Beyond The Surface: What Powers The F-35 Lightning II

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25 Nov 2023

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Exploring the Tech within the World’s most prolific 5th Gen Fighter.
If you were to say “controversial programs” in regards to the US in recent memory it’s a fair bet that a couple will be the first to come to mind. It could the the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship. Or it could be the Joint Strike Fighter program, which gave the world the F-35 Lightning.
While the program was controversial in the earlier days, over time it’s matured with high end technology and has replaced many fourth generation fighters across various countries.
With close to 1000 built, it’s become the worlds most prolific stealth fighter. Let’s take a look at some of the tech that makes it tick.

The AN/AAQ-37 Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System

The F-35’s DAS is a large part of what makes the platform so much more effective than previous fighters. While the system is designed with other sub systems included (like the AN/AAQ-40 EOTS) the primary focus of the system lies with six, hi resolution infra red sensors mounted about the aircraft.

These sensors are mounted in such a way as to provide full, unrestricted 360 coverage around the aircraft, and require no pilot input as the system monitors and provides alerts automatically.

The Distributed Aperture system is sensitive enough to provide the F-35 with the following functions.

Missile Detection & Tracking
Aircraft Detection & Tracking
Cockpit Display Imagery & Night Vision.

The system is also rumored to have been tested in other modes, detecting things like tank main guns and other military assets however this is not a core mode. Tracking ballistic missiles is a core mode however and during testing in 2011, DAS detected a ballistic missile launch from over 1300km away using the F35’s Block 3 software. The newer, more combat capable Block 4 software is expected to refine the DAS to give better sensitivity and performance.

The Electro Optical Targeting system is designed to integrate with the DAS.

Sensor Fusion & Datalinking

With only two American 5th gen platforms, it’s worth comparing the two as they are vastly different by designs. While the F-22 Raptor is one of the worlds best designs, it’s full of older late 90’s tech that makes upgrades difficult and expensive to implement.

By comparison the F-35 has later 2000’s technology and pairs this information together to provide something called “sensor fusion”. While it’s not perfect, it is more modern that it’s F-22 equivalent.

Lets ask Chat GPT for a quick description of this.

Input: Describe the concept of Sensor Fusion in the F-35

Output: In the F-35 Lightning II, sensor fusion is a foundational concept that underscores the aircraft’s remarkable situational awareness and combat capabilities. The F-35’s sensor fusion is an advanced and integrated system that combines data from a diverse array of onboard sensors, including radar, electro-optical targeting systems (EOTS), electronic warfare systems, and other sensors. This integrated approach allows the F-35 to gather, process, and present data to the pilot in a unified and coherent manner, providing a comprehensive and real-time understanding of the battle space. As a result, the pilot can make well-informed decisions, engage threats effectively, and operate the aircraft with a high degree of situational awareness.

Sensor fusion in the F-35 serves to reduce pilot workload by presenting critical information in a streamlined format. It helps the pilot to quickly identify and track targets, understand the threat environment, and engage multiple targets simultaneously. The system automatically correlates and prioritizes data from various sensors, offering a clear and coherent picture of the tactical situation. This capability is particularly vital in complex, high-threat environments, where rapid and precise decision-making is essential for mission success. In essence, sensor fusion is at the core of what makes the F-35 Lightning II a fifth-generation fighter, enabling it to maintain a competitive edge in modern air warfare by providing an unparalleled level of awareness, connectivity, and combat effectiveness.

While the F-22 is the worlds premier stealth fighter, it’s powered by older technology compared to the F-35

It’s worth noting here that as technology has evolved the F-35 might be one of the last modern platforms to evolve with locked propitiatory code and hardware. More modern US programs like the B-21 Raider and the 6th Gen Next Generation Air Dominance program are being designed around more open source type architecture, which enables fast, easy and possibly even cheap upgrades to avionics and hardware.

This attitude, while being a vast shift from the attitudes of old is a step toward being able to field more modern technology in a faster manner than we’ve seen previously.

With programs like the MQ-28 Ghost Bat providing a modular platform for interchangeable drone based technology it’s reasonable to assume that at some point, primary aviation assets may well end up getting the same treatment.

The AN/APG-81 AESA Radar. It’s a beast.

The AN/APG-81 Radar

The more modern iteration of the F-22’s AN/APG-77 the ‘81 has the unique distinction of being the world most mass produced AESA radar with over 3000 on order or already installed.

Packed full of technology that includes over 1,650 transmit/receive modules the radar provides fire control for the onboard weapons system.

Due to the F-35’s multi role capability however, the APG-81 provides far more capability than the F-22’s system with advanced air to ground modes that include high resolution ground mapping and mobile target discrimination.

This isn’t like a mechanically scanned array as used by the fighters of old though. Because of this, there’s a few unique tricks that AESA arrays can perform that people are often less aware of.

Firstly, the non mechanical nature of the array lends it’s self to beam forming and shaping, providing low probability of intercept and advanced detection and targeting capabilities.
The array also has the ability to provide Spot Jamming, using the transmitter modules to carry out electronic warfare techniques on devices of interest and providing narrow shaped transmissions allowing for the power to be sent to a specific area rather than an omni directional pattern like many jammers of old.

The biggest trick an AESA system has though, is the ability to combine and provide all these functions simultaneously. It also does this reliably because those hundreds of individual transmit/receive modules we mentioned earlier mean that the failure of a single module will not bring the system down entirely.

In the Future

The implementation of 5th generation platforms proved to be the start of implementing new techniques revolving around information sharing and distributed warfare techniques, where platforms are a “node” within a connected battle space. This lead to new evolution in tactics and theories, some of which we’ll take a look at in later articles.

Australia intends to use it’s F-35 platforms with MQ-28 “Loyal Wingmen”.

However the F-35 will continue to be refined with upgrades in software as well as hardware. One of the biggest hardware upgrades is currently under development with the scheduled AN/APG-85 replacement providing a more refined and modern replacement for the current system we’ve discussed today.

This, along with drone based loyal wing man systems will continue to give the manned F-35 platform plenty of teeth to bring to a fight.

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