Yeah... apparently you have been away for a quite some time. You need to keep up with the technology. No offence.
Meaningless. No offense.
$4.4mn for upgrades per unit. Nearly $3.2mn goes to the camera, remaining will go to the software upgrade and sensors. Since CIP is already being modernized I didn't include it.
Right...So in effect, you are pulling this out of your we-know-what.
You can't compare that artifact with F-22, F-22 was designed for extensibility of its internal components, as a matter of fact F-22 was designed to be extensible in terms of internal module upgrades. For example: F-22 CIP was designed to be upgradeable just recently F-22 CIPs were to be upgraded so it will have the processing power equivalent to 2 Cray supercomputers.
Now we can definitely say you have no aviation experience.
A fighter can be hardware upgraded in regards to avionics only if the newer LRUs will be
SMALLER compare to its predecessors. So simply saying that the F-22's avionics is modular is misleading. If the newer mods give it more capabilities but the LRUs still retains the same size, then there will no room for your cameras to turn it into a recon platform. Which part of limited volume do you not understand?
Are you telling me that F-22 nose doesn't have space to contain a camera size of 300x300 box of tissue?!
No... my area is electronics, not aircraft electronics however, but I know what I'm talking about.
No, you do not know what you are talking about. Further, the -22's low radar observability heavily depends on its outer shaping. To modify that external shape to allow a recon camera may compromise its RCS to above an unacceptable level.
It is not a 'nose', if you want to get precise about it. It is the forward fuselage section that contains the radome, cockpit, and avionics bays. I do know how much is crammed into those bays and the F-15's image is illustrative of that.
This is not the case with newer generation fighters. As long as aircraft aerodynamics is not messed with.
Even if we grant this allowance this is not a modification to be done at the flightline level.
There are three main levels of aircraft maintenance:
- Organizational or flightline
- Phase
- Depot
If an aircraft's issue can be repaired by opening access panels and the problem corrected, as in within one shift, then it is an organizational level maintenance. This is the bulk of aviation work, from civilian to military.
Phase level maintenance is where the aircraft is stripped of major outer coverings and major components inspected, serviced or reconditioned, and/or changed based upon certain criteria such as simple flight hours, for example. Things like Time Compliance Technical Orders (TCTO) are installed.
MIL-PRF-38804, Preparation of Time Compliance Technical Orders « Document Center's Standards Forum
The first thing people need to know is the definition of Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO). The answer can be found in TO 00-5-15, Air Force Time Compliance Technical Order Process.
There are levels of TCTO such as emergency or simple annual. An emergency TCTO can ground an entire fleet immediately.
Anyway...Phase level maintenance is a months long process. For air forces that buys from other countries, phase level maintenance is the most extensive they can perform.
Depot level maintenance is where the aircraft is literally stripped of everything, down to the clamps that holds the wire bundles together. Depot is where major modifications are done and to convert an aircraft from one platform to another is a major tasking. Air forces that buys their aircrafts must send their aircrafts back to country of origin for depot maintenance.
For example...
http://defensetech.org/2012/01/27/a-basic-mistake-that-trashed-a-jstars/
...when the plane went in for Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM)...
You do not even know these levels of maintenance exists and you want to talk about modifying an F-22?
I appreciate the info, I really do, but I'm talking about F-22 here.
Then show us what you know of it...
None taken, I already pointed out, they are doing a very major modernization specifically on F-22 electronics so the aircraft already have the necessary infrastructure for this upgrade.
If you have no details on these mods, then what make you so certain that there are space available for your speculative cameras?
Well, I guess we'll never know, because they don't plan to do that anyway.
Then what is the point of your participation in this useless exercise?