Stealth technology, also termed low observable technology (LO technology), is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive and active
electronic countermeasures, which covers a range of
methods
Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to:
*Scien ...
used to make personnel,
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
,
ships
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
,
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s,
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
s,
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
s, and
ground vehicles less visible (ideally
invisible
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology.
Since objects can be seen by light in ...
) to
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
,
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
,
sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
and other detection methods. It corresponds to
military camouflage
Military camouflage is the use of camouflage by an armed force to protect personnel and equipment from observation by enemy forces. In practice, this means applying colour and materials to military equipment of all kinds, including vehicles, ...
for these parts of the electromagnetic spectrum (i.e.,
multi-spectral camouflage).
Development of modern stealth technologies in the United States began in 1958,
where earlier attempts to prevent radar tracking of its
U-2 spy planes during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
had been unsuccessful. Designers turned to developing a specific shape for planes that tended to reduce detection by redirecting
electromagnetic radiation
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic field, electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. It includes radio waves, microwaves, inf ...
waves from radars.
Radiation-absorbent material
In materials science, radiation-absorbent material, usually known as RAM, is a material which has been specially designed and shaped to absorb incident RF radiation (also known as non-ionising radiation), as effectively as possible, from as m ...
was also tested and made to reduce or block radar signals that reflect off the surfaces of aircraft. Such changes to shape and surface composition comprise stealth technology as currently used on the
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit "Stealth Bomber".
[
The concept of stealth is to operate or hide while giving enemy forces no indication as to the presence of friendly forces. This concept was first explored through camouflage to make an object's appearance blend into the visual background. As the potency of detection and interception technologies (]radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
, infrared search and track
An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.
IR ...
ing, surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
s, etc.) have increased, so too has the extent to which the design and operation of military personnel and vehicles have been affected in response. Some military uniforms are treated with chemicals to reduce their infrared signature Infrared signature, as used by defense scientists and the military, is the appearance of objects to infrared sensors. An infrared signature depends on many factors, including the shape and size of the object, temperature, and emissivity, reflectio ...
. A modern ''stealth'' vehicle is designed from the outset to have a chosen spectral signature
Spectral signature is the variation of reflectance or emittance of a material with respect to wavelengths (i.e., reflectance/emittance as a function of wavelength). The spectral signature of stars indicates the composition of the stellar atmosph ...
. The degree of stealth embodied in a given design is chosen according to the projected threats of detection.
History
Camouflage to aid or avoid predation predates humanity, and hunters have been using vegetation to conceal themselves perhaps as long as people have been hunting. The earliest application of camouflage in warfare is impossible to ascertain. Methods for visual concealment in war were documented by Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of ''The ...
in his book ''The Art of War
''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...
'' in the 5th century BC, and by Frontinus
Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...
in his work ''Strategemata
''Strategemata'', or ''Stratagems'', is a Latin work by the Roman author Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD). It is a collection of examples of military stratagems from Greek and Roman history, ostensibly for the use of generals. Frontinus is assumed ...
'' in the 1st century AD.
In England, irregular units of gamekeepers in the 17th century were the first to adopt drab colours (common in 16th century Irish units) as a form of camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
, following examples from the continent.
During World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Germans experimented with the use of ''Cellon'' (Cellulose acetate
In biochemistry, cellulose acetate refers to any acetate ester of cellulose, usually cellulose diacetate. It was first prepared in 1865. A bioplastic, cellulose acetate is used as a film base in photography, as a component in some coatings, and ...
), a transparent covering material, in an attempt to reduce the visibility of military aircraft. Single examples of the Fokker E.III
The Fokker E.III was the main variant of the ''Eindecker'' (literally meaning "one deck") fighter aircraft of World War I. It entered service on the Western Front in December 1915 and was also supplied to Austria-Hungary and Turkey.
Design and ...
''Eindecker'' fighter monoplane, the Albatros C.I
The Albatros C.I, (post-war company designations L.6 & L.7), was the first of the successful C-series of two-seat general-purpose biplanes built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke during World War I. Based on the unarmed Albatros B.II, the C.I reversed ...
two-seat observation biplane, and the Linke-Hofmann R.I prototype heavy bomber were covered with ''Cellon''. However, sunlight glinting from the material made the aircraft even more visible. ''Cellon'' was also found to degrade quickly from both sunlight and in-flight temperature changes, so the effort to make transparent aircraft ceased.
In 1916, the British modified a small SS class airship
SS (''Submarine Scout'' or ''Sea Scout'') class airships were simple, cheap and easily assembled small non-rigid airships or "blimps" that were developed as a matter of some urgency to counter the German U-boat threat to British shipping during ...
for the purpose of night-time reconnaissance over German lines on the Western Front. Fitted with a silenced engine and a black gas bag, the craft was both invisible and inaudible from the ground but several night-time flights over German-held territory produced little useful intelligence and the idea was dropped.
