The current buzword is “AFFORDABLE STEALTH” and the F-35 aswell as UAV/UCAV designs (all over the world) are working to acheiving just that. This approach is the most lucrative for serious players to pursue and we’ll see it being incorporated even further . Also Stealth has expanded and will do further in the overall scheme of things rather then just RCS reduction and IR supression to other areas as mission expansion etc etc. The next big thing may not be a stealth design that is significantly lowered RCS but just might be revoulutionary in its application,maintainance and longivity.
I think this is the best post in the thread.
“Stealth” is a term that has been misused and *******ized to the point of nonsense. Never was low-observability meant to render an object invisible or invulnerable. Rather, it was applied simply to reduce it’s detectability and the time the opponent had to react. Accordingly, opponents learned ways to defeat this via sound, heat, etc.
No physical object made of any material known to man moving through our atmosphere at any detectable speed is “invisible.” Its physical impact on the molecules around it is imminently detectable in relation to the technology used to create it.
The F-117 looks cool and all, but it is a 1970’s take on evading basic radar waves. In 1982, it was one Hell of an achievement. Today, it ain’t quite so much…..
I agree, JoeinTX. Bring It On says it well in his post : “AFFORDABLE STEALTH”.
New radar technologies and other detecting devices makes it just to expensive to focus on “all aspect stealth designs”. Just look at the JSF. It`ll
be the latest stealth aircraft, and still it`s the least optimised stealthfighter, due to cost issues. Even the first stealthy aircraft, the F-117 have more optimised overall signatures. The real differences lies in the maintainance, and
life cycle costs.
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