Other Definitions
stealth aircraft (dict)
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Stealth AircraftA stealth aircraft is an aircraft which has been designed to absorb and deflect radar (via stealth technology); these are not "invisible" to radar, they are simply harder to detect than conventional technology. In general the goal is to allow a stealth aircraft to execute its attack while still outside the range of the opposing system's detection. Stealth aircraft were most notably used during the Gulf War (1990); although stealth technology has since become less effective, both the United States and Russia continue to develop stealth aircraft. Typically, stealth aircraft are also harder to detect and track via other methods (for example, infra-red signature, visually, and via sound waves). First-generation stealth aircraft include the F-117 Nighthawk. First-generation planes tend to be composed mostly of flat radar-absorbing surfaces, so as to attenuate the radar signal and reflect radar waves in a direction other than that of the radar transmitter. Second-generation aircraft include the B-2 Spirit and F-22 Raptor. The design of these aircraft benefited from sophisticated computer modeling of radar response that allowed them to incorporate curved surfaces, which are more aerodynamic than the flat surfaces on first-generation stealth aircraft. A number of methodologies to detect stealth aircraft at long range have been developed. Both Australia and Russia have announced that they have developed processing techniques that allow them to detect the turbulence of aircraft at reasonably long ranges (possibly negating the stealth technology). The UK has announced a system that uses the signals broadcast from the huge number of cellular telephone towers to generate a synthetic picture, although it is not clear if this method is actually practical. A general feature of these systems is that they use a large number of low-accuracy radar systems (or signal sources) combined with heavy computer processing to generate tracking information. For this reason they tend to be useful only in the early warning role, and have limited applicability to guidance radars for missile systems, and are rarely portable. The problem of successfully countering stealth aircraft on the battlefield remains essentially unsolved. Use of stealth aircraft To date, stealth aircraft have been used in several low- and moderate-intensity conflicts, including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Allied Force and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In each case they were employed to strike high-value targets which were either out of range of convenienional aircraft in the theater or which were too heavily defended for conventional aircraft to strike without a high risk of loss. In addition, because the stealth aircraft aren't going to be dodging SAMs and AAA over the target they can aim more carefully and thus are more likely to hit the target and not cause as much collateral damage. In many cases they were used to hit the high value targets early in the campaign (or even before it), before other aircraft had the opportunity to degrade the opposing air defence to the point where other aircraft had a good chance of reaching those critical targets. Stealth aircraft in future low- and moderate-intensity conflicts are likely to have similar roles. However, given the increasing prevalence of excellent Russian-built surface-to-air missile systems on the open market (such as the SA-10, SA-12 and SA-20 (S-300P/V/PMU) and SA-15 (9K331/332)), stealth aircraft are likely to be very important in a high-intensity conflict in order to gain and maintain air supremacy, especially to the United States who are likely to face these types of systems. It is possible to cover one's airspace with so many air defences with such long range and capability that conventional aircraft would find it very difficult "clearing the way" for deeper strikes. For example, China license-builds all of the previously mentioned SAM systems in quantity and would be able to heavily defend important strategic and tactical targets in the event of some kind of conflict, for example if there were another Korean war and China decided to intervene. Even if anti-radiation weapons are used in an attempt to destroy the SAM radars of such systems, or stand-off weapons are launched against them, these modern surface-to-air missile batteries are capable of shooting down weapons fired against them! The surprise of a stealth attack, and the ability to penetrate the air defences and survive, may become the only reasonable way of making a safe corridor through which conventional bombers and other aircraft can enter the enemy's airspace. Once stealth attacks from the smaller stealth force have neutralised the most serious of the SAM systems, the larger conventional or simplye less-stealthy force should be able to suppress the remaining systems and gain air superiority. List of manned stealth aircraft See also
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