Super Stallion WHIF: Next-gen Pave Low?

[jsport]

Inviting a big arguement here and hopefully others will chime in, but believe minimizing displays rather than minimizing mechanical switchs is the direction. therefore believe Sikorsky has it right w/ only two screens per human mind. Flight, Navigation & Optics, and Weapons & Tactical Displays to the helmut while the assurance of non-digital Engine & Fuel Management mechanicals remain.

 

[kerick]

Pilot/flight crew workload is always an issue.  I believe most ac today have maybe two screens and the ability to switch displays for whatever info they need.  Hey, its a whif.  Make it the way you want to!

[Diamondback]

The other thing with this WHIF is, it has an onboard Artificial Intelligence and doesn't even need any human crew at all, except to authorize use of offensive weapons and certain other features--and... well, what I'm writing where it's a character, it usually flies either autonomous or with its builder soloing, and "normal" combat deployments were an "I'll fly, you shoot" arrangement between machine and man.

Good points for designing something that'd be meant for full "meatware control" and production, though.

[jsport]

Not so much a whif any more that humans are around for the offensive speech only. 

[Diamondback]

LOL

Re MMS, in a pure battlefield platform I could see its value, but for an infiltrator I'm thinking the ability to launch and recover small recon/designator drones or RPV's like the Pioneers the modernized Iowas carried would give equivalent function with a far 'cleaner' in both drag and stealth airframe. A Longbow system would also be a possiblility, but for my app I'd still lean toward MMW radar on the drone rather than the host.

[jsport]

True MMS is more battlefield than direct action, but Pave Lows were to primarily maximize internal space and recovering drones might take space as well as operationally, time.  Not recovering  a MMW UAV is costly.
Generally, Pave Low only supported planned infiltration or rescue in relatively permissive environments. Ad hoc missions in non-permissive could use a MMS/Longbow or a futuristic combo EO/IR + MMW standoff and 'RPVish' missiles.

[jsport]

How is it going? 

[Diamondback]

Still slow--trying to figure out where to embed the EOTS; I figure Litening will install in place of the original Pave Low AAQ-10, and then for anti-air and air-interdiction work, since the F-35 EOTS is derived from Sniper-XR using a "reversed development" that would bring the JSF improvements back to a pod-mount package.

It's also set aside at the moment, I've been planning or building on my prof's F-106 for ten years now and now that pieces are starting to come together on it I really wanna strike while the iron's hot so I can give it to Norm before anything happens to him--guy's a tough old fart, but he ain't getting any younger, ya know?

And then there's the matter of fabricating the #4 tailpipe, creating the #4 EAPS from scratch... it's moving, but at Ahead Dead Slow. Having to fab my own parts SCARES me, I gotta admit... even more than the resin work that's gonna be needed to correct a Revell Prowler, and all the sanding, filing and filling on the Dart. (Which is nowhere near as bad as their Apache, but still cringe-worthy.)

[jsport]

Ball sensors provide better overall coverage even against air threats. The angled sensor window under the RQ-170 is pretty comprehensive also.

[Diamondback]

Actually, Litening is basically a ball on a pod--and NG has started to pitch a de-podded, built-in version that I'd bet if we still had Intruders would be perfect to replace the TRAM balls. Who knows, maybe it'll be used to upgrade Predator/Reaper and Global Hawk someday...

Thinking was, depodded-Litening for 360-degree air search/track and ground targets, EOTS/Sniper for actively ambushing other aircraft--using both systems to gain the strengths and offset the weaknesses of each. (Comparison data's from an F-16 pilot on another forum who's flown with both.) One "eye" for evasion, the other for administering an AMRAAM Suppository with almost no warning before impact, you might say, along with being able to simultaneously illuminate multiple targets for laser-guided munitions.

[jsport]

For fast movers such as F-35 mount embedded, small, staring, but all angle systems such as Distributed Aperture System providing spherical coverage w/ long rg and resolution. DAS prevents any ambush from anywhere. Pods are large & "draggy'. Pods might remain for HEDEW, the goal is embedded for DEW as well.   Sniper XR, LANTIRN, Litening are a gen. behind. NG may be pitching such things to save themselves from being passed by.
Three (2 wing, one nose) coordinated gimbaled balls each w/ multi lens EO/IR cameras are the latest for Predator slow ground multi-angle surveillance.
IRSTs are mounted high on fuselages and are about the size of DAS, nearly a fifth the size of monsters like Litening. The US is bit behind on a final IRST retrofits while all new F-35 have DAS. AMRAAMs themselves may  obviate the need...
External wing fuselage mounted systems such as LANTIRN do not have the spherical coverage, especially not above and in front thus generally only useful for ground targeting. Long Laser illuminations eliminate stealth so would be dangerous for a slow mover like a Pave Low. 

[jsport]

Hope there is hope for the Next-gen Pave Low

[jsport]

Still hope there is hope for the new Pave Low