Air superiority plays a very important aspect in modern warfare.
The party that rules the sky can dictate terms in the battlefield which results in a massive
advantage.
The U.S has been at the forefront of using airpower effectively in the battle-space having
developed a wide array of advanced fighters, bombers and supporting aircraft and associated
tactics for areal engagement.
But things are not going to be easy when it comes to imposing air superiority against
near-peer rivals like Russia & China.
One of the most potent challenges faced by the U.S is the advent of the highly sophisticated
air defense system.
In this video, Defense Updates analyses why Valkyrie drones could be America’s answer
to Russian & Chinese air defense systems?
Let's gets started.
Air defense systems have come a long way from their early humble origin.
For example, let us take the Russian S 400.
The powerful main radar of S 400 which has a range of 600 km is complimented by target
acquisition radars like 67N6 Gamma De and 9N6 Protivnik Ge radars in L band, Nebo SVU
in the Very High-Frequency band and Nebo m & Zebu M in multiband.
Some of these radars like Nebo SVU & Zebu M have been claimed to have the ability to
detect even stealth aircraft like F 22 Raptor & F 35 Lightning II.
S 400 deploys multiple missiles to cover its engagement envelope.
1. Short-range 9M96E (40 km) with an active radar homing head, having the capability to intercept
targets having a speed up to Mach 2.6
2. Medium-range 9M96E2 (120 km) with an active radar homing head, having the capability to
intercept targets up to a speed of Mach 3
3. Long-range 48N6 (250 km) with an active radar homing head, having the capability to intercept
targets up to a speed of Mach 14
4. Very-long-range 40N6 (400 km) with an active radar homing head, having the capability to
intercept targets up to a speed of Mach 14
Each S 400 battery consists of a number of
transporter erector launchers (TELs) and each TEL has 4 launch tubes.
In a standard configuration, a single battery has 4 TELs, but there could be up to 16 TELs
per battery.
So, depending on the number of TELs commanded by the S 400, it has 16* 4 that is 64 missiles
ready for launch at any moment.
It's clear that an area defended by S 400 will be very hard to penetrate and attempting
to neutralize a battalion of S 400 could result in the loss of many aircraft and missiles
making it too expensive.
But without air superiority, the American war machine will be in a much tighter spot
and hinders its ability to wage a war on its own terms.
This is where Valkyrie drone will come into the picture.
The U.S. Air Force has successfully completed the first ever test flight of its new stealth
fighter drone, the XQ-58A Valkyrie.
On on March 5, the Valkyrie was launched from Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona and flew for
about 76 minutes.
Viewers can check the link in the description to see the flight video.
Valkyrie is developed by San Diego-based Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems who were given the
contract by The Air Force Research Laboratory.
The drone took around 2.5 years to complete.
The project falls under the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft
Technology (LCAAT) program.
The program is initiated to develop cheaper unmanned tactical aircraft.
Valkyrie is conceptualized as part of the “Loyal Wingman” initiative where it is
supposed to fly alongside a manned aircraft and provide mission support.
Valkyrie has a max speed around 652 miles per hour.
It can carry to two small diameter bombs or compact electronic warfare equipment or surveillance
systems.
It can take off from a short runway like a plane or can be launched into the air via
a rocket.
Future variants could be developed for operation from aircraft carrier.
Valkyrie has 3 aspects that make it a uniques platform:
1.
It is stealthy.
2.
It has a long range of around 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles.
3.
It is pretty cheap at only $2-3 million per piece.
This means that it each drone cost same as a single Patriot missile which is not reusable
and around 30 of this can be bought for the price of F 35 which costs around of $100 million
per aircraft.
The cost factor looks even more promising if we consider that a stealth jet like F 35
needs massive maintenance cost.
Valkyrie is compact in dimension and being stealthy it will be hard to detect and track.
This will make it difficult for air defense systems to engage it.
Since they are low cost, they can be deployed in large numbers to saturate air defense systems.
A swarm of Valkyrie deployed with different payloads like some with Electronic Warfare
equipment and some with guided bombs will be a complex challenge for even the best air
defense systems.
Even if most are intercepted during a strike, some will get through and knock off an air
defense fortification.
Valkyrie's range of 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles makes it an ideal for this kind of missions
since the launched platform can be outside the range of an air defenses' strike envelop.
In a battle scenario, it could be dedicatedly used to engage air defense while stealth fighters
like F-35 and F-22 take on enemy fighters.
This will greatly reduce American losses, making it feasible to take on Russian & Chinese air defense.