Diffused-lighting camouflage, a shipborne form of counter-illumination
Counter-illumination is a method of active camouflage seen in marine animals such as firefly squid and midshipman fish, and in military prototypes, producing light to match their backgrounds in both brightness and wavelength.
Marine animals of ...
camouflage, was trialled by the Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
from 1941 to 1943. The concept was followed up for aircraft by the Americans and the British: in 1945 a Grumman Avenger
The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...
with Yehudi lights
Yehudi lights are lamps of automatically controlled brightness placed on the front and leading edges of an aircraft to raise the aircraft's luminance to the average brightness of the sky, a form of active camouflage using counter-illumination. T ...
reached from a ship before being sighted. This ability was rendered obsolete by radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
.
Chaff
Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
was invented in Britain and Germany early in World War II as a means to hide aircraft from radar. In effect, chaff acted upon radio waves much as a smoke screen
A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships.
Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...
acted upon visible light.
The U-boat ''U-480'' may have been the first stealth submarine. It featured an anechoic tile rubber coating, one layer of which contained circular air pockets to defeat ASDIC
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...
sonar. Radar-absorbent paints and materials of rubber and semiconductor composites (codenames: ''Sumpf'', ''Schornsteinfeger'') were used by the Kriegsmarine on submarines in World War II. Tests showed they were effective in reducing radar signatures at both short (centimetres) and long (1.5 metre) wavelengths.
In 1956 the CIA began attempts to reduce the radar cross-section
Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.
An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...
(RCS) of the U-2 spyplane. Three systems were developed, Trapeze, a series of wires and ferrite beads around the planform of the aircraft, a covering material with PCB circuitry embedded in it, and radar-absorbent paint. These were deployed in the field on the so-called ''dirty birds'' but results were disappointing, the weight and drag increases were not worth any reduction in detection rates. More successful was applying camouflage paint to the originally bare metal aircraft; a deep blue was found to be most effective. The weight of this cost 250 ft in maximum altitude, but made the aircraft harder for interceptors to see.
In 1958, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
requested funding for a reconnaissance aircraft to replace the existing U-2 spy planes, and Lockheed secured contractual rights to produce it.[ "Kelly" Johnson and his team at Lockheed's ]Skunk Works
Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, beginning with the P-38 Lightning in 1 ...
were assigned to produce the A-12 (or OXCART), which operated at high altitude of 70,000 to 80,000 ft and speed of Mach 3.2 to avoid radar detection. Various plane shapes designed to reduce radar detection were developed in earlier prototypes, named A-1 to A-11. The A-12 included a number of stealthy features including special fuel to reduce the signature of the exhaust plume, canted vertical stabilizers, the use of composite materials in key locations, and the overall finish in radar-absorbent paint.
In 1960, the USAF reduced the radar cross-section of a Ryan Q-2C Firebee drone. This was achieved through specially designed screens over the air intake, and radiation-absorbent material
In materials science, radiation-absorbent material, usually known as RAM, is a material which has been specially designed and shaped to absorb incident RF radiation (also known as non-ionising radiation), as effectively as possible, from as m ...
on the fuselage, and radar-absorbent paint.
The United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
issued a specification in 1968 which called for an observation aircraft
A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, reconnaissance, observat ...
that would be acoustically undetectable from the ground when flying at an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 m) at night. This resulted in the Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star
The Lockheed YO-3 Quiet Star is an American single-engined, propeller-driven aircraft that was developed for battlefield observation during the Vietnam War. Designed to be as quiet as possible, it was intended to observe troop movements in near-s ...
, which operated in South Vietnam from late June 1970 to September 1971.
During the 1970s the U.S. Department of Defense launched project Lockheed Have Blue
Lockheed ''Have Blue'' was the code name for Lockheed's proof of concept demonstrator for a stealth bomber. ''Have Blue'' was designed by Lockheed's Skunk Works division, and tested at Groom Lake, Nevada. The ''Have Blue'' was the first fixe ...
, with the aim of developing a stealth fighter. There was fierce bidding between Lockheed and Northrop to secure the multibillion-dollar contract. Lockheed incorporated into its bid a text written by the Soviet-Russian physicist Pyotr Ufimtsev
Pyotr Yakovlevich Ufimtsev (sometimes also Petr; russian: Пётр Я́ковлевич Уфи́мцев) (born 1931 in Ust-Charyshskaya Pristan, West Siberian Krai, now Altai Krai) is a Soviet/Russian physicist and mathematician, considered the se ...
from 1962, titled ''Method of Edge Waves in the Physical Theory of Diffraction'', Soviet Radio, Moscow, 1962. In 1971 this book was translated into English with the same title by U.S. Air Force, Foreign Technology Division. The theory played a critical role in the design of American stealth-aircraft F-117 and B-2. Equations outlined in the paper quantified how a plane's shape would affect its detectability by radar, termed radar cross-section
Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.
