Stealth Jets..PART FOUR: Stealth Technology

After having dealt with the introduction and the pros and cons..
i'd like to formally start wit the technical aspects of the topis..
As i mentioned before stealth crafts are constructed on the basis of low RCS(if u don remember what RCS is then it's..Radar Cross Section.. )
A 'stealth' vehicle will generally have been designed from the outset to have reduced or controlled signature. It is possible to have varying degrees of stealth. The exact level and nature of stealth embodied in a particular design is determined by the prediction of likely threat capabilities and the balance of other considerations, including the raw unit cost of the system.However, as the potency of detection and interception technologies (RADAR, IRST, Surface-to-air missile etc) has increased, so too has the extent to which the design and operation of military vehicles have been affected in response.
however correct use of stealth systems should seek to minimize the possibility of detection.

Radar cross-section (RCS) reductions

Almost since the invention of radar, various techniques have been tried to minimise detection. Rapid development of radar during WWII led to equally rapid development of numerous counter radar measures during the period; a notable example of this was the use of chaff. In the context of stealth vehicles an early example of a low radar signature aircraft was the fast bomber de Havilland Mosquito designed in 1938.

Some of the aspects employed in stealth technology are..

1.Vehicle shape
2.Stealth Radar
3.Non-metallic airframe
4.Radar absorbing paint
5.Acoustics
6.Visibility
7.Reducing radio frequency (RF) emissions

See details in my next posts...

Stealth Jets..PART THREE-Drawbacks Of Stealth Aircrafts

Well now we have seen the two most important needs and objectives of the stealth aircraft..
there are many other minor ones..[and u can let your imagination do some working and make your own uses too. ;)]..
Now i will put forward some disadvantages or drawbacks of this amazing piece of engineering..

As we have seen, the main objective of a stealth aircraft is not to be detected...
one of the most popular ways of detecting objects in by RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) technology..
So while making a stealth craft, the principle focus is on minimal radar cross section(RCS)
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Radar cross section (RCS) is a description of how an object reflects an incident electromagnetic wave.
In simple words RCS is an effective surface area that intercepts the incident wave and that scatters the energy isotropically in space. RCS data for current military aircraft are almost all highly classified.(which is obvious..)
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So the aircraft, which is designed for minimal RCS does not have optimal design from the view of aerodynamics. And hence, the aircraft is not completely stable..
Example: Highly stealth aircrafts like the F-117 and B-2 are aerodynamically unstable.


Once located by the enemy,stealth aircraft are seriously handicapped in combat.

Existing fully stealth designs (namely the F-117 and B-2) lack afterburners[An afterburner is an additional component added to some jet engines. Its purpose is to provide a temporary increase in thrust for situations such as take-off, or in military aircraft, combat or supersonic flight], whose hot exhaust would increase the RCS and infrared footprint of the plane. Stealth aircraft are thus unable to exceed the speed of sound and flee rapidly. This makes them vulnerable to fighter interceptors, which can reach Mach 2 or higher speeds using afterburners.

The peculiar shape of stealth aircraft reduces their agility in a dogfight [A dogfight is a common term used to describe close-range aerial combat between military aircraft(See picture)], thus they may be destroyed by autocannon fire from a traditional jetfighter, even if their low RCS and effective infrared shielding prevents a successful missile lock. Neither the F-117 nor the B-2 Spirit carry any anti-aircraft armament for self-defense.


Stealth aircraft are high-maintenance equipment.[God!.. i'll loose the money that i made!! :(].

The condition of the aircraft's skin determines stealth efficiency, either by diverting radar impulses due to specific geometry of the airframe and/or absorbing electromagnetic waves in a graphite-ferrite microspheres based surface paint layer.

The cockpit windows are shielded with delicate gold[ya.. gold.. which means more money:(] and indium foil layers. If the plane's skin is punctured by a pebble thrown from the runway or heavy rain damages the paint layers, the RCS could be dramatically increased.

Stealth planes are preferably operated from homeland bases, where air conditioned shelters provide optimal maintenance and storage conditions.[Who on the earth is paying the AC bills???!!]..

Stealth Jets..PART TWO Contd.

ok.. so we made some money... ;)
Now lets defend it...
you can fly in the and be undetected..they will be waiting for you to come .. and u will have already come and gone..he he.. this will scare the enemy and they will surrender...[poor people :D]..
so it increases your defense strength by large amounts..

In picture: The F-22 from a different angle

These are the two major advantages of stealth planes..

Stealth Jets..PART TWO-Why Stealth Aircrafts?

ok.. now we will look into the interesting part...
Why stealth aircrafts???

well .. just imagine.. you fly above some part of land .. an no one knows you did.. not even the radars...!!! ain't that cool.. just imagine the possibilities..
their sure is a evil side for this...he he.. but every thing has two faces..
let me get serious..
now..
what is the world after..??..its just after one thing .. MONEY...
so how can we make money..??
well saving money is as good as making money..
so you can replace these ordinary fighter planes.. with these..(but how will that help??)
A smaller number of stealth aircraft may replace a large fleet of conventional attack jets with the same or increased combat efficiency, possibly resulting in longer term savings in the military budget.

Shown in picture:The F-22 Raptor, speed: Mach 2.24

Stealth Jets..PART ONE- Introduction

Introduction...

Stealth:
(noun)

1. secret, clandestine, or surreptitious procedure.
2. a furtive departure or entrance.
3. an act of stealing; theft.
4. the thing stolen; booty.
5. Military. a U.S. Air Force project involving a range of technologies, with the purpose of developing aircraft that are difficult to detect by sight, sound, radar, and infrared energy.
6. Surreptitious; secret; not openly acknowledged.

this is the formal definition of "stealth"..
now lets see for jets..


Jets:
(noun)

1. A high-velocity fluid stream forced under pressure out of a small-diameter opening or nozzle.
2. An outlet, such as a nozzle, used for emitting such a stream.
3. Something emitted in or as if in a high-velocity fluid stream:
4. A jet-propelled vehicle, especially a jet-propelled aircraft.
5. A jet engine.

so we have seen that the name jet for an aeroplane came basically due to the technology behind it..

so, when we put these words together we get our topic..

STEALTH JETS...
but.. but..
i will like to call them stealth aircrafts..
so our the topic is "stealth aircrafts" and not stealth jets..



so..
These are aircrafts which are basically not suppose to be easily detected(ideally not detected at all) by RADAR or any other detection technique .Ideally the goal of stealth technology is to allow a stealth aircraft to execute its attack completely undetected by the enemy..