posted on Apr, 23 2018 @ 06:41 AM
a reply to:
horatio321
Just to add to the post above, the whole Radar subject is massive and quite 'geeky'. Getting one's head around the basics of RCS is just one part of
the equation. When 'dealing' with stealthy aircraft (and bear in mind, it's not just the west that has stealth aircraft) 'seeing' the aircraft is one
thing. Setting your radar so that it can detect things as small as a Seagull opens up a whole world of false positives. Especially when what you're
looking for is even smaller than that!
Your typical surveillance radars or ATC 'might' theoretically be able to get returns from stealthy aircraft, but you'd have to have a very experienced
radar operator to pick through the returns, with all the computer help in the world, let alone be able to say 'yep, right, that's an F-22 incoming' -
even if they knew one was there. Which they won't.
Low frequency band Radars have the best chance of seeing a stealthy jet, but do they have enough resolution to steer a missile travelling at Mach 3+
onto an aircraft travelling at Mach 1+? Nope, they don't.
Electronic warfare works in conjunction with Stealthy warfare hand in hand. Reduce the signal, increase the noise. The Americans are at least 25
years ahead of anyone else in terms of reducing the the signal. Certain things have been released to the public due to criticisms raised about the
costs involved with the F-35. So we have hints as to how effective F-22 stealth is. It's obviously sensitive/secret information. The next
generation of stealth will be even better, RCS = -70dB, or 0.0000001 m2 class.
Basically, if you're a naughty boy and they know where you're at, they will have the capability to punch through, undetected, and deliver a very
unpleasant surprise.
In the meantime, when you hear people saying that they can use fancy SAMs to bring them down - photos or it didn't happen.
I suspect at some point we may see Zaphod with something to add - this would be right up his street!