Aviation Monthly |
Aviation Monthly |
13 Jan 2014, 4:32
Post
#1
|
|
Group: Dev. Team Posts: 838 Joined: 7 June 2009 From: Southeastern USA Member No.: 47 |
Hey guys, this is the first installment on a magazine style review of the weapons and technology used in the ROTR world. I'll be doing most of the US aircraft first, I do plan on moving on to other faction's aircraft later on and perhaps expanding to ground vehicles, firearms, and warships. (Ever wanted to learn more about the Spirit of Freedom and it's sister ship?) Here's the first part:
Aviation Monthly: September 203x United States Airpower, Part I - Written by Amy Kelly As tensions rise in Eurasia over the recent skirmishes in Africa and economic stagnation in Russia, so too has the specter of another major war in Europe and the eventual American involvement. Despite the downfall of NATO after the ill-advised US retreat from Europe 15 years ago, the Bradford administration maintains a strong anti-Russian expansionist policy and indications hint at possible military and economic action in favor of the European Continental Alliance should hostilities break out. Ever since the Second World War, the United States military has relied extensively on air dominance to achieve battlefield superiority. As any member of the USAF or Naval Air Force can tell you, no US soldier or Marine on the ground has been killed by enemy aircraft since the Korean War. Even after the post GWOT cutbacks, the US military has maintained a strong Air Force and naval air capabilities, and seeks to further expand said capabilities in an ever more dangerous world. This article seeks to explore information about the aircraft used today by the various branches of the US armed forces. TRANSPORT/AIRLIFT: Though the majority of heavy airlifting by the USAF is done today by conventional aircraft such as the C-130J Super Hercules and C-17B Globemaster III, VTOL aircraft have become a more and more capable replacement for helicopters and light cargo transport. Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey: Although the V-22 Osprey had a troubled development phase, today it serves as the main medium lift aircraft used by the US Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy. Even though newer designs such as the V-25 Goshawk are planned to eventually phase out the Osprey, it still sees heavy use as a transport aircraft by American combat forces and will see heavy use in the foreseeable future. Bell-Boeing V-25 Goshawk: The V-25 Goshawk is one of the newest aircraft used by the US Armed forces, and is the end result of the JMR-Heavy Future Vertical Lift program. By the end of the last decade, the US Army desired a new VTOL transport to replace the aging CH-47 Chinook fleet, which had been wearing out through heavy use in the past two decades. Although the Army had declined to take part in the V-22 program, they looked with interest in the further development of tiltrotor aircraft. The V-25 Goshawk was the intermediate step between the light V-22 Osprey and the heavy V-34 Starlifter II. Compared to the CH-47 Chinook, the V-25 is capable of carrying more cargo faster, longer, and at a higher altitude. As an infantry carrier, it can transport a platoon of infantry or a single Cougar MRAP or HMMWV. In contrast to the Osprey, the Goshawk is a semi-tilt-wing with 250% more wing surface, roughly 60% of which tilts along with the engine nacelles, and a lifting body, significantly improving glide capability and allowing to remove the fancy - and heavy - transmission, converting the engines to straight-up carbon composite turbine turboprops with only standard reduction gearboxes remaining. Today, the US Army and US Navy are the main users of the V-25 Goshawk whilst the USMC and US Air Force are considering purchasing them to replace their aging Ospreys. Bell-Boeing V-34 Starlifter II: The first examples of the V-44 entered the late prototype testing phase during the end of the GLA War, but budget cutbacks slowed its entry into service until quite recently. By the end of the last decade, the US Army desired a new VTOL transport to replace the aging CH-47 Chinook fleet, which had been wearing out through heavy use in the past two decades. Although the Army had declined to take part in the V-22 program, they looked with interest in the further development of tiltrotor aircraft. As the end result of the Bell-Boeing Quad Tilt Rotor program, the V-34 is the direct replacement of the CH-47 Chinook and the CH-53 Super Stallion, and is planned to phase out the C-130J Super Hercules. The quad tilt rotor engines give it a cruising