B3 Switchblade to have HELLADS and [again] KICK FOREIGN ASSES!

I just learned that the FB22 Strike Raptor got canceled and the [url=http://www.area51zone.com/aircraft/switchblade.shtml]B3 Switchblade[/url] from Northrop Grumman took it's place. It will have HELLADS (laser cannon), glass cockpit, and have longer range and as large (larger fuel tanks) than either FB22 Strike Raptor and B2 Spirit! It's another flying wing I believe and it might be a fighter bomber, because that's what the USAF was hyped about when they wanted the FB22 Strike Raptor!


I was going to post this last month, but I've been saving it for rainy day!

Program Plans

* HELLADS
o Develop and test a 17 kW objective system laser module with integrated power and thermal management subsystems.
o Complete preliminary design of a 150 kW laser weapon system.
o Complete detailed design and fabricate a 150 kW laser weapon system demonstrator.
o Demonstrate performance of a 150 kW HEL and of a 150 kW laser weapon system.



* Aero Adaptive Beam Control
o Conduct design trade studies to develop preferred flow control approach.
o Develop wind tunnel test plan and design wind tunnel model.
o Conduct preliminary tests of flow control approaches using computational fluid dynamics and small scale wind tunnel tests.
o Conduct full scale wind tunnel test to measure aero-optics distortions for turret.
o Utilize flow control to reduce aero-optics effects and measure wavefronts to model effects of adaptive optics processing.
o Integrate adaptive aero optics system with wind tunnel model to conduct hardware-in-the-loop wind tunnel demonstration.
o Design flight test hardware and develop flight test plan.
o Build turret incorporating flow control and compatible with HELLADS laser system and flight test measuring beam quality