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New IRST for the F-18E/F in the fleet already


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Boeing is working on a Block III Super Hornet that will have conformal tanks, glass cockpit, sat-comm antenna, and an IRST in the nose of the centerline tank. I've seen pictures of VX-23 jets with the CFT's and the IRST, but I just found out that VFA-94 Mighty Shrikes took on cruise this past summer/fall. It would make for a unique Super Hornet model.

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14 hours ago, Spike72 said:

From their Facebook page.

A5C07DD9-4BCB-47A9-A45B-52A0B0CBDC54.jpeg

 

Cool, I can see the IRST. Guess I'll have to go to the Boeing page to see what the tanks look like (unless my old eyes are missing them).

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Article with independent images-The/Drive

 

Doesn't make much sense to integrate the IRST with a jettison-able fuel tank but on a plane that costs $18,000 an hour to fly maybe I'm just being a cheap old bastard. 

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45 minutes ago, Jim S said:

Article with independent images-The/Drive

 

Doesn't make much sense to integrate the IRST with a jettison-able fuel tank but on a plane that costs $18,000 an hour to fly maybe I'm just being a cheap old bastard. 

 

I understand completely what you're saying. However, how many times has the centerline tank actually been jettisoned? I would imagine they would only do that if they got into close-in knife fight. At the point, I would imagine they wouldn't care about the IRST being lost. 😄 I wonder if the Syrian MiG-killer jettisoned any stores and or simply maneuvered and got him with a missile.

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1 hour ago, Darren Roberts said:

 

I understand completely what you're saying. However, how many times has the centerline tank actually been jettisoned? I would imagine they would only do that if they got into close-in knife fight. At the point, I would imagine they wouldn't care about the IRST being lost. 😄 I wonder if the Syrian MiG-killer jettisoned any stores and or simply maneuvered and got him with a missile.

He and his wingman jettison all air to ground ordnance and associated suspension (BRU-55's) after the engagement, all missiles (AIM's) and tanks were kept.

 

As for the new IRST Pod (AN/ASG-34(V)1), if someone does jettison it, they better have a darn good reason for doing so or they are going to be spending the rest of their Naval career on Diego Garcia.

Edited by GW8345
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1 hour ago, Darren Roberts said:

 

I understand completely what you're saying. However, how many times has the centerline tank actually been jettisoned? I would imagine they would only do that if they got into close-in knife fight. At the point, I would imagine they wouldn't care about the IRST being lost. 😄 I wonder if the Syrian MiG-killer jettisoned any stores and or simply maneuvered and got him with a missile.

 

F-18's have at least two kills where they engaged Iraqi aircraft, shot them down, then went on to bomb assigned targets.

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2 hours ago, habu2 said:

I'd worry more about the limited upper view due to forward fuselage blocking the view.

 

Easy to solve ...

Just roll inverted ... :naughty:

 

-Gregg

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11 hours ago, habu2 said:

I'd worry more about the limited upper view due to forward fuselage blocking the view.

 

System is designed for BVR acquisition and tracking.

At these ranges, fwd fuselage doesn't block much.

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I never understood why a standard targeting pod couldn't be upgraded to do this job instead of the tank mounted option.   Is the IRST that much more powerful / capable than the latest generation targeting pods?

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2 hours ago, 11bee said:

I never understood why a standard targeting pod couldn't be upgraded to do this job instead of the tank mounted option.   Is the IRST that much more powerful / capable than the latest generation targeting pods?


The standard pods are normally carried in place of one of the two fuselage-mounted AIM-120C's, by going with the tank mount the aircraft can carry a full set of air to air missiles. The IRST is normally used for BVR air target acquisition.

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15 minutes ago, mawz said:


The standard pods are normally carried in place of one of the two fuselage-mounted AIM-120C's, by going with the tank mount the aircraft can carry a full set of air to air missiles. The IRST is normally used for BVR air target acquisition.

 Understood but from all I've read, I thought the latest pods also have this ability?

 

Regardless, it's a good bit of kit to have, given the focus the bad guys have on jamming our radars and data links. 

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53 minutes ago, 11bee said:

 Understood but from all I've read, I thought the latest pods also have this ability?

 

Regardless, it's a good bit of kit to have, given the focus the bad guys have on jamming our radars and data links. 

 

From what I've read, the IRST system is to help defeat "stealth" capabilities, if you will. In the article, is said the Russians had bought into this concept in the 80's, but the technology wasn't all that great. This is supposed to be leaps and bounds beyond what's being fielded now. Of course, all that can probably be taken with a grain of salt.

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28 minutes ago, Darren Roberts said:

 

From what I've read, the IRST system is to help defeat "stealth" capabilities, if you will. In the article, is said the Russians had bought into this concept in the 80's, but the technology wasn't all that great. This is supposed to be leaps and bounds beyond what's being fielded now. Of course, all that can probably be taken with a grain of salt.

Yeah, the IRST concept has been around for ages, it started out with the F-101, 104 and 106.   Guessing it didn't work that great because the sets were removed from those aircraft later in life, but by all accounts the stuff nowadays is pretty impressive.   

 

You are correct about one of the main roles is to detect "stealth" aircraft, I forgot about that.   If these are so efficient at detecting those jets, not sure what that says about how well the F-22 and F-35 will fare against bad guys using the same gear?

 

 

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An effective tool at picking up stealthy cruise missiles endangering the fleet.

Surprised there's nothing to protect it during cats and traps, but maybe it just needs a regular buffing.

 

Tony 

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29 minutes ago, Darren Roberts said:

Would it be any different from the IRST on the F-14D? That was front and center for cats and traps. 

 

A primary contributor to FOD during takeoff and landing is the landing gear/wheels.  The F-14 design placed the sensor in front of the nose wheel, this design places it behind the nose wheel.

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1 hour ago, Darren Roberts said:

Would it be any different from the IRST on the F-14D? That was front and center for cats and traps. 

On the Tomcat, the IRST was in front of the nose gear/shuttle, stuff being thrown up by the cat was not a factor.

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34 minutes ago, habu2 said:

 

A primary contributor to FOD during takeoff and landing is the landing gear/wheels.  The F-14 design placed the sensor in front of the nose wheel, this design places it behind the nose wheel.

The issue isn't FOD, it's the grease and steam spray from the cat.

 

And actually, the primary contributor to FOD during takeoff/landings are loose fastners, landing gear/wheels are very low on the list of FOD contributors.

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