stealth aircraft that Russia can’t track
—
Known stealth aircraft as they pass through the radio spectrum leave a detectable ‘hole’ and can be tracked.
“Known stealth aircraft as they pass through the radio spectrum leave a detectable ‘hole’ and can be tracked.”
Isn’t it a case of where they’ve been, but not where they are? Anyway, that’s how it was explained to me.
This is not a fact that has led to a known countermeasure. The Chinese have claimed they can do so, but no aircraft is radar signature free.
Modern radar systems, of which I worked a few, are computer guided and driven. The radar signals are just radio waves, usually at a very high frequency, but some say a lower frequency radio wave would track a stealth aircraft better, but again, that has not been proved as meaningful enough to actually field such a system. In any case, the radar system computer generally ignores small temporary spectrums returns as they are likely birds, debris or bats.
To send a missile to such a location would cause one to run out of expensive missiles very quickly.
Our F-117 is actually very good at portraying such a radar return. Actually, better than the F-22 or F-35. Earlier this year, the USAF took some of these F-117s OUT of mothballs.
I wonder why?
Still, do understand that in a combat run, the radar operators would see blips. Stealth doesn't mean completely invisible, and never did. The ability to successfully track, lock on, and shoot down a stealth fighter is a quantum leap harder than non-stealth aircraft.
I wonder, even if the former/current communist powers have such systems, whether graft and corruption would also mean they're operating substandardly?