BAE Systems has received a $13 million contract for advanced GPS technology to protect U.S. F-15E aircraft from GPS signal jamming and spoofing.
The company’s Digital GPS Anti-jam Receiver (DIGAR), they say, will ensure the reliability of military GPS systems for aircraft operating in challenging signal environments.
“DIGAR uses advanced antenna electronics, high-performance signal-processing, and digital beamforming – a capability that combines 16 steered beams – for better GPS signal reception and superior jamming immunity. These capabilities are critical for high-speed aircraft as they manoeuvre through the battlespace.”
The F-15 Eagle is the second U.S. Air Force fighter platform to receive DIGAR GPS upgrades, following the F-16 Fighting Falcon. DIGAR also provides GPS capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft as well as multiple unmanned aerial vehicles.
“Modern airborne missions require accurate positioning and navigation data, and GPS systems must be able to withstand adversaries’ best disruption efforts,” said Greg Wild, Navigation and Sensor Systems product line director at BAE Systems.
“Our DIGAR antenna electronics are trusted to protect these platforms in contested environments.”
According to a news release from the firm:
“BAE Systems’ family of military GPS products offer size, weight, and power characteristics suitable for a variety of applications, including handheld electronics, vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft, and precision-guided munitions. In addition to GPS Anti-Jam products, the company is currently delivering advanced GPS products compatible with the next-generation M-Code satellite signal, and is developing the next generation of receivers to ensure dependable GPS for warfighters across land, air, and sea domains. BAE Systems work on military GPS technology takes place in Cedar Rapids, where the company is investing more than $100 million to build a 278,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art research and manufacturing center.”
Quite interesting how long a lot of these Cold War airframes have served for. When you think the first f15A came off the production line 50 years ago and it’s design was from the modern to late 1960s. Even they very youngest f15c airframe is 35 years old. Infact the F15 makes the tornado look like a bit of a spring chicken. Such a shame we retired such an effective aircraft as the tornado, when other nations invest to keep their aircraft flying.
I don’t think we could have afforded Tempest if we still ran Tornado and Harrier. Even keeping two main platforms going and developing another is a costly act in these 2% GDP days. I’d have like us to keep working on the Hawk too.
Yep, unfortunately when you make such choices you do have to examine if you are spending the correct amount of money on risk mitigation ( the military are essentially a very large set of risk mitigations). In reality they probably should have kept the tornado squadrons running until they could replaced like for like by F35B squadrons. I suspect that if that decision came up now they may not have scrapped tornado until we had two full squadrons of F35B and there was some increased weapons integration.
Sometimes the risk and need has to dictate the spending level and not the spending level deciding risk and need..especially high level risks and or needs.
Totally agree with that last paragraph. I think at the end, our Tornado GR4’s were about knackered after nearly 3 decades of continuous operational use. The shame is we don’t have a larger Typhoon force to take up the slack. Typhoon force is meeting all operational requirements, and is doing a sterling job. But keeping the fleet at around 160 would have given the RAF more depth, while the F35 fleet is gaining in numbers and experience.
Same with the US navy, they have an ability to just keep going. A lot of it could of been to do with the fact they were able to be built in such large numbers due to the Soviet threat, then the inevitable collapse of theat empire then the gulf war came along and it’s there where they really proved what a reliable airframe it is. Then came the changes post gulf in budget setbacks and literally nothing really on the drawing board for a replacement, especially in like for like numbers that wouldn’t of been possible that they were forced to stick with it and upgrade over time. After all the only fighter that can replace an F15 is another F15 hence Boeing still getting big contracts to build more so expect it to be around for a while yet
F15 was supposed to be replaced by F-22 and more recently F-35 but events led to the conclusion that wasn’t needed, sustainable or financially feasible in the post Cold War environment. Thus, aided by F-35 costs and delays, the big upgrade to the F-15 has occurred to compensate and create the two tier hi/lo force to keep up numbers, and keep down overall costs.
A similar thing happened with F-14, a naval F-22 was mooted but rejected on cost and technical grounds (thankfully), an upgraded Tomcat with delta wing was proposed as the best option, but instead the Hornet was developed into the Super Hornet so a single, if arguably less capable attack and defence platform as a cheaper option was adopted, till F-35 could potentially replace them. Now of course the two tier hi/lo concept has been adopted there too for the foreseeable future at least.
