THESIS TITLE STEALTH TECHNOLOGY A thesis report submitted to JNTU in partial fulfillment for the requirement for the

art of degree of BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Submitted by Shaik Hafeez(08B11A0461) Under the esteemed guidance of

K Rajeswari.
Asst. Professor

AL-AMEER COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPROVED BY A.I.C.T.E(Affiliated to JNTU) Gudilova, Anandapuram, visakhapatnam - 531173 2011-2012

AL-AMEER COLLEGE OF ENGINEEERING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that thesis seminar entitled STEALTH TECHNOLOGY being submitted by Shaik Hafeez(08B11A0461) in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics & Communication Engineering to the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University is a record of bonafide work carried out by him under the guidance and supervision. The results embodied in thesis report have not been submitted to any other university or institute for the award of any degree.

K Rajeswari

Ch. Padmasri

Project Guide

Head of the Department

DECLARATION

I hereby declared that this thesis titled STEALTH TECHNOLOGY being submitted by me AL-AMEER COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, VISAKHAPATNAM is of my own and is not submitted to any other organization or published any time before.

Place: Date:

INDEX
ABSTRACT

1. Introduction 2. History 3. Working 4. Materials 5. Principles 6. Applications 7. Detection methods & limitations 8. Future 9. Conclusion

REFERENCES

ABSRACT

Stealth refers to the act of trying to hide or evade detection. Stealth-technology is ever increasingly becoming a paramount tool in battle especially high technology wars if one may occur in the future where invincibility means invincibility. Able to strike with impunity, stealth aircraft, missiles and warships are virtually invisible to most types of military sensors. Stealth technology is used in the construction of military systems such as aircraft & ships to significantly reduce their detection by enemy, primarily by enemy radar. Stealth Technology essentially deals with designs and materials engineered for the military purpose of avoiding detection by radar or any other electronic system. Stealth, or antidetection, technology is applied to vehicles (e. g., tanks), missiles, ships, and aircraft with the goal of making the object more difficult to detect at closer and closer ranges thus providing an element of surprise in the attacks.

Introduction to stealth technology

Stealth technology also termed LO technology (low observable technology) is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, and missiles, to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar, infrared, sonar and other detection methods. Development in the United States occurred in 1958, where earlier attempts in preventing radar tracking of its U-2 spy planes during the Cold War by the Soviet Union had been unsuccessful. Designers turned to develop a particular shape for planes that tended to reduce detection, by redirecting electromagnetic waves from radars. Radar-absorbent material was also tested and made to reduce or block radar signals that reflect off from the surface of planes. Such changes to shape and surface composition form stealth technology as currently used on the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit "Stealth Bomber".

The concept of stealth is to operate or hide without giving enemy forces any indications as to the presence of friendly forces. Development of stealth technology for aircraft began before World war 1. Because RADAR had not been invented, visibility was the sole concern, and the goal was to create aircraft that were hard to see. In 1921 German designer produced a largely transparent monoplane it wings and fuselage were covered by a transparent material derived from cellulose, the basis of movie film, rather then the opaque canvas standard in that ear. This concept was first explored through camouflage by blending into the background visual clutter. As the potency of detection and interception

technologies (radar,

IRST,

surface-to-air

missiles etc.) have

increased over time, so too has the extent to which the design and operation of military personnel and vehicles have been affected in response. Some military uniforms are treated with chemicals to reduce their infrared signature. A modern "stealth" vehicle will generally have been designed from the outset to have reduced or controlled signature. Varying degrees of stealth can be achieved. The exact level and nature of stealth embodied in a particular design is determined by the prediction of likely threat capabilities.

Stealth technology, also termed "low-observable" technology, is a set of techniques that render military vehicles, mostly aircraft, hard to observe. Stealth technology is deployed today on several types of aircraft and a few surface ships. Counter-stealth technologies are also under continuous development.

