Is Stealth Technology All Hype And No Substance?

F-117 Nighthawks  

EurAsian Times: Invisible Aircraft: How Russian Radars Busted The Myth Of Stealth Fighters & Proved It’s All Hype & No Substance 

The word ‘stealth’ in military parlance conjures up a vision of Hollywood star Kevin Bacon going invisible during a scientific test in the film Hollow Man released in 2020, or Hollywood actor Oliver Jackson-Cohen acquires the ability to go invisible in the 2022 film Invisible Man. 

The invisible man idea is fine for being stealthy as a fiction or entertainment story. But is ‘stealth’ valid in reality, with specific reference to an aircraft being invisible to the ground or the airborne radar? 

Major powers have already spent billions of US dollars, viz China, Russia, and the US, towards R&D in this field and producing operational aircraft. USA took the lead by manufacturing F-117, F-22, F-35, and B-2 and to-be inducted strategic bomber B-21. China and Russia have miles to go.  

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WNU Editor: The U.S. invested hundreds of billions of dollars to have a fleet of F-35 fighters based on their stealth capabilities. It would be more than a shock to the U.S. and its allies if this technology does not work.

China May Have A New Stealth Fighter

J-20. Via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: Surprise! China May Have A New Stealth Fighter

China might be developing a new stealth fighter, if an announcement from the Chinese Aeronautical Establishment—a government research organization—is any indication.

For those keeping count, the new plane could be the sixth manned, radar-evading warplane in service or in development in China.

To put that in context, the world’s leading operator of stealth aircraft, the United States, has fielded six different manned stealth aircraft types, five of which remain in service—the F-117, the B-2, the F-22 and the three highly distinctive variants of the F-35.

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WNU Editor: It would not escape me if China has more than one fighter project in development.

US Stealth Plane With 'Odd' Coating Reportedly Makes Another Test Flight In The Mojave Desert

© CC BY-SA 4.0 / Alpha Henry / Scaled Composites Model 401

Warzone/The Drive: Stealthy 'Son Of Ares' Jet Seen Covered In Mirrors During Mysterious Test Flights

The alien-looking aircraft and its twin are being used for intriguing trials involving a number of other aircraft high above the Mojave Desert

In a follow-up to our most recent article on a number of strange tests that have been ongoing high above the Mojave Desert involving three of Scaled Composites' experimental aircraft and a host of other players from the U.S. military and NASA, we now have exclusive new images showing one of the mysterious Model 401 'Son of Ares' jets flying while covered in a mirror-like coating. The images were taken on June 13th, a few days after our initial report on the testing, and they offer new insights and prompt new questions as to what the twin stealthy experimental jets and their high-flying Proteus cousin have been up to.

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Update: Mysterious US Stealth Plane With 'Odd' Coating Reportedly Makes Another Test Flight (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: Calling these tests "strange" by the above author is an understatement.

China's Xian H-20 Supersonic Stealth Bomber Could Be Making Its Debut Later This Year

An artist’s impression of what the H-20 may look like. Photo: Weibo

SCMP: China’s long-range Xian H-20 stealth bomber could make its debut this year

* Beijing ‘carefully considering’ unveiling the plane at the Zhuhai Airshow in November at a time of heightened regional tension
* H-20 will give China the nuclear triad of submarines, ballistic missiles and bombers

China’s new generation strategic bomber is likely to be ready for delivery this year, but Beijing is said to be weighing the impact of its unveiling at a complex time in regional relations due to the coronavirus pandemic
.
Military sources said the Xian H-20 supersonic stealth bomber – expected to double the country’s strike range – could make its first public appearance at this year’s Zhuhai Airshow
in November, if the pandemic was sufficiently under control.

“The Zhuhai Airshow is expected to become a platform to promote China’s image and its success in pandemic control – telling the outside world that the contagion did not have any big impacts on Chinese defence industry enterprises,” a source said.

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Update #1: China weighing up revealing new stealth bomber that can target Australia (9 News)
Update #2: China could unveil stealth bomber in November: Report (The Week)
Update #3: China set to unveil new nuclear stealth bomber that could reach Los Angeles (Daily Star)

WNU Editor: If this pandemic roars back later this year, China will be needing as many PR events as possible to change the narrative. That is why I do expect China will be debuting this stealth bomber later this year.

