US giving away stealth tech w/ JSF????

seekerof, that is awsome info on the F-22 - if you could find that artical i would be much obliged...

however, it was my understanding that the stealth on the JSF was roughly the same as the F-117 - i will try to find where i saw that

it was my understanding that the stealth on the JSF was roughly the same as the F-117 -
i will try to find where i saw that ==== American Mad Man


Do not waste your time. They are not the same, not even close. You will see references
to first generation, second generation stealth etc. Its a misnomer. There are different
approaches to stealth just as there are different colors of light. There are many references in
the public domain that can give you an idea of the concept. Example:
people.howstuffworks.com...
This has been so for a very long time. Tom Clancy wrote about the F-117 long before
it was publicly acknowledged in his "Red Storm Rising". He concluded that something
like his "frisbees" existed just by researching in the public domain. (Wonder why this
guy is treated "special" by the military? He He..)
Picture a flashlight shining at a mirror. The light reflects back to you. First step is to
angle the mirror so you dont see the reflection. Thats a fractal approach. (F-117) Next Time,
lets change the mirror so that it is curved. Now your flashlight reflection is difused. We
will call this the "shape" approach. (JSF) Add some exotic material science, things that
treat and absorb radio frequency, and you get stealth design features and coatings.
(Some on F-117, superexotic on B-2) Add design tricks not visible on exterior,
and you got F-22/YF-23. How this is done is what you wont find in the public
domain. Just to stir the pot and bring the burned beans to the top, a flashlight
is a really poor model for a radar beam, and the mirror is even worse. For a radar
"mirror", it is called a "corner" reflector. Research Hint: Our visible wave lengths are so small
we measure them in angstroms. Some radar frequencies have greater wave lengths than
the objects they are used to view. Try to use visible light to see a molecule and you start
to get the picture. You are going to see the Radar Range Equation in a different way.
Have fun.


/\/ight\/\/ing

Just on stealth technology, current over the horizon radars as used by Australia, the US and several other countries can see any aircraft, stealth or not. The radar looks down on the aircraft, seeing the largest part of the plane, top view. Stealth will make it hard for fighters to lock on and fire missiles, but OTHR can see incoming planes and guide fighters to enemy inbounds.

I have heard however that wood frame aircraft are very hard to detect, as the radar goes straight through with very little rebound. Maybe thats the future?

very interesting!
the jsf is an interesting aircraft no matter what the design flaws you have 2 admit
its the next harrier.
but your right about the payload and all
i wouldnt worry about us airpower or stealth secrets the yf23 will look after u lot!

The USA doesn't have a monoply on stealth, so sooner or later the other countries will have it....and it maybe sooner than you think

The NAzies worked on radar evasion in WW-II and the brits took up the work and developed it into the 1960s. THey didn't have the money so they handed the research to the Americans...who in the 70s seemed to have solved the problems. I here that Reagen showed Maggie a F-117 in 1983...so they were operational then?

However the germans were not ideal and developed there own supersonic stealth jet in the 1980s. THey didn't have the mony and the cold war ended so they halted work on stealth jet but I gather the research continued.

I gather that visiting american engineers where freaked out by the german work and it cause quite a stir. The german government made this offical in 1995. It seems that the Euros are revisiting stealth and will have one operational in 10-15 years?

Even Chinese are currently claimed to be actively pursuing a stealth program.Things are going back to WW-II with hugh GCI radars that can direct interceptors to within visual range to attack.



[Edited on 29-3-2004 by psteel]

I'm not sure if this is right, but i believe the B-2 has the radar cross-section of a sparrow. That sounds extreme, but i suppose it's possible. If anyone knows for sure, please say so. And if anyone has any info on how stealthy the F/A-22 is, that would also be helpful. I was wondering, does anyone here read Dale Brown novels, he is my favorite writer, and writes purely Air Force books, with supposedly real advanced technology.