DEFENCYCLOPEDIA

The Ultimate Defence Encyclopedia

Advertisements

REPORT THIS AD

JA N UA RY 1 1 , 2 0 15 BY N. R . P
Explained : How Stealth Technology Works
INTRODUCTION
‘Stealth’ is the buzzword when we are talking about any modern fighter, bomber, warship or
submarine. The top militaries in the word are spending billions trying to develop or ‘acquire’
stealth technology. But as is the case with science, the word ‘stealth’ is misunderstood by the
general public. It is viewed as a phenomenon which is like magic and makes things invisible and
invincible. In this article, I will explain the physics and engineering principles behind stealth
technology and will try my best to give you a clear understanding of how this complex
technology works.

The legendary B-2 © Tyler Rogoway

PRINCIPLE OF RADAR

To understand stealth technology, we need to know about the basic working principle of a radar.
A radar sends out electromagnetic waves, which reflect on an obstruction and return. This signal
is processed in order to determine the exact position, size and direction of target. This spoils the
element of surprise of the attacking party. This was observed during WW2 when British radars
foiled surprise attacks by the Luftwaffe by detecting the arriving bomber fleets several minutes
in advance and directing fighters to intercept them. The radar played a massive part in the cold
war as well with each side developing new radars. Both sides worked on stealth technology, but
it was the Americans who took it to the next level and made it operational.

RADAR CROSS-SECTION (RCS)

The concept of Radar Cross-Section (RCS) plays a big role here. RCS is a measure of how big an
object appears on the radar screen. Larger the RCS of an object, the bigger it appears on a radar
screen and vice versa. The B-2 and the F-22 have an RCS lesser then 0.0001 m 2. This means that
they are too small to appear on most of the radar screens which are currently in use. The image
below provides a general idea of the RCS of common objects and high tech military aircraft.
Approx RCS values of modern fighter jets

PRINCIPLE OF STEALTH TECHNOLOGY

You see a butterfly flying a 10 meters from you, you have no trouble seeing it or tracking its
movement using your eyes. Now if there is a fly at that distance, it would be impossible to
visually detect it at that distance because the human eye cannot resolve such a small object over
such a large distance. Now if the fly is 1 m away from you, you can detect it visually but you will
still have trouble tracking it and getting a visual lock on it because it is so small. Killing it would
be extremely difficult because of its tiny size. So we use our ears to detect the buzzing sound
made by the fly to determine its approximate location and then visually cue in on it. But most of
the times, the fly would have disappeared by the time we detect its exact location. This is how
stealth technology works.

The butterfly at 10 m can be compared to a conventional aircraft which appears as a big dot on
the radar screen and the fly at that distance can be compared to a stealth aircraft which doesn’t
appear on the radar screen because it can’t resolve the stealth aircraft at that distance. At a
distance of 1 m, the detection of the fly can be equated to detection of stealth aircraft by modern
radars. But just like the fly, these radars will have a hard time tracking the stealth aircraft and
locking onto it even if it manages to detect it. By the time multiple radars, IR sensors, Optical
sensors are combined to get a lock on the target, the stealth aircraft would have completed its
mission and would be on the way home. So from this we can learn that stealth technology
doesn’t make an aircraft invisible to radar but it delays the detection of the aircraft until it is too
late for the enemy. So the accurate term for stealth aircraft is ‘low-observable’ aircraft.

Stealth technology works on the principle of eliminating radar reflections. This can be done by
either

Absorbing radio waves (RAM coatings)

Deflecting radio waves (Shaping of the surfaces)

The radio waves are electromagnetic waves of varying frequencies. The methods of deflection
and absorption of EM waves complement each other in order to create a stealth aircraft/ship. It is
important to note that these methods reduce the RCS of the object to such an extent that it fails
to appear on most radar screens. They aren’t invisible, but extremely hard to detect and
generally are detected at ranges of 10-20 km by ultra-modern radars compared to 150-300 km for
non-stealth objects. This enables them to maintain the element of surprise which is extremely
decisive in a conflict.

A typical Radar screen

ABSORBING RADIO WAVES

Radar Absorbent Material (RAM) coatings involve application of materials which can absorb
electromagnetic waves on the object. USA has been the pioneer in this technology from the past
40 years. These are specially designed materials made from dielectrics, composites which absorb
the radio waves which fall on them. Their contents are so highly classified that today we know
that the US Air Force used iron ball paint on the SR-71 in the 1970s. Even though that RAM
coating is 45 year old technology and not used today, we know only one constituent of it. The
radio waves fall on the paint and they are absorbed through multiple diffusions. This absorption
is caused by conversion of radar energy into heat which is dissipated off the surface of the
aircraft. This is one of the unclassified ways of how these materials work.

