Buduca zamena za U-2

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U Lokidu nesto rade mada zvanicnog zahteva za zamenu U-2 jos nema...

Citat:
U-2 programme officials told reporters at the Skunk Works headquarters in Palmdale, California, that its engineers have been mulling designs for stealthy HALE platform that would combine the best of the U-2 and its unmanned rival, the Global Hawk.

The advanced research and development arm of Lockheed is essentially pursuing an improved version of the U-2, which is powered by the same General Electric F118 engine and optimised to fly at 70,000ft or higher. It would carry many of the same sensors, since those are already calibrated for use at that altitude. The biggest difference will be the aircraft’s low-observable characteristics.

“Think of a low-observable U-2,” says Scott Winstead, Lockheed’s U-2 strategic development manager. “It’s pretty much where the U-2 is today, but add a low-observable body and more endurance.”

Citat:Lockheed finds itself in this position partly because its RQ-3 DarkStar, a stealthy unmanned aircraft designed to fly where the U-2 and Global Hawk couldn’t, never made it past flight testing and was cancelled.

These days, though, Lockheed isn’t chasing a solely unmanned design. In fact, the new aircraft would probably be built around same cockpit as the U-2.

According to Winstead, having a pilot on board is deterrent, because to shoot an unarmed aircraft down would be an act of war – whereas North Korea, for instance, would not hesitate attacking an unmanned aerial vehicle. Plus, the U-2 is often used for political signalling.

Winstead says the U-2’s successor should be “something you can see when you want to see it,” and Skunk Work’s RQ-X will be “survivable, but not unnoticeable”.

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Citat:"We have to start thinking about a new platform now to get it out in 2025-2030 timeframe," Scott Winstead, Lockheed Martin's U-2 strategic business manager, told IHS Jane's .

While the US Air Force (USAF) has not requested designs for a next-generation surveillance aircraft, Winstead said the company sees the need for a more survivable successor to the RQ-4 and has engaged its engineers on design projects using internal funding.

Winstead said that the company's Skunk Works division frequently designs new technology under so-called 'roadmaps' in various capability areas. For example, the division has cyber, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) roadmaps in progress.

"As we see where technology is going … we try to bridge the gap between where we are now and where we think we're going," he said. This is what Skunk Works design teams are now doing with the U-2 and RQ-4, he added.

The team is currently pursuing a low-observable, optionally manned version of the U-2, according to Winstead. The ability to remove the pilot from the cockpit would provide the aircraft with the longer endurance of the RQ-4.

He said the aircraft would need "big engines" to power all the same sensors carried by the U-2. The U-2's General Electric F118 engines would be sufficient for the task of taking the new aircraft to 65,000-70,000 ft while powering all those sensors, but if a threat analysis indicates the need to fly higher, an even larger engine might be needed, Winstead added.

While both legacy aircraft will remain capable for decades, Winstead said "neither platform is one you would bring into a wartime environment" given the proliferation of anti-aircraft threats.

U-2 programme director Melani Austin said a next-generation aircraft could cost about as much as the USD2-3 billion in upgrades envisioned for the RQ-4 that will allow it to do most of the U-2's mission when the manned aircraft retires around 2019.

Winstead said Lockheed Martin hopes for a competition among the Pentagon's major aircraft providers that would drive down the cost to about USD3-4 billion for development and production of a fleet of new HALE ISR aircraft to be ready in the 2025 time frame.

"Preliminary design work shows we could get something out there by 2025," he said. "We challenge other companies to do the same."

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