In order to continuously improve the multi-purpose combat effectiveness of the F35 fighter, the F35 user countries led by the United States are actively exploring equipping it with a variety of small and portable built-in models.
Recently, according to US media reports, the US Navy has shown a strong interest in a low-cost, miniaturized stand-off anti-ship ** system, which is called the Multi-Mission Economic Capability Effector ** System (MACE), which is expected to greatly enhance the strike effectiveness of the F35 and give the US Navy a more flexible and extensive anti-ship strike capability.
At present, the US Navy relies on the advanced anti-ship missile AGM158C LRASM, which has stealth performance, is small and highly concealed, and often uses intensive launch tactics to attack enemy ships.
LRASM can not only be carried on ** and bombers, but also used in F35 series fighters such as FA-18EF and external attack aircraft. However, when the F35 is equipped with LRASM, it must be plugged in, which inevitably weakens the stealth performance of missiles and fighters.
Therefore, the key requirements of the U.S. Navy for the new ** are not only suitable for models such as the Super Hornet, but also to be able to fit into the internal bomb bay of the F35C, although limited by the small internal space of the F35B, it may not be able to load, but the F35A is expected to be able to carry new missiles because of the relatively abundant space.
Despite the strict size limits, the new ** is equally demanding in terms of performance parameters, requiring 0The maximum speed of Mach 8 and the range should be the same as that of the AGM158C 11 anti-ship missiles are similar. Despite AGM158C 11 The specific range data of the missile is classified, but it is speculated that it may be between 200 and 300 nautical miles, equivalent to 370 to 555 kilometers, which means that the new missile will also be a long-range strike weapon.
In recent years, the United States has put forward higher requirements for the cost control of new and new generation fighters. The cost of the newly developed anti-ship missiles is expected to be no more than $300,000 each, and manufacturers are expected to produce at least 500 per year.
In contrast, the Navy's active AGM158C series missiles have a unit price of more than $3 million, and the annual production is only maintained at about 120 units.
It can be inferred from this that this new missile, which is more cost-effective and has higher production capacity, is likely to become the air-launched anti-ship missile of choice for the US Air Force in the future, with its low cost**, considerable production and excellent flexibility.
Although the United States is trying to expand its multi-functional combat capability by carrying miniaturization ** in the internal bomb bay of the F35 fighter, limited by the compact space of the F35 bomb bay, if the missile is forcibly hung inside, it is bound to greatly reduce the size of the missile, resulting in the increase in range, while the payload and destructive power of the missile may be difficult to increase simultaneously.
Therefore, these small missiles are more suitable for intensive saturation attacks or against ship targets with small tonnage.
According to the clues revealed by the US side, the development of this new type of ** is actually aimed at high-end strategic confrontation in the future, especially in the vast Pacific region with a potentially powerful military opponent. Although its individual destructive power is relatively limited, it is still a difficult deterrent force to defend against due to its long-range precision strike characteristics.
As far as China is concerned, the design concept of such a new type of missile developed by the United States is of great reference significance. China's Navy has confirmed the use of the J-35 fighter, and its internal bomb bay layout is still a mystery, given the size of the J-35's fuselage, the space capacity of its missiles may not exceed the F35. This means that China may also need to develop similar miniature high-efficiency missiles to improve the strike effectiveness of the J-35.
At the same time, in view of China's plan to export the upgraded version of the FC31 fighter, the fighter has a certain technical origin with the J-35, providing more diversified strike options, which will help enrich the tactical choices of customers, and this is also an important factor in the United States being favored in the global market.