United States Navy (USN) : News & Discussions

On dimensions, the AIM-174 is basically an SM-6 minus its Mk-72 booster, which is 1.7m long, this makes the AIM-174, 4.85m long and 343mm wide. This makes it slightly longer than an SM-2 and the same diameter. The SM-2 has a range of 170km form a ground launch and x3 or x4 is a typical conversion factor for a high speed/altitude air-launch! So 500-700km range for the AIM-174. I guess this is why the F-18E/F got GaN radar.



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Woah, it's operational already, that was quick.


Seems USN has been keeping it a hush about having SM-6 air to air capability classifying it SOP.

A 200+ mile range means E-2D/E-3 guidance or F-35 flying over or near AO.
 
Seems USN has been keeping it a hush about having SM-6 air to air capability classifying it SOP.

A 200+ mile range means E-2D/E-3 guidance or F-35 flying over or near AO.
The F-18s and F-18SHs got GaN radar recently, so that's a possibility too, as is off-board sensors (drones) and the space-based tracking layer's 'FOO-Fighters'.
 
The F-18s and F-18SHs got GaN radar recently, so that's a possibility too, as is off-board sensors (drones) and the space-based tracking layer's 'FOO-Fighters'.
I'm imagining if USN went with F-14 -21 instead of F-18E that F-14 would likely be able to carry 4 SM-6 under fuselage alone and use its own radar to take advantage of SM-6s extreme range sine F-14 would have the biggest and most powerful aesa antenna on a fighter... 3-4k t/r modules.



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I think all that clutter/ir sensors in front would be gone and have a type of EOTS or EOTS allowing the missiles to be a bit forward... powered by two F-35 engines having 100klbs of thrust she'd be a beast. Oh what could have been.
 
I'm imagining if USN went with F-14 -21 instead of F-18E that F-14 would likely be able to carry 4 SM-6 under fuselage alone and use its own radar to take advantage of SM-6s extreme range sine F-14 would have the biggest and most powerful aesa antenna on a fighter... 3-4k t/r modules.



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I think all that clutter/ir sensors in front would be gone and have a type of EOTS or EOTS allowing the missiles to be a bit forward... powered by two F-35 engines having 100klbs of thrust she'd be a beast. Oh what could have been.
True but GaN is 8-16x more powerful than GaAs, which can up to double range. Who doesn't like the idea of a stealth Tomcat though.

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True but GaN is 8-16x more powerful than GaAs, which can up to double range. Who doesn't like the idea of a stealth Tomcat though.

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Blk 2 Hornets don't have GaN and GaN F-18's are not flying anymore... I think.

Stealth Tomcat is Aesthetically pleasing but not practical in real life. Too many moving parts I rather keep it simple. F-14 ST-21 would be a beast she would be multi roles like current Superbug one of them being an EW aircraft. Her AESA would be brutal on enemy fighters including low observable fighters. F-15EX EW capability is considered the best of all western 4th gen fighters the F-14 ST-21 would have been better by a lot. She would be an AWACS, ISR and ELINT/SIGINT fighter all in one just like the F-35. Oh well.
 

 

Through this program, Anduril will demonstrate a high-performance, 21-inch diameter second stage rocket motor for an SM-6 variant for potential use in fleet area air defense against advanced, fast-moving threats.