Boeing Kc-135r Stratotanker

Description

Full HD video transmission from an F/A-18 to a Russian MiG air-to-surface adversary with full 360 range video delivery from the air through the undercarriage. This allows the U.S. Air Force to create first class training missions for all members of Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) while reducing drag and allowing forward air controllers (FAC) to monitor a strike in real-time, not just when the aircraft begins flying.

The F/A-18E (Fighter/Attack/Elephant Shark) and -18C (Fighter/Twin Tailed Combat Aircraft or TAC-Able Aircraft or TAAC-A) versions each feature a proven 6,000 mm equivalent air-to-air missile (ERA) and a 16-cell extendable radar that can safely and rapidly reposition the missile to a desired target.

Full HD video transmission up to 1140 Hz, broadcast live to all TAC or FAC locations and shared with allies, partners, and partners in the "real-time" mission management domain, not just when the aircraft begins flying. This puts every member of the Air Force's JTAC network in real-time direct control of a strike, potentially saving precious minutes of flight time. The Kc-135r's onboard radar is also designed specifically to enable training to the maximum extent possible with no impact on maneuverability, a key factor in keeping aircraft such as Boeing's new KC-135R aircraft from a maneuvering incident. The Kc-135's radar has a 13.5.7 cm (6 inch) array, making it more survivable than an aircraft's previous suite of radar systems that required a ground-based radar that could not be repositioned, thereby being unable to give sufficient warning signals to other aircraft and the aircraft's maintenancepersonnel of an approaching missile strike.

This video transmission technology is also very much in-line with the advances being made by the U.S. Air Force in the development of this new infrared and infrared-FIR platform, and they are expanding the radar's physical dimensions at a rate faster than even that air warfare program manager anticipated.