SR-71 was one of the earliest operational stealth aircraft

To maximize the absorption of radio waves, the paint has a microscopic pyramidal structure in
some cases. The pyramid shapes are cut at angles that maximize the number of bounces a wave
makes within the structure. With each bounce, the radio wave loses energy to the foam material
and thus exits with lower signal strength. Other foam absorbers are available in flat sheets, using
an increasing gradient of carbon loadings in different layers.

Microscopic view of Pyramidal RAM coating

DEFLECTING RADIO WAVES

Angles surfaces of the F-117

Shaping involves designing the object in such a way that the Radio waves the radio waves,
instead of being reflected back along the same path are deflected and scattered in different
directions. This is achieved by using sharply angled flat surfaces or special curved surfaces
which conduct the radio wave along its surface and thus does not give back a reflection.
 The conventional aircraft reflects radio waves (above) and the stealth
aircraft deflects it © abovetopsecret.com

Deflection of radio waves in F-117

The angled surface are highly prominent on aircraft like the F-117 and on stealth warships. These
angled surfaces are combined with special curved surfaces on aircraft like B-2, F-22 etc. This
helps to achieve a high degree of low observability. To obtain near perfect stealth, RAM coating +
Deflecting design is necessary. This involves a higher degree of research and testing compared to
conventional aircraft. That’s one of the reason that stealth aircraft are very expensive.

STEALTH SHIPS

The clean and angled surfaces of the Visby classs

The most widely spread misconception of stealth warships is that they are invisible to radar and
are as stealthy as stealth aircraft. Stealth ships are in fact very much visible on radar. But the
difference is that if a normal 5000 ton warship of 1000 m² RCS is detected at 100 km, a stealth
design warship of 5000 tons and 200 m² RCS would be detected at the same distance, but will
appear with a much smaller blip on the radar. This makes it similar to a small 1000 ton ship
which confuses the enemy in the radar clutter which has hundreds of ships on screen. A 1000
ton ship of 100 m² RCS with stealth features can appear like a 250 ton merchant ship of 10 m² on
radar and the enemy will not know the difference between these warships and smaller merchant
ships. Naval stealth is mainly to appear smaller and blend in with other ships and boats.

The stealthy Zumwalt Class

A 10,000 ton destroyer of 2000 m² RCS would be a prime target for the enemy in a conflict if it is
sailing among a fleet of warships which are significantly smaller. But if this 10,000 ton ship uses
a stealth design like the Zumwalt, it can appear as big as the 5000 ton warships on the enemy
radar and they won’t be able to pick out valuable targets. The Visby class corvettes of the
Swedish navy are the world’s first operational stealth warships. This is a 640 ton ship but it
would appear as small as a tiny 20 ton boat on the enemy radar. This allows it to hide among
fishing boats and launch sneak and stealthy attacks.

DISADVANTAGES

In this age, every counter-tech has a counter-counter tech. Now stealth aircraft appear invisible
only to a certain range of radar frequencies.

Modern systems using the L-Band radar are said to be capable of detecting stealth aircraft.
Stealth aircraft have to hide their infrared signature and not just their radar signature to prevent
detection from the enemy.
Modern systems like Infrared Search & Track will be able to detect stealth aircraft from far off by
detecting their IR signatures. So just by using radar absorbing paint, you can’t hide an aircraft
from the sky.
Stealth aircraft are visible when they open their weapons bay doors to release their weapons.
Opening the weapons bay door increases RCS greatly

One of the biggest disadvantages is its extremely high manufacturing, operational and
maintenance costs.
The Radar absorbent coating is extremely fragile and needs to be replaced after being exposed to
combat or harsh weather.

I F Y O U E N J O Y E D R E A D I N G T H I S A R T I C L E , D O R AT E I T B E L O W
 Advertisements

REPORT THIS AD REPORT THIS AD

Rate this:

109 Votes

Share this:

 Twitter  Email  Facebook  Pocket  LinkedIn

Loading...

Related

F-22 Raptor : The Story of The F-35 : The Greatest American Top 10 Most Powerful Weapons of
World's Deadliest Fighter Gamble The Japanese Military
In "5th Gen" In "Air force" In "5th Gen"

5 T H G E N , A I R F O R C E , N AV Y
18 Replies to “Explained : How Stealth Technology Works”

Danilo Amelotti
JA N UA RY 1 2 , 2 0 15 AT 1 2 : 1 7 P M

Reblogged this on "Danilo Amelotti" and commented:

did you know?

 Like

sridhar
JA N UA RY 15 , 2 0 15 AT 4 : 2 2 A M

Very informative NRP… I learnt a lot after reading this article

 Liked by 1 person

Sumant
M A R C H 5 , 2 0 15 AT 4 : 5 8 A M

Can you please add stealth tech used in SU T-50 ??

I heard it uses some Plasma stealth technology .
How efficient it is ?

