NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Stealth fighter

A stealth aircraft is an aircraft which has been designed to absorb and deflect radar (via stealth technology); these are not completely "invisible" to radar, they are simply harder to detect than conventional technology. In general the goal is to allow a stealth aircraft to execute its attack while still outside the ability of the opposing system's detection. Stealth aircraft were most notably used during the Gulf War (1990); although stealth technology has since become less effective, both the United States and Russia continue to develop stealth aircraft. Download high resolution version (750x617, 76 KB)B2-Spirit. ... Download high resolution version (750x617, 76 KB)B2-Spirit. ... United States Air Force B-2 Spirit The B-2 Spirit, sometimes known as the B-2 Bomber, is an American multi-role stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear weapons. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... F-117 Stealth Fighter Stealth technology covers a range of techniques used with aircraft, ships and missiles, in order to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar and other detection methods. ... Technology (Gr. ... C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations mandated by the United Nations and led by the United States. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The main method stealth aircraft use to avoid detection is by using a body shape that deflects radar signals in a direction roughly perpendicular from the radar signals origin, rather than reflecting the signal back to enemy radar sensors. To a lesser extent, they also use a covering of some type of radar absorbing material. Stealth aircraft are also harder to detect and track via other methods (for example, infra-red signature (due to the normally hot exhaust being cooled and partially shielded from below), visually (they are painted dark, and typically fly at night), and via sound waves (they are not supersonic, they have no afterburners, and the exhaust nozzles are tuned for low noise rather than peak performance). Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than visible light, but shorter than microwave radiation. ...

First-generation stealth aircraft include the F-117 Nighthawk. First-generation planes tend to be composed mostly of flat radar-deflecting surfaces that were also covered with radar absorbing materials, so as to attenuate the radar signal and deflect radar waves in a direction other than that of the radar transmitter. Second-generation aircraft include the B-2 Spirit and F-22 Raptor. The design of these aircraft benefited from sophisticated computer modeling of radar response that allowed them to incorporate curved surfaces, which are more aerodynamic than the flat surfaces on first-generation stealth aircraft. USAF F-117 Nighthawk during maintenance The United States Air Forces F-117A Nighthawk is the worlds first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. ... United States Air Force B-2 Spirit The B-2 Spirit, sometimes known as the B-2 Bomber, is an American multi-role stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear weapons. ... For information about the video game of the same name, see F-22 Raptor (game). ...

A number of methodologies to detect stealth aircraft at long range have been developed. Both Australia and Russia have announced that they have developed processing techniques that allow them to detect the turbulence of aircraft at reasonably long ranges (possibly negating the stealth technology). The UK has announced a system that uses the signals broadcast from the huge number of cellular telephone towers to generate a synthetic picture, although it is not clear if this method is actually practical. A general feature of these systems is that they use a large number of low-accuracy radar systems (or signal sources) combined with heavy computer processing to generate tracking information. For this reason they tend to be useful only in the early warning role, and have limited applicability to guidance radars for missile systems, and are rarely portable. The problem of successfully countering stealth aircraft on the battlefield remains essentially unsolved. Turbulent flow around an obstacle; the flow further away is laminar Laminar and turbulent water flow over the hull of a submarine Turbulence in the tip vortex from an airplane wing In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection... Cellular redirects here. ... A missile (British English: miss-isle; U.S. English: missl) is, in general, a projectile—that is, something thrown or otherwise propelled. ...

Use of stealth aircraft

To date, stealth aircraft have been used in several low- and moderate-intensity conflicts, including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Allied Force and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In each case they were employed to strike high-value targets which were either out of range of conventional aircraft in the theater or which were too heavily defended for conventional aircraft to strike without a high risk of loss. In addition, because the stealth aircraft aren't going to be dodging SAMs and AAA over the target they can aim more carefully and thus are more likely to hit the target and not cause as much collateral damage. In many cases they were used to hit the high value targets early in the campaign (or even before it), before other aircraft had the opportunity to degrade the opposing air defence to the point where other aircraft had a good chance of reaching those critical targets. See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... Operation Allied Force was the military response of NATO to the 1999 Kosovo crisis, and the first major combat operation in NATO history. ... The 2003 invasion of Iraq, also called simply the Iraq War or Operation: Iraqi Freedom, is a war that began March 20, 2003, fought between a group of troops consisting primarily of American and British, but also Polish, Australian and several other nations forces, and Iraq. ... A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... Collateral Damage is a 2002 action film which tells the story of a Los Angeles firefighter Gordy Brewer (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) who looks to avenge his sons and wifes deaths at the hands of a guerrilla commando, by traveling to Colombia and facing his sons killers. ...

