USAF's future stealthy M-x VSTOL transporter

The US Air Force is inching closer to developing a future stealthy transport aircraft for special operations forces now that the requirement has been approved by the US warfighter community.

The next major step is for the concept, dubbed the Advanced Special Operations Forces Air Mobility Platform (M-X), to undergo a senior-level Department of Defense (DoD) review to authorise Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) to solicit industry teams to begin early developmental activities.

The M-X is envisaged from 2018 as a vertical- or ultra-short- take-off and landing platform for clandestine transport of troops and supplies into and out of heavily defended hostile territory in all terrains and environmental conditions.

The aircraft will augment, but not replace, AFSOC's fleet of MC-130 Combat Talon and CV-22 aircraft. Its agility and hard-to-detect infra-red, radar and acoustic signatures and low- probability-of-intercept communications signals will allow it to overcome sophisticated enemy sensors and surface-to-air missiles that might doom even upgraded MC-130s and CV-22s, the air force says.

Col Shelikoff told JDW that an analysis of alternatives completed in September 2004 points to an "advanced low-observable manned aircraft" as the most promising option.

Hmmm...i guess the USAF is not far from becoming an all stealth force

Janes source...full article at www.janes.com...

It looks a little like a Star Trek vessel, but the new Lockheed Martin stealthy aircraft design making its way into the light from the classified 'black' world is not science fiction.

Lockheed Martin and Boeing are in a race to develop a concept for two near-term requirements to support US special operations forces (SOFs). Lockheed Martin revealed its design for the first time on 12 February. Called the MACK conceptual aircraft, the idea is to have a common design for a medium-lift, multirole platform that both SOFs and conventional military forces can use, director of advanced systems concepts at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, Rod Cusic, told JDW. The suggestion is that with a stealthy aircraft frame, modular systems could be installed to perform a variety of missions, from a next-generation gunship to a transport, cargo-lifter, or even a refuelling tanker capable of being a network-centric sensor and relay platform.

full article at .....www.janes.com...

Yup.

The goal of the USAF is going to be to move to an all stealth fleet.

I'd like to see some stealth AWACS too.

Originally posted by American Mad Man
Yup.

The goal of the USAF is going to be to move to an all stealth fleet.

I'd like to see some stealth AWACS too.

I don't think a stealth AWACS is viable, taking into account it's role and the amount of radar energy it is pumpung out searching for other aircraft.

Here's a concept pic I found on a trawl of the net a few months ago, I'm afraid I don't know which company designed it but it was on an article describing the project you mentioned.

It's a big fat F-22 Waynos

Now, who ate all the pies?

With America pouring billions of $$$$$$ into stealth technology (on land, sea, air and space), what's the other guy up to??????

Does anyone know what progress other countries are making to be able to detect stealth tech?

Can North Korea see a B-2 coming over the horizon? Maybe not. Can China?

Russia has the wreckage of an F-117, so there aren't many secrets there. They should have been able to figure out a way to track these planes.

One more question. Without a transponder, can America track its own stealth planes?
And if they can, others could have this tech.

Originally posted by waynos
Here's a concept pic I found on a trawl of the net a few months ago, I'm afraid I don't know which company designed it but it was on an article describing the project you mentioned.

It is one of Lockheeds BWB /blended wing body/ transport concept. It looks more conventional than Boeing design.

M-X, A-X and other proposals are: Lockheed MACK/BMACK, Bell V-44, Boeing LAMV /light aerial multipurpose vehicle and Boeing SuperFrog. Now I am writing article about it for my web :-]

Originally posted by American Mad Man
I'd like to see some stealth AWACS too.

Pretty hard to make a Radar plane stealth, as stealthness is mainly based on radar silent surfaces and radar absorbing materials...No discretion at all in a 5megawatts radar emitter

That picture is several years old and does not really represent what is being developed now.

aahhh.. so what IS being developed now..??

Originally posted by Element

Originally posted by American Mad Man
I'd like to see some stealth AWACS too.

Pretty hard to make a Radar plane stealth, as stealthness is mainly based on radar silent surfaces and radar absorbing materials...No discretion at all in a 5megawatts radar emitter

True...However they could make the plane stealth, so when they turn of the radar its invisable. That way if they dont have a fighter near by and an enemy fighter is closing it, then they would turn it off and the enemy would lose em.

Yeah! it would be considering stealthiness as a defensive characteristic then... Good find! But I keep thinking that it hard to make radar emmiters invisible to radar waves like an AEGIS spy-1 emitter...

Originally posted by American Mad Man
Yup.

The goal of the USAF is going to be to move to an all stealth fleet.

I'd like to see some stealth AWACS too.

Hmm, I'm not sure if an all stealth fleet is such a good idea. Has anyone ever heard the saying: Too Much of Anything Is NOT Good!

I be the first to admit that I'm a huge fan of stealth aircraft and stealth technology. Even my User profile states that I'm a stealth fanatic. However, If you go to an all stealth fleet, you loose the element of surprise. What makes stealth so effective, is that noone knows if or when it's coming. If you overuse it, your opponent will have an easier time trying to find a way to counter it.

Second, in some situations, I don't see much point to using stealth technology. I'll show you what I mean:

Stealth used right:

Sending a B-2 after a command center- The stealth allows the B-2 to sneak in and destroy the command center with no warning. By not giving the opponent a warning that he is under attack, you can do more damage to the target, and you protect your pilots.

Stealth used wrong:

A stealth Transport- Unless you are engadged in black op's, the stealth will have very little (If Any) effect on the mission. If you apply a technology that costs $1 Billion to a situation where it won't make a difference, you have wasted a lot of money.

It's like spending $500 dollars on a fir coat if you live in the Bahamas. It's something you'll never need. (The fir coat was a randomly selected exampe, I don't own any real fir! This was added in case there are any animal right folks on this site!)

Stealth can be a great asset, but ONLY if it is used wisely! We are better off with a small fleet of stealth planes that are optimized for a few specialized missions, where it will act as a force multiplier by increasing the effectiveness of the fleet as a whole.

Here are some good examples of stealth used WELL:

B-2 Spirit ATB- The B-2 was design to attack strategic targets such as: Command, Communications, Air Defense, and WMD sites. All of these targets are heavly defended with SAM's, AAA, and Radar-Targeted defenses. Stealth protects the B-2 from the Defenses.

SR-71 Blackbird- Intelligence activities depend on secrecy to suceed. If you want to know what someone is really up to, watch them when they think they are alone.

SpecOp's- Covert operations are all about secracy. If your hunting terrorists, you don't want them to know that they are being fallowed.

Tim
ATS Director of Counter-Ignorance

I highly doubt the transport planes will feature top secret stealth technology like B-2 or F-22. The will simply have lower RCS than the old planes like C-17 or Hercules. IMO they will not use advanced expensive stealth materials just composites, instead of metals and the shape will be more stealthy (but it's not primary goal). You can compare it to the B-1B or F-18 aproach - not stealth planes, but 0.5-1m2 RCS.

The only planes I think with real stealth would be AC-130 Gunship replacement (and there are not many of them).