An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...
(RCS). At the time, the Soviet Union did not have supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second ( FLOPS) instead of million instructions ...
capacity to solve these equations for actual designs. This was applied by Lockheed in computer simulation to design a novel shape they called the "Hopeless Diamond", a wordplay on the Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond is a diamond originally extracted in the 17th century from the Kollur Mine in Guntur, India. It is blue in color due to trace amounts of boron. Its exceptional size has revealed new information about the formation of diamonds. ...
, securing contractual rights to produce the F-117 Nighthawk starting in 1975. In 1977 Lockheed produced two 60% scale models under the Have Blue contract. The Have Blue program was a stealth technology demonstrator that lasted from 1976 to 1979. The Northrop Grumman Tacit Blue also played a part in the development of composite material and curvilinear surfaces, low observables, fly-by-wire, and other stealth technology innovations. The success of Have Blue led the Air Force to create the ''Senior Trend'' program which developed the F-117.
Principles
Stealth technology (or LO for ''low observability'') is not one technology. It is a set of technologies, used in combinations, that can greatly reduce the distances at which a person or vehicle can be detected; more so radar cross-section reductions, but also acoustic, thermal
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
, and other aspects.
Radar cross-section (RCS) reductions
Almost since the invention of radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
, various methods have been tried to minimize detection. Rapid development of radar during World War II led to equally rapid development of numerous counter radar measures during the period; a notable example of this was the use of chaff
Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
. Modern methods include Radar jamming and deception
Radar jamming and deception is a form of electronic countermeasures that intentionally sends out radio frequency signals to interfere with the operation of radar by saturating its receiver with noise or false information. Concepts that blanket the ...
.
The term ''stealth'' in reference to reduced radar signature aircraft became popular during the late eighties when the Lockheed Martin F-117 stealth fighter became widely known. The first large scale (and public) use of the F-117 was during the Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
in 1991. However, F-117A stealth fighters were used for the first time in combat during Operation Just Cause
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
, the United States invasion of Panama
The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos ...
in 1989.
Vehicle shape
Aircraft
The possibility of designing aircraft in such a manner as to reduce their radar cross-section was recognized in the late 1930s, when the first radar tracking systems were employed, and it has been known since at least the 1960s that aircraft shape makes a significant difference in detectability. The Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe an ...
, a British bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
of the 1960s, had a remarkably small appearance on radar despite its large size, and occasionally disappeared from radar screens entirely. It is now known that it had a fortuitously stealthy shape apart from the vertical element of the tail. Despite being designed before a low radar cross-section
Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.
An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...
(RCS) and other stealth factors were ever a consideration,[Sweetman, Bill]
"The Bomber that radar cannot see."
''New Scientist'', 4 March 1982. a Royal Aircraft Establishment technical note of 1957 stated that of all the aircraft so far studied, the Vulcan appeared by far the simplest radar echoing object, due to its shape: only one or two components contributing significantly to the echo at any aspect (one of them being the vertical stabilizer
A vertical stabilizer or tail fin is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, sta ...
, which is especially relevant for side aspect RCS), compared with three or more on most other types. While writing about radar systems, authors Simon Kingsley and Shaun Quegan singled out the Vulcan's shape as acting to reduce the RCS. In contrast, the Tupolev 95 Russian long-range bomber (NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
'Bear') was conspicuous on radar. It is now known that propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s and jet turbine blades produce a bright radar image; the Bear has four pairs of large (5.6-meter diameter) contra-rotating propellers
Aircraft equipped with contra-rotating propellers, also referred to as CRP, coaxial contra-rotating propellers, or high-speed propellers, apply the maximum power of usually a single piston or turboprop engine to drive a pair of coaxial propell ...
.
Another important factor is internal construction. Some stealth aircraft have skin that is radar transparent or absorbing, behind which are structures termed reentrant triangles. Radar waves penetrating the skin get trapped in these structures, reflecting off the internal faces and losing energy. This method was first used on the Blackbird series: A-12, YF-12A, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.
The most efficient way to reflect radar waves back to the emitting radar is with orthogonal metal plates, forming a corner reflector consisting of either a dihedral (two plates) or a trihedral (three orthogonal plates). This configuration occurs in the tail of a conventional aircraft, where the vertical and horizontal components of the tail are set at right angles. Stealth aircraft such as the F-117
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircr ...
use a different arrangement, tilting the tail surfaces to reduce corner reflections formed between them. A more radical method is to omit the tail, as in the B-2 Spirit
The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...