Stealth aircraft in future low- and moderate-intensity conflicts are likely to have similar roles. However, given the increasing prevalence of excellent Russian-built surface-to-air missile systems on the open market (such as the SA-10, SA-12 and SA-20 (S-300P/V/PMU) and SA-15 (9K331/332)), stealth aircraft are likely to be very important in a high-intensity conflict in order to gain and maintain air supremacy, especially to the United States who are likely to face these types of systems. It is possible to cover one's airspace with so many air defences with such long range and capability that conventional aircraft would find it very difficult "clearing the way" for deeper strikes. For example, China license-builds all of the previously mentioned SAM systems in quantity and would be able to heavily defend important strategic and tactical targets in the event of some kind of conflict, for example if there were another Korean war and China decided to intervene. Even if anti-radiation weapons are used in an attempt to destroy the SAM radars of such systems, or stand-off weapons are launched against them, these modern surface-to-air missile batteries are capable of shooting down weapons fired against them! The surprise of a stealth attack, and the ability to penetrate the air defences and survive, may become the only reasonable way of making a safe corridor through which conventional bombers and other aircraft can enter the enemy's airspace. Once stealth attacks from the smaller stealth force have neutralised the most serious of the SAM systems, the larger conventional or simply less-stealthy force should be able to suppress the remaining systems and gain air superiority. A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... A single S-300-PM missile TEL ready to fire Two S-300-PM missile TEL and a Flap Lid A side-on close-up, ready to launch A close-up of an S-300-PMU missile TEL with missiles stowed SA-10 Grumble is the NATO reporting name for... A close-up of a 9M82 TEL with missiles stowed. ... A single S-300-PM missile TEL ready to fire. ... A 9K330 TELAR. Photo from Field Artillery Magazine. ... A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home in on the emissions of an enemy radar installation. ...

List of manned stealth aircraft

The McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics A-12 Avenger II was an American aircraft program from McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics designed to be an all-weather, stealth attack replacement for the A-6 Intruder in the United States Navy and Marines. ... United States Air Force B-2 Spirit The B-2 Spirit, sometimes known as the B-2 Bomber, is an American multi-role stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear weapons. ... The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a joint venture between the UK and USA to replace the current generation of strike fighters, particularly the Hawker Harrier and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. ... The Bird of Prey was a black project aircraft intended to demonstrate stealth technology. ... USAF F-117 Nighthawk during maintenance The United States Air Forces F-117A Nighthawk is the worlds first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. ... F/A-22 Raptors over California The F/A-22 Raptor is a highly maneuverable stealthy fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. ... Have blue on ground Have Blue was the code-name for Lockheeds prototype Stealth Fighter program which preceded the F-117 Nighthawk production stealth aircraft project. ... The Northrop Tacit Blue was a technology demonstrator aircraft created to demonstrate that a stealth low observable surveillance aircraft with a low probability of intercept radar and other sensors could operate close to the forward line of battle with a high degree of survivability. ... The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 Black Widow II was a prototype fighter aircraft designed for the United States Air Force. ...

List of unmanned stealth aircraft

The RQ-3 Dark Star unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was operated by the US Air Force. ... The Lockheed SR-71, remarkably advanced for its time and unsurpassed in many areas of performance The Lockheed U-2 first flew in 1955 providing much needed intelligence on Soviet bloc countries Lockheed Corporation was an aerospace company founded in 1912 which merged with Martin Marietta in 1995 to form... A modern Skunk works project leverages an older: LASRE and SR-71 Blackbird. ...

Use of stealth aircraft var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};

List of manned stealth aircraft

List of unmanned stealth aircraft

See also

Use of stealth aircraft