China Is Rushing To Develop Stealth Technology For Its Planes

An Air Force F-22 Raptor (left) flies with an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter over Florida. USAF Photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

Zachary Keck, National Interest: China Has a Plan to Unstealth the F-35 and F-22

China is trying to devise ways to make its nonstealthy aircraft radar resistant.

This week, the Hong Kong–based South China Morning Post reported that China is working on experimental technologies to make even its older aircraft appear stealthy to most radar systems. Citing scientists working on the project, the SCMP said, “The technology involves the use of a ‘metamaterial’, a fabricated layer comprising microscopic structures similar to integrated circuits. The metamaterial can alter the way radio waves bounce off its surface to create a ghost image or minimize echo on a radar, helping hide the aircraft in flight with greater efficiency.”

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Update: China tests stealth ‘invisibility cloaks’ on regular fighter jets (SCMP)

WNU Editor: For those who are interested in stealth technology on jet planes, the articles are a must read.

This Air Force General Wants A Cloaking Device For His Fleet Of Aerial Tankers

A Boeing Co. KC-135 Stratotanker. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Bloomberg: This Air Force General Wants a Cloaking Device for His Aerial Tankers

* ‘Star Trek’ technology wanted by general to protect his planes
* Pilot shortage also a top concern for Air Mobility chief

The U.S. Air Force’s military transport chief is tapping Silicon Valley, the defense industry and the Pentagon’s new innovation office in search of electronic cloaking technologies out of “Star Trek” to shrink the profiles of aerial tankers on enemy radar.

“I’ve got airplanes with big fat bodies and long wings,” General Carlton Everhart, head of the Air Mobility Command, said Tuesday in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “I’ve got first-generation tankers refueling fifth-gen fighters. The enemy doesn’t have to look for the fighter -- he just has to look for me.”

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WNU Editor: In any shooting war the aerial tanker fleet will be prime targets .... so I can understand why they want to be hidden and to be able to protect themselves.

The Real Reason Why The F-22 And F-35 Are Stealth Planes

An Air Force F-22 Raptor (left) flies with an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter over Florida. USAF Photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: The Real Secret to Keeping an F-22 and F-35 Stealth: Their Super Special 'Skin'

While pilots of advanced fifth-generation fighters like the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor or the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter often claim the spotlight, it is the ground crews who maintain those jets’ pristine surfaces that are often the real heroes. Without proper maintenance of their skin, the signature of those advance stealth jets degrade over time—rendering them vulnerable to enemy radar.

“If the pilot’s seen by radar, he can be shot down,” said Senior Airman Joshua Moon, a 192nd Fighter Wing low observables (LO) aircraft structures technician, in an Air Force release issued during the service’s Red Flag exercise in Nevada. “If he isn’t, he can do his mission, go behind enemy lines, and they’ll never even know he was there until it’s too late. Without us, he’s going to get spotted, or shot down, so lives are at risk when it comes to our job.”

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WNU editor: This "stealth skin" is also very vulnerable to the elements .... American F-22 Raptor Fighter Jets Lose Anti-Radar Coating in Syria (South Front)

Is Computing The Value of Stealth Really That Difficult?

F-35 and F-22. Photo from Military Photos And Photoshops

Mike Benitez, War On The Rocks: Computing The Value of Stealth: It's Not That Simple

Commentaries regarding stealth on War on The Rocks may have left readers with the impression that there is a binary force structure choice between the “haves” and the “have-nots” regarding aircraft with stealth characteristics. While it is human nature to seek out binary decisions, this could not be further from the truth. Any current, competent, experienced warfighter knows that we commit a significant disservice when the subject of stealth is oversimplified. It’s not that simple.

Air Superiority

If there is one thing the U.S. Air Force should prioritize above all else, it is air superiority. Air superiority has consistently been a necessary prelude and continuous requirement for the joint force to meet military objectives. Simply put, air superiority permits the ability to maneuver, support, and fight at will on land, sea, and air. In wars of necessity, you don’t win without it.

