208-pound Stormbreaker is only six to seven inches in diameter, allowing eight to be stored in the F-35's limited internal weapons bay. If stealth is not a factor, another sixteen can be kept on the wing.

F 35 до Block 4

However, the SDB II can also adjust course to engage moving targets in all weather conditions up to twenty-five kilometers away, thanks to the tri-mode guidance option: uncooled infrared seeker, millimeter-wavelength active radar, and return capability. on a target illuminated by a laser. It also has a data link that enables two-way communication with the F-35, allowing adjustments or even cancellation of attacks. Stormbreaker's 105-pound warhead can land within one meter of its target on average, and is effective against personnel, ships and ground vehicles - even including main battle tanks, which are lightly armored.

The Pentagon hopes that Stormbreaker, combined with the F-35's advanced electro-optical targeting system and synthetic aperture radar, will enable surveillance of potential idle zones—that is, areas where military ground vehicles are prohibited from passing, based on the no-fly zone concept where military aircraft are prohibited. .

However, Stormbreakers don't come cheap at $115,000 each, so Block 4 could also integrate the short-range GBU-54 Laser-JDAM. 500-pound lasers and GPS-guided bombs cost only about $20,000 and can also hit moving targets.

Another weapon to be fully integrated is the AGM-154 JSOW-C1, a larger thousand pound glide bomb with a data link and infrared seeker for terminal guidance designed to penetrate and destroy moving maritime targets up to seventy miles when released at high altitude . . This will give the Navy's F-35C significant maritime strike capability.

F 35: Custo Do Upgrade Block 4 Quadruplica, Mas Pode Não Ser Suficiente

More expensive and longer-range munitions such as the JASSM-ER and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles may in the future only be integrated into the F-35's Block 5 or Block 6. Since Lightning could close to defended targets, integrating such ranged weapons was a lower priority. Meanwhile, non-stealth fourth-generation fighters and bombers could benefit more from their use.

In terms of air-to-air capability, the F-35B is set to gain compatibility with the Block II model of the highly maneuverable short-range AIM-9X missile, which the pilot can aim with a helmet -fixed sight. Block II's Lock-On-After-Launch capability means it can be fired from the F-35's internal bay without a lock, then, following guidance transmitted over the F-35's data link, rotate up to 180 degrees to a target that is acquired by radar or even optically with the help of the sight mounted on the pilot's helmet, before finally preparing to kill with the help of his heat seeker.

Speaking of the Helmet Mounted Display System, which uses a camera that allows Lightning pilots to "see through" their own aircraft, it will be modified for lighter weight and will also allow pilots to "see" directly behind them without going all the way around.

The addition of a dual-track missile rack to the F-35's bay will also allow it to carry up to six AIM-120 long-range air-to-air missiles instead of four, helping to further reduce significant risk that the F-35 can be upset. by more aerial enemies.

Block 4 Software Archives

Block 4 is also expected to include the integration of country-specific weapons requested by foreign F-35 operators, including the British SPEAR cruise missile and the Meteor anti-aircraft missile (considered one of the most formidable air-to - long-range missiles ). air missile in service), Turkey's SOM cruise missile, and Norway's Kongsberg Joint-Strike Missile, which can engage land or sea targets with a 500-pound warhead from a range of up to 170 miles. Norwegian F-35s will also receive special launches to aid landings on the icy Scandinavian runways.

The F-35 Block 4 may also receive engine upgrades, and these may be designed to provide significant additional electrical output. Such excess power can eventually be diverted to power air laser weapons that can be used to detonate incoming air-to-air missiles, ballistic missiles in the launch phase, and even enemy fighter aircraft. The Air Force plans to begin testing fighter- and bomber-born lasers in the early 2020s, meaning any integration of the F-35's laser weapons likely won't happen until after Block 4.

The most terrifying weapon that Block 4 will bring to the F-35 is certainly the B-61 Mod 12 nuclear gravity bomb, which has a tail fin that can adjust the trajectory of the bomb to average within 30 meters of designated GPS- to enter coordinates. The B-61 has a selectable yield of between 0.3 and 50 kilotons, and has bunker penetration capability. The combination of accuracy and penetration means it can threaten enemy leadership, command and control facilities and fortified missile launch sites. As part of the NATO agreement, the US B-61 bomber will also be available for deployment in NATO's F-35 aircraft carriers.

The F-35's upcoming ability to penetrate enemy airspace with little warning, and potentially deliver a tactical nuclear weapon, is sure to factor into the enemy's military calculations, for better or for worse.

Lockheed Martin Recibe 180,4 Millones De Dólares Por El Desarrollo Del Software F 35 Block 4

The decision to escalate to tactical nuclear warfare—that is, the use of smaller nuclear weapons against frontline military targets—may become less attractive if the possibility of lethal retaliation by the nuclear-armed F-35 must be considered. On the downside, it might also have motivated a nuclear preemptive strike on the F-35 base. In addition, the adversary is unsure whether the F-35's occasional ghosts on low-bandwidth radars armed with conventional or nuclear weapons can be pressured to prematurely escalate into nuclear warfare.

Overall, the Block 4 upgrade is set to improve the F-35's capabilities against a wide spectrum of targets, as well as fulfill promises to foreign F-35 partners to support their domestic weapons systems. But whether the Ministry of Defense can beg for the necessary funds, and meet its ambitious development timeline, to deliver Block 4 on time (and within its already considerable budget), remains to be seen.

Sébastien Roblin holds a master's degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and serves as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, processing and resettlement of refugees in France and the United States. He currently writes about security and military history for War Is Boring. The expected timeline for new block upgrades for the F-35 fighter jets could influence the Air Force's decision to delay the procurement process of F-35A variant, according to a report on future fighter jets published by The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies . The report is correct

, said that delaying the delivery of Block IV until 2029 may affect service delivery and aircraft acquisition plans.

F 35 łapią Nowe Opóźnienie. A To Niejedyny Problem Supersamolotów Dla Polski

"Block 4 is a series of largely unknown hardware, technology and software upgrades that radically improve the combat effectiveness of the F-35," according to the report. "The F-35 was planned and produced with the concept of scaling more capabilities into a production aircraft."

Many of the fighter jet's combat capabilities are woven into additional software upgrades designed to advance the jet's technical capabilities. For example, the F-35's Block 3F software upgrade also increases the weapons delivery capacity of the JSF, giving it the ability to carry Small Diameter Bombs, a five-hundred-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition, and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles fallen

The delays associated with Block IV are at odds with the Air Force's plan to rapidly expand the software upgrade process, as the upgrades are accelerated and integrated on a much faster timeline to take advantage of advances in technology. Air Force officials say software upgrades will no longer occur in predetermined windows separated by a year or so, but instead occur continuously "on standby." This strategy complements the broader software upgrade plan and accelerates modernization, security patches, artificial intelligence-enabled features, condition-based maintenance, and weapon upgrades.

Through several newer software upgrades, the F-35 fighter jet can fire "off boresight" Sidewinder missiles along with a variety of other weapons. In the coming years, the Block IV upgrade will allow the stealth fighter to drop the Small Diameter Increment II bomb, known as Stormbreaker.

F 35 до версии Block 4

Given the importance of quickly adding new software to expand a fighter jet's capabilities in modern warfare, the report cited concerns about the timeline for Block IV's arrival. Block IV will be necessary in any form of confrontation with China, according to the report.

"Operational analysis indicates that a more sophisticated Block 4 configuration is required to be effective in a conflict with China," the report said. "However, challenges with the maturation of all Block 4 technologies have delayed delivering the full Block IV package until at least 2029, and this is a major factor in

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