Revealed: China's Radars Can Track America's Stealthy F-22 Raptor

The National Interest ^ | February 19, 2016 | Dave Majumdar

[Smittie]

State-run Chinese media is claiming that the People’s Liberation Army has been able to track the U.S. Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighters over the East China Sea. While the Chinese report might be easily dismissed as propaganda—it is not beyond the realm of possibility. In fact—it’s very possible that China can track the Raptor. Stealth is not a cloak of invisibility, after all. Stealth technology simply delays detection and tracking.

First off, if a Raptor is carrying external fuel tanks—as it often does during “ferry missions”—it is not in a stealth configuration. Moreover, the aircraft is often fitted with a Luneburg lens device on its ventral side during peacetime operations that enhances its cross section on radar.

That being said, even combat-configured F-22s are not invisible to enemy radar, contrary to popular belief. Neither is any other tactical fighter-sized stealth aircraft with empennage surfaces such as tailfins—the F-35, PAK-FA, J-20 or J-31. That’s just basic physics.

The laws of physics essentially dictate that a tactical fighter-sized stealth aircraft must be optimized to defeat higher-frequency bands such the C, X, Ku and the top part of the S bands. There is a “step change” in a Low Observable (LO) aircraft’s signature once the frequency wavelength exceeds a certain threshold and causes a resonant effect. Typically, that resonance occurs when a feature on an aircraft—such as a tail-fin — is less than eight times the size of a particular frequency wavelength. Effectively, small stealth aircraft that do not have the size or weight allowances for two feet or more of radar absorbent material coatings on every surface are forced to make trades as to which frequency bands they are optimized for.

[Rustybucket]

http://intercepts.defensenews.com/2014/11/we-now-know-why-the-f-117-is-still-flying/

[Sparticus]

They worked OK, but they weren't that great. They were incredibly expensive to maintain, subsonic, carried a small payload and were completely vulnerable to attack from fighter aircraft if spotted. The Yugoslavians managed to shoot one down in 1999 with a 70's Russian technology SAM (a SA-3). You'd probably be interested to know that while the F117 fleet was mothballed, they were not scrapped, and are being maintained in their climate controlled facility and could be brought back into service fairly quickly if needed.

[jttpwalsh]

Glad to hear the F-117 is available, as needed.

Heard, but can’t confirm, that the USAF got a bit lax when they sent them to Serbia, in combat. Supposedly, they followed the same route, every time, and spotters outside the base, in Italy, would phone home, when one took off.
Soon, it became just like clock work, about 35 minutes later, it would show up, in the same location, every time, so in addition to the AAA the Serbs had, they also used a tactic of opening up, with everything they had, at the right time, in the right place.

Also can’t confirm, but heard that the ‘accidental’ targeting of the Chinese embassy that year was planned, right down to the corner of the building, where the remains of the F-117 was being prepared for trans shipment, to Beijing.

An engineer I used to work with, said all of the “whiz bang” stuff we were seeing (circa 2008), he was working on, in the 80’s, and speculated that the cutting edge stuff being prepared nowadays is just mind blowing.

Thanks.

[JohnnyP]

FireFinder?

[StoneWall Brigade]

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