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WNU Editor: The U.S. Air Force's stealth program is costing hundreds of billions .... they better figure out the value.

A Look At Fighter Doctrine And Stealth Technology

An Air Force F-22 Raptor (left) flies with an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter over Florida. USAF Photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

Sebastien Roblin, National Interest: Why The F-22 and F-35 Stealth Fighters Will Revolutionize War in the Sky

In Len Deighton’s book Fighter, he describes the tactics used by the outnumbered English fighter pilots defending against German Luftwaffe bombers in the Battle of Britain:

The professional fighter pilot gained height as quickly as he was permitted, and treasured possession of that benefit. He hoped always to spot the enemy before they spotted him and hurried to the sun side of them to keep himself invisible. He needed superior speed, so he positioned himself for a diving attack, and he would choose a victim at the very rear of the enemy formation so that he did not have to fly through their gunfire. He would hope to kill on that first dive. If he failed, the dedicated professional would flee rather than face an alerted enemy.

Deighton’s point was that the best British pilots used hit-and-run tactics emphasizing surprise and speed in order to minimize losses, rather than dogfighting at length with enemies after those advantages were spent. These tactics permitted small numbers of British fighters to tackle the aerial armadas of the German Luftwaffe.

Obviously, technology has changed dramatically since 1940. While contemporary fighters can now go more than five times as fast as the Spitfires and Messerschmitt fighters of the Battle of Britain, two new technologies promise to make hit-and-run tactics more effective: stealth technology and long-range air-to-air missiles.

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The Evolution Of U.S. Stealth Aircraft (Photo Gallery)

LOCKHEED SR-71 BLACKBIRD Role: Strategic reconnaissance aircraft Manufacturer: Lockheed, Skunk Works division Status: Retired The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was operated by the United States Air Force.[1] It was developed as a black projectfrom the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by Lockheed and its Skunk Works division. Renowned American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If asurface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. The SR-71 was designed to have basic stealth characteristics and served as a precursor to future stealth aircraft. The SR-71 served with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost to enemy action. The SR-71 has been given several nicknames, including Blackbird and Habu. It has held the world record for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft since 1976; this record was previously held by the relatedLockheed YF-12.

WNU Editor: The gallery starts here .... The best and baddest of U.S. stealth bombers (Washington Times).

Russian Media Reviews The World's Famous Stealth Aircraft

TASS: World’s most famous stealth aircraft

TASS is reviewing world's most famous stealth aircraft while Japan is about to become the fourth country in the world possessing one

MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Japan had plans for March 2016 to complete trials of its new-generation aircraft, the Advanced Technology Demonstrator X, developed with the use of the stealth technology. The Land of the Rising Sun will become the fourth country in the world to develop stealth aircraft. Before that, only Russia, China and the United States could boast combat aviation systems based on low radar signature technology.

Stealth technology is a major required parameter for fifth-generation aircraft.

The stealth technology reduces radar and infrared detection and the effect is achieved through special coating, the specific shape of the aircraft’s body and materials of its airframe.
The radio waves emitted, for example, by the transmitter of an air defense missile system are reflected from the aircraft’s surface and received by a radar system, thus making the plane radar detectable.

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WNU Editor: A good summary.

Is China About To End America's Monopoly On Stealth Fighter Jets?

Reuters

David Axe, Daily Beast: China Assembles Its Stealth Jet Fleet

Beijing’s newest supersonic warplane could mark the end of the American monopoly on stealth fighter jets.

China has apparently begun mass production of its new J-20 stealth fighter, making it only the second country in the world to produce radar-evading warplanes on a large scale.

But as with all military developments in China, it’s hard to separate fact from Communist Party-sponsored fiction—and equally difficult to predict just how heavily even large numbers of working J-20s could weigh on the military balance of power in the Pacific region.

The Chinese air force debuted the first prototype of the bulky, twin-engine, twin-tail J-20 in December 2010 at an airfield in southeast China belonging to the Chengdu Aerospace Corp., a state-owned airplane-maker.

