Air Force in talks to fast track PCA

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Lockheed has released an updated concept for its NGAD/PCA.

Avleak calls it NGAD rather than PCA.

No wonder I am confused. They're all confused.

aviationweek.com...

It's looking rather different than semi McDAC bird they still have on their main website:

www.lockheedmartin.com...

They might have started learning early on to push on the next level on tech now rather than later.With things maturing quickly with todays tech they need something to play with later..Knowing defence they will probably change designations a half dozen times.

The Air Force’s next-generation aircraft may defy traditional categorization.

It’ll likely surpass the F-22 Raptor or F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in range, but may not be as mission-specific as a bomber. It might not require a stealth coating over the entire aircraft. Perhaps lasers will be incorporated into the airframe to increase its survivability.

These are options analysts are discussing as the service preps its next-gen “capability” to penetrate counter air offensive or defensive weapons, and readies itself for the next high-end threat around the globe, officials said Monday during a panel discussion.

“As we went through the [study], we specifically precluded ourselves from using the word fighter,” said Brig. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, head of an Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team. Last year, he and the ECCT released the Air Force’s plan for next-generation air dominance, known as Air Superiority 2030.

www.defensetech.org...

Surely this is a job for expendable swarms of UCAV's if ever there was one.

a reply to: Jukiodone

I think that's why Kratos has its contract. But even so, we'll need manned aircraft for a time.

The Chinese seem to agree and even agree (and embrace and extend) the Lockheed OODA 2.0 concept:

alert5.com...

Knowing it is an enemy plane,what its carrying and what its intention is..That information and who gets it first I would look at..I would rather have a gun and not use it than not having a gun and being in a life and death situation and not have a gun to use.
Dogfights will never be dead.

NGAD/PCA/whatever will recieve even more funding going forward

And it plans to start investing heavily in that goal soon, its new budget request for Fiscal 2019 shows. The service asked for $504 million next year for its next-generation air dominance research, development, test and evaluation program, according to the document.


And that's not all: In its future years defense program [FYDP], showing the next five years of planned spending, the Air Force shows a planned investment of roughly $11 billion over the course of five years for RTD&E on next-gen air dominance.

"Under next-generation air dominance, we're investing in a family of systems," Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told Military.com on Tuesday. "We're going through the analysis of alternatives now, and that will help define the capabilities of the future."

www.military.com...

Looks like PEA has gone dark with NGAD being used as cover

a reply to: anzha

They should call it a fighter. Fighters get funded.

F23...every concept seems to be based off if it .....

a reply to: Slys13

It was ahead of its time.

a reply to: Slys13

I've said it more times than I can count. Form follows function. Want a supersonic bomber? You're getting something similar to the B-1. Want something that can perform the air superiority mission, which is what PCA/NGAD/flavor of the day does, you're getting an F-22/YF-23 shape. Large stealth bomber? Your best shape is a flying wing.

Looks like they are looking at Aerial Superiority..Are fighter Planes dead?Do bombers need escorts?Are they look at primarily interceptors at BVR and anti hypersonics defence?

a reply to: Blackfinger
These days the best escort for a bomber is an AAM and APS carried by the bomber...

As i see it the main reason for the PCA effort is combat range.
Operating even a small number of tactical fighter jets like the F-22 or F-35 in the pacific theater requires a huge amount a tanker support. Especially when the Chinese would bury the airbasses in Okinawa and the Philippines with missiles and you have to operate from Guam or Japan.
Providing tanker support for lets say 100 jets at a time over thousands of miles of pacific ocean with little to no airstrips in between is no small feat. IE it probably wont end well if and when your near peer opponent starts going after the tankers with VLRAAMs.
With no stealth tanker on the horizon. a platform with a combat radius of say 2000nm, greater weapons load and next gen stealth to operate inside the chinese A2/AD umbrella will be much more suited for the thask than the current approach of filling the battlespace with F-35s...
Of course if they had two working braincells in the DoD instead of just one, they'd truncate F-35 procurement and build PCA/PEA as B-21 variants. The best air superority fighter is a bomber packing 100 VLRAAMs and an APS... But of course that will never happen with the fighter force mentality. The PCA will probably be some kind of YF-23 on steroids. Could be worse i guess.

So, they're already announcing into the white the companion for the B-21....I know this has been discussed here before, but where does that leave the companion for the B-2? Forever black? Obviously if the 21 needs a companion, the B2 needs one as well. So, what is it? Will we ever see it? If it's to be forever black - why?

a reply to: PokeyJoe

This is far more than a companion craft.

originally posted by: PokeyJoe
So, they're already announcing into the white the companion for the B-21....I know this has been discussed here before, but where does that leave the companion for the B-2? Forever black? Obviously if the 21 needs a companion, the B2 needs one as well. So, what is it? Will we ever see it? If it's to be forever black - why?

The 'Companion' for the B-2 was QUARTZ/AARS. But the Cold War ended before it become a reality and it was cut. Parts of the program were restructured into the Air Force Tier system effort to produce loitering LO UAVs. Tier III (most closely resembling QUARTZ) never went anywhere but lower Tier efforts eventually spawned RQ-3, RQ-170 and the 'RQ-180'.
Thats the official story up to this point in time, money is on there being some missing, still classified links in the lineage.
Funnily enough, as rumors go, the originial Quartz designs made a comeback in the NGB Demonstrators (NGLRS-D) which became LRS-B t/the B-21 program.
But Zaphods right, describing the PCA concept as mere Companion or escort for the B-21 would be selling it short. I'd guess the B-21 will be more than capable to defend itself anyway.
If anything i think the PEA (penetrating electronic attack) program is more fitting as a Companion. But it looks like that program went black last year. There never was a PEA equivalent to the B-2. There was the Companion aircraft of the F-117 which eventually took over the EW role from the EF-111s but this aircraft was a tactical platform.