Uudessa Gripenissä on uusi dataväylä, mutta siitä en ole tarkempaa tietoa löytänyt. Veikkaisin että joku kuitupohjainen järjestelmä se tulee olemaan, jolloin puhutaan n. 1000x parannuksesta nopeudessa.
F-22 & F-35 koneiden kehityksestä avioniikan osuus on ollut noin puolet, mikä kertoo omalta osaltaan sensoreiden ja sensorifuusion kehittämisen panoksista, tärkeydestä ja kalleudesta. Kuten todettua, yhdysvaltalaisten määritelmässä sensorifuusion on monimutkaisempi asia kuin maalien yhdistäminen.
Koska sensoreista ja fuusiosta saatava hyöty, eli käytännössä laajuus, tarkkuus, nopeus ja luotettavuus ovat riippuvaisia lähinnä algoritmeista, laskentatehosta ja datalinkeistä, on niiden parantaminen koneen elinkaaren aikana suhteellisen helppoa. F-35:ssä parannuksia sensorifuusioon on suunniteltu tulemaan liki jokaisessa isommassa ohjelmistoblokista, joten kyseessä on useamman vuosikymmenen kestävä ohjelmistoprojekti. Tässä lisää aiheesta:
http://www.sldinfo.com/shaping-the-f-35-combat-system-enterprise/
At the core of the F-35’s avionics capabilities is a very high-speed state-of-the-art processor, and there is a roadmap to continue advancing it. Every couple of years, every block or every two blocks at least, there’s a new generation of processor planned that fits right into the existing hardware and software architecture
When you have flexible avionics designs, like the F-35’s AESA, DAS, EW or EOTS, the sky is the limit on the number of applications you’ll want to incorporate, and you’ll need increased processor speeds for even more advanced modes
SLD: Does this mean that we can expect a significant growth path for data generated by the F-35 to support ground, maritime and distributed air operations?
Bartos: That is correct. The F-35 already has significant inherent capability, but the flexible sensor/fusion architecture can capitalize on the vast amounts of data generated by the F-35 to affordably meet new mission requirements. For example, right now in the baseline F-35, DAS is only tasked to provide air tracks and missile tracks, but we’re sure that will evolve. The moving targets, artillery, and other things DAS is also seeing and tracking could be integrated and reported simply by refining the DAS and fusion algorithms, and ensuring the processor capacity matches the data load.
SLD: So we are talking about a combat system enterprise that allows you to start with the first F-35s and build out from the foundation?
Bartos: The core elements of the integrated enterprise are the AESA radar, the EW system, DAS, and the EOTS. But there are other key elements as well such as the CNI technology, the advanced processors, and the high-speed data bus using fiber optic transmission systems aboard the aircraft.
These enablers allow the synergistic capability to be crafted, enhanced, and communicated.
SLD: And this is a major shift from legacy aircraft?
Bartos: It’s akin to broadband versus dial-up modems. Yes, they both have Internet access, but non-integrated avionics are all doing dial-up because they’re stuck with a 1553 data bus and incompatible applications. In contrast, the F-35 has a brand new high-capacity data bus, along with integrated avionics.
Legacy aircraft can have additive tracks, but they’re not going to exploit multi-spectral data on a real-time basis the way the F-35 can.
Jutun lopussa on myös näkemystä sensorifuusion merkityksestä ilmataistelussa F-15 lentäjän näkökulmasta, liippaa läheltä täälläkin keskustelua herättäneisiin asioihin:
SLD: As a former fighter pilot, you have much F-15 experience. How will pilots perform air-to-air operations differently with the F-35? It appears to be a big culture change.
Bartos: Well, it is. And without getting into all the tricks that the F-35 has up its sleeve, because you’re stealthy, you can get a lot closer to the adversary and your missile shots are now lethal, no-escape shots. With the F-15 today, you’re very wary of the range of the other guy’s missile, and you basically have to assume that he’s locked on to you, or at least knows where you are since you are in a big, non-stealthy airframe. And since you don’t have a missile warning system, you have to always assume that there is a missile headed your way when you get near an adversary.
You wind up playing this game of chicken, where you get close enough to throw a rock, and then you run away to avoid any rock coming back at you. And then you try to sneak back and throw another rock from a closer range. And then you run again and try to avoid his next rock. You hope he runs out of rocks first, or that he’s not looking when you throw one of your rocks. But you never get in there and throw rocks without the fear of retribution.
Like the F-22, the F-35 can maneuver right in there and attack with a close-in kill shot without playing chicken.
If the F-35 gets in a bad situation, the pilot can extract himself a heck of a lot easier than in an F-15. The F-35 can turn away and still attack because it has eyes in the back of its head coupled with high off boresight missiles.
DAS is always tracking every aircraft nearby, in every direction, simultaneously, and looking for inbound missiles at the same time. F-35 mission fusion software keeps targets and IDs sorted out, even in a dynamic turning dogfight or when a target is directly behind you.
While flying an F-15 in a dogfight, I have to constantly swivel my head to manually detect and track adversaries and wingmen with my eyes. Situational awareness breaks down quickly, and I’m suddenly wondering if that distant object I’m looking at is an F-15 or an adversary aircraft.
I’ve flown against MiG-29s, and it wasn’t until I was up close and saw the paint job that I could be positive it wasn’t an F-15. With your head and eyes shifting back and forth under high G loading in a turning fight, it is very easy to lose sight, get confused, and misidentify aircraft.
Data link update rates are too slow for ID purposes in a dogfight. ID correlations frequently are swapped from wingmen to bandits and vice versa as they streak past your jet and swap sides.
The F-35 isn’t going to lose those IDs; it isn’t going to lose that situational awareness because there is always at least one sensor with high update rates tracking the various aircraft. In fact, you may even do better by just looking at your situational awareness displays or helmet symbology rather than at the confusing swirl of airplanes to visually sort out good from bad.
And if a missile is shot at you in the F-35, you’ll see it coming whether it is smokeless or not. You can take the appropriate measures, or just let the aircraft automatically provide the countermeasures.