History of Stealth Technology Development of stealth technology for aircraft began before World War I. Because RADAR had not been invented, visibility was the sole concern, and the goal was to create aircraft that were hard to see. In 1912, German designers produced a largely transparent monoplane; its wings and fuselage were covered by a transparent material derived from cellulose, the basis of movie film, rather than the opaque canvas standard in that era. Interior struts and other parts were painted with light colors to further reduce visibility. The plane was effectively invisible from the ground when flow at 900 ft (274 m) or higher, and faintly visible at lower

altitudes. Several transparent German aircraft saw combat during World War I, and Soviet aircraft designers attempted the design of transparent aircraft in the 1930s. With the invention of RADAR during World War II, stealth became both more needful and more feasible: more needful because RADAR was highly effective at detecting aircraft, and would soon be adapted to guiding antiaircraft missiles and gunnery at them, yet more feasible because to be RADAR-stealthy an aircraft did need to be not be completely transparent to radio waves; it could absorb or deflect them. However, stealth development continued throughout the postwar years. In the mid 1960s, the U.S. built a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, the Lockheed SR71 Black bird, that was extremely RADAR-stealthy for its day. The SR-71 included a number of stealth features, including special RADAR-absorbing structures along the edges of wings and tailfins, a cross-sectional design featuring few vertical surfaces that could reflect RADAR directly back toward a transmitter, and a coating termed "iron ball" that could be electronically manipulated to produce a variable, confusing RADAR reflection. The SR-71, flying at approximately 100,000 feet, was routinely able to penetrate Soviet airspace without being reliably tracked on RADAR. Development of true stealth aircraft (i.e., those employing every available method to avoid detection by visible, RADAR, infrared, and acoustic means) continued, primarily in the U.S., throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and several stealth prototypes were flown in the early 1970s. Stealth combat aircraft, the B-2 bomber and the F-117 fighter (both discussed further below), has become publicly available.

Working of stealth technology

The article How Radar Works talks about the basic principles of a radar system. The idea is for the radar antenna to send out a burst of radio energy, which is then reflected back by any object it happens to encounter. The radar antenna measures the time it takes for the reflection to arrive, and with that information can tell how far away the object is. The metal body of an airplane is very good at reflecting radar signals, and this makes it easy to find and track airplanes with radar equipment. The goal of stealth technology is to make an airplane invisible to radar. There are two different ways to create invisibility: The airplane can be shaped so that any radar signals it reflects are reflected away from the radar equipment. The airplane can be covered in materials that absorb radar signals. Most conventional aircraft have a rounded shape. This shape makes them aerodynamic, but it also creates a very efficient radar reflector. The round shape

means that no matter where the radar signal hits the plane, some of the signal gets reflected back: A stealth aircraft, on the other hand, is made up of completely flat surfaces and very sharp edges. When a radar signal hits a stealth plane, the signal reflects away at an angle, like this:

In addition, surfaces on a stealth aircraft can be treated so they absorb radar energy as well. The overall result is that a stealth aircraft like an F-117A can have the radar signature of a small bird rather than an airplane. The only exception is when the plane banks -- there will often be a moment when one of the panels of the plane will perfectly reflect a burst of radar energy back to the antenna. Materials used for stealth technology RAS RAS or Radar absorbent surfaces are the surfaces on the aircraft, which can deflect the incoming radar waves and reduce the detection range. RAS works due to the angles at which the structures on the aircraft's fuselage or the fuselage itself are placed. These structures can be anything from wings to a refueling boom on the aircraft. The extensive use of RAS is clearly visible in the F-117 "Night Hawk". Due to the facets (as they are called) on the fuselage, most of the incoming radar waves are reflected to another direction. Due to these facets on the fuselage, the F117 is a very unstable aircraft. The concept behind the RAS is that of reflecting a light beam from a torch with a mirror. The angle at which the reflection takes place is also more important. When we consider a mirror being rotated from 0o to 90o, the amount of light that is reflected in the direction of the light beam is more. At 90o, maximum amount of light that is reflected back to same direction as the light beam's source. On the other hand when the mirror is tilted above 90o and as it proceeds to 180o, the amount of light reflected in the same direction decreases drastically. This makes the aircraft like F-117 stealthy.