No too sure I agree with you. The advantages of the F-22, particularly of the F-35, diminish greatly once planes get within visual range of one another. Also, fifth-gen’s usually put the munitions inside the internal weapons bay carrying only 4 (typically) devices, whereas the F-22 can hold (6 to 8) subject to what it is. This is great for stealth but doesn’t really strike the same note staring down an adversary with an AIM-9 sidewinder missile on the side of it. To get anywhere near on the F-35, you need beast mode, which negates the stealth, which means you are much better off with an F-15; you can still use an F-15 with the F-35 acting as Quarterback. This would allow you to let one hell of a middle volley off just over the horizon. There are a fair few sources, and I know from one of mine, a particular aspect that hamstrings the F-35 that the RAF’s old platforms beat hands down.
To be perfectly honest, I believe you need several platforms,
You can transform a fighter like F-15 into a multimission aircraft if the airframe has size for that, while transforming an attack aircraft like Tornado into a multimission aircraft is complicated specially since it was made for low level.
It was also a smaller aircraft with a very high density.
It would also probably better that all Tornados had the ADV size with extra fuel.
Spot on its concept ran out of time whereas the F-15 hasn’t, it just needed updating to make it viable in sub stealth mode at least.
Losing Tornado,Harrier and jaguar was all down to two men called David Cameron and George Osborne oh and Nimrod MR4 plus the damage to the Navy and Army .For me away.😕
Jaguar GR3, Sea Harrier FA2 and Tornado F3 was all axed before the Coalition gov came to power in 2010. The RAF Harrier GR7/9 force had also been reduced to a lower number before 2010. Tornado GR4 numbers had also been reduced before 2010. Both Labour and Conservative govs have been equally bad at managing defence, and having short term views when it comes to the spending rounds.
Oh, God, another one…..!
Seconded mate. People really need to look at FACTS.
Yep. Nimrod was the worst cut of 2010, and the big reduction in manning levels.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but consolidating the fleets down to Typhoon and Lightning seems to have been a good decision. Jaguar, let’s face it, would not have been survivable in a proper war. It was a one way bomb truck in some respects.
Yes, I think Typhoon and F35 will be a deadly combination, and many of our earlier fast jets types did have many limitations. Capability and effectiveness will always trump numbers.
Yes all those platforms were becoming marginal at best and as we are not in an ideal world it was though they still had life, best to cut them and commit to better platforms or those with more growth in a cost induced world.
Agreed, Cameron & Osbourne were a disaster for the UK.
Jaguar went in the 2004 “New Chapter SDSR”
Cameron/Osborne were from 2010.
Harrier – Nos 3 and 4 squadrons all cut by Labour, only 1 Sqn remained in 2010 for Cameron/Osborne to cut. The Sea Harriers had long been disposed of save a few at SOFDO.
Tornado GR4. 13 squadrons had reduced to 7 by the time Cameron arrived.
Tornado F3, 7 Squadrons had reduced to 2 by the time Cameron arrived.
I can start on the army and RN cuts too if you wish.
Yes, Cameron and Osborne were very bad for defence. Awful.
But can you acknowledge the Labour government from 1997 to 2010 was also disastrous Andrew?
That I can don’t like it but do remember sea Harriers going under Labour,and did fair share of cuts .Guess one has to take it on the Chin 🙄
My respect then, Andrew. There are posters in here who hid or plain denied when I’ve confronted them with the facts that the previous rabble were crap too.
Our numbers are indeed far too few for what HMG still asks the forces to do.
With Harrier, it was an easy choice to make for them in 2010, with but 1 frontline squadron remaining alongside 20R the ICU. What the Tories screwed over more than anything was the army, which had largely escaped til then, and, like Robert said, the 5,000 personnel cuts to the RN and the RAF.
