Best Pics of the Month: September 2020

Pics of the Month September 30, 2020

Best Pics of the Month: September 2020

Efran Syah       Comment   

The USS Sterett steams through the night in the Gulf of Oman, Sept. 17, 2020. (Photo By: Navy Seaman Drace Wilson)

A U.S Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 510th Fighter Squadron, Aviano Air Base, Italy, takes off from RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, Sept. 1, 2020. The 510th FS is conducting close air support training with the 321st Special Tactics Squadron, the 19th Regiment Royal Artillery and the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron to enhance combat capabilities in support of European theater operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jessi Monte)

Tech. Sgt. John Rodiguez, 321st Contingency Response Squadron security team, patrols with a Ghost Robotics Vision 60 prototype at a simulated austere base during the Advanced Battle Management System exercise on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 3, 2020. The ABMS is an interconnected battle network - the digital architecture or foundation - which collects, processes and shares data relevant to warfighters in order to make better decisions faster. In order to achieve all-domain superiority, it requires that individual military activities not simply be de-conflicted, but rather integrated – activities in one domain must enhance the effectiveness of those in another domain. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Cory D. Payne)

Marines fire an M777A2 howitzer during training at Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Sept. 20, 2020. (Photo By: Marine Corps Sgt. Luke Kuennen)

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicholas Luber fires a machine gun during a training flight over Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif., Sept. 4, 2020. (Photo By: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Gavin Umboh)

An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over Southwest Asia, Sept. 12, 2020. (Photo By: Air Force Master Sgt. Larry Reid Jr.)

A B-1 Lancer departs Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Sept. 14, 2020, on its way to Europe in support of a Bomber Task Force mission. BTF missions enable crews to maintain a high state of readiness and proficiency while assuring regional allies and partners of the U.S. commitment to stability throughout the European continent. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. Ted Daigle)

A Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet receives fuel from an Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker while flying in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Sept. 22, 2020. (Photo By: Air Force Staff Sgt. Jason Allred)

C-130 crews with the Minnesota Air National Guard conduct air drop and aerial flare release training above Camp Ripley, Minn., Sept 16, 2020. (Photo By: Anthony Housey, Minnesota National Guard)

Maj. Cody Wilton, A-10 Thunderbolt II Demonstration Team commander and pilot, flies alongside Capt. Kristin Wolfe, F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team pilot, Maj. Garret Schmitz, F-16 Viper Demonstration Team pilot, and a P-51 Mustang as part of a heritage flight formation for the Tri-City Water Follies Drive-In Airshow at Kennewick, Wash., Sept. 4, 2020. The heritage flight was flown as a showcase of past, present and future Air Force aviation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Kip Sumner)

An Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, F-15C Eagles and F-15E Strike Eagles fly in formation with Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SAs during a large formation exercise over Saudi Arabia, Sept. 10, 2020. (Photo By: Air Force Senior Airman Duncan C. Bevan)

Left to right: The USNS Charles Drew, the USS Comstock, the USS Shiloh, the USS New Orleans, the USS Chicago, the USS America, the USS Ronald Reagan, the USNS John Ericsson, the USS Antietam, the USS Germantown and the USNS Sacagawea sail in formation with Navy and Air Force aircraft during Valiant Shield in the Philippine Sea, Sept. 25, 2020. The exercise is designed to focus on integration of joint training in a blue-water environment among U.S. forces. (Photo By: Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Erica Bechard)

A Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopter pulls a service member out of the water during a mine countermeasures interoperability exercise in the Persian Gulf, Sept. 10, 2020.

Left to right: USS Germantown, USNS John Ericsson, USS Antietam, USS Ronald Reagan, USS America, USS Shiloh, USS New Orleans and USS Comstock break away from formation during Exercise Valiant Shield in the Philippine Sea, Sept. 25, 2020.

Navy warships sail in formation with Australian, Korean and Japanese vessels during Pacific Vanguard in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 14, 2020. The exercise is designed to improve multinational interoperability. (Photo By: Official Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)

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Skyflash AAM

missiles and rockets September 29, 2020

Skyflash AAM

Efran Syah       Comment   

BAe Skyflash AAM at the RAF Museum, Cosford, 8 July 2020. (Hugh Llewelyn)

The Skyflash, or Sky Flash in marketing material, was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian Aeronautica Militare and Royal Saudi Air Force Tornados and Swedish Flygvapnet Viggens.