. The B-2's clean, low-drag flying wing configuration gives it exceptional range and reduces its radar profile.[Croddy and Wirtz 2005, pp. 341–342.] The flying wing design most closely resembles a so-called infinite flat plate (as vertical control surfaces dramatically increase RCS), the perfect stealth shape, as it would have no angles to reflect back radar waves.
In addition to altering the tail, stealth design must bury the engines within the wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
or fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
, or in some cases where stealth is applied to an extant aircraft, install baffles in the air intakes, so that the compressor blades are not visible to radar. A stealthy shape must be devoid of complex bumps or protrusions of any kind, meaning that weapons, fuel tanks, and other stores must not be carried externally. Any stealthy vehicle becomes un-stealthy when a door or hatch opens.
Parallel alignment of edges or even surfaces is also often used in stealth designs. The technique involves using a small number of edge orientations in the shape of the structure. For example, on the F-22A Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, ...
, the leading edges of the wing and the tail planes are set at the same angle. Other smaller structures, such as the air intake bypass doors and the air refueling
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...
aperture, also use the same angles. The effect of this is to return a narrow radar signal in a very specific direction away from the radar emitter rather than returning a diffuse signal detectable at many angles. The effect is sometimes called "glitter" after the very brief signal seen when the reflected beam passes across a detector. It can be difficult for the radar operator to distinguish between a glitter event and a digital glitch in the processing system.
Stealth airframes sometimes display distinctive serration
Serration is a saw-like appearance or a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. A serrated cutting edge has many small points of contact with the material being cut. By having less contact area than a smooth blade or other edge, the applied p ...
s on some exposed edges, such as the engine ports. The YF-23
The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twin-engine stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force (USAF). The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (A ...
has such serrations on the exhaust ports. This is another example in the parallel alignment of features, this time on the external airframe.
The shaping requirements detracted greatly from the F-117
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircr ...
's aerodynamic
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
properties. It is inherently unstable, and cannot be flown without a fly-by-wire control system.
Similarly, coating the cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
canopy with a thin film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer (monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many ap ...
transparent conductor ( vapor-deposited gold or indium tin oxide Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a ternary composition of indium, tin and oxygen in varying proportions. Depending on the oxygen content, it can be described as either a ceramic or an alloy. Indium tin oxide is typically encountered as an oxygen-saturated ...
) helps to reduce the aircraft's radar profile, because radar waves would normally enter the cockpit, reflect off objects (the inside of a cockpit has a complex shape, with a pilot helmet alone forming a sizeable return), and possibly return to the radar, but the conductive coating creates a controlled shape that deflects the incoming radar waves away from the radar. The coating is thin enough that it has no adverse effect on pilot vision.
Ships
Ships have also adopted similar methods. Though the earlier Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
The ''Arleigh Burke'' class of guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) is a United States Navy class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multi-function passive electronically scanned array radar. The class is named for ...
incorporated some signature-reduction features. the Norwegian Skjold-class corvette was the first coastal defence and the French La Fayette-class frigate
The ''La Fayette'' class (also known as FL-3000 for "''Frégate Légère de 3,000 tonnes''", or FLF for ''Frégate Légère Furtive'') is a class of general purpose frigates built by DCNS in the 1980s/90s and still operated by the French Navy ...
the first ocean-going stealth ship to enter service. Other examples are the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën class frigates, the Taiwanese Tuo Chiang stealth corvette, German Sachsen-class frigate
The F124 ''Sachsen'' class is the German Navy's latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the ''Sachsen''-class frigate is based on that of the F123 but with enhanced stealth features designed to deceive an opponent' ...
s, the Swedish Visby-class corvette
The ''Visby'' class is a warship in use by the Swedish Navy. It is the latest class of corvette adopted by the navy after the and corvettes. Its design emphasizes low visibility radar cross-section and infrared signature, and the class has r ...
, the USS ''San Antonio'' amphibious transport dock
An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently operat ...
, and most modern warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
designs.
Materials
Non-metallic airframe
Dielectric
In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an electrical insulator that can be polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the mate ...
composite material
A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
s are more transparent to radar, whereas electrically conductive materials such as metals and carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
s reflect electromagnetic energy incident on the material's surface. Composites may also contain ferrites to optimize the dielectric and magnetic properties of a material for its application.
