NGAD update and remembering the Corsair's first flight
NGAD update and remembering the Corsair's first flight
The NGAD will be asked to perform many missions and looking back at the first flight of the production F4U Corsair
“Well, if it’s going to last 25-30 years, it’s got to do everything but make the toast in the morning.”
-Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin on the NGAD fighter
Mission Briefing
The Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance Fighter Program Advances
The highly classified Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter program has entered its critical engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase, Secretary Frank Kendall announced on Wednesday.
During a discussion at the Heritage Foundation, Kendall revealed that early experimental prototyping for NGAD began in 2015, back when he served as the Pentagon’s top acquisition official. This initial phase functioned as an X-plane program aimed at reducing risks and developing essential technologies for the production stage.
Over the years, the technology has continued to evolve. The NGAD is now conceived as a “family of systems,” integrating various components, including autonomous drone aircraft that will accompany the manned fighter in formation.
Typically, it takes the Air Force's acquisition programs nearly seven years to reach initial operating capability (IOC) from the start of the EMD phase. Although the NGAD project has been underway for approximately that duration, the recent commencement of the EMD phase means it will still be several years before the program achieves IOC.
“The clock really didn’t start in 2015; it’s starting roughly now,” Kendall explained. “We think we’ll have capability by the end of the decade.”
However, the NGAD could become the most expensive aircraft program in history. In April, Kendall informed lawmakers that each piloted aircraft might cost several hundred million dollars.
For the fiscal year 2023, the Air Force requested nearly $1.7 billion for NGAD, including $133 million dedicated to research, development, testing, and evaluation.
Kendall also emphasized his desire for the Air Force's acquisition programs to expedite the move to production. He criticized the prolonged timelines, noting that meaningful capabilities should reach airmen as soon as possible.
“I’m not interested in demos and experiments unless they are a necessary step on the road to real capability,” Kendall stated. He pointed out the tendency to conduct quick demonstrations, only to face years of waiting for the development program to start. “If we don’t need it to reduce risk, we should go right to development for production and get there as quickly as we can.”
Expressing a strong “sense of urgency” about deploying cutting-edge capabilities, such as uncrewed combat aircraft accompanying manned fighters, Kendall indicated his willingness to accept higher risks to accelerate the process.
This week in aviation history
A Milestone for the Vought-Sikorsky F4U-1 Corsair
24 June 1942: the first production Vought-Sikorsky F4U-1 Corsair, designated Bu. No. 02155, took to the skies for its maiden flight in Stratford, Connecticut. This iconic aircraft, designed by Rex Buren Beisel, is renowned for its distinctive inverted “gull wing.” This unique wing design provided the necessary ground clearance for the Corsair's massive 13-foot, 4-inch diameter propeller without requiring excessively long landing gear struts.
The Corsair's journey began with the prototype XF4U-1, Bu. No. 1443, which first flew on 29 May 1940, piloted by test pilot Lyman A. Bullard. The F4U-1 model featured a length of 33 feet, 4.125 inches, a wingspan of 40 feet, 11.726 inches, and a height of 15 feet to the top of the propeller arc. Its wings, with a 2° angle of incidence and 8.5° dihedral on the outer sections, swept back at 4°10′. When its wings were folded, the Corsair's width was reduced to 17 feet, 0.61 inches, and its height increased to 16 feet, 2.3 inches. The aircraft's 13-foot, 4-inch propeller had a ground clearance of 2 feet, 1.93 inches when parked.
Weighing in with an empty weight of 8,982 pounds and a gross weight of 12,162 pounds, the F4U-1 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp SSB2-G (R-2800-8) engine. This air-cooled, supercharged, 18-cylinder radial engine had a displacement of 2,804.4 cubic inches and produced up to 2,000 horsepower for takeoff. The engine drove a three-bladed Hamilton Standard Hydromatic constant-speed propeller through a 2:1 gear reduction.
The Corsair's performance was impressive: it cruised at 186 miles per hour at sea level, reached a maximum speed of 365 miles per hour, and achieved 431 miles per hour at 20,300 feet during testing. It had a service ceiling of 38,200 feet and a maximum range of 1,510 miles with full tanks.
Armament-wise, the F4U-1 was equipped with six Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns, three in each wing, each with 400 rounds of ammunition. This formidable firepower made the Corsair a formidable opponent in aerial combat.
In total, 12,571 Corsairs were built by Vought-Sikorsky (F4U-1), Goodyear Aircraft Corporation (FG-1D), and Brewster Aeronautical Corporation (F3A-1). The Corsair served the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps with distinction in both World War II and the Korean War, and also saw service with several other nations. The last known combat use of the Corsair was in Central America in 1969.
This remarkable aircraft remains a symbol of innovation and excellence in aviation history.
In case you missed it
More on the two concept models used in the NGAD section above:
Photo Outlet
There really isn’t anything quite like the Blue Angels:
Post Flight Debrief
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-Tog