👍
I don’t think any of the U.K. administrations have really covered themselves well in regards to defence. Even thatchers administration was on the brink of turning the navy into essentially a brown water/North Atlantic only navy, until the falklands gave the nation a kick in the teeth and an understanding of what not having a blue water navy would mean. The only bit of glory I will give to the Blair/Brown administration in regards to defence are the Elizabeth and Prince of Wales. That’s secured a blue water focused navy for around another 40 years.But that’s it and with Thatcher the fact she managed to push through Trident in the 1980s….as for every other decision by all administrations we have had pretty much 60 years of military retrenchment, even after our nation recovered from crippling war dept and the economic stagnation of 1945 to 1979.
Agreed J, as so often.
Yes, the Nimrod MR4 would have been another world beater. The Nimrod far surpassed the P-9 Orion when it came into service, the sheer stupidity of CaMORON in scraping the project when 3 units had all been built, killed off a major capability while getting it’s detractors that Bag of Danegeld for forcing the RAF to buy American. It also told aircraft manufacturers that another piece of the once mighty British Aircraft industry was dead.
To leave us with no maritime patrol aircraft just couldn’t get my head round it .🤔
Problem is not so much the aircraft itself it did what it was designed to do very well, the best of any around arguably and still would. It’s the concept that no longer works however as Ukraine, indeed even the Gulf war has shown. It was designed to fly fast in terrain following mode to strike its target but that has been shown to be no longer really practical while even updating and further developing the sensors to even nominally do so in a modern environment was complex and exorbitant. As we know late on and post Gulf war it was changed to doing its tasks at altitude. The problem there was it’s whole airframe, technological and engine design generally made it no more or even less effective than aircraft like the F15 and more significantly the Typhoon once it’s abilities were upgraded and certainly a lot less flexible, so any advantages that remained simply were not worth the costs and compromises involved. Indeed one could argue its presence has probably cost a lot of sales and certainly development of Typhoon and it’s full potential because it prevented till latterly many of the requirements for becoming a flexible platform especially for ground attack that adopters would demand.
Wonder whether the rather ridiculous firewall constraint that BAE (US) cannot discuss/share various program specifics w/ BAE (UK), will be relaxed/eliminated as a result of AUKUS? Collectively, political leaders have to realize we have returned to great power confrontation/conflict. We will soon be confronted w/ multiple existential threats; ChiComs plan to triple nuke inventory by 2030. Deliberately hobbling our collective response appears the height of folly.
Would be interesting to know whether BAE Inc. contribution is factored into UK contribution on the F-35
Excellent point. Presume BAE accounting reports are on web. Anyone w/ an accounting background lurking?
Not even sure I want to contemplate this based on previous depressing revelations of pr over reality. I just think I know the answer sadly.
It does not matter if they quadruple or decuple their inventory, any nuclear exchange between members of the club, will result in an uninhabitable planet Earth as we know it. Elementary physics.
Recently read an article, published by an apparently reputable research group, that predicted extended survival for selected territories in Southern Hemisphere, including Oz and NZ, for scenarios short of full scale exchange; eerily reminiscent of the novel “on the Beach.” Claim was that these areas would avoid effects of nuclear winter and populations would not succumb to starvation Surprised me, as well; who knew there might be “winners?” Will attempt to find link again and post, if successful.
No such thing, cloud cuckoo land waffle! No-one has seen or been to Armageddon, after an all-out nuclear exchange.
Believe prediction based upon amount of debris that would be circulating in atmosphere combined w/ latest meteorological models. Correct that prediction is only as accurate as inputs and the model validity itself. No sane person would wish to press to test. Unfortunately, doesn’t guarantee event will not occur.
Doubtful, but that’s IF Russia or China neglect to target them. Then there’s the melting of the ice caps a nuclear armageddon would cause, raising sea levels 50+ metres which would wipe out most coastal settlements including most major cities.
You might find this interesting:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1567158546093031425
“Letter of last resort”
Apparently a new UK prime minister reportedly has four basic choices for instructing a UK ballistic missile submarine commander (which may be combined):
1. Retaliate
2. Do not retaliate
3. Put yourself under command of the US or Australian navy (if they still exist)
4. Use your own best judgment
If the Northern Hemisphere is lost, and there is still viable life in the Southern Hemisphere, it looks like Oz inherits the UK SSBN fleet.
Sounds like “On the Beach” to me.
