originally posted by: hawkguy
a reply to: Zaphod58
Is the low RCS a carryover from the RQ-180? Having done some reading on it earlier today it seemed to be a game changer when it was introduced,
particularly compared to the -170 (although the roles did diverge quite a bit between the two).
I'd imagine the NG team would have a pretty full toolbox regarding RCS minimization coming into the program, particularly regarding deep strike within
gnarly IADS.
At lower frequencies, which are becoming more of the concern, shaping matters less. However, lower frequency radar is less precise: it cannot
localize as well and it cannot distinguish craft as well----which is why the move was always up in frequency since 1941 as soon as faster electronic
devices were developed.
At lower frequencies, the skin matters less but it just sees the internal skeleton of metal as a big dipole or quadrupole. So aircraft start to look
alike. You may know Something is Out There, but you wouldn't really know reliably if it were a fighter, a tanker, a civilian craft, etc. And what
if you see 30 of Them out there. Which is the B-21 and which is the cheap drone?
Also, at lower frequencies, active countermeasures becomes easier---back to the future. How would you spoof radar in 1951? The physics doesn't
change, but now you have far better computers & models now. I can imagine it being rather "simple" to actively shape the apparent dipole &
quadrupole moments to be whatever you program them to be. Active deception---make the craft appear on radar to be multiple craft, or somewhere else
is a major approach.
Also, because of physics, any sort of lower frequency radar antenna with useful gain will be large, and not too mobile, i.e. easier to attack.
And we have no idea about what sort of active optical stealth there may be implemented, if optical is the last way to track it.
Very high altitude attack might be coming back. High enough, and you are invisible to naked eye, and would require a good telescope & image
recognition. If you had wartime means to cool exhaust (even temporarily for the critical mission minutes) then the IR spectrum could be mostly
shifted down to bands where the atmosphere is more opaque.
All in all, you would want to get the all-band detection/tracking range to be no greater than say 60 miles. With high enough speed & altitude the
craft could drop JDAM-ER's.
edit on 3-11-2016 by mbkennel because: (no reason given)
edit on 3-11-2016 by mbkennel because: (no reason given)