Unmanned TACIT BLUE successor?

[Scott Kenny]

I strongly suspect that there will be another plane flying the TACIT BLUE mission soon. Probably a drone.

Though I wonder if we could make a radar that would fit in a JASSM airframe that would do the job...

 

[Firefinder]

I strongly suspect that there will be another plane flying the TACIT BLUE mission soon. Probably a drone.

Though I wonder if we could make a radar that would fit in a JASSM airframe that would do the job...

We already have a radar pod that has the same capabilities as Tacit Blue did.

The AN/ASQ-236 Dragon's Eye SAR POD.

As you can see in the picture. Its tiny and fits on basically any fighter.

Nearly All F-15Es Photographed Arriving In Middle East Carried Dragon's Eye Radar Pods

The radar pods give the F-15E a highly potent surveillance and targeting capability that can peer through clouds, smoke, and dust.

www.thedrive.com

Over 200 Guard And Reserve F-16s Can Now Carry The Dragon's Eye Radar Pod

The pod offers a bolt-on advanced radar that can scan from the sides of the jet, allowing it to do things even an advanced nose-mounted radar can't.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Scott Kenny]

We already have a radar pod that has the same capabilities as Tacit Blue did.

The AN/ASQ-236 Dragon's Eye SAR POD.

As you can see in the picture. Its tiny and fits on basically any fighter.

Nearly All F-15Es Photographed Arriving In Middle East Carried Dragon's Eye Radar Pods

The radar pods give the F-15E a highly potent surveillance and targeting capability that can peer through clouds, smoke, and dust.

www.thedrive.com

Over 200 Guard And Reserve F-16s Can Now Carry The Dragon's Eye Radar Pod

The pod offers a bolt-on advanced radar that can scan from the sides of the jet, allowing it to do things even an advanced nose-mounted radar can't.

www.thedrive.com

Sweet. Now to stuff that into a VLO drone to orbit over the Russian side of the front lines and send data back.

 

[Ninja]

Wasn't this the purpose of the Sensorcraft? Though as far as I'm aware, it never went into production. I could see a Tacit Blue-like aircraft in the future.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Wasn't this the purpose of the Sensorcraft? Though as far as I'm aware, it never went into production.

Yes, and exactly.

I could see a Tacit Blue-like aircraft in the future.

I'm looking at these as the "recon CCA" role, and potentially as small as a long JASSM-XR airframe. 1600nmi at 400kts is 4 hours flight time. Launch them from 200nmi behind the front lines and you get 3 hours endurance over the battlefield. Recover via parachute back at the base it launched from.

 

[quellish]

I strongly suspect that there will be another plane flying the TACIT BLUE mission soon. Probably a drone.

Though I wonder if we could make a radar that would fit in a JASSM airframe that would do the job...

The original TACIT BLUE successor was unmanned, but never made it to production.

 

[Ninja]

I'm looking at these as the "recon CCA" role, and potentially as small as a long JASSM-XR airframe. 1600nmi at 400kts is 4 hours flight time. Launch them from 200nmi behind the front lines and you get 3 hours endurance over the battlefield. Recover via parachute back at the base it launched from.

4 hours of flight-time? I was thinking a bit more flight-time since the AF is going in with the whole "family of systems" connectivity thing, for whenever such attack happens. You know, NGAD, F-35's, and countless drones all going in together. I was also thinking they'd be launched at the same time as every other aircraft, or even ahead of them. This was Tacit Blue's role if it went operational, snooping in on Soviet tanks advancing (that's what I've heard). Did you get the recoverable idea from the Teledyne Ryan AQM-91?

 

[Scott Kenny]

4 hours of flight-time? I was thinking a bit more flight-time since the AF is going in with the whole "family of systems" connectivity thing, for whenever such attack happens. You know, NGAD, F-35's, and countless drones all going in together. I was also thinking they'd be launched at the same time as every other aircraft, or even ahead of them. This was Tacit Blue's role if it went operational, snooping in on Soviet tanks advancing (that's what I've heard). Did you get the recoverable idea from the Teledyne Ryan AQM-91?

That's just for grabbing things off the shelf instead of custom building.

The advantage of drones like that is you can launch them as needed to rotate through, so there's always a drone or two giving radar coverage.

 

[Hansblix]

The original TACIT BLUE successor was unmanned, but never made it to production.

Was there a project name?

Was it modeled with a likeness of Tacit Blue or was it more in the space of Quartz/AARS/Sensorcraft

 

[quellish]

Was there a project name?

Was it modeled with a likeness of Tacit Blue or was it more in the space of Quartz/AARS/Sensorcraft

It was QUARTZ.

 

[Hansblix]

It was QUARTZ.

Figured so. Appreciate the response.