The original RAM coat would peal off the aircraft if the plane went faster than high subsonic and did really sharp maneuvers. The original F-117 would come back after a mission with some of its RAM in poor shape.

Newer materials in producing RAM and newer adhesives assure that RAM will stick to an aircraft, this makes the aircraft stealthier and reduces the maintenance time. Also newer computers are able to better determine the angels and shape of the frame to reduce the RCS and increase capability. Combining that with a new radar that will not give the aircrafts position away and you can see why stealth effectiveness is going up an why price and difficulty goes down.

NWguy83
Well look at B-2 and F/A-22, now look at JSF and X-45. The price is cheaper, partial because of new stealth manufacturing techniques.

The JSF is "hoping" to be cheap...we shall see. and there doing that by mass producing them, and international R&D money. and the X-45C...No ones know what it will cost...its not even built yet, only artist renderings and mock-ups. It should be pretty cheap because its unmanned, and carries a light load.

The B-2 and F-22 cost quit abit because of there low numbers and capabilities.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
The original RAM coat would peal off the aircraft if the plane went faster than high subsonic and did really sharp maneuvers. The original F-117 would come back after a mission with some of its RAM in poor shape.

Link please.
I doubt what you say is accurate.
Plus...didn't the Blackbird use RAM.?

The Blackbird used other techniques to try to be stealthy. Mostly shape, and the use of ferrous paints.

Also, remember that
on the very first flight of the A-12 over Vietnam it was detected by radar.
Ben Rich has said that although they achieved a good deal of RCS reduction in
the front and from the sides, as soon as the bird went into a turn radar could
paint the bottom of the aircraft.

The North Vietnamese often detected the Blackbird, there was simply nothing
they could do about it. They had the most dense SAM system in the world, but
none of them were capable of intercepting a Mach 3+ 80,000+ ft target. Then,
as now, the SR's greatest survivability relies on its ECM, altitude and
sustained speed. Even if you do detect it, there's usually not enough time
to do anything about it, including hiding what it's looking for. The mechanics
of intercepting such a target from the ground (or from the air with anything
less than Phoenix) make a probability of shootdown extremely low with anything
but a directed energy weapon. Although present SAMs might be capable of Mach
5, they aren't doing anywhere near that speed when they're climbing to the SR's
altitude, and that's how the SR would have a good chance of evading them.

and also

The Blackbird's stealthiness is achieved by its extreme speed, the high altitude of its missions, electronic measures, and special radar absorbing materials on the chine and leading wing edges that reportedly contain iron ferrites. The ferrites dissipate radar waves and effectively lower the SR-71's chances of getting picked up on radar. The Blackbird flies so fast, it travels faster than a bullet, and there isn't a missile made that can catch it. The SR-71 still holds the record for highest flying and fastest jet. With an absolute speed of 2,193.167 mph. and sustained altitude of 85,068.997 feet, the Blackbird broke the record on July 28, 1976, taking the title ironically set by the YF-12A in 1965.

Originally posted by devilwasp
oh really? i thought it was radar that gave away a stealth fighters position,mabye i was thinking theres too much of a similarity to submarines and sonar.

Look into Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) Radar! This is the kind of Radar that is used on the B-2 for finding targets. The B-2's radar system is called the AQL-181 radar system. This is why they can find hidden targets like bunkers at night and in any weather. While not many details of how they work have been made public, the US has had these "Stealth" Radars since Northrop and the US Air Force tested the first one during the Tacit Blue program in 1982. Look on the Main ATS site, I'm pritty sure you can find something on Tacit Blue there.

ghost the Raptor also uses a radar that does not give its position away.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
ghost the Raptor also uses a radar that does not give its position away.

no, the raptors radar changes frequency to make detecting harder. it does not use a passive style radar

Still does the same job, it makes it very hard to determine its position.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
Still does the same job, it makes it very hard to determine its position.

yeah.
i think the russians have made one to. the BARs?

Originally posted by chinawhite
no, the raptors radar changes frequency to make detecting harder. it does not use a passive style radar

The B-2's Radar isn't passive either! It hides it's signal in background noise. The Definition of a "Passive Sensor" is a sensor that does not emitt a signal. The B-2 has a radar that transmittes a signal in the Ku band of the radar spectrum, therefore it is an Active Radar!