RAM Radar absorbent surfaces absorb the incoming radar waves rather than deflecting it in another direction. RAS totally depends on the material with which the surface of the aircraft is made. Though the composition of this material is a top secret. The F-117 extensively uses RAM to reduce its radar signature or its radar cross section. The RAS is believed to be silicon based inorganic compound. This is assumed by the information that the RAM coating on the B-2 is not water proof. This is just a supposition and may not be true. What we know is that the RAM coating over the B-2 is placed like wrapping a cloth over the plane. When radar sends a beam in the direction of the B-2, the radar waves are absorbed by the planes surface and are redirected to another direction after it is absorbed. IR Another important factor that influences the stealth capability of an aircraft is the IR (infrared) signature given out by the plane. Usually planes are visible in thermal imaging systems because of the high temperature exhaust they give out. This is a great disadvantage to stealth aircraft as missiles also have IR guidance system. The IR signatures of stealth aircraft are minute when compared to the signature of a conventional fighter or any other military aircraft. If reducing the radar signature of an aircraft is tough, then reducing the IR signature of the aircraft is

Types of stealth Design for stealth requires the integration of many techniques and materials. The types of stealth that a maximally stealthy aircraft (or other vehicle) seeks to achieve can be categorized as visual, infrared, acoustic, and RADAR. Visual stealth. Low visibility is desirable for all military aircraft and is essential for stealth aircraft. It is achieved by coloring the aircraft so that it tends to blend in with its environment. For instance, reconnaissance planes designed to operate at very high altitudes, where the sky is black, are painted black. (Black is also a low visibility color at night, at any altitude.) Conventional daytime fighter aircraft are painted a shade of blue known as "air-superiority blue-gray," to blend in with the sky. Stealth aircraft are flown at night for maximum visual stealth, and so are painted black or dark gray. Chameleon or "smart skin" technology that would enable an aircraft to change its appearance to mimic its background is being researched. Furthermore, glint (bright reflections from cockpit glass or other smooth surfaces) must be minimized for visual stealth; this is accomplished using special coatings. Infrared stealth. Infrared radiation (i.e., electromagnetic waves in the. 721000 micron range of the spectrum) are emitted by all matter above absolute zero; hot materials, such as engine exhaust gases or wing surfaces heated by friction with the air, emit more infrared radiation than cooler materials. Heat-seeking missiles and other weapons zero in on the infrared glow of hot aircraft parts. Infrared stealth, therefore, requires that aircraft parts and emissions, particularly those associated with engines, be kept as cool as possible. Embedding jet engines inside the fuselage or wings is one basic design step toward infrared stealth. Other

measures include extra shielding of hot parts, mixing of cool air with hot exhausts before emission; splitting of the exhaust stream by passing it through parallel baffles so that it mixes with cooler air more quickly; directing of hot exhausts upward, away from ground observers; and the application of special coatings to hot spots to absorb and diffuse heat over larger areas. Active countermeasures against infrared detection and tracking can be combined with passive stealth measures; these include infrared jamming (i.e., mounting of flickering infrared radiators near engine exhausts to confuse the tracking circuits of heat-seeking missiles) and the launching of infrared decoy flares. Combat helicopters, which travel at low altitudes and at low speeds, are particularly vulnerable to heat-seeking weapons and have been equipped with infrared jamming devices for several decades. Acoustic stealth. Although sound moves too slowly to be an effective locating signal for antiaircraft weapons, for low-altitude flying it is still best to be inaudible to ground observers. Several ultra-quiet, low-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, such as Lockheed's QT-2 and YO-3A, have been developed since the 1960s. Aircraft of this type are ultralight, run on small internal combustion engines quieted by silencer-suppressor mufflers, and are driven by large, often wooden propellers. They make about as much sound as gliders and have very low infrared emissions as well because of their low energy consumption. The U.S. F-117 stealth fighter, which is designed to fly at high speed at very low altitudes, also incorporates acoustic-stealth measures, including sound-absorbent linings inside its engine intake and exhaust cowlings.