Radar-absorbent material
Radiation-absorbent material (RAM), often as paints, are used especially on the edges of metal surfaces. While the material and thickness of RAM coatings can vary, the way they work is the same: absorb radiated energy from a ground- or air-based radar station into the coating and convert it to heat rather than reflect it back. Current technologies include dielectric composites and metal fibers containing ferrite isotopes. Ceramic composite coating is a new type of material systems which can sustain at higher temperatures with better sand erosion resistance and thermal resistance. Paint comprises depositing pyramid-like colonies on the reflecting superficies with the gaps filled with ferrite-based RAM. The pyramidal structure deflects the incident radar energy in the maze of RAM. One commonly used material is called ''iron ball paint''. It contains microscopic iron spheres that resonate in tune with incoming radio waves and dissipate most of their energy as heat, leaving little to reflect back to detectors. FSS are planar periodic structures that behave like filters to electromagnetic energy. The considered frequency-selective surfaces are composed of conducting patch elements pasted on the ferrite layer. FSS are used for filtration and microwave absorption.
Radar stealth countermeasures and limits
Low-frequency radar
Shaping offers far fewer stealth advantages against low-frequency radar. If the radar wavelength
In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...
is roughly twice the size of the target, a half-wave resonance
Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscillatin ...
effect can still generate a significant return. However, low-frequency radar is limited by lack of available frequencies (many are heavily used by other systems), by lack of accuracy of the diffraction-limited system
The resolution of an optical imaging system a microscope, telescope, or camera can be limited by factors such as imperfections in the lenses or misalignment. However, there is a principal limit to the resolution of any optical system, due to t ...
s given their long wavelengths, and by the radar's size, making it difficult to transport. A long-wave radar may detect a target and roughly locate it, but not provide enough information to identify it, target it with weapons, or even to guide a fighter to it.
Multiple emitters
Much of the stealth comes in directions different than a direct return. Thus, detection can be better achieved if emitters are separate from receivers. One emitter separate from one receiver is termed bistatic radar
Bistatic radar is a radar system comprising a transmitter and receiver that are separated by a distance comparable to the expected target distance. Conversely, a conventional radar in which the transmitter and receiver are co-located is called ...
; one or more emitters separate from more than one receiver is termed multistatic radar
A multistatic radar system contains multiple spatially diverse monostatic radar or bistatic radar components with a shared area of coverage. An important distinction of systems based on these individual radar geometries is the added requirement f ...
. Proposals exist to use reflections from emitters such as civilian radio transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
s, including cellular telephone radio towers.
Moore's law
By Moore's law the processing power behind radar systems is rising over time. This will eventually erode the ability of physical stealth to hide vehicles.
Ship wakes and spray
Synthetic aperture sidescan radars can be used to detect the location and heading of ships from their wake patterns. These are detectable from orbit. When a ship moves through a seaway it throws up a cloud of spray which can be detected by radar.
Acoustics
Acoustic stealth plays a primary role for submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s and ground vehicles. Submarines use extensive rubber mountings to isolate, damp, and avoid mechanical noises that can reveal locations to underwater passive sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
arrays.
Early stealth observation aircraft
A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as intelligence gathering, battlefield surveillance, airspace surveillance, reconnaissance, observat ...
used slow-turning propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s to avoid being heard by enemy troops below. Stealth aircraft that stay subsonic can avoid being tracked by sonic boom
A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to t ...
. The presence of supersonic and jet-powered stealth aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird indicates that acoustic signature
The term acoustic signature is used to describe a combination of acoustic emissions of sound emitters, such as those of ships and submarines. In addition, aircraft, machinery, and living animals can be described as having their own characteristic ...
is not always a major driver in aircraft design, as the Blackbird relied more on its very high speed and altitude.
One method to reduce helicopter rotor noise is ''modulated blade spacing''. Standard rotor blades are evenly spaced, and produce greater noise at a given frequency and its harmonic
A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
s. Using varied spacing between the blades spreads the noise or acoustic signature of the rotor over a greater range of frequencies.
Visibility
The simplest technology is visual camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
; the use of paint or other materials to color and break up the lines of a vehicle or person.
Most stealth aircraft use matte paint
Sheen is a measure of the reflected light ( glossiness) from a paint finish. ''Glossy'' and ''flat'' (or ''matte'') are typical extreme levels of glossiness of a finish. Glossy paints are shiny and reflect most light in the specular (mirror-lik ...
and dark colors, and operate only at night. Lately, interest in daylight Stealth (especially by the USAF) has emphasized the use of gray paint in disruptive schemes, and it is assumed that Yehudi lights
Yehudi lights are lamps of automatically controlled brightness placed on the front and leading edges of an aircraft to raise the aircraft's luminance to the average brightness of the sky, a form of active camouflage using counter-illumination. T ...
could be used in the future to hide the airframe (against the background of the sky, including at night, aircraft of any colour appear dark) or as a sort of active camouflage. The original B-2 design had wing tanks for a contrail
Contrails (; short for "condensation trails") or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth's surface. Contrails ar ...