Previous Post: China Preparing To Manufacture Its First Stealth Fighter (Ahead Of Schedule)

WNU Editor: China still has a long way to go .... but they are definitely determined to have a fleet of "stealth fighters" in the future.

Is Stealth Worth Spending $1,000,000,000,000

F-35 and F-22. Photo from Military Photos And Photoshops

Dave Majumdar, National Interest: The U.S. Military's $1,000,000,000,000 Question: Is Stealth Worth It?

Is the added cost of buying and operating a stealth fighter worth it?

The answers will vary depending on who you ask—and it depends on if one believes stealth is a baseline requirement to survive over a future battlefield or not.

The U.S. Air Force has publicly embraced stealth as the end all and be all, while the U.S. Navy has taken a more skeptical approach. While Air Force officials publicly pronounce that the F-35 will be able fight alone and unafraid, the Navy has argued for balanced survivability using a combination of assets including electronic attack, stand-off weapons and, yes, some measure of stealth.

WNU Editor: The Russian military believe this talk of stealth is over-rated .... Russian General: U.S. 'Stealth Planes' Cannot Hide From Russian Anti-Aircraft Missiles. Ditto for the Chinese .... U.S. Stealth Fighters Cannot Hide From Chinese Missiles And Radar.

The U.S. Air Force's New Advanced Stealth Fighters Will Be Armed With Old And Obsolete Weapons And Missiles

Pentagon Worries That Russia Can Now Outshoot U.S. Stealth Jets -- Dave Majumdar, Daily Beast

American fighter planes are the fastest, most maneuverable jets in the world. But their weapons are becomingly increasingly obsolete—and that has some in the U.S. Air Force spooked.

High flying and fast, the F-22 Raptor stealth jet is by far the most lethal fighter America has ever built. But the Raptor—and indeed all U.S. fighters—have a potential Achilles’ heel, according to a half-dozen current and former Air Force officials. The F-22’s long-range air-to-air missiles might not be able to hit an enemy aircraft, thanks to new enemy radar-jamming techniques.

The issue has come to the fore as tensions continue to rise with Russia and a potential conflict between the great powers is once again a possibility—even if a remote one.

“We—the U.S. [Department of Defense]—haven’t been pursuing appropriate methods to counter EA [electronic attack] for years,” a senior Air Force official with extensive experience on the F-22 told The Daily Beast. “So, while we are stealthy, we will have a hard time working our way through the EA to target [an enemy aircraft such as a Russian-built Sukhoi] Su-35s and our missiles will have a hard time killing them.”

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My Comment: There is more money in the planes (and maintaining them) than developing and manufacturing their missiles and their electronic systems.

Is The World's Best Stealth Fighter In Sweden?

The Planet’s Best Stealth Fighter Isn’t Made in America -- Bill Sweetman, Daily Beast

The U.S. military likes to think it makes the world’s most sophisticated combat aircraft. Think again.

In 2005, Lockheed Martin labeled the F-35, the stealthy new jet they were building for the Pentagon, as a “fifth-generation” fighter. Ironically, it was a term that they had borrowed from Russia to describe a different stealthy fighter, the F-22. But the term caught on. Some of Lockheed’s rivals tumbled into this rhetorical trap and tried to argue that “fourth-generation” was just as capable—whether it is true or not, making such a case is an uphill struggle.

But if “fifth-generation” means more than “the ultimate driving machine,” a sixth generation will emerge. Saab—yes, that Saab—can argue that it has built the first such aircraft. The Swedish plane has got a mouthful of a name: the JAS 39E Gripen. But it could well be the future of air combat.

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My Comment: Cool video.

Does The Syrian Civil War Make The Case That The U.S. Needs Fifth-Generation Fighters

The F-35 fighter incorporates all the defining features of a fifth-generation fighter -- advanced stealth, agile maneuver, sensor fusion and high-capacity, secure datalinks. Collectively, those characteristics make it far more survivable and effective in coping with the sophisticated air defenses now becoming available to countries like Syria. (USAF: Courtesy photo Tom Reynolds/Lockheed Martin)

War In Syria Highlights Why U.S. Needs Fifth-Gen Fighters -- Loren Thompson,Forbes

The possibility that America and its allies might impose a no-fly zone over Syria just as they did during previous conflicts in Libya and Iraq is highlighting the importance of having survivable fifth-generation fighters in friendly air forces. Right now those forces consist mainly of older, non-stealthy fighters that Syrian surface-to-air missiles could shoot down in any battle for control of local airspace.

