The Most Secret Plan Behind the F-35's Deadlier Block 4 Upgrade

the f-35's block 4 upgrade has many features but  air combat commands Commander says its electronic   warfare abilities will be most critical when asked  what the f-35's massive upgrade initiative known   as block 4 will bring to the table air combat  command boss general markelli made it crystal   clear that the new electronic warfare capabilities  it will acquire under the effort tops his list   the stealth Jet's future relevancy in  high-end conflicts may even depend on it   these upgrades will greatly enhance what  is already regarded as a Powerhouse of an   electronic warfare Suite aboard the f-35s  flying today they were better equip the   jet for future fights while dominating the  battle on the electromagnetic spectrum is   expected to be an absolutely critical factor in  determining winners and losers on the battlefield it was during a media Roundtable at this  year's Air and Space forces Association   Warfare Symposium in Aurora Colorado when General  markelli emphasized to reporters in attendance   just how important the new electronic warfare DW  upgrades will be for Block 4 f-35s going forward   being led by F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin  block 4 is the overarching modernization effort   for all three f-35a BNC variants that  will be implemented in the coming years   so as far as why we need those block 4  capabilities most of what we need the   F-35 to do rest on the Block 4 electronic warfare  capabilities said Kelly those rest on The Suite of   hardware and software technology refresh three  that supports all that block for ew that kind   of goes back to my E7 ec37 and pause block 4  you've got to have that amount of processing   power transmitting power speed and sensors  to punch into truly appear a threat Network the successful integration of block 4 upgrades  will be dependent on a separate initiative   known as technology refresh 3 tr3 which seeks to  modernize the f-35s core processor memory unit   panoramic cockpit display system and Associated  Avionics tr3 is being described as the f-35's new   computer backbone as it is expected to provide  25 times more computing power than the f-35's   existing tr2 Computing system among the many new  ew capabilities the F-35 will get under block 4   that will require this boost in processing  power is a brand new multi-function active   electronically scanned array adsa radar  designated as and or apg85 that is being   designed by Northrop Grumman while very little  is presently known about the ASA beyond that the   F-35 Joint program office has confirmed that it is  currently slated to be installed on all block 4A   BNC variants replacing the stealth Jets existing  and or apg-81 aesa also made by Northrop Grumman the full list of block 4 upgrades remains  classified and is possibly still in flux   to a limited degree but others that have been  publicized include a significant Improvement   of the Jets distributed aperture system Das  and electro-optical targeting system elts   while other major enhancements to the  aircraft's ew suite are expected and   have been highlighted in the past  they have largely gone unspecified   regardless without tr3 in the processing power  it is expected to bring the consensus among Air   Force officials is that block 4 wouldn't be  able to achieve what the service needs it to   fill the F-35 program this alone speaks to the  types of upgraded capabilities that will equip   block four f-35s and bolster the Jets already  powerful ew Suite much of which feeds into its   comprehensive automated Logistics and information  system Alice back in cyber support infrastructure as described by Lockheed Martin  Alice integrates a broad range of   capabilities including operations maintenance  prognostics supply chain Customer Support   Services training and Technical data to serve  as the information infrastructure for the F-35   the stealth jet possesses the critical ability  to gather electronic signals from adversarial   Radars that emit them and ones that intelligence  is loaded into the Alice the F-35 itself could   thereby provide U.S forces and potentially partner  nations with timely actionable information on the   enemy's electronic order of battle if you're gonna  go where we need to go that software hardware and   ew all three have to be able to operate in a very  very robust ew environment that our peers will put   up that runs the gamut across the electromagnetic  spectrum Kelly said about the block 4 upgrade   single Hertz all the way through to kilohertz all  the way up to high high end it's the only way we   can operate it's processing speed we've got to  have the most current software load the most   current Hardware load current apps DW all of that  where we're not going to get as far as we need a big part of ensuring the block for  F-35 survivability in a highly contested   environment will be the transmission and  dissemination of the mission data it sucks up   Kelly noted how as an experienced fourth  generation aircraft pilot who's gotten   the chance to fly the F-35 he's already  seeing how block 4 and tr3 will help the   next wave of aviators manage all the electronic  intelligence that the upgraded f-35s will collect Kelly explained that when flying  4th generation aircraft in the past   he focused on four things formation  radar energy and Communications frec   he noted that radar essentially translates to  sensors and energy to altitude speed and thrust   however when flying the F-35 after Decades  of taking frec into consideration Kelly   realized that applying that philosophy  to F-35 operations wasn't as necessary   this is because the formation you set in the F-35  which I'm not going to Define is very different   Kelly said they're spread out I'll leave it at  that they're spread out a little bit that's to   maximize the sensors so I didn't really have to  spend a whole lot of time worrying about formation Kelly continued the radar is pretty automated  and runs itself for the energy I would set an   auto throttle and the comms is really more data  transfer and less about me talking on the radio   so instead of doing frec I found myself  as a below average 5th gen pilot managing   my data first and foremost managing my  signature which it does a pretty good job   of doing but it takes some operator  input and then managing my timeline   meaning if intel told me you can give within X  number of miles from that threat don't go further   as we take fourth and 5th gen Aviation and  apply that to 6th gen I think you'll see more   managing data Kelly added this is a skill that the  young aviators will Master you know the eyeball   and then prioritizing their sensors based  on the phase of flight that they're in   and then the teaming that they'll have with  combat collaborative aircraft will be on   a non-interference basis with the basics of  aviate navigate radiate and things like that all told the ultimate goal for black 4 is  to equip f-35s and their pilots with the   resources and tools they need to fight a war  on the electromagnetic spectrum and survive   robust and Powerful ew capabilities will be  critical in realizing this ambition which is   something that isn't lost on adversaries either  in fact Secretary of the U.S Air Force Frank   kindell has cited changi's progress in ew as  a particularly worrying concern one that would   surely be a defining factor in any indo-pacific  conflict in 2021 Kendall said that China has been   focusing on increasing inventory levels and the  sophistication of their weapons and modernizing   redundant systems throughout the kill chains  that support their weapons aerial electronic   warfare capabilities specifically are an  area that China is advancing in as of late as for what exactly block 4 f-35s will enter  the ew Arena the current goal is for tr3 to   roll out with new production lot 15 through  17 F-35 deliveries Lockheed Martin is hoping   to begin delivering lot 15 jets in mid-2023  according to Air Force budget justification   documents for fiscal year 2023 all f-35s from  lot 5 to lot 14 will be retrofitted with tr3   then the corresponding block for upgrades to  follow aren't projected to wrap until 2029   if everything goes as intended block 4 will be  introduced beginning with lot 17 f-35s I don't   think it's going to be as soon as we want it I  think it's going to be soon enough for our needs

Channel: Defense News

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Id: e4glmDefg_A

Length: 9min 59sec (599 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 13 2023