A Tornado F3 from 43 Squadron based at RAF Leuchars seen here carrying a full range of armaments. (Sgt Rick Brewell/MOD)

Skyflash replaced the original Raytheon conical scanning seeker with a Marconi inverse monopulse seeker that worked with the F-4's radar. Monopulse seekers are more accurate, less susceptible to jamming, and able to easily pick out targets at low altitudes.

It offered significantly better performance than the original seeker, allowing British Aerospace to dispense with upgrades to the warhead that were carried out in the US to address poor accuracy.

Panavia Tornado Prototype ADV with semi-recessed Skyflash missiles at Farnborough, England, 4 September 1980. (MilborneOne)

Skyflash was tested in the US, but after trials against experimental monopulse seekers from Raytheon, the United States Navy elected to order a different monopulse-equipped version of the Sparrow, the AIM-7M. Both Skyflash and AIM-7M were later replaced by the more capable AMRAAM.

Design of the Skyflash rocket was started in 1973 by the British Aerospace company on the basis of the American rocket AIM-7E2 "Sparrow". At the stage of development work the missile had the index XJ521.

A Saab JA37 Viggen being armed up with an RB71 Skyflash at F13 Wing Bråvalla the missile has been taken up and under the left wing,1 April 1982. (Rune Rydh / Flygvapenmuseum)

The principal difference between Skyflash" and the American prototype is the homing head. It is equipped with a semi-active radar monopulse homing head, which has greater accuracy and better interference immunity than the homing head conical scanning missile AIM-7E2.

Skyflash at the Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna di Valle, 1 April 2012. (Zerosei)

Flight tests of Skyflash missiles began in November 1975 in the United States at the Pacific Range. During the tests in the summer of 1976, of the seven missiles fired by F-4J fighters at air targets, six flew past targets within the kill range of the combat unit.

Saab 37 Viggen No. 37-5 in the air over FMV Vidsel Test Range, Sweden. It's equppied with Skyflash air-to-air missiles, Swedish Air Force designation Robot 71, between 1975 and 1980. (Lennart Johansson / Flygvapenmuseum)

In 1978, the Skyflash missile was adopted by the British Air Force. It was armed with F-4, "Tornado", F-16 aircraft. The "Skyflash" missile is produced under license in Sweden under the index Av.71 to equip the Swedish fighter-interceptors "Viggen".

Saab 37 Viggen No. 37-5 in the air over FMV Vidsel Test Range, Sweden. It's equppied with Skyflash air-to-air missiles, Swedish Air Force designation Robot 71, between 1975 and 1980. (Lennart Johansson / Flygvapenmuseum)

In the late 1970s in England began work to upgrade the rocket "Skyflash". The new missile was called "Active Skyflash".

British Aerospace Skyflash air-to-air missile. Photo taken at the RAF Museum Cosford, Shropshire, England, 16 August 2010. (Rept0n1x)

The "Skyflash" rocket has an aerodynamic scheme of the "duck" type with a crosswing and stabilizer. The missile retains the appearance of the AIM-7E2, wing compartment, 39.5 kg rods combat unit and the Aerojet Mk.52 Mod.2 or Rocketdyne Mk.38 Mod 4 engine. The 68.5 kg engine has an operating time of about 5 seconds.

EAP Leaving Loughborough , 26 March 2012. (Simon Howroyd)

The rocket "Skyflash" has radar semi-active inversion monopulse SOS of "Marconi" company, which consists of three main easily replaceable blocks: an antenna with a rotation mechanism, a receiver signals and a unit for their processing. The antenna is gyrostabilized and mounted on cardan suspension.

The system works in Cartesian coordinate system, the maximum bearing angle is more than 40°. Light DC electric motors are used in the antenna drive, providing control by azimuth and angle of place.

Receiver head has four receiving antennas, forming three channels of signal processing. PCBs are used in the design of the receiver and signal processing unit. Each subsystem of these units performs an independent function, which facilitates maintenance and repair.

BAe Skyflash AAM of the BAe EAP at the RAF Museum, Cosford, Shropshire, 8 July 2020. (Hugh Llewelyn)

The homing head of the Skyflash missile is optimized for joint use with the radar station, which has a continuous radiation channel. The choice of such a station, rather than a pulsed Doppler station, is explained by its greater cost-effectiveness, while a pulsed Doppler radar can be used to point missiles only if the pulse repetition rate is high, which requires a powerful, and therefore larger, and heavier energy source on the aircraft carrier.

