Now You See 'Em, Now You Don't: Stealth Weapons From Around the World subscribe
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Author: Adam Rawnsley.
Adam Rawnsley Security Date of Publication: 10.14.11.
Now You See 'Em, Now You Don't: Stealth Weapons From Around the World
Not long ago, the U.S. was the only country in the world with aircraft that could stroll the skies without fear of being caught. Not any more. Today, militaries from around the world  -  including Russia and China  -  are developing their own stealth arsenals. The American monopoly on near-invisible flight is being eroded. Stealth technology makes vehicles sneakier by limiting the signatures that give them away to enemy radar, sensors and ears. To reduce a plane's radar cross section, designers have two basic options: shape an aircraft to cast incoming radar away from its originating source and coat it to absorb radar waves. Smooth curves and angled edges used to redirect radar waves have become the telltale features of stealth design ever since. Aircraft features on stealth planes have been reshaped, or in some cases, hidden inside a plane in order to avoid bulky, reflective features. Engine exhaust is cooled in order to reduce infrared signatures. Designers have also developed an array of coatings and composite materials to help soak up radar waves and dampen heat.
Since the U.S. rolled out its first stealth fighter, the F-117 Nighthawk, stealth technology has evolved and been adapted for everything from helicopters to drones and even ships. It helped American forces take out Osama bin Laden and level Iraq. The question is how much longer will the U.S. continue to enjoy the advantage of being unseen.
Photo: Department of Defense/FlickrF-117 Nighthawk
The original gangster of the stealth world, the F-117 was the first actually operational aircraft to use stealth technology, ushering in a three-decade-long era of American monopoly over stealth technology. It was first conceived at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works (the company's super-secret advanced aircraft facilities) in 1975 under the name "Hopeless Diamond" and became operational in 1983. The shape of its many angular surfaces helps to redirect radar waves away from their source. Since even a pilot's helmet can increase a plane's radar signature, the F-117 was covered nose to tail in radar-absorbing material, including its windshield. Nonetheless, the intense secrecy around the program meant that the Air Force wouldn't acknowledge its existence for several years, only fessing up in late 1988. The plane saw heavy use during the first Gulf War. In 2008, the Air Force officially retired the F-117.
Despite its stealth, the Nighthawk wasn't invisible. The Nighthawk was likely discovered by an older, low-frequency radar system during the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia. The jet was shot down by an SA-3 missile. The wreckage of the downed stealth fighter reportedly made its way into China's hands and, apparently, into the design of its own J-20 stealth fighter.
Photo: Air Combat CommandB-2 Spirit
Northrop Grumman's stealth bomber was built to stride through Soviet air defenses unnoticed. The B-2's unique flying-wing design eliminates unnecessary surfaces and structures, such as an upright tail, that could reflect radar. Its four engines are tucked inside the wings and have a system to reduce their thermal signature, making the bomber harder to detect with infrared sensors. The bomber was first revealed to the public in 1988, but didn't see combat until 1999 in the bombing of Yugoslavia. More recently, the Air Force has used the B-2 in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
With a range of 6,000 nautical miles (without refueling) and a payload capability of 20 tons, the B-2 can drop a lot of bombs very far away. It's also an incredibly expensive piece of machinery, valued at $1.2 billion a plane. The high price tag brought the Air Force's appetite for 132 bombers down to just 21. Today, the U.S. has 20 of the planes, having lost one in a crash in Guam in February 2008.
Photo: U.S. Air ForceF-22 Raptor
The F-22 Raptor is supposed to be the Cadillac of America's fifth-generation stealth fighter fleet. At $411 million a pop (including research costs), it better be. The Raptor was designed to be an air superiority fighter, clearing the skies of enemy aircraft and helping the U.S. continue its unbroken half-century record of never losing a soldier to an enemy air attack. Its speed and agility help in that regard. It flies as fast as Mach 2 and can supercruise (defined as the ability to travel at sustained supersonic speeds without the aid of an afterburner) at more than 1.5 Mach.
It's pretty darned stealthy, too. The F-22's smooth, continuous curves and lack of right angles scatters radar away and helps give the Raptor a radar cross section the size of a bumble bee. When not in use, missiles, bombs and a cannon are kept hidden inside the aircraft behind closed doors since their shape would increase the Raptor's visibility on radar. The F-22 reduces its infrared signature, too, with the help of rear horizontal fins that shield hot exhaust coming from its engines.
