| Submit your comments on this article |
| Science & Technology |
| Turkish F-16s Are Using Tablets To Control Locally Made Weapons |
| 2025-03-31 |
| [TWZ] Tablets are an increasingly popular way of fast-tracking the integration of new capabilities on a variety of aerial platforms. Turkey has begun using tablet computers in the cockpits of its F-16 fighters to help with the rapid integration of new locally-developed weapons. This has interesting parallels with Ukraine’s use of such devices to allow its Soviet-era jets to employ Western air-to-ground weapons — something you can read more about here. The tablet can be seen in the cockpit of an F-16 in a recent video showing a test launch of the domestically developed SOM-J standoff missile. The tablet is mounted on the Input Control Panel (ICP), which is located on the center console beneath the head-up display. The ICP is used to select weapons, navigation settings, and radio communications, among other functions. At the same time, the pilot has another tablet on their knee, something that has become increasingly common, augmenting the information available via the aircraft’s mission systems and helping eliminate cumbersome paper books in the cockpit. In this context, the tablet is part of the UBAS, also known in English as the Aircraft Independent Firing System. Using Turkish-designed software, the UBAS provides a weapons interface for the use of Turkish-made stores, like the SOM-J. Reportedly, UBAS is installed in Turkey’s upgraded F-16C/D Block 40 aircraft but is not compatible with older Vipers. Exactly how many aircraft are outfitted with the device is unclear, and it remains possible that it’s primarily intended for test work, before the stores are added to Turkish-made aircraft and drones. On the other hand, with such a capability readily available, it would be surprising if it were not introduced more widely on Turkish F-16s. As for the SOM-J, this weapon was developed by Turkey’s Roketsan, on the basis of the same company’s Stand-Off Missile (SOM), as used by the F-4E and F-16, but was planned for integration on the F-35, which would have carried it internally. Although Turkey was ejected from the Joint Strike Fighter program, developmental work on the SOM-J continued. The missile reportedly has a range of at least 170 miles and uses GPS/inertial navigation system (INS) for guidance, with an imaging infrared seeker for the terminal phase. The SOM-J is around 12.8 feet long and weighs approximately 1,190 pounds. Tablet-based workarounds to integrate new weapons on existing aircraft platforms are now something of a growth area. In the case of Ukraine, which we have explored in depth in the past, its Soviet-era fighters lack the kinds of data bus interfaces that would ensure seamless compatibility with Western-made weapons. Last year, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. William LaPlante explained: “There’s also a series of … we call it ‘air-to-ground,’ it’s what we call it euphemistically … think about the aircraft that the Ukrainians have, and not even the F-16, but they have a lot of the Russian and Soviet-era aircraft. Working with the Ukrainians, we’ve been able to take many Western weapons and get them to work on their aircraft, where it’s basically controlled by an iPad by the pilot. And they’re flying it in conflict like a week after we get it to him.” As well as tablets in the cockpit, Ukrainian aircraft are also using specialized pylons on which the Western-made weapons are carried. You can read more about those here. For Turkey, the situation is essentially reversed, with the problem being how to integrate new Turkish-made weapons onto older U.S.-made F-16s. Turkey has a fairly unusual position regarding the kind of upgrades it can make to its F-16 fleet, a result of the sometimes-strained relations between Ankara and Washington. Turkey’s F-16 fleet is the third largest in the world, and the country’s Vipers have seen extensive action in combat operations. With any replacement for them some way off, Turkey has undertaken various F-16 upgrades, including a service-life extension, performed by the domestic firm Turkish Aerospace, formerly known as Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). While Turkey operates Block 30, 40, and 50 aircraft, it seems that the UBAS, currently at least, is restricted to the Block 40/50 jets that were modernized with the Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP) upgrade, which was completed in 2015. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |