For months, observers have been predicting big cuts to traditional weapons programs as a result of the Defense Department’s 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), due in February. But on Oct. 26, Defense News quoted Ryan Henry, deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, saying the QDR would instead focus on how to adapt traditional weapons to nontraditional warfare like that in Iraq. Henry cited the now-cliche example of B-52s dropping satellite-guided bombs over Afghanistan.
Henry’s statement is interesting in light of recent reports from Air Force Times that the EB-52 modification program is on the QDR chopping block. The EB-52 program would modify 16 1962-vintage B-52Hs to carry podded electronic noise jammers to foil air defenses. The first EB-52 would be ready in 2014. Currently the jamming mission is handled by the Navy’s 100 or so geriatric EA-6B Prowlers, which are due to be replaced by 90 EA-18Gs in a few years. The EB-52s would give the Air Force an airborne jamming capability it has lacked since retiring the EF-111 in 1998. While standoff jamming is definitely a mission for the kind of high-intensity warfare the Pentagon has been de-emphasizing of late, jammers like the EA-6B have proved adaptable to low-intensity warfare. This year, Prowlers began flying missions over Iraq to jam the signals that detonate IEDs.
There’s more at stake in the EB-52 program than its relevance to both high-and low-intensity warfare. NATO generals regularly cite airborne jamming as one of Europe’s major capability shortfalls. That means the West depends almost entirely on a small number of U.S. jamming aircraft to suppress air defenses in coalition air campaigns like those over Kosovo and Iraq. The EB-52 would do a lot to relieve the pressure on the sure-to-be-overworked EA-18G crews.
– David Axe
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Jamming with the B-52s
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“…give the Air Force an airborne jamming capability it has lacked since retiring the EF-111…“
What about the EC-130H COMPASS CALL that’s been doing stand-off jamming for long before 1998?
Good MOrning David,
What’s old is still new, I guess. This program combined with the $216Millon contract to Boeing Witcha back in Oct. for Targeting and Communications upgrades to the B52H’s, so they can be deployed with JDAM’s insures this “Ol’ Horse” will be in the air for a long time to come. Unofficial estimate till 2040.
A program on the History Channel awhile back had an Air Force Officer make the statement that when the last of the B-1’s and B-2’sare devivered to Davis Mountain AFB their crew will fly back home on a B-52. That prediction is looking more likely all the time.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
“Stewart’s Platoon”
Hello Byron,
It’s true that the B-52 has held up well compared to other strategic bombers. And with the advent of laser parts modeling, whereby out-of-production parts are reproduced using laser scanners, the B-52 can be rebuilt ad infinitum. Reengining would pay dividends, however, as the Buff’s old engines are its no. 1 maintenance expense.
AF Guy,
You’re right about the Compass Call. What the Air Force has lacked, more accurately, is a relative high-speed jamming asset. While the B-52 is nowhere near as speedy as an EF-111, it leaves the EC-130 in its wake.
500 instead of 400 mph, who cares? It’s not like the long out of production bird does Mach 2.
But, but, what about the new $400,000,000 a copy supercruising F/A/*E*-22 ElectroRaptor? I mean, my god if we don’t buy more supercruising singleseat wunderwaffe the army…err, navy…err, AMC…err, the terrorists will have won!!!
Who do you think wants to see F-22 cancelled the most? My guess is Lockmart. They’ve already sucked down all the BILLIONS in development money. If they build the airplane, there’s the risk it might break. If it gets cancelled, they get to work on it’s replacement. If you pay taxes in the USA, the jokes on you either way.
How about converting a B-52 into a fire breathing, multiple Directed Energy Weapons platform? You could be immobilizing insurgents with giant tazer pods using high power lasers for ionization ‘channels’, heating them up with microwave pods, and carving them up with multiple laser modules.
: )
You have good ideas, but it will never happen that way. It will never happen that way because the system rewards failure. The big money for the big programs means big power for those who direct them. How many DoD employees draw a check directly from the F-22 program? I’d guess thousands. Why do they need them? To keep the contractors from lying and theiving. Is it working? No. The DoD needs to quit paying for failure. They need to quit making it profitable for companies to drag out development.
The way it is now, the more problems a contractor can dream up during development, the more the schedule slides, and the more money they make. These companies should not make a dime of profit on development. They should only make money off of products that work well. Paying profit on development is paying someone to be stupid, and it’s working.
Hiya all, my first post here but im a long time lurker ofn this fantastic site, today i noticed this however and was bloody angry — ‘NATO generals regularly cite airborne jamming as one of Europe’s major capability shortfalls. That means the West depends almost entirely on a small number of U.S. jamming aircraft to suppress air defenses in coalition air campaigns like those over Kosovo and Iraq’ cheap skate Euros should buy there own jamming gear instead of keep poncing off the US as they have been for 50 odd years now. can’t believe i just read that, just typical Euro’s i guess, sighs sadly. I don’t except they cannot aford them they just have no will to buy them because they know America supply them. Why America even bothers with the Euro leeches i don’t know, i mean there to damn crap to even sort out problems in thier own back yard (balkens conflict) without US assets and even then the French veto’d over 700 targets — utterly lame Euros! Anyway what about a JSF version of an electronic warfare system? 1 crew i guess would suck but there’d be room wheer the lift fan was/is wouldn’t there for some gear?