RADAR stealth. RADAR is the use of reflected electromagnetic waves in the microwave part of the spectrum to detect targets or map landscapes. RADAR first illuminates the target, that is, transmits a radio pulse in its direction. If any of this energy is reflected by the target, some of it may be collected by a receiving antenna. By comparing the delay times for various echoes, information about the geometry of the target can be derived and, if necessary, formed into an image. RADAR stealth or invisibility requires that a craft absorb incident RADAR pulses, actively cancel them by emitting inverse waveforms, deflect them away from receiving antennas, or all of the above. Absorption and deflection, treated below, are the most important prerequisites of RADAR stealth. Absorption. Metallic surfaces reflect RADAR; therefore, stealth aircraft parts must either be coated with RADAR-absorbing materials or made out of them to begin with. The latter is preferable because an aircraft whose parts are intrinsically RADAR-absorbing derives aerodynamic as well as stealth function from them, whereas a RADAR-absorbent coating is, aerodynamically speaking, dead weight. The F-117 stealth aircraft is built mostly out of a RADAR-absorbent material termed Fibaloy, which consists of glass fibers embedded in plastic, and of carbon fibers, which are used mostly for hot spots like leading wing-edges and panels covering the jet engines. Thanks to the use of such materials, the airframe of the F117 (i.e., the plane minus its electronic gear, weapons, and engines) is only about 10% metal. Both the B-2 stealth bomber and the F-117 reflect about as much RADAR as a hummingbird Many RADAR-absorbent plastics, carbon-based materials, ceramics, and blends of these materials have been developed for use on stealth aircraft. Combining such materials with RADAR-absorbing surface geometry enhances stealth. For example, wing surfaces can be built on a metallic substrate that is shaped like a

field of pyramids with the spaces between the pyramids filled by a RADARabsorbent material. RADAR waves striking the surface zigzag inward between the pyramid walls, which increases absorption by lengthening signal path through the absorbent material. Another example of structural absorption is the placement of metal screens over the intake vents of jet engines. These screensused, for example, on the F-117 stealth fighterabsorb RADAR waves exactly like the metal screens embedded in the doors of microwave ovens. It is important to prevent RADAR waves from entering jet intakes, which can act as resonant cavities (echo chambers) and so produce bright RADAR reflections. . The Russian system is supposedly lightweight (>220 lb [100 kg]) and retrofittable to existing aircraft, making it the stealth capability available at least cost to virtually any air force. A disadvantage of the plasma technique that it would probably make the aircraft glow in the visible part of the spectrum. Deflection. Most RADARs are monostatic, that is, for reception they use either the same antenna as for sending or a separate receiving antenna colocated with the sending antenna; deflection therefore means reflecting RADAR pulses in any direction other than the one they came from. This in turn requires that stealth aircraft lack flat, vertical surfaces that could act as simple RADAR mirrors. RADAR can also be strongly reflected wherever three planar surfaces meet at a corner. Planes such as the B-52 bomber, which have many flat, vertical surfaces and RADAR-reflecting corners, are notorious for their RADAR-reflecting abilities; stealth aircraft, in contrast, tend to be highly angled and streamlined, presenting no flat surfaces at all to an observer that is not directly above or below them. The B-2 bomber, for example, is shaped like a boomerang. A design dilemma for stealth aircraft is that they need not only to be invisible to RADAR but to use RADAR; inertial guidance, the Global Positioning System, and laser RADAR can all help aircraft navigate stealthily, but an aircraft needs

conventional RADAR to track incoming missiles and hostile aircraft. Yet the transmission of RADAR pulses by a stealth aircraft wishing to avoid RADAR detection is self-contradictory. Furthermore, RADAR and radio antennas are inherently RADAR-reflecting. At least two design solutions to this dilemma are available. One is to have moveable RADAR-absorbent covers over RADAR antennas that slip aside only when the RADAR must be used. The antenna is then vulnerable to detection only intermittently. Even short-term RADAR exposure is, however, dangerous; the only stealth aircraft known to be have been shot down in combat, an F-117 lost over Kosovo in 1999, is thought to have been tracked by RADAR during a brief interval while its bomb-bay doors were open. The disadvantage of sliding mechanical covers is that they may stick or otherwise malfunction, and must remain open for periods of time that are long by electronic standards. Principles Stealth technology (or LO for "low observability") is not a single technology. It is a combination of technologies that attempt to greatly reduce the distances at which a person or vehicle can be detected; in particular radar cross section reductions, but also acoustic, thermal, and other aspects: Radar cross-section (RCS) reductions Main article: Radar cross section Almost since the invention of radar, various methods have been tried to minimize 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.