Skyflash AAM test firing

Specifications

• Primary function: Medium-range air-to-air missile
• Main Contractor: BAe Dynamics, with Raytheon as subcontractor
• Unit cost: £150,000 per round 
• Mass: 193 kg (425 lb)
• Length: 3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
• Weight: 193 kg (425 lb)
• Diameter: 203 mm
• Warheads: High explosive expanding ring with proximity fuze
• Warhead weight: 39.5 kg (87 lb)
• Engine: Rocketdyne solid propellant rocket motor
• Wingspan: 1.02 m (3 ft 6 in)
• Operational range: 45 km (28 mi)
• Maximum speed: Mach 4
• Guidance system: Marconi inverse monopulse semi-active radar homing
• Users: UK (Royal Air Force), Saudi Arabia (Royal Saudi Air Force), Italy (on leased Tornado F3s), Sweden (Royal Swedish Air Force).
• Date deployed: 1978
• Date retired: Approx 2005-2006.

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M4 Carbine Assault Rifle

Firearms September 27, 2020

M4 Carbine Assault Rifle

Efran Syah       Comment   

The M4 Carbine is a 5.56×45mm NATO, air-cooled, gas-operated, direct impingement, magazine-fed carbine. It has a 14.5 in (370 mm) barrel and a telescoping stock. It is essentially a lighter and shorter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle.

M4 rifle with scope and stock tripod

The M4 is extensively used by the United States Armed Forces and is largely replacing the M16 rifle in United States Army and United States Marine Corps combat units as the primary infantry weapon and service rifle.

M4 Carbine with M203 Grenade Launcher

Equipped with a shorter barrel, collapsible stock and detachable carrying handle (with a built-in accessory rail) it provides soldiers operating in close quarters with improved handling and the capability to rapidly and accurately engage targets at extended range, day or night.

The M203 and M320 grenade launchers can be mounted on the lower hand guard of the carbine. The distinctive step in its barrel is for mounting the M203 with the standard hardware.

The M4-series Carbine achieves over 80% commonality with the M16A2 Rifle and replaces all M3 .45 caliber submachine guns, and selected M9 pistols and M16 rifles.

As with many carbines, the M4 is handy and more convenient to carry than a full-length rifle. The price is slightly inferior ballistic performance compared to the full-size M16, with its 5.5" (14 cm) longer barrel. This becomes most apparent at ranges of 200 yards (180 m) and beyond.

The M26 12-Gauge Modular Accessory Shotgun System (MASS) provides a door breacher, shotgun, and less-than-lethal engagement system as a rifle accessory or as a standalone system without the need for a second weapon

Some features of the M4 and M4A1 compared to a full-length M16-series rifle include:

• Compact size
• Shortened barrel 14.5 in (370 mm), which includes the shorter carbine gas system.
• Telescoping buttstock.

However, there have been some criticisms of the carbine, such as lower muzzle velocities and louder report due to the shorter barrel, additional stress on parts because of the shorter gas system, and a tendency to overheat faster than the M16A2.

Like all the variants of the M16, the M4 and the M4A1 can be fitted with many accessories, such as night vision devices, flash suppressors, laser pointers, telescopic sights, bipods, either the M203 or M320 grenade launchers, the M26 MASS shotgun, forward hand grips, and anything else compatible with a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail.

Other common accessories include the AN/PEQ-2, AN/PEQ-15 multi-mode laser, AN/PEQ-16 Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG), and M68 CCO. EOTech holographic weapon sights are part of the SOPMOD II package. Visible and IR (infrared) lights of various manufacturers are also commonly attached using various mounting methods. As with all versions of the M16, the M4 accepts a blank-firing attachment (BFA) for training purposes.

The M4 has semi-automatic and three-round burst firing modes (like the M16A2 and M16A4), while the M4A1 has semi-automatic and fully automatic firing modes (like the M16A1 and M16A3).

M4 feedramps are extended from the barrel extension into the upper receiver. This can help alleviate feeding problems that may occur as a result of the increased pressure of the shortened gas system of the M4. This problem is primarily seen in full-auto applications.

The M320, a 40mm grenade launcher, is the replacement to all M203 series of grenade launchers on M16 Rifles and M4 Carbines. An interoperable system, it attaches under the barrel of the rifle or carbine and can convert to a stand-alone

The M4 carbine has been used for close quarters operations where the M16 would be too long and bulky to use effectively. It has been a compact, light, customizable, and accurate weapon. This has come at the cost of reliability and maintainability. Failure to maintain the M4 causes malfunctions. This became apparent as it saw continued use in the sandy environments of Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite this, in post-combat surveys, 94 percent of soldiers rated the M4 as an effective weapons system.