That's not to say that the F-22 program has been all about sunshine and lollipops. The F-22 was all set for its first use in combat this spring during the U.S. and NATO no-fly zone over Libya. However, the plane's inability to communicate with other aircraft meant it couldn't join the campaign. Good thing, too. In May, the Air Force grounded the entire Raptor fleet following reports that the plane's oxygen system was causing "hypoxia and decompression sickness" in pilots. In September, the Raptor fleet was cleared for flight again, though the source of the oxygen troubles hasn't yet been identified.
Photo: Department of DefenseF-35
The Defense Department is hoping that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be the workhorse of the U.S. fighter fleet. The idea behind the program was to make a stealth fifth-generation fighter to replace existing jets and have it be practical and relatively cheap. The F-35 isn't quite as stealthy as its cousin, the F-22 Raptor. Its radar cross section is roughly equal to that of a metal golf ball compared to the Raptor's bee-sized signature. Still, the F-35's radar-absorbent coating has proven durable enough that it's now being used on the F-22.
The U.S. plans make three variants, one each for the Navy, Marines and Air Force. The planes will be able to take off from aircraft carriers, provide combat air support, do a little dogfighting  -  the works. Moreover, the U.S. is supposed to jointly develop the fighter in concert with eight partner countries. But the F-35 program has caused a number of headaches for the Pentagon. The price tag for the F-35 has climbed from the projected $69 million a plane in 2001 to an average of $112 million per plane today. The fighters were supposed to start rolling into the services starting in 2012, but the Air Force and Navy might not get theirs until 2016. The Marines could go without until 2018. The setbacks are particularly worrying because the U.S. intends to rely on the F-35 for 90 percent of its combat aviation power.
Photo: Department of DefensePAK-FA
The Sukhoi T-50 (also known as the PAK-FA) is Russia's first stealth fighter. The Russians boast that it's a fifth-generation jet; that is has "almost human intelligence"; and that's able to go toe-to-toe with America's F-22 Raptor. All of those claims should be taken with a grain of salt and a shot of Stoli. Aviation guru Bill Sweetman took a look at the T-50's somewhat bulkier design and concluded that it's not quite the Raptor mirror it's made out to be. "Apparently the designers and systems analysts have looked at the thorny question of 'how much stealth do we want to pay for?' and have come up with a different answer than the F-22 designers," he wrote. India, a frequent customer for Russian arms sellers, has signed up to jointly develop a version of the jet, the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA.
Photo: WikimediaJ-20
The J-20 is China's foray into the world of stealth jets. The jet's capabilities aren't yet fully known, and it's still just a prototype. Nonetheless, it's renowned for its ability to make American defense analysts panic about the erosion of U.S. stealth dominance at just a glimpse of a blurry picture.
Photos of the jet hint that it's more bomber than fighter, likely slower and less agile than its American fifth-generation counterpart, the F-22. Secretary Gates has also floated the possibility that it looks more stealthy to the naked eye than it does to a radar system. That's not to say that the jet can't cause headaches. The Pentagon's annual report on Chinese military power admits that the J-20 "could improve the [Chinese military's] ability to strike regional air bases, logistical facilities, and other ground-based infrastructure." Still, though, Pentagon officials aren't overly concerned about it. Quantity matters, as well as quality, too. As Gates has said, in 10-15 years, the U.S. is still going to have more fifth-generation fighters than any country.
Photo: via War Is BoringRAH-66 Comanche
The Comanche was the Army's attempt to replace two Vietnam era helicopters, the OH-58 Kiowa and AH-1 Cobra light, with a sleek, sneaky armed reconnaissance chopper. Like a stealth plane, Comanche's fuselage was outfitted with angular edges and radar-absorbing composite materials. Designers also equipped it with a quieter five-blade main rotor to make it stealthier on the ears, as well as the radar screen. Begun in 1983 as a joint venture of Boeing and Sikorsky, the Army planned to buy over a thousand copies of the stealth helicopter. That was the idea, at least. But by 2004, the Cold War it was designed for was over and drones and other helicopters could do Comanche's intended work. Moreover, the stealth chopper had already cost nearly $7 billion and undergone six program restructurings. The Army canceled the program before it entered into production.