The term "stealth" in reference to reduced radar signature aircraft became popular during the late eighties when the Lockheed Martin F-117 stealth fighter became widely known. The first large scale (and public) use of the F-117 was during the Gulf War in 1991. However, F-117A stealth fighters were used for the first time in combat during Operation Just Cause, the United States invasion of Panama in 1989.[16] Increased awareness of stealth vehicles and the technologies behind them is prompting the development of means to detect stealth vehicles, such as passive radar arrays and low-frequency radars. Many countries nevertheless continue to develop low-RCS vehicles because they offer advantages in detection range reduction and amplify the effectiveness of on-board systems against active radar guidance threats.[ Vehicle shape

The F-35 Lightning II offers better stealthy features (such as this landing gear door) than prior American multi-role fighters, such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon The possibility of designing aircraft in such a manner as to reduce their radar cross-section was recognized in the late 1930s, when the first radar tracking systems were employed, and it has been known since at least the 1960s that aircraft shape makes a significant difference in detectability. The Avro Vulcan, a British

bomber of the 1960s, had a remarkably small appearance on radar despite its large size, and occasionally disappeared from radar screens entirely. Another important factor is internal construction. Some stealth aircraft have skin that is radar transparent or absorbing, behind which are structures termed re-entrant triangles. Radar waves penetrating the skin get trapped in these structures, reflecting off the internal faces and losing energy. This method was first used on the Blackbird series (A-12 / YF-12A / SR-71). The most efficient way to reflect radar waves back to the emitting radar is with orthogonal metal plates, forming a corner reflector consisting of either a dihedral (two plates) or a trihedral (three orthogonal plates). This configuration occurs in the tail of a conventional aircraft, where the vertical and horizontal components of the tail are set at right angles. Stealth aircraft such as the F-117 use a different arrangement, tilting the tail surfaces to reduce corner reflections formed between them. A more radical method is to eliminate the tail completely, as in the B-2 Spirit. In addition to altering the tail, stealth design must bury the engines within the wing or fuselage, or in some cases where stealth is applied to an extant aircraft, install baffles in the air intakes, so that the turbine blades are not visible to radar. A stealthy shape must be devoid of complex bumps or protrusions of any kind; meaning that weapons, fuel tanks, and other stores must not be carried externally. Any stealthy vehicle becomes un-stealthy when a door or hatch opens. Planform alignment is also often used in stealth designs. Plan form alignment involves using a small number of surface orientations in the shape of the structure. For example, on the F-22A Raptor, the leading edges of the wing and the tail surfaces are set at the same angle. Careful inspection shows that many small structures, such as the air intake bypass doors and the air refueling aperture, also use the same angles. The effect of plan form alignment is to return a radar signal in

a very specific direction away from the radar emitter rather than returning a diffuse signal detectable at many angles. Stealth airframes sometimes display distinctive serrations on some exposed edges, such as the engine ports. The YF-23 has such serrations on the exhaust ports. This is another example in the use of re-entrant triangles and plan form alignment, this time on the external airframe. Shaping requirements have strong negative influence on the aircraft's aerodynamic properties. The F-117 has poor aerodynamics, is inherently unstable, and cannot be flown without a fly-by-wire control system.

K32 HMS Helsingborg, a stealth ship Ships have also adopted similar methods. The Skjold class patrol boat was the first stealth ship to enter service, though the earlier Arleigh Burke class destroyer incorporated some signature-reduction features.[17][18] Other examples are the French La Fayette class frigate, the German Sachsen class frigates, the Swedish Visby class corvette, the USS San Antonio amphibious transport dock, and most modern warship designs. Similarly, coating the cockpit canopy with a thin film transparent conductor (vapor-deposited gold or indium tin oxide) helps to reduce the aircraft's radar profile, because radar waves would normally enter the cockpit, reflect off objects (the inside of a cockpit has a complex shape, with a pilot helmet alone forming a sizeable return), and possibly return to the radar, but the conductive coating creates

a controlled shape that deflects the incoming radar waves away from the radar. The coating is thin enough that it has no adverse effect on pilot vision. Non-metallic airframe Dielectric composites are more transparent to radar, whereas electrically conductive materials such as metals and carbon fibers reflect electromagnetic energy incident on the material's surface. Composites may also contain ferrites to optimize the dielectric and magnetic properties of a material for its application. Stealth tactics Stealthy strike aircraft such as the F-117, designed by Lockheed Martin's famous Skunk Works, are usually used against heavily defended enemy sites such as Command and Control centers or surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries. Enemy radar will cover the airspace around these sites with overlapping coverage, making undetected entry by conventional aircraft nearly impossible. Stealthy aircraft can also be detected, but only at short ranges around the radars, so that for a stealthy aircraft there are substantial gaps in the radar coverage. Thus a stealthy aircraft flying an appropriate route can remain undetected by radar. Many ground-based radars exploit Doppler filter to improve sensitivity to objects having a radial velocity component with respect to the radar. Mission planners use their knowledge of enemy radar locations and the RCS pattern of the aircraft to design a flight path that minimizes radial speed while presenting the lowest-RCS aspects of the aircraft to the threat radar. To be able to fly these "safe" routes, it is necessary to understand an enemy's radar coverage (see Electronic Intelligence). Airborne or mobile radar systems such as AWACS can complicate tactical strategy for stealth operation.