M4 firing with casing in air

Specifications

• Mass:
• 6.63 lb (3.01 kg) empty
• 7.75 lb (3.52 kg) with 30 rounds
• Length:
• 33 in (838 mm) (stock extended)
• 29.75 in (756 mm) (stock retracted)
• Barrel length: 14.5 in (368 mm)
• Cartridge: 5.56×45mm NATO
• Caliber: 5.56 mm (.223 in)
• Action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt, Stoner expanding gas
• Rate of fire: 700–950 round/min cyclic
• Muzzle velocity: 2,970 ft/s (910 m/s) (M855A1 round)
• Effective firing range: 500 m (550 yd)
• Feed system: 30-round box magazine or other STANAG magazines. Magazines with different capacities also available.
• Sights: Iron sights or various optics

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Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

Fighter Aircraft September 24, 2020

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

Efran Syah       Comment   

Pacific Ocean (Nov. 3, 2014) An F-35C Lightning II carrier variant joint strike fighter conducts approaches the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) for an arrested landing. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Andy Wolfe/Released)

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.

Beaufort, S.C. (March 8, 2016) An F-35B Lightning II performs a vertical landing aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. The F-35B is the short takeoff and vertical landing variant of the jet which uses a jet propulsion system to execute the landing. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Jonah Lovy/Released)

Lockheed Martin is the prime F-35 contractor, with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the carrier-based F-35C (CV/CATOBAR).

Beaufort, S.C. (March 8, 2016) An F-35B Lightning II prepares to take-off aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Jonah Lovy/Released)

The F-35B entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015, followed by the U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 and the U.S. Navy F-35C in February 2019. The F-35 was first used in combat in 2018 by the Israeli Air Force.

The U.S. plans to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which will represent the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades. The aircraft is projected to operate until 2070.

The "Adir" jets first flight in Israel. (Major Ofer)

The F-35 is a family of single-engine, supersonic, stealth multirole fighters. The second fifth generation fighter to enter US service and the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter, the F-35 emphasizes low observables, advanced avionics and sensor fusion that enable a high level of situational awareness and long range lethality; the USAF considers the aircraft its primary strike fighter for conducting suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) missions, owing to the advanced sensors and mission systems.

The carrier variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter flies with external weapons. (National Museum of the U.S. Navy)

The F-35 has a wing-tail configuration with two vertical stabilizers canted for stealth. Flight control surfaces include leading-edge flaps, flaperons, rudders, and all-moving horizontal tails (stabilators); leading edge root extensions also run forwards to the inlets.

The relatively short 35-foot wingspan of the F-35A and F-35B is set by the requirement to fit inside USN amphibious assault ship parking areas and elevators; the F-35C's larger wing is more fuel efficient.

F-35 performs a weapons bay doors pass during an F-35 Demo practice at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Jan. 16, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexander Cook)

The F-35's mission systems are among the most complex aspects of the aircraft. The avionics and sensor fusion are designed to enhance the pilot's situational awareness and command and control capabilities and facilitate network-centric warfare.

Key sensors include the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, BAE Systems AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare system, Northrop Grumman/Raytheon AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System (DAS), Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-40 Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) and Northrop Grumman AN/ASQ-242 Communications, Navigation, and Identification (CNI) suite.

The F-35 was designed with sensor intercommunication to provide a cohesive image of the local battlespace and availability for any possible use and combination with one another; for example, the APG-81 radar also acts as a part of the electronic warfare system.

The F-35B Lightning II fifth generation combat aircraft performs a vertical landing at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, S.C. (Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images)

Stealth is a key aspect of the F-35's design, and radar cross-section (RCS) is minimized through careful shaping of the airframe and the use of radar-absorbent materials (RAM); visible measures to reduce RCS include alignment of edges, serration of skin panels, and the masking of the engine face and turbine. Additionally, the F-35's diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) uses a compression bump and forward-swept cowl rather than a splitter gap or bleed system to divert the boundary layer away from the inlet duct, eliminating the diverter cavity and further reducing radar signature.

U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen)

The glass cockpit was designed to give the pilot good situational awareness. The main display is a 20- by 8-inch (50 by 20 cm) panoramic touchscreen, which shows flight instruments, stores management, CNI information, and integrated caution and warnings; the pilot can customize the arrangement of the information. Below the main display is a smaller stand-by display.

The cockpit has a speech-recognition system developed by Adacel. The F-35 does not have a head-up display; instead, flight and combat information is displayed on the visor of the pilot's helmet in a helmet-mounted display system (HMDS).

