US fears Iraq radar can see stealth plane

UNITED STATES defence chiefs may have to review their strategy for phase 2 of the war after it emerged that Baghdad could have acquired a radar system capable of detecting America's multi-billion-pound fleet of stealth bombers.

The radar is believed to be the same Czech-built type used by Serb forces to shoot down a US F117 Nighthawk stealth bomber and seriously damage another during the war in Kosovo in 1999.

US intelligence chiefs believe that Iraqi generals attempted to buy a system for £176 million from the Czech Republic in 1997 but the deal collapsed after it was exposed by the CIA.

The Telegraph, however, has learnt that after the closure of the Czech defence company Tesla-Pardubice in 1998, two of its Tamara radar systems, which Iraq wanted to acquire, "disappeared", and might have been acquired by rogue arms traders working for Baghdad.

A former employee of the company said last night: "Tesla-Pardubice closed in 1998. It had two radar systems that had not been sold but they have disappeared. Nobody knows where they are."

Rob Hewson, the editor of Jane's Air Launched Weapons, said the weight of circumstantial evidence indicated that Iraq had probably acquired a radar system capable of "seeing" stealth bombers.

He said: "The Pentagon is faced with the prospect that Iraq may have a system that can see stealth bombers and they are very, very worried."

The disclosure is likely to affect the next stages of the war against terrorism and influence whether the US decides to carry out a full-scale attack against Saddam Hussein's regime.

Last week it emerged that stocks of US air-launched cruise missiles had been virtually exhausted after attacks on Kosovo and Sudan, further hampering Pentagon plans for an attack against Iraq.

The B2 stealth bomber and the F117 stealth fighter both played vital roles in the Kosovan and Afghan wars and, together with the mass use of cruise missiles, they are part of a crucial first phase of US attack plans.

Such is the sensitivity surrounding stealth aircraft that even the mere suggestion that an enemy power may have the capability to detect or shoot one down is enough to ground the 20-strong fleet.

A spokesman for the US Department of Defence, said: "It stands to reason that Iraq would want to get its hands on a radar system capable of detecting stealth bombers.

" In the Gulf war, it was the early F117 attacks that put most of their air defence systems out of commission. But we don't know whether they have such a system at the moment."

The Czech radar system uses passive detection to pick up electronic emissions from stealth aircraft.

A spokesman for the Czech Embassy confirmed that when the company went bankrupt in 1998 it still had at least two Tamara systems, but he refused to comment on whether they had disappeared.

The B2 stealth aircraft is painted with a substance that absorbs radar waves, producing an image on a radar screen the size of a large marble. The Serb forces, however, demonstrated what can be achieved by being able to detect stealth aircraft.

During the Kosovo conflict, the Serbs are believed to have plugged powerful computers into their air-defence radar system that help to reveal the flight paths from the faint stealth radar signatures.

When a stealth bomber was suspected to be flying through their area they saturated the sky with missile and heavy machine-gun fire and managed to shoot one down.

Osama bin Laden has been named Iraq's Man of The Year, according to the official Iraqi press, because of the way in which he has "raised the image of Islam and defied the might of the USA".

The F in F-117 refers to 'fighter', but the planes dual role is 'fighter-bomber' in that it carries two 2000 pound intelligent bombs. The B-2 is a 'pure' bomber. This is a good description of the F-117 capabilities. Other fighers have dual roles as fighter/bombers, and all of them have limited bomb carrying capacity. However, as far as what to call it, the F117 and is generally referred to as a fighter by the Air Force, not a "bomber," not a "fighter/bomber" but a fighter.

You are right about the B-52H's ability to carry precision guided bombs - in fact, it was a B-52H that dropped a 2000 lb precision guided bomb in the unfortunate friendly fire incident that killed US and NA troops in Afghanistan. The B-52H can also carry up to 20 cruise missles, Harpoons, and Hav Naps. The B52H isn't just a "dumb bomb" bomber anymore.

"no radar is going to give them a fix on a F-1117. "

Never say never as they say. From what they said it is less like a "Radar" and more like our passive sonar... only this sounds like it listens for electronic emissions from the planes not minute sounds underwater like passive sonar. Makes some sense. Remember, isn't one of the ways our passive sonar works is by finding sound "holes" in the surrounding sound. Maybe it is like that except in the air instead of underwater.

