Pentagon Eyes High-Speed Missiles for Stealth Aircraft

Its kind of an interesting development. Given the constraints of the internal bays of both the F-22 and F-35, these weapons would have to be standoff. Otherwise the missiles hanging on external pylons would compromise the signature of the a/c

Among the ideas being kicked around

A ramjet powered version of the HARM missile (The exising ARM has Mach 3 capcity, the ramjet would give it a super fast responce time to take out radars)

Such a weapon could be intergrated onto a B-2. However, I wonder why the USAF would relegate its limited number premier bomber to the SEAD role. Unless they would simply carry a few for inress self protection.

Other options include putting an ARM seeker head on an AMRAAM which can be carried internaly by the F-22 and the F-35

The U.S. military is increasingly interested in developing a new generation of high-speed air-to-surface missiles that could be integrated into stealth aircraft to attack an enemy’s radar sites or fleeting targets.

U.S. Air Force planners are anxious about enhancements in air defense technology, worrying that as powerful computer processing becomes more ubiquitous and network cabling becomes cheaper, adversaries can link radar systems of different types to raise their chances of spotting and potentially shooting down even low-observable aircraft.

www.aviationweek.com.../aw122407p1.xml&headline=Pentagon%20Eyes%20High-Speed%20Missiles%20for%20 Stealth%20Aircraft

just in case the link above doesn't work, try clicking on the one I provided below. thanks Fred for the heads-up as I'm always interested in this sort of thing.

Link

[edit on 12.30.07 by toreishi]

Originally posted by FredT
Such a weapon could be intergrated onto a B-2. However, I wonder why the USAF would relegate its limited number premier bomber to the SEAD role. Unless they would simply carry a few for inress self protection.

I didn't see any direct quotes in the article regarding the B-2.



However, the USAF must be aware that, like the SR-71 and U-2 before it, the B-2 is fast approaching its sell by date, if it hasn't already pasted it.

It's a valuable asset to be sure.

But it's unmatched stealthiness, long range\loiter time and powerful sensor suite would make it an extremely valuable SEAD asset.

Given an opponent with a powerful enough AD network, the utility might justify the risk.

I can imagine a couple of B-2's, loitering at standoff range, carrying large numbers of decoys and enhanced HARM's, as being a pretty powerful SEAD package.

Originally posted by kilcoo316

Originally posted by FredT
Such a weapon could be intergrated onto a B-2. However, I wonder why the USAF would relegate its limited number premier bomber to the SEAD role. Unless they would simply carry a few for inress self protection.

I didn't see any direct quotes in the article regarding the B-2.



However, the USAF must be aware that, like the SR-71 and U-2 before it, the B-2 is fast approaching its sell by date, if it hasn't already pasted it.

The B-2 was mentioned in the article as the only stealth plane which could fit one based on the current HARM in it's internal weapons bay.

reply to post by FredT

A ramjet powered version of the HARM missile (The exising ARM has Mach 3 capcity, the ramjet would give it a super fast responce time to take out radars)

Looks like Kh-31 ramjets are finally making their way into our potential inventory list.

Originally posted by kilcoo316
I didn't see any direct quotes in the article regarding the B-2.

HARM’s 10-in. diameter would be an integration problem on smaller stealth aircraft, but one U.S. official suggests the effort could be aimed at long-standing U.S. Air Force interest in integrating such a weapon on the B-2 bomber.
www.aviationweek.com.../aw122407p1.xml&headline=Pentagon%20Eyes%20High-Speed%20Missiles%20for%20 Stealth%20Aircraft