Yes, verily. W/ apologies to the moderator (s) re topicality; could easily envision a partial RN salvo, combined w/ plan to rendezvous w/ remaining USN/RAN (possibly NZ) assets. incidentally, RN may be able to sortie more than one Dreadnought, if provided some advanced warning, during early years of deployment (minimized maintenance requirements). Tory government plans to increase warhead supply sufficiently to accommodate this. Hmm…almost demonstrates that the blokes down at the Admiralty have a clue and perhaps a plan. 🤔 Many believe in the scenario of an all out first exchange. Based TOTALLY on uninformed, idle and fevered speculation, there MIGHT be a scenario wherein strategic assets are deliberately w/held for a second, third and fourth strike. The intent could POSSIBLY be to ensure nothing larger than a cockroach is able to reconstitute life in said territories. Doesn’t matter how deep a hole Mad Vlad and the slobbering Orcs, or the ChiComs, or the Mullahs, or the NK whack job, have dug. They have to come up for air sometime. Smack! 🤔😳
My personal view is that I don’t mind departing, but I would appreciate an opportunity to take as many scum sucking, slime balls along w/ me, as possible. Not everyone agrees w/ that POV.
Of course, the opposition could be planning something similar. 🤔😳 HMNB Clyde would definitely be targeted. All major USAF bases, the missle fields, major USN bases. Some wit once said it could be a rough day, unless one applies a sunscreen w/ an SPF north of 5M.
Had not considered this before, but one may choose to carefully consider the risk/reward ratio in purchasing real estate near the RAN fleet base in/near Perth, especially if it becomes a joint use RAN/RN/USN SSN/(SSBN?) MOB. 🤔
None of the aforementioned fevered speculation is necessarily indicative of Uncle Sugar’s official policy…
Saw on the BBC , can’t remember source, a nuke exchange between India and Pakistan would send the world into a nuclear winter. 2 relatively minor nuke players.
On unrelated news, our government has just cleared the sale of Inmarsat to the US. So much for us becoming a world leader in space technology. Megitt just sold for £6.3 bn. Ultra Electronics for £2.6 bn. Ultra is being sold to Cobham, which used to be British until they sold that off too. These companies are often broken up and asset stripped. The majority of Cobham was apparently sold on.
Kwasi Kwarteng and Jacob Rees Mogg: selling England by the pound.
The idiot Krazey Kwarteng again?
The buyers know that the promises the UK Govt require them to make are worth nothing as they will not be enforced, so they can asset strip to their heart’s content.
No vision. No sense. No future.
Cobham was dismantled within about 18 months – decent details in Wiki entry.
Kwarteng was the earlier ones, this latest is J R-M.
Want to put your own money on it? The issue is if it not the foreign buyers the taxpayers will have to fill it.
Hmmm.
That’s what was done for Rolls Royce and Sheffield Forgemasters.
There is a place for public investment on occasion, especially after we need to be more selbständig post-Brexit.
Cobham got too aggressive in takeover activity and found itself in deep financial trouble with excessive debt. Any turnaround was thwarted when it ran into trouble on the Boeing KC-46a.There was no British equity fund that would take it over and rescue it from British mismanagement. There are 3500 Brits still employed today because of that purchase. What assets were stripped?
Yep…an absolute bloody joke….what should we expect?They know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Well we have long had a hedge fund view of British Industry esp under Moggy so we simply aren’t set up to encourage either a level up agenda, preserve and encourage new innovative business certainly beyond a known sell out date to cash in and no concept of establishing national champions like say the French do. Just seen the decline in our export ranking since 2016, we have fallen behind Hong Kong, Italy and the Netherlands when a few years before that we were still vying with France. So much for all the supposed foreign investment when in reality it was buying up businesses which often there after reduced uk tax income from those businesses and removed opportunities for their own expansion. It’s why we are now overwhelmingly a small business economy that is not set up to expand organically into large, growing profitable businesses with international clout.
No one can say the F15 isn’t a bloody good fighter. From it’s load out, to the ability in taking out opposition from 90 miles away, we sadly haven’t seen it’s like. I’m surprised there’s never been an attempt to take its basic principles, integrate many aspects of the F22 and a new air dominance fighter is born.