-inhibiting chemical, alleged by some to be chlorofluorosulfonic acid, but this was replaced in the final design with a contrail sensor that alerts the pilot when he should change altitude and mission planning also considers altitudes where the probability of their formation is minimized.
In space, mirrored surfaces can be employed to reflect views of empty space toward known or suspected observers; this approach is compatible with several radar stealth schemes. Careful control of the orientation of the satellite relative to the observers is essential, and mistakes can lead to detectability enhancement rather than the desired reduction.
Infrared
An exhaust plume contributes a significant infrared signature. One means to reduce IR signature is to have a non-circular tail pipe (a slit shape) to minimize the exhaust cross sectional area and maximize the mixing of hot exhaust with cool ambient air (see Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircr ...
). Often, cool air is deliberately injected into the exhaust flow to boost this process (see Ryan AQM-91 Firefly
The Ryan AQM-91 Firefly was a developmental drone developed during the Vietnam War to perform long-range reconnaissance, especially into China.
Development
The Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug reconnaissance drone was enjoying success in Vietnam ...
and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit). The Stefan–Boltzmann law
The Stefan–Boltzmann law describes the power radiated from a black body in terms of its temperature. Specifically, the Stefan–Boltzmann law states that the total energy radiated per unit surface area of a black body across all wavelengths ...
shows how this results in less energy (Thermal radiation
Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of particles in matter. Thermal radiation is generated when heat from the movement of charges in the material (electrons and protons in common forms of matter) is ...
in infrared spectrum) being released and thus reduces the heat signature. In some aircraft, the jet exhaust is vented above the wing surface to shield it from observers below, as in the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, and the unstealthy Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republ ...
. To achieve infrared stealth
Adaptiv is an active camouflage technology developed by BAE Systems AB to protect military vehicles from detection by far infrared night vision devices, providing infrared stealth. It consists of an array of hexagonal Peltier plates which can be ...
, the exhaust gas is cooled to the temperatures where the brightest wavelengths it radiates are absorbed by atmospheric carbon dioxide and water vapor, greatly reducing the infrared visibility of the exhaust plume. Another way to reduce the exhaust temperature is to circulate coolant
A coolant is a substance, typically liquid, that is used to reduce or regulate the temperature of a system. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, chemically inert and neither causes nor promotes corrosio ...
fluids such as fuel inside the exhaust pipe, where the fuel tanks serve as heat sink
A heat sink (also commonly spelled heatsink) is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated away from the device, th ...
s cooled by the flow of air along the wings.
Ground combat includes the use of both active and passive infrared sensors. Thus, the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
(USMC) ground combat uniform requirements document specifies infrared reflective quality standards.
Reducing radio frequency (RF) emissions
In addition to reducing infrared and acoustic emissions, a stealth vehicle must avoid radiating any other detectable energy, such as from onboard radars, communications systems, or RF leakage from electronics enclosures. The F-117
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircr ...
uses passive infrared and low light level television
Low light level television (LLLTV) is a type of electronic sensing device, usually a CCD camera sensitive to wavelengths above the normal "visible" (0.4 to 0.7 micrometre) wavelengths, and into the short-wave Infrared - usually to about 1.0 to 1.1 ...
sensor systems to aim its weapons and the F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
has an advanced LPI radar which can illuminate enemy aircraft without triggering a radar warning receiver
Radar warning receiver (RWR) systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected, like a fighter aircraft's fire control radar. The warning can t ...
response.
Measuring
The size of a target's image on radar is measured by the radar cross section
Radar cross-section (RCS), also called radar signature, is a measure of how detectable an object is by radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.
An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy back to the source. ...
(RCS), often represented by the symbol σ and expressed in square meters. This does not equal geometric area. A perfectly conducting sphere of projected cross sectional area 1 m2 (i.e. a diameter of 1.13 m) will have an RCS of 1 m2. Note that for radar wavelengths much less than the diameter of the sphere, RCS is independent of frequency. Conversely, a square flat plate of area 1 m2 will have an RCS of σ=4π ''A''2 / ''λ''2 (where ''A''=area, ''λ''=wavelength), or 13,982 m2 at 10 GHz if the radar is perpendicular to the flat surface. At off-normal incident angles, energy is reflected away from the receiver, reducing the RCS. Modern stealth aircraft are said to have an RCS comparable with small birds or large insects, though this varies widely depending on aircraft and radar.
If the RCS was directly related to the target's cross-sectional area, the only way to reduce it would be to make the physical profile smaller. Rather, by reflecting much of the radiation away or by absorbing it, the target achieves a smaller radar cross section.
Tactics
Stealthy strike aircraft such as the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircr ...