Stealthy Flying Stealth technology is most effective when combined with other measures for avoiding detection. For example, the F-117 and B-2 are both designed to fly at night, the most obvious visual stealth measure. Further, the F-117 is designed to fly close to the ground (i.e., at less than 500 feet [152 m]). Normal ground-based RADAR cannot see oncoming targets until they are in a line of direct sight, which, for a fast, low-flying aircraft approaching through hilly terrain, may not occur until the aircraft is almost above the RADAR. Even down-looking RADARs carried on aircraft have more difficulty tracking craft that are flying near ground-level, mingling their reflections with the noisy pattern of echoes from the ground itself ("ground clutter"). The F-117 therefore can fly close to the ground, swerving under computer control to avoid obstacles such as hills or towers. This flight style is known as jinking, snaking, or terrain following. (An aircraft such as the B-2 is too large to perform the rapid maneuvers required for j in king, and so flies at higher altitudes.) At the opposite extreme from j in king flight, ultra-high altitudes have also been used for stealth purposes. Reconnaissance aircraft deployed by the U.S. since the 1950s, including the U-2 and the SR-71, have set most of the altitude records for "air-breathing" craft (i.e., craft that do not, like rockets, carry their own oxygen). Such planes fly near the absolute limit of aerodynamic action; if they went any higher, there would be not be enough air to provide lift. Detection methods for stealth aircraft; Whenever a technology is developed for military purposes, another technology is also developed to counter that technology. There are strong efforts to develop a system that can counter the low obervability of the fifth generation stealth aircraft.

There are ways of detection and elimination of a low observable aircraft but this doesn't give a 100% success rage at present. On a radar screen, aircraft will have their radar cross sections with respect to their size. This helps the radar to identify that the radar contact it has made is an aircraft. Conventional aircraft are visible on the radar screen because of its relative size. On the other hand, the relative size of a stealth aircraft on the radar screen will be that of a large bird. This is how stealth aircraft are ignored by radar and thus detection is avoided.

A proven method to detect and destroy stealth aircraft is to triangulate its location with a network of radar systems. This was done while the F-117 was shot down during the NATO offensive over Yugoslavia. A new method of detecting low observable aircraft is just over the horizon. Scientists have found a method to detect stealth aircraft with the help of microwaves similar to the ones emitted by the cell phone towers. Nothing much is known about this technology, but the US military seems to be very keen about doing more research on this.

Limitations of stealth technology

B-2 Spirit stealth bomber of the U.S Air Force instability of design Early stealth aircraft were designed with a focus on minimal radar cross section (RCS) rather than aerodynamic performance. Highly-stealth aircraft like the F-117 Nighthawk are aerodynamically unstable in all three axes and require constant flight corrections from a fly-by-wire (FBW) flight system to maintain controlled flight.[13] Most modern non-stealth fighter aircraft are unstable on one or two axes only.[citation needed] However, in the pursuit of increased maneuverability, most 4th and 5th-generation fighter aircraft have been designed with some degree of inherent instability that must be controlled by fly-by-wire computers.[citation needed] As for the B-2 Spirit, based on the development of the flying wing aircraft[14] by Jack Northrop since 1940, design allowed creating stable aircraft with sufficient yaw control, even without vertical surfaces such as rudders.