(Image via DVIDShub)

To preserve its stealth shaping, the F-35 has two internal weapons bays with four weapons stations. The two outboard weapon stations each can carry ordnance up to 2,500 lb (1,100 kg), or 1,500 lb (680 kg) for F-35B, while the two inboard stations carry air-to-air missiles.

Air-to-surface weapons for the outboard station include the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), Paveway series of bombs, Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), and cluster munitions (Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser).

The station can also carry multiple smaller munitions such as the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDB), GBU-53/B SDB II, and the SPEAR 3 anti-tank missiles; up to four SDBs can be carried per station for the F-35A and F-35C, and three for F-35B. The inboard station can carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Two compartments behind the weapons bays contain flares, chaff, and towed decoys.

(Aug. 1, 2013) Capt. Michael Kingen, a test pilot, flies a BF-1, an F-35B Lightning II, during a 500-pound GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided weapon separation test. BF-1 dropped the GBU-12 over the Atlantic Test Ranges from an internal weapons bay. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Dane Wiedmann/Released)

The single-engine aircraft is powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135 low-bypass augmented turbofan with rated thrust of 43,000 lbf (191 kN). Derived from the Pratt & Whitney F119 used by the F-22, the F135 has a larger fan and higher bypass ratio to increase subsonic fuel efficiency, and unlike the F119, is not optimized for supercruise.

The engine contributes to the F-35's stealth by having a low-observable augmenter, or afterburner, that incorporates fuel injectors into thick curved vanes; these vanes are covered by ceramic radar-absorbent materials and mask the turbine. The stealthy augmenter had problems with pressure pulsations, or "screech", at low altitude and high speed early in its development.

The low-observable axisymmetric nozzle consists of 15 partially overlapping flaps that create a sawtooth pattern at the trailing edge, which reduces radar signature and creates shed vortices that reduce the infrared signature of the exhaust plume. Due to the engine's large dimensions, the USN had to modify its underway replenishment system to facilitate at-sea logistics support.

(US Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Madelyn Brown)

The F-35 is designed to require less maintenance than earlier stealth aircraft. Some 95% of all field-replaceable parts are "one deep"—that is, nothing else need be removed to reach the desired part; for instance, the ejection seat can be replaced without removing the canopy.

The F-35 has a fibermat radar-absorbent material (RAM) baked into the skin, which is more durable, easier to work with, and faster to cure than older RAM coatings; similar coatings are currently being considered for application on older stealth aircraft such as the F-22. Skin corrosion on the F-22 led the F-35's designers to use a less galvanic corrosion-inducing skin gap filler and to use fewer gaps in the airframe skin needing filler and better drainage.

The flight control system uses electro-hydrostatic actuators rather than traditional hydraulic systems; these controls can be powered by lithium-ion batteries in case of emergency. Commonality between the different variants allowed the USMC to create their first aircraft maintenance Field Training Detachment to apply the USAF's lessons to their F-35 operations.

Air Force Fly By, Beaches of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Israel 71st Independence day, 9 May 2019. (Deror Avi)

Specifications (F-35A)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 15.7 m
• Wingspan: 11 m
• Height: 4.4 m
• Empty weight: 13,290 kg
• Gross weight: 22,471 kg
• Max takeoff weight: 31,751 kg
• Fuel capacity: 8,278 kg
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 afterburning turbofan, 28,000 lbf (120 kN) thrust dry, 43,000 lbf (190 kN) with afterburner

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 1.6 at altitude
• 700 kn (806 mph; 1,296 km/h) at sea level
• Range: 1,500 nmi (1,700 mi, 2,800 km)
• Combat range: 669 nmi (770 mi, 1,239 km) on internal fuel
• 760 nmi (870 mi; 1,410 km) interdiction mission on internal fuel, for internal air to air configuration
• Service ceiling: 15,000 m
• g limits: +9.0
• Wing loading: 107.7 lb/sq ft (526 kg/m2) at gross weight
• Thrust/weight: 0.87 at gross weight (1.07 at loaded weight with 50% internal fuel)

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 25 mm (0.984 in) GAU-22/A 4-barrel rotary cannon, 180 rounds
• Hardpoints: 4 × internal stations, 6 × external stations on wings with a capacity of 5,700 pounds (2,600 kg) internal, 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg) external, 18,000 pounds (8,200 kg) total weapons payload,with provisions to carry combinations of missiles and bombs

Avionics

• AN/APG-81 AESA radar
• AAQ-40 E/O Targeting System (EOTS)
• AN/AAQ-37 Distributed Aperture System (DAS) missile warning system
• AN/ASQ-239 Barracuda electronic warfare system
• AN/ASQ-242 CNI suite

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