Shep UK,
In fact, the Marines are considering an electronic attack version of the F-35B to replace their small force of EA-6Bs. The single-seat F-35 is already designed to use its electronic-scanning-array radar to fry enemy electronics. And with its large number of antennae, all it might take to turn the thing into a mini-EA-6B is more electrical output and enough processing to handle the work currently undertaken by the EA-6B’s crew of four.
That’s pretty ironic, using a stealth airplane to do jamming. Might just as well paint it orange with “HERE I AM” in 3 foot letters across the bottom. Maybe they could find room for a bull’s-eye too. I’m sure there’s no workload increase due to the jamming mission so a crew of 1 is plenty. That’s why the EA-6B makes room for a crew of 4. Just another boondoggle, like the F-22B (2 seater). Maybe we can spend billions on it too, just to have the variant cancelled later when they roll all of it’s budget into covering the cost overruns for the VTOL model.
Good Morning to all,
Here is a though and question that arose from the above conversation.
The U.S. Air Force is still embrolied in a scandal over an agreement with Boeing to lease new Boeing 767’s as in– flight refulers.
The amount of money being considered is in the tens of $billions and one person has already checked into the Gray Bar Motel over this.
With all the “Barely Used Airliners” in storage around the world why is the U.S. Air Force looking to lease to buy new aircraft for there refulers or for that matter these B-52H Air Frames for ESS operations. The existence of the 51 year old B-52 (I know the B-52H’s are only 40 years old on the average) says that many air frames are scrapped way before they need be.
All our AWAC’S and JSTAR’S are recycled Boeing 707’s from the ’60’s so it seems the idea is workable. A few years ago an AWAC was even traced back to having been leased by Air India in the ’70’s.
The question is why can’t more of this “Reserve Air Fleet” be aquired by the U.S.A.F. for aircraft used in none combat rolls?
I know the ultimate answer will be profits for stockholder in the “American Military Industrial Complex” and that will have to stand. But it does seem that there are cost saving measures out there that is good for the military and will free more scarce dollars for other projects.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
“Stewart’s Platoon”
Have you ever looked at what it would cost you to build your car out of parts bought from the local parts store? It would cost several times what your car cost new and already assembled. Resurrecting old, used up airframes makes about as much sense. Why not fix what’s wrong with the military industrial complex instead of always trying to work around it?
We have needed a Mach 3 bomber ever since the B-70 was cancelled. There is no reason with all of today’s advances in technology (3D CAD, finite elements, CFD, NC milling, microprocessor based avionics) it should cost $1 Billion per airplane to build one today. It’s not cutting edge technology.
If people would start calling for an end to the waste, the waste would end. What’s wrong with the system now is pretty plain to see. What we need is a willingness in Washington DC to fix it.
I’m impressed at the idiot-farm we have going here.
First off to the retards making comments about “not needing the F/A-22″.
Have any of you considered just what the USAF may be up against in the future? Or do you just like to complain and moan?
Consider these aircraft: The EF-2000 Eurfighter, the Dassault Rafael, the Saab JAS-39, Shenyang J-13 and the Sukhoi Su-47.
All of these aircraft are considerably more capable than the F-15 or F-16.
Most of them will without doubt be sold to our enemies, especially the Rafael, J-13 and Su-47. Almost every aircraft we’ve fought in the last forty years has been made in the same factories as those.
The F/A-22 is more capable than those aircraft, and would give us the advantage we need to bring most of our pilots home alive.
Do you not realize that, by keeping our airmen and women in second-rate aircraft, you are putting them at risk? Do you care?
Am I saying there aren’t issues with military procurement practices? Not at all, I can name a dozen projects that need to be axed right now, and the whole process needs to have the bureaucracy removed.
But if there is one project the USAF needs, it is the F/A-22, American soldiers have not had enemy bombs fall on their heads since World War Two, if we do not keep the edge, then that’s a trend we will not keep.
On the other hand, I see a lot of ideas here I’d like to see put to use, especially the concept of manufacturing replacement parts and modifications in theater. Many units could be made much more self-sufficient that way.
But what do I know, Im just a Military Industrial Complex/Halliburton/Zionist Conspiracy/Bushitler drone.
DID article here:
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/10/supersonic-sigint-will-f35-f22-also-play-ew-role/index.php
Ok, im just going to say one thing becasue most of you have made good points, to the person in the second comment posted, the SU-47 is a tech demo, it isnt gonig to be put into production becasue russias budget is to low, thanks for your time
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