Photo: WikimediaRQ-170
One of the more secretive birds in the U.S. military's unmanned aerial arsenal, the drone's existence was first revealed in pictures published in a French magazine. Dubbed the "Beast of Kandahar" for the location of its first sighting, it appeared as a stealthy flying wing design in the initial shots and subsequent snaps, although its full stealth capabilities are unknown. The Air Force later fessed up to the RQ-170 program in December of 2009, revealing that it was made by Lockheed Martin.
The Beast's most famous  -  and as far as the general public knows, only  -  mission was spying on Osama bin Laden's chalet in Pakistan. The batwing-style drone slipped across the Pakistani border and underneath the country's radar network dozens of times to record video of Bin Laden's lair months before the raid that killed him. On the night U.S. Navy SEALs paid a house call to the al-Qaida leader, the Beast reportedly flew overhead, capturing video of the raid. Why opt for the Beast as the surveillance drone? Stealth, of course. Any other surveillance drone would have lit up Pakistan's radar systems like a Christmas tree before they ever reached Abbottabad.
Photo: Secret ProjectsAirwolf
The RQ-170 wasn't the only stealth aircraft to make its public debut in the bin Laden raid. The helicopter nicknamed "Airwolf" after the crime-fighting super helicopter of 80s TV fame also made an appearance. Joint Special Operations Command, home to the U.S. military's most elite ninjas, used a pair of the Army's MH-60 Blackhawk helicopters tricked out with stealthy features to ferry Naval SEALs to Osama bin Laden's home all without alerting Pakistan's military. The existence of the helicopter might have remained secret had not one of them crashed in the courtyard of bin Laden's crib at the outset of the operation, leaving behind wreckage later visible to the press.
The SEALs on the raid team reportedly tossed grenades into the crashed chopper to try and scotch later attempts to reverse engineer the wreckage. But photos of the MH-60 Blackhawk's remains told the story. The pics show signs of smooth skin and angular edges on the chopper, similar to those seen on other stealth aircraft. Its rotors were covered in a rounded shield, possibly designed to make it more efficient and quieter. Shortly after the raid, Pakistan let Chinese engineers take a peek at the Airwolf's remains to aid the country in its own stealth technology development.
At the moment, the Predator and Reaper drones are pretty much the only games in town when it comes to American killer drones. But the experimental Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration hopes to change all that with a stealthy killer drone that takes off and lands at sea. The Navy is expecting the experimental X-47B to take off and land from an aircraft carrier deck. That's no easy feat, especially considering it's supposed to fly autonomously, without the aid of joysticks or remote pilots.
At sea, the long-range X-47 would theoretically be able to fly out long distances, slip under radar networks and take out threats to U.S. carriers, like China's increasingly worrisome anti-ship missiles. That is, if the program pans out. Right now, the Navy's just testing prototypes. The drone had its first test flight in February. The Navy has stated that it wants to start seeing drones operating on carrier decks, for real, by 2018.
Photo: U.S. NavyTaranis
What happens when a flying wing has a love child with a cylon raider? Well, throw in a little Celtic mythology-themed marketing and you've got Taranis, a joint project of BAE Systems, QinetiQ, Rolls Royce and GE Aviation for a British Unmanned Combat Aircraft System. Named after the Celtic god of thunder, Taranis is a demonstration program for a stealth, long-range killer drone. How long a range? Taranis would be able to take off from the U.K. and deliver its weapons on a target as far away as Afghanistan.
Photo: QinetiQ group/FlickrInvisibility Cloak
Radar isn't the only kind of wave that can give away a position. BAE Systems has been working on a system called Adaptiv that can help ground vehicles hide from the prying eye of infrared vision. The "invisibility cloak" isn't quite the garment of Harry Potter lore that can make objects completely disappear to the naked eye. It can, however, hide the infrared signature of vehicles from heat-seeking missiles or infrared goggles. The system works like a heat chameleon, mimicking the infrared environment that surrounds it to effectively camouflage it. Users can tweak Adaptiv to display the infrared signatures of different objects, allowing tanks to mask themselves as cows.
DDG-1000
The Navy has plans for stealth ships, as well as planes. The Zumwalt class DDG-1000 is designed to sneak across coastal waters and is optimized for land attack. It manages to keep its radar cross section down to the size of a fishing boat with the help of a tumblehome hull, sloped inwards above the surface of the water, that deflects radar waves. The hull shape, however, has led to concerns that it will leave the ship unstable in rougher waters. Stealth sailing doesn't come cheap. The ships cost $3.3 billion each and the Navy has whittled its purchase down to just three.
Photo: Wikimedia
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