, are usually used against heavily defended enemy sites such as command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
centers or surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
(SAM) batteries. Enemy radar will cover the airspace around these sites with overlapping coverage, making undetected entry by conventional aircraft nearly impossible. Stealthy aircraft can also be detected, but only at short ranges around the radars; for a stealthy aircraft there are substantial gaps in the radar coverage. Thus a stealthy aircraft flying an appropriate route can remain undetected by radar. Even if a stealth aircraft is detected, fire-control radar
A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are sometim ...
s operating in C, X and Ku bands cannot paint (for missile guidance) low observable (LO) jets except at very close ranges. Many ground-based radars exploit Doppler filter to improve sensitivity to objects having a radial velocity component relative to the radar. Mission planners use their knowledge of enemy radar locations and the RCS pattern of the aircraft to design a flight path that minimizes radial speed while presenting the lowest-RCS aspects of the aircraft to the threat radar. To be able to fly these "safe" routes, it is necessary to understand an enemy's radar coverage (see electronic intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...
). Airborne or mobile radar systems such as AWACS can complicate tactical strategy for stealth operation.
Research
After the invention of electromagnetic metasurface
An electromagnetic metasurface refers to a kind of artificial sheet material with sub-wavelength thickness. Metasurfaces can be either structured or unstructured with subwavelength-scaled patterns in the horizontal dimensions.
In electromagnetic ...
s, the conventional means to reduce RCS have been improved significantly.[A. Y. Modi; M. A. Alyahya; C. A. Balanis; C. R. Birtcher, "Metasurface-Based Method for Broadband RCS Reduction of Dihedral Corner Reflectors with Multiple Bounces," in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol.67, no.12, pp. -, Dec. 2019. ] As mentioned earlier, the main objective in purpose shaping is to redirect scattered waves away from the backscattered direction, which is usually the source. However, this usually compromises aerodynamic
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
performance. One feasible solution, which has extensively been explored in recent time, is to use metasurfaces which can redirect scattered waves without altering the geometry of a target. Such metasurfaces can primarily be classified in two categories: (i) checkerboard metasurfaces, (ii) gradient index metasurfaces. Similarly, negative index metamaterial
Negative-index metamaterial or negative-index material (NIM) is a metamaterial whose refractive index for an electromagnetic wave has a negative value over some frequency range.
NIMs are constructed of periodic basic parts called unit cells, whi ...
s are artificial structures for which refractive index has a negative value for some frequency range, such as in microwave, infrared, or possibly optical. These offer another way to reduce detectability, and may provide electromagnetic near-invisibility in designed wavelengths.
Plasma stealth
Plasma stealth is a proposed process to use ionized gas (plasma (physics), plasma) to reduce the radar cross-section (RCS) of an aircraft. Interactions between electromagnetic radiation and ionized gas have been extensively studied for many purpose ...
is a phenomenon proposed to use ionized gas, termed a plasma, to reduce RCS of vehicles. Interactions between electromagnetic radiation
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic field, electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. It includes radio waves, microwaves, inf ...
and ionized gas have been studied extensively for many purposes, including concealing vehicles from radar. Various methods might form a layer or cloud of plasma around a vehicle to deflect or absorb radar, from simpler electrostatic to radio frequency
Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upp ...
(RF) more complex laser discharges, but these may be difficult in practice.
Several technology research and development efforts exist to integrate the functions of aircraft flight control system
A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft ...
s such as aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s, elevators
An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
, elevon
Elevons or tailerons are aircraft control surfaces that combine the functions of the elevator (used for pitch control) and the aileron (used for roll control), hence the name. They are frequently used on tailless aircraft such as flying wings. A ...
s, flap
Flap may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film
* Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis''
* Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland''
Biology and he ...
s, and flaperon
A flaperon (a portmanteau of flap and aileron) on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, while ...
s into wings to perform the aerodynamic purpose with the advantages of lower RCS for stealth, via simpler geometries and lower complexity (mechanically simpler, fewer or no moving parts or surfaces, less maintenance), and lower mass, cost (up to 50% less), drag (up to 15% less during use) and, inertia
Inertia is the idea that an object will continue its current motion until some force causes its speed or direction to change. The term is properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his first law ...
(for faster, stronger control response to change vehicle orientation to reduce detection). Two promising approaches are flexible wings, and fluidics.
In flexible wings, much or all of a wing surface can change shape in flight to deflect air flow. Adaptive compliant wing
An adaptive compliant wing is a wing which is flexible enough for aspects of its shape to be changed in flight. Flexible wings have a number of benefits. Conventional flight control mechanisms operate using hinges, resulting in disruptions to the ...
s are a military and commercial effort. The X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing
The X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) development program is a completed American research project that was undertaken jointly by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Boeing Phantom Works and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, where t ...
was a US Air Force, Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
, and NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
effort.
In fluidics
Fluidics, or fluidic logic, is the use of a fluid to perform analog or digital operations similar to those performed with electronics.
