Bring_it_on.

I believe Over G is referring to the fact no aircraft can hide against a radar with a wavelength of the order of the aircraft itself. However, the resolution provided by said radar return will be poor.

However, if multiple emitters/recievers at multiple locations are used, it may [emphasis on may] be possible to combine the information to provide further localisation.

Flawed for a couple reasons. 1. They’d be using something like JASSM or JASSM-EX not an F-22 with bombs. and 2. instead of being able to defend a target with one battery now you’re going to need 5 or 6 because you need the one in the middle and rest to surround it. And their bubbles will be relatively small which will compound the problem. So in essence you’ve squandered your SAM batteries to defend against a target that is elsewhere. How is that a good idea?

1. Whatever, its still gonna be detected before it gets to the SAM radar position – and it can be taken out by Tors etc.

2. So what. How much does 7 SAM systems cost in comparison to an F-22 (or whatever) and the logistical train?

3. Their bubbles will be relatively small compared to the bubble for a non-VLO aircraft. However, since the range for S-300/S-400 is measured in hundreds of miles, I’ll happily assume a detection distance of 40.

I’ve “squandered” my SAM batteries defending a target… thats something the other guy wants to hit… and hit it for a reason. Be it a bridge, a power station, a communications centre, whatever – he can’t hit it, and that’ll **** him off.

Exactly.

All just reinforces the fact we are all talking sh*te 😀

Errr…. isn’t the solution kinda obvious?

You are all assuming a solitary SAM radar/launcher. What if its a web of radars and launchers.

You have one SAM radar up and emitting, with several [emitters and launchers] surrounding it at a good distance [say 50 miles], these radars are shut down.

The F-22 may be undetectable to the emitting radar, but as soon as the JDAM/SDB etc is launched, it will detect both aircraft and bomb [and thereafter just the bomb once the doors are closed again]. The position is relayed to the appropriate outlying emitters/launchers, which then light up their radars, get the F-22 5 miles away and fire…

Scratch one [or more in the flight] F-22s.

A little imagination goes a long way. 🙂

I think if fought today, on the airwar side you could reasonably expect more casualties on the side of the USAF. After all, SAMs have moved on, while the means of “targetting” a hidden enemy inside a dense jungle is still the same [napalm drops yes?]. While the airpower of the North Vietnamese would would have quickly been destroyed, the ground based defenses would be much more enduring IMO.

As far as the ground war goes, the events in Lebanon recently with regards the proliferation of effective anti-tank weapons should be more than enough proof.

Bottom line, In my opinion, the US would have sustained much heavier casualities.

What use is stealth and supercruise against guys hidden in a dense jungle?

^ in regards to the aerodynamics.. wouldn’t the canards create vortexes that’ll damage the canted vertical stabilizers? Where’s Vortex when ya need him :diablo:

No, I don’t think they would. The canard wingtips are quite far outside the stabiliser locations.

Talking about inlet performance in the transonic/supersonic regime: You *need* a variable inlet, otherwise you will have a design optimized for *just one* flight regime. It’s an operational trade-off (weight/maintenance vs mach-related performance) and the USN decided higher mach performance is not important. Not entirely wrong given the way they operate these jets as bomb/PGM-trucks.

You can bleed off air within the inlet, downstream of the normal shock so you obtain your ideal mass flow rate. Thats what they do on the F-22. Key is making sure the flow is nice and neat avoid distortions on the fan face.

The F-22 has an oblique shock from the upper intake, the normal shock is controlled by the dump valve, and the duct is designed to keep the flow right to the fan face.

Variable geometry designs are no longer a necessity.