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Last Updated: Mon Jan 27 11:18:09 UTC 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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JSF: WGCDR Mills Responds
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Air Power
Australia - Australia's Independent Defence Think Tank
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Air Power Australia NOTAM 2nd March, 2009 |
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In this open letter, WGCDR Chris Mills of
Air
Power Australia responds to the public attack on Air Power Australia
made by Maj Gen Charles R
Davis, Program Executive Officer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
Program, published on the 24th February, in the “Inside Defense”
journal, under the title “Strike
Back”. |
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Endnotes:[1] Flanker E is the NATO designator for the Su-27M, also known as the Su-35. The Su-35BM or Su-35-1 is the designation used by the Russians for latest supercruising digital avionics equipped variant of this aircraft, the BM standing for “Bolshaya Modernizatsiya” or “Large Modernization”. APA has generally labelled this aircraft as the Flanker E Plus, recognising that the Su-35BMs to be flown by the Russian Air Force will be rebuilt Su-27K/Su-35M Flanker E airframes, and new build Su-35-1 airframes. As a substantially new variant the Su-35BM/Su-35-1 should eventually receive a new and unique NATO designator, such as “Flanker I” or “Flanker J”. Until then, APA will comply with established convention and designate these aircraft as subtypes of the Flanker E. Also refer: http://www.designation-systems.net/non-us/soviet.html [2] Ironically, Lockheed Martin markets the ‘Silent Sentry’ multistatic radar system that is effective at detecting such ‘stealthed’ aircraft. Detection is simply a matter of the application of the laws of physics. Refer http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/silent-sentry/index.html |
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Annex - Some Observations from 44 Years of RAAF ServiceThis is a short but not exhaustive summary of some of the skills and experience I bring to bear on the complex subject of future air combat.I have served for 44 years in the RAAF, and remain a member of the Reserve. At the RAAF Academy, I completed a degree in physics and a year of post graduate study in aviation related subjects. After a brief tour flying transport aircraft in RAAF’s VIP Squadron, I converted to the Mirage IIIO and accumulated over 1,000 flying hours on type. This was valuable air combat experience, as I flew many sorties against dissimilar aircraft such as the RAAF F-4E, the SAF Hunter, the RN Sea Harrier and the RMAF F-5E. The latter two aircraft provided insights into the variability of outcomes in the air combat contest between dissimilar types. Notwithstanding the Falklands experience and the ability of a Harrier to VIFF, the lack of specific excess power and agility made them dead meat when attacked by our 30MM Defa cannons. I enjoyed running the gun camera film for the RN pilots to prove the kills claimed. In sharp contrast, after the Royal Malaysian Air Force re-equipped with the F-5E, the RAAF Mirages were relegated overnight from “air dominance” to “air irrelevance” - we were simply over-matched by the superior performance of the Freedom Fighter. I had to endure long shots of the backside of my Mirage being shredded by the F-5E’s M39 cannon. We also conducted a substantial number of shipping strikes against RN fleets transiting the Straights of Malacca. I was posted to the Defence Science Technology Organization (DSTO) to an operations research agency where air combat was my prime focus. A particularly enjoyable posting was to the United States Institute of Technology (USAFIT) School of System and Engineering where I completed an MSc in Systems and was awarded the thesis prize for a large and complex computer-based simulation. In the Capability Development Branch, I was the officer responsible for defining and having the Hornet Up-Grade (HUG) project approved. This project is continuing. The argument that convinced the Defence Committee to spend billions on this upgrade was the threat of Regional air combat aircraft being armed with the long-range version of the R-77 Adder. For a time, I was the RAAF Project Officer for Network Centric Warfare and presented the Australian Defence Force’s paper to the NCW Conference in Stockholm in 2004. Finally, I recently spent several years representing the ‘Red Forces’ in capability development processes, some based on advanced computer simulations of future – not past – air combat. |
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Air
Power Australia Website - http://www.ausairpower.net/ Air Power Australia Research and Analysis - http://www.ausairpower.net/research.html |
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