Advanced Control Of Aircraft, Spacecraft And Ro...

Continual improvements in airborne radars through 1956 led to the construction of AEW airplanes by several different countries and several different armed forces. The functions of command and control and sea and air surveillance were also added. The first carrier-based aircraft to perform these missions for the U.S. Navy and its allies was the Douglas AD Skyraider, which was replaced in US Navy service by the Grumman E-1 Tracer, which was a modified version of the S-2 Tracker twin-engine anti-submarine warfare aircraft, where the radar was carried in an aerofoil-shaped radome carried above the aircraft's fuselage.[3]

Advanced control of aircraft, spacecraft and ro...

The APY-9 radar has been suspected of being capable of detecting fighter-sized stealth aircraft, which are typically optimized against high frequencies like Ka, Ku, X, C and parts of the S-bands. Small aircraft lack the size or weight allowances for all-spectrum low-observable features, leaving a vulnerability to detection by the UHF-band APY-9 radar, potentially detecting fifth-generation fighters like the Russian Sukhoi Su-57 and the Chinese Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31. Historically, UHF radars had resolution and detection issues that made them ineffective for accurate targeting and fire control; Northrop Grumman and Lockheed claim that the APY-9 has solved these shortcomings in the APY-9 using advanced electronic scanning and high digital computing power via space/time adaptive processing. According to the Navy's NIFC-CA concept, the E-2D could guide fleet weapons, such as AIM-120 AMRAAM and SM-6 missiles, onto targets beyond a launch platform's detection range or capabilities.[19]

The E-2C and E-2D Hawkeyes use advanced electronic sensors combined with digital computer signal processing, especially its radars, for early warning of enemy aircraft attacks and anti-ship missile attacks, controlling the carrier's combat air patrol (CAP) fighters, and secondarily for surveillance of the surrounding sea and land for enemy warships and guided-missile launchers and any other electronic surveillance missions as directed.[citation needed]

A FBW aircraft can be lighter than a similar design with conventional controls. This is partly due to the lower overall weight of the system components and partly because the natural stability of the aircraft can be relaxed, slightly for a transport aircraft, and more for a maneuverable fighter, which means that the stability surfaces that are part of the aircraft structure can therefore be made smaller. These include the vertical and horizontal stabilizers (fin and tailplane) that are (normally) at the rear of the fuselage. If these structures can be reduced in size, airframe weight is reduced. The advantages of FBW controls were first exploited by the military and then in the commercial airline market. The Airbus series of airliners used full-authority FBW controls beginning with their A320 series, see A320 flight control (though some limited FBW functions existed on A310).[6] Boeing followed with their 777 and later designs.[citation needed]

Some aircraft, the Panavia Tornado for example, retain a very basic hydro-mechanical backup system for limited flight control capability on losing electrical power; in the case of the Tornado this allows rudimentary control of the stabilators only for pitch and roll axis movements.[8]

Since the flight-control computers continuously feedback the environment, pilot's workloads can be reduced.[24] This also enables military aircraft with relaxed stability. The primary benefit for such aircraft is more maneuverability during combat and training flights, and the so-called "carefree handling" because stalling, spinning and other undesirable performances are prevented automatically by the computers. Digital flight control systems enable inherently unstable combat aircraft, such as the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk and the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit flying wing to fly in usable and safe manners.[23]

General Atomics (GA) was founded in 1955 as a division of General Dynamics, GA and its affiliated companies now constitute one of the world's leading resources for high technology solutions ranging from the nuclear fuel cycle to electromagnetic systems, remotely operated aircraft, airborne sensors and advanced electronic, wireless and laser technologies.

NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, is an advanced launch vehicle for a new era of exploration beyond Earth's orbit into deep space. SLS, the world's most powerful rocket, will launch astronauts in the agency's Orion spacecraft on missions to the Moon and beyond. The Space Launch System will open new possibilities for other payloads including robotic scientific missions to places like Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. The SLS Team is making rapid progress at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for Artemis I, its first launch.

737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) -- The 737 AEW&C is a state-of-the-art system providing powerful airborne surveillance, communications and battle management. It can track airborne and maritime targets simultaneously and includes a self-defense capability, an advanced open system architecture and an identification friend or foe system. Five AEW&C aircraft have been delivered to Australia along with two to South Korea. Verification testing of the mission system for Turkey's first AEW&C platform is under way in the lab, on the ground and in flight. Delivery of the aircraft is anticipated by the end of 2012.Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) -- The E-3 707 AWACS represents the world's standard for airborne early warning systems. The E-3 fills the needs of both airborne surveillance and command and control (C2) for tactical and air defense forces. It provides a highly mobile, survivable surveillance and C2 platform. E-3 fleets are operated by the United States, NATO, the United Kingdom, France and Saudi Arabia. Japan operates a fleet of four E-767 AWACS aircraft.P-8A Poseidon -- The P-8A Poseidon is a military derivative of the Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 designed to replace the U.S. Navy's fleet of P-3s. The P-8A will significantly improve the U.S. Navy's anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities, as well as armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Navy in 2004 awarded Boeing a System Development and Demonstration contract for eight test vehicles. In 2008, Boeing began final assembly of the first P-8A. The program's three flight test aircraft completed their initial flights in 2009, and the first test aircraft, T1, entered the Navy's formal flight test program in fourth quarter 2009. Boeing in January 2011 received a $1.6 billion contract from the Navy for six low-rate initial production aircraft, along with spares, logistics and training devices. In November 2011, Boeing received a $1.7 billion award for an additional seven LRIP aircraft. Overall, the Navy plans to purchase 117 Boeing P-8As. In January 2009, the government of India selected the P-8I, a variant of the P-8A Poseidon, for its long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare mission. Under this contract, Boeing will deliver eight P-8I aircraft to India. The first P-8I for India made its initial flight on Sept. 28, 2011. Australia signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Navy in 2009 and will collaborate in Increment 2.

Whenever launching aircraft, an icon to the right appears which represents the active air unit. Each air unit deployed will have its own icon. This allows for an easy management of aircraft and can be switched or enabled by pressing the icon (which will turn green afterward), and toggled off by pressing the icon or the again or by pressing the missile icon above it (which automatically turns green when an active air unit is being controlled by the player). 041b061a72