Such concerns have been on the backburner at the Pentagon over the last dozen years as the joint force fought unconventional foes such as the Taliban that lacked air forces and air defenses. Now, though, the focus of military planning is shifting to state-based adversaries that might field so-called integrated air defense networks like China, Iran and North Korea — with Syria looking like an early test case of whether U.S. fighters are up to the challenge.

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My Comment: The U.S. Air Force already has a fleet of fifth-gen fighters (i.e. F-22s) .... and I have my doubts that these planes will even be used in a U.S. - Syrian conflict scenario.

More Indications That The U.S. Air Force's Ambitions Of An All-Stealth Fighter Force Is Dead

An F-35A from Eglin Air Force Base, top, flies with an F-22 from Tyndall Air Force Base over Brooks Bridge in Fort Walton Beach on Wednesday. MASTER SGT. JEREMY LOCK / Special to the Daily News

USAF's Dream Of All-Stealth Fighter Force--Now Even More Dead -- Eric Palmer Blog

Another damning indictment has appeared showing the United States Air Force (USAF) dream wanting an all-stealth fighter force is even more dead. The November-December 2012 issue of Air & Space Power Journal has an article, (The F-22 Acquisition Program,Consequences for the US Air Force’s Fighter Fleet) by a former USAF test pilot and F-22 squadron commander, Lt. Col. Christopher J. Niemi (PDF below).

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Previous Post: A Surprising F-22 Critic

My Comment: It's hard to disagree with Eric Palmer on this one. If the Air force is your thing, this is a must read post.

Pakistan Hints China Wants A Peek At America's Secret Stealth Helicopter

Osama Bin Laden Raid: Pakistan Hints China Wants a Peek at Secret Helicopter -- ABC News

Pakistani officials said today they're interested in studying the remains of the U.S.'s secret stealth-modified helicopter abandoned during the Navy SEAL raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, and suggested the Chinese are as well.

The U.S. has already asked the Pakistanis for the helicopter wreckage back, but one Pakistani official told ABC News the Chinese were also "very interested" in seeing the remains. Another official said, "We might let them [the Chinese] take a look."

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My Comment: And this country is our ally ?!?!?!?! Pakistan gets $3 billion in aid from the US each year .... hmmm .... I think it is now time to re-evaluate this relationship.

The End Of Stealth?

F-117

Stealth Finally Meets Its Match -- The Dew Line/Flight Global

A US Marine Corps pilot posits in a very good new issue of Joint Forces Quarterly that the age of stealth domination in airpower is over.

Since the 1991 Gulf War, the USAF has launched thousands of stealth bombing sorties against the hardest targets offered by Baghdad, Belgrade and Baghdad again, yet suffered only one recorded combat loss when an F-117 was shot down over Serbia in 1999. Perhaps no other technology in history has dominated the battlefield as long or as absolutely as the stealthy airframe.

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My Comment: For old stealth planes the answer is probably yes, but as the previous post clearly states, new technology will make planes even more "stealthier".

Makes you wonder if the stealth features of the F-35 (already) makes it obsolete.

The Next Generation Of Stealth.

A cloaking device is made of copper rings, each surrounded by 10 layers of meta-material. (© Duke Photography www.dukephoto.duke.edu)

Now You See It, Now You Don’t -- Air & Space Smithsonian

Blinding us with science: the next generation of stealth.

Look down a long stretch of highway on a summer afternoon and in the distance a pool of water seems to wait for you, glistening under the hot sun. It’s only an illusion—Mother Nature’s version of a practical joke. The difference in density between the asphalt-heated air near the surface and the cooler air above acts like a lens, bending light waves as they pass from one layer to the next to reflect the blue sky and hide both the blacktop and any vehicles at the far end of the road behind a shimmering curtain.

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My Comment: The technical geek inside of me loves stories like this one .... makes you wonder what the ultimate limits to stealth are.