Vanguard Magazine

18 APRIL/MAY 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com guidance means the radar warning receivers on any target aircraft are useless for detect- ing and pinpointing a launch. You would need a system like the F-35's which uses a massively powerful core-processor to run a sophisticated set of 360-degree sensors that look for the sudden appearance of new heat signatures (among many other things) and can provide warning and direction of launch data immediately. More impor- tantly, the F-35 never needs to get in range as the system is designed to safely identify friend from foe at altitudes in excess of 20,000 feet which, when coupled with pas- sive radar, LO and passive jamming, allows it to operate in contested airspace. The SU-57 has given the Russian's a taste of this capability, and that should be worrying to citizens of this country. Our current fleet wouldn't last a week against a small fleet of SU-57's, let alone penetrate Russian-held territory to instigate a strike if required. The SU-57– like the J-20 (China), F-22 and F-35 – doesn't need to engage in within visual range combat which means the maneuverability edge of the 4th generation platforms (Typhoon, Super Hornet) and 4.5th generation plat- forms (Rafale, Gripen) are largely moot. IRST on its own is unreliable as outside of decent atmospheric conditions its reli- ability beyond 30 km is questionable, and its narrow field of vision when scanning means a pilot has to know exactly where to look to even track a target to begin with. That means radar needs to be used, and an aircraft like the SU-57 isn't likely to be picked up by passive radar, so active modes will need to be leveraged which removes any benefit of the system. The Rafale is reportedly getting a much stronger processor in the aforementioned upgrade which will no doubt increase its capability with regards to leveraging ad- vanced algorithms to better passively iden- tify and reliably track and target aircraft – but the F-35 already has that capability. That's what gets overlooked so often. The last mention of the ridiculous power of the F-35's core processor was back in 2003, and back then it was capable of nearly 400 billion operations per second, split between its various systems. Just look at advances in handheld devices alone since then, 15 years of advancement in capability that are now highly classified mean its performance is likely off the charts. Advances in semiconductors like gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) have allowed systems to use much more power while better handling the massive amounts of heat that advanced systems generate. GaN is actually one of the elements that enabled the AN/APG-81 radar in the F-35 to reduce its components to lower mainte- nance requirements and cost while also al- lowing more power output in a smaller size. This is an area where the Russians, and espe- cially the Chinese, have made great strides. The likelihood of the SU-57 and J-20 hav- ing similar capabilities that aren't smoke and mirrors is extremely high which means there is little that can match them outside of the 5th generation fighters. The fact that the F-35 could act as bat- tlefield controller and directly connect to Canadian and American continental de- fence networks in real-time also enables us to better support joint operations and get out from under the thumb of the United States, who we have taken advantage of long enough as far as defending our territory. Conclusion Canada has to really sit back and think about the threats we face. We hold a large share of the Arctic and have a duty to de- fend it from our potential enemies. Hav- ing an advanced air force spearheaded by the best fighter aircraft available at present isn't an act of war in and of itself. It sends a signal to threat nations like Russia that Canada is not to be taken lightly, and if the need arises, we will be able to prop- erly augment any allied response with the force required to repel the threat. It sows a seed of doubt in the heads of would-be enemies, and as a country that prides itself on peace keeping, one of the best ways to keep the peace is to make would-be attack- ers think twice about breaking it. It also tells our allies that we are committed to the defence of not only our territories, but their territories as well. The best fighter to match that threat is the F-35. While it is indeed the most expen- sive at first-glance, when you peel back the layers of cost, assess growing and evolving threats, and compare current capabilities with the ability to easily upgrade the plat- form to meet threats of the future –whether known or unknown – the F-35 stands head and shoulders above the competition. Chris Black has been an avid aviation enthusiast his entire life and is a former Air Cadet with 618 Queen City based at HMCS York. His love for all things aviation coupled with missing out on becoming a fighter pilot led him to begin writing as a way to share thoughts and ideas with fellow en- thusiasts. www.facebook.com/onfinalblog. Figure 3: Force Multiplier CoVer Image: National Fighter Procurement Secreteriat

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