speed of over 350 knots and allow it to land in places the C-130 cannot. It is capable of carrying around 26,000 kilograms of cargo (or several M5A1 Schwarzkopf ”Crusader” light tanks or IFVs), or 110 paratroopers/150 infantry. Lockheed-Martin C-130J Super Hercules, Boeing C-17B Globemaster III, & Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy: When heavier lifting is required by the US military’s expeditionary forces, the fixed wing airfleet comes into play. Though the C-130J Super Hercules and C-5M Super Galaxy are old (yet proven and popular) designs, the more advanced Boeing C-17B Globemaster III is an increasingly common sight in the US Air Force as well as the air forces of other nations. The C-17 underwent a mid-life upgrade even before the newer export production run, including double-slotted flaps, an additional main landing gear on center fuselage, more powerful engines (F-117-PW-200 turbofans) and other systems for shorter landing and take-off distances, a LANTIRN AN/AAQ-13 pod and passive radar installed into the nose, and an optional bulkhead separating the troop bay from the cargo bay for passenger comfort. ~~~ I hope you enjoyed the first part, stay tuned for Part 2! This post has been edited by DerKrieger: 29 May 2014, 15:52 -------------------- "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."-- George S. Patton
Resquiescat in pace, CommanderJB 1991-2009 |
|
|
2 Apr 2014, 21:05
Post
#2
|
|
Group: Dev. Team Posts: 838 Joined: 7 June 2009 From: Southeastern USA Member No.: 47 |
Ok, here's a quick one:
F-117B Nighthawk: During the Global War on Terror, the GLA saw many of their worst defeats at the direct hand of US/NATO combat aircraft. The GLA did in fact have access to combat aircraft of their own, looted from Cold War-era abandoned armories of Central Asian states, but the aging MiGs were of limited effectiveness against the more advanced aircraft and highly trained pilots the Americans and Chinese possessed. Finding or training skilled pilots and maintenance personnel was often difficult and expensive. The GLA found it more effective in many cases to rely on cheaper and easier to maintain surface-to-air missiles which were extremely easy to obtain on the black market. Extensive AA networks were set up around GLA strongholds, restricting the airspace to all but high-altitude aircraft. Stealth aircraft were able to bypass the GLA's radar networks to deliver surgical strikes on targets. However, there was a lack of suitable stealth aircraft in the US military's inventory. The only stealth aircraft in sizable service numbers at that time was the F-22 Raptor, designed for air superiority. Though the F-22 was a passable tactical bomber when equipped with GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, the GBU-39 and other standard JDAMs were of limited effectiveness against fortified GLA structures and could not clear out underground tunnels or fortified structures. The F-15E could carry bunker busting munitions, but its lack of stealth made it vulnerable to heavy anti-aircraft weaponry; the MQ-9 Reaper was stealthier than the F-15E but it too was unable to carry heavier munitions. There were three new or in development combat aircraft that could carry out such missions; the F/B-40 Aurora, the F-35 Lighting II, and the FQ-47C Pegasus. However, the Aurora and Lighting II were both very new and there weren't quite enough at the onset of hostilities to fit the Air Force and Navy's demands. The US Navy's FQ-47C Pegasus program was early in development and was not complete until after the war. To this end, the US Air Force decided to refit a number of F-117 airframes with modern technology as a stopgap measure. The F-117B Nighthawk was repainted a dark grey scheme to improve stealth in daylight conditions and was equipped with a glass cockpit, a modernized ECM suite with an AESA radar and GPS device, and a modified bomb bay, allowing it to carry missiles such as the AGM-88 HARM. The F-117Bs were forward deployed at Bagram Air Base, and aided in the counterattack in Afghanistan and Operation Stormbringer in Pakistan, operations in Yemen, and were instrumental in neutralizing enemy AA and fortifications during the Battle of Akmola. After the war the F-117B Nighthawk was retired and placed in mothballs, its mission being performed today by the F/B-40 Aurora, F-35 Lighting II, and FQ-47C Pegasus. -------------------- "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."-- George S. Patton
Resquiescat in pace, CommanderJB 1991-2009 |
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 13 May 2024 - 16:36 |