Dog fighting ability Earlier stealth aircraft (such as the F-117 and B-2) lack afterburners, because the hot exhaust would increase their infrared footprint, and breaking the sound barrier would produce an obvious sonic boom, as well as surface heating of the aircraft skin which also increased the infrared footprint. As a result their performance in air combat maneuvering required in a dogfight would never match that of a dedicated fighter aircraft. This was unimportant in the case of these two aircraft since both were designed to be bombers. More recent design techniques allow for stealthy designs such as the F-22 without compromising aerodynamic performance. Newer stealth aircraft, like the F-22, F-35 and the Sukhoi T-50, have performance characteristics that meet or exceed those of current front-line jet fighters due to advances in other technologies such as flight control systems, engines, airframe construction and materials.[4][15] Electromagnetic emissions The high level of computerization and large amount of electronic equipment found inside stealth aircraft are often claimed to make them vulnerable to passive detection. This is highly unlikely and certainly systems such as Tamara and Kolchuga, which are often described as counter-stealth radars, are not designed to detect stray electromagnetic fields of this type. Such systems are designed to detect intentional, higher power emissions such as radar and communication signals. Stealth aircraft are deliberately operated to avoid or reduce such emissions. Current Radar Warning Receivers look for the regular pings of energy from mechanically swept radars while fifth generation jet fighters use Low Probability of Intercept Radars with no regular repeat pattern.[16]

Vulnerable modes of flight Stealth aircraft are still vulnerable to detection during, and immediately after using their weaponry. Since stealth payload (reduced RCS bombs and cruise missiles) are not yet generally available, and ordnance mount points create a significant radar return, stealth aircraft carry all armament internally. As soon as weapons bay doors are opened, the plane's RCS will be multiplied and even older generation radar systems will be able to locate the stealth aircraft. While the aircraft will reacquire its stealth as soon as the bay doors are closed, a fast response defensive weapons system has a short opportunity to engage the aircraft. This vulnerability is addressed by operating in a manner that reduces the risk and consequences of temporary acquisition. The B-2's operational altitude imposes a flight time for defensive weapons that makes it virtually impossible to engage the aircraft during its weapons deployment. All stealthy aircraft carry weapons in internal weapons bays. New stealth aircraft designs such as the F-22 and F-35 can open their bays, release munitions and return to stealthy flight in less than a second. Reduced payload

In a 1994 live fire exercise near Point Mugu, California, a B-2 Spirit dropped forty-seven 500 lb (230 kg) class Mark 82 bombs, which represents about half of a B-2's total ordnance payload in Block 30 configuration

Fully stealth aircraft carry all fuel and armament internally, which limits the payload. By way of comparison, the F-117 carries only two laser or GPS guided bombs, while a non-stealth attack aircraft can carry several times more. This requires the deployment of additional aircraft to engage targets that would normally require a single non-stealth attack aircraft. This apparent disadvantage however is offset by the reduction in fewer supporting aircraft that are required to provide air cover, air-defense suppression and electronic counter measures, making stealth aircraft "force multipliers". Sensitive skin The B-2 has a skin made with highly specialized materials such as Polygraphite. Cost of operations Stealth aircraft are typically more expensive to develop and manufacture. An example is the B-2 Spirit that is many times more expensive to manufacture and support than conventional bomber aircraft. The B-2 program cost the U.S. Air Force almost $45 billion. Disadvantages of stealth technology: 1.Less maneuverability ii. Poor air to air combatability

iii. Aerodynamic instability iv. Below sonic velocity v. Reduced pay load capacity vi. High expenses : Fighters in service and in development for the United StatesAir Force (USAF) cost are:B-2 ($2 billion) F-117($70 million) F-22($1 Feature of stealth technology Stealth technology is clearly the future of air combat. In the future, as air defense systems grow more accurate and deadly, stealth technology can be a factor for a decisive by a country over the other. In the future, stealth technology will not only be incorporated in fighters and bombers but also in ships, helicopters, tanks and transport planes. These are evident from the RAH-66 "Comanche" and the Sea Shadow stealthttp://www.totalairdominance.50megs.comh ship. Ever since the Wright brothers flew the first powered flight, the advancements in this particular field of technology has seen staggering heights. Stealth technology is just one of the advancements that we have seen. In due course of time we can see many improvements in the field of military aviation which would one-day even make stealth technology obsolete.

CONCLUSION Well to conclude the current scenario appears some things similar to the cold war both sides are accumulating weapons to counter each other and each side can be termed as stealth technology and the other as anti-stealth technology. An advance in one fields, such as materials or aero dynamics, must be accomplished by advances in other fields, such as computing or electromagnetic theory. Stealth teaches the lesson that technology is never static a stealth breakthrough may only last for few years before an adversary finds a means of countering it.