 Like

N.R.P
M A R C H 5 , 2 0 15 AT 1 2 : 2 5 P M

Sure. Once I get more details I’ll add it.

 Like
Ganesh Babu
A P R I L 1 , 2 0 15 AT 5 : 5 3 A M

Yes. Your article, explaining ‘stealth’ technology is more informative.

 Like

Pingback: F-22 Raptor : The Story of The World’s Deadliest Fighter | Defencyclopedia

Pingback: Explained : How Jet Engines Work | Defencyclopedia

Ayush
J U N E 8 , 2 0 15 AT 1 0 : 15 P M

nIce one!….specially the warship part….i always thought that how the stealth is useful for big and
slow moving ships…now i know that its not about their low RCS but the comouflage that helps it…
thanks!

 Like

N.R.P
J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 15 AT 2 : 4 6 P M

Thank you

 Like

Umed
S E P T E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 15 AT 1 2 : 3 5 P M

Great Article.

 Like
N.R.P
S E P T E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 15 AT 3 : 3 8 P M

Thanks

 Like

Calvin
N OV E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 15 AT 3 : 2 3 P M

Very informative except I would have refrained from using the F-117 as an example, as its ‘stealth’
technology hasn’t really worked from the outset. But for everything else, thanks!

 Liked by 1 person

S.K Amanullah
D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 15 AT 6 : 19 P M

Excellent article to understand behind the magic ” Stealth “

 Like

N.R.P
D E C E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 15 AT 4 : 5 1 A M

Thanks

 Like

Allie
JA N UA RY 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 AT 1 2 : 15 P M

Great article, thank you so much!

 Like

NorEastern
S E P T E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 AT 6 : 0 7 P M

This is a very elementary article on stealth. I would like to cover in a little more detail the difficulties
of achieving and manufacturing stealth aircraft.

A major barrier to achieving true stealth technology is machining the composite materials used in
the construction of the outer panels of the aircraft. Composite panels are very difficult to machine
without causing material delamination. Once this occurs the panel is ruined. The only practical way
to machine such materials is with “routers” using diamond bits. However composite materials are
extremely tough on diamond bits. At one point the US was destroying a diamond bit every four feet
of cutting. The latest information I can find is that the US has extended bit life to 18 feet.

The US made a design decision to not construct the external extensions of the fuselage completely
out of composite materials. Composites are mostly transparent to radar, but there must have been
significant difficulties or expenses in engineering structural members, fuel and sensor lines etc. out
of radar transparent materials.

If one looks at closeup images of the F-22 skin one can discern thousands of tiny triangles machined
or molded into the structure of the composite. The US used such incredibly expensive techniques to
obtain the F-22’s 0.0001 m^2 RCS.

Radar absorbent material (RAM) is an incredibly difficult field. Modern RAM uses in conjunction
three different strategies to dampen reflection of radar. First is constructing the outer structure in
pyramids as your illustration shows. The second strategy is the embedding of nano particles of
carbon or iron
into the material which will absorb the energy of UHF and VHF EM. The third is to distribute those
nano particles in matrices in the coating to conduct the energy away from the top surface of the
RAM. That is significant technology that takes more than a decade to develop.

IR signature reduction is an art in itself. All modern stealth aircraft overlay their RAM with a coating
of material designed to conduct heat efficiently away from “hot spots” to cooler areas of the
structure. If the entire surface of an aircraft which is efficiently distributing heat from local hot
spots is being cooled by the atmosphere the thermal signature is much less than if small areas of
the structure disburses the same heat. Air flow dynamics and surface area physics.

And then there are those jet turbines. There are numerous ways to decrease the temperature of
exhaust emissions. For example air bypass of the turbine to mix exhaust with cooler air is a
common strategy. The A-10 has an incredible bypass rate of 7:1. The F-22 and the F-35 have a ratio of
0.33:1. What can one do about that? The first order of business is to move that heat away from the
aircraft. Therefore the exhaust aperture is made of ceramics which do not heat up to a great degree.
The second step is to distribute that heat widely. Thus you see the serrated construction of the
exhaust nozzles on the F-22 and the F-35.

An interesting issue is the area of fuel additives to slow the rate or cooling in the exhaust of a jet
turbine. The slower the release of IR from a planes exhaust the more disperse the signature. The
Blackbird used a Cesium additive to the fuel for that purpose. That was the technology four decades
ago. Purely speculative but I would not be surprised that US stealth aircraft do not add nano
particles just for this purpose.

I hope this helped a tiny bit.

 Liked by 1 person

N.R.P
O C T O B E R 2 , 2 0 1 6 AT 2 : 0 9 P M

Thank you for your informative comment.

 Like

Pingback: SOLUTIONS – INSIGHTS REVISION TEST for Preliminary Exam 2018: Test – 13 - INSIGHTS