We can capture keyboard typing from space so the Stealth planes, with their massive use of electronics (processors) to actually keep the plane flying, probably give off a ton of electronic emmisions while in flight, albeit minute.

Besides, it was only a while before someone got a fix on how to defeat or minimize the effectiveness of our stealth planes. You can't tell me that the Soviets and Chinese haven't welcomed our use of the stealth planes from the Gulf war to the Kosovo incursions. We would be fools not to think they have used every chance to try to get the various profiles (sound, radar, infrared, electronic, etc) of the planes so as to be able to defeat them when it came time to use the planes against them.

That's okay, you can bet and I have faith that we have newer and better stealth technology in the works now, not to mention upgrades to retrofit the current planes. An example would be the relatively recent development of much lower powered and lower emission processors and microelectronics. Easier to sheild, "quieter" emissions wise. But still I believe that right now someone has a stealth reading "radar" or "listening" device. Who ever did could command excellent prices from the potential buyers like Iraq, Iran, Russia, China, Syria, N. Korea, France and other potential enemies, busy bodies, and/or paranoid states.

it's never a good idea to under or over estimate anyone's potential...

Agree completely, which leads to say

no one country has a total lock on technology, even highly sensitive defense technology, thanks to the global free traders.

it won't always require free traders-we don't have a lock on brains/innovation. the chinese supposedly are developing (have developed?) a system that uses multiple antennae constantly monitoring & analyzing electronic signals from things like tv/radio stations, etc., and can detect (track?) a stealth plane by detecting the "hole" the stealth plane leaves as it travels through the signals.

*Not* an expert- just repeating what I've read.

From Discovery Channel Canada (1999 article):

Stealthy operators such as this B-2 bomber may be obsolete if the Chinese claim can be substantiated.

China claims to ‘de-stealth’ military detection systems

By: Emma Reid, November 30, 1999

The Chinese government claims to have developed a technology that can outwit the stealth bombers. Stealth technology has been in existence since the 1960s and aircraft designed with Stealth technology have been successful because they are virtually invisible to radar detection.

Stealth technology hides aircraft by masking the physical, thermal and sonic properties aircraft exhibit. Physically, military aircraft are large and cumbersome and can be detected with radar. They generate a considerable amount of heat as a result of the combustion in the engines that propel it forward. They also generate a lot of noise and sound waves that resonate through the atmosphere.

The way most airplane identification works is by continuously bombarding airspace with a radar signal, which is comprised of high frequency radio waves. When a plane flies into the airspace, a signal bounces back to a sensor, or receiver, that determines size, and altitude of the plane.

The most considerable challenge lies in cloaking the physical structure of the aircraft so very little high frequency radio waves bounce back. The quality of the reflected radio waves depends on the nature of the object itself. Some types of objects reflect more than others. Stealthy designs involve constructing aircraft in ways that either disperse a signal in random directions to avoid detection at the receiver, or simply absorb the signal all together. To absorb the waves into the actual structure requires the use of panels on its ‘skin’ which are covered with RAM (Radio Absorbing Material). These panels are also angled so that any radar signal that is not absorbed will not reflect back to a receiver to do any damage. This way, receivers on the ground have no way of ‘seeing’ the aircraft. Dispersing the signal ultimately dilutes the picture. Aerodynamics also has a part to play in keeping air turbulence noise down, in addition to incorporating low-noise engines. With minimal sound effects, aircraft can sneak around undetected in the skies. The B-2 Stealth Bomber has a "bat-wing" shape to reduce its radar cross-section, as well as visual recognition, especially on the horizon.

To alleviate the thermal print of the aircraft, engineers designed the exhaust system with precision. Hot exhaust gases are mixed thoroughly with cool air before leaving the plane to reduce any infrared (heat) signature. This fools heat sensors on the ground and also keeps heat-seeking missiles from getting any sort of a lock on their targets. With all of these things in check, stealth technology has proven the test of time and remained an elusive technology. But the recent Chinese claim has U.S. authorities concerned.

The Chinese appear to have turned things around. Their new Passive Coherent Location system allegedly tracks fluctuations in normal or civilian broadcasts, which function at a different frequency, and looks for distortions, reports Newsweek. The PCL system monitors the incoming signals that originated from civilian sources, and can attempt to decipher the image they paint. The key here being, the aircraft may no longer remain invisible.

For details on the Chinese claim, watch @discovery.ca tonight for an interview with Dr. Daniel Goure of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

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