The physical basis of fluidics is pneumatics and hydraulics, based on the theoretical foundation of fluid dyna ...
, fluid injection is being researched for use in aircraft to control direction, in two ways: circulation control and thrust vectoring. In both, larger more complex mechanical parts are replaced by smaller, simpler fluidic systems, in which larger forces in fluids are diverted by smaller jets or flows of fluid intermittently, to change the direction of vehicles. Moving mechanical control surfaces cause an important part of aircraft radar cross-section. Omitting mechanical control surfaces can reduce radar returns. BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
has tested two fluidically controlled unmanned aircraft, one starting in 2010 named Demon, and another starting in 2017 named MAGMA, with the University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
.
In circulation control, near the trailing edges of wings, aircraft flight control system
A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft ...
s are replaced by slots which emit fluid flows.
List of stealth aircraft
* F-117 Nighthawk
*B-2 Spirit
The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...
*F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...
*F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
* J-20
* Su-57
List of reduced-signature ships
Navy ships worldwide have incorporated signature-reduction features, mostly for the purpose of reducing anti-ship missile detection range and enhancing countermeasure effectiveness rather than actual detection avoidance. Such ships include:
* ''Bhumibol Adulyadej''-class frigate
* ''Independence''-class littoral combat ship
* Kamorta-class corvette
The ''Kamorta''-class corvettes or Project 28 are a class of anti-submarine warfare stealth corvettes currently in service with the Indian Navy. Built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, they are the first anti-submarin ...
* Kolkata-class destroyer
The "Kolkata class" ''(Project 15A)'' are a class of stealth guided-missile destroyers constructed for the Indian Navy. The class comprises three ships – ''Kolkata'', ''Kochi'' and ''Chennai'', all of which were built by Mazagon Dock Limite ...
* Klewang-class fast attack craft
* Nilgiri-class frigate (2019)
The ''Nilgiri''-class frigates, formally classified as the Project-17 Alpha frigates (P-17A), are a series of stealth guided-missile frigates currently being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers ...
* ''La Fayette''-class frigate
* ''Visby''-class corvette
* ''Skjold''-class corvette
* ''Tuo Chiang''-class Stealth Corvette
* Sachsen class frigate
The F124 ''Sachsen'' class is the German Navy's latest class of highly advanced air-defense frigates. The design of the ''Sachsen''-class frigate is based on that of the F123 but with enhanced stealth technology, stealth features designed to de ...
* Shivalik-class frigate
The ''Shivalik'' class or Project 17 class is a class of multi-role stealth frigates in service with the Indian Navy. They are the first stealth warships built in India. They were designed to have better stealth features and land-attack cap ...
* Talwar-class frigate
The ''Talwar''-class frigates or Project 11356 are a class of stealth guided missile frigates designed and built by Russia for the Indian Navy. The ''Talwar''-class guided missile frigates are the improved versions of the Krivak III-class (Pr ...
* Type 055 destroyer
The Type 055 destroyer (NATO/ OSD Renhai-class cruiser) is a class of stealth guided-missile destroyers ( guided-missile cruisers per NATO/OSD standard) being constructed for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. It is a multi-mission desi ...
* Visakhapatnam-class destroyer
The ''Visakhapatnam''-class destroyers, also classified as the P-15 ''Bravo'' class, or simply P-15B, is a class of guided-missile destroyers currently being built for the Indian Navy (IN). The ''Visakhapatnam'' class is an upgraded derivative ...
* ''Zumwalt''-class destroyer
List of stealth helicopters
* Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche
See also
* Multi-spectral camouflage
* Petr Ufimtsev – Soviet-Russian physicist who created much of the original theory behind radar stealth
* Radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
References
Bibliography
* Dawson, T.W.G., G.F. Kitchen and G.B. Glider
''Measurements of the Radar Echoing Area of the Vulcan by the Optical Simulation Method.''
Farnborough, Hants, UK: Royal Aircraft Establishment, September 1957 National Archive Catalogue file, AVIA 6/20895
* Ufimtsev, Pyotr Ya., "Method of edge waves in the physical theory of diffraction," Moscow, Russia: ''Izd-vo. Sov. Radio'' oviet Radio Publishing 1962, pages 1–243.
*
Analogues of Stealth – Northrop Grumman
* United States Patent No.6,297,762. 2 October 2001. Electronic countermeasures system (Apparatus for detecting the difference in phase between received signals at two spaced antennas and for then retransmitting equal amplitude antiphase signals from the two spaced antennas is disclosed.)
* and 3-540-97161-0.
*
External links
{{Commons category, Stealth technology
A Stealth Satellite Sourcebook
Military technology
Radar
Aerial warfare
Naval warfare tactics