The UK will be using SRVL which means that the exhaust will only be touching any one spot on the deck for only a microsecond as the landing speed is ~100kph.
technically it is a FIGHTER, but just like F-105 and F-111 it was never given an air to air capability 😀
Try again:
The F-111 was supposed to be a multi-service fighter/bomber. The NAVY backed out and the USAF used it as a penetration bomber instead. It was still cleared for & carried Aim-9 missiles.
Here is a profile shot showing many 90 degree radar reflectors. Notice all the untreated rivets and squared off panels. Don’t forget that the interior of the cockpit will reflect radar returns all over the place.
The F-117 was a light bomber, not a fighter. The “F” designation is well know to have been a product of disinformation.
What difference does it make if the result is the same?
Nic
The result is not the same. With a jammer you are letting your presence be known and have no element of surprise. Besides, I think we all can agree that in no way would an F-4 with a jammer be considered a 5th gen fighter.
To take it to the next step would a F-35 and a jammer be 6th gen fighter? Of course not, just a better protected 5th gen fighter.
The ray-dome is, by design, transparent to radar and the structure underneath is the important part.
I can see several parts that are 90 to the front:
1. The bow in the canopy
2. Engine inlet edges
3. The aux inlet scoops in the upper left and lower right of the fuselage in the photo
4. Parts of the interior of the cockpit
5. Pylons (and any weapons & tanks hanging on them)
6. Panels that do not have a sawtooth edge
Take a look at the F-22 and keep in mind what you do not see:
..No bow in the canopy.
..RAM and other “special stuff” in all leading edges of the wing and intakes.
..No External stores.
..No scoops anywhere that provide a flat surface that is 90 degrees to the front.
..No untreated probes.
..The canopy glass is treated so it is not transparent to radar.
..No exposed rivets, ridges, bumps, etc on the F-22.
..All panels & doors that are exposed at the surface are “saw-toothed” so they do not act as a 90 degree reflector.
..The fuselage is not round. A round (or tubular) object will always reflect some radar energy back towards the transmitter regardless of the transmission angle. Those round LERX on the JF-17 provide a nice radar reflector to the front no matter the angel of the radar.
RCS is not about the material of the plane but how you control the radar waves reflecting off of it.
For example, If you made the skin completely out of composites, this would make the skin transparent to radar. The radar would then bounce off your structure and still show up on radar. By controlling the angles (stealth shaping) and applying RAM (and other secret stuff like buried charged wires) where needed, the incoming radar waves are controlled so that the do not bounce straight back towards the transmitter.
Nobody claims that the F-22 (or the B-2, F-117 & F-35) are invisible on radar. What is claimed and has been proven in combat is that the lowered RCS of the plane reduces the range at which you finally see the plane. This reduced range allows the F-22 (or B-2, F-35, etc) to see you first, launch on you first, and kill you before you get close enough to see him.
btw, IRST systems have a range that is much less than radar which is why it ts the preferred A2A sensor.
Don’t get me wrong, I mean VLO as a naked airframe. This means that jamming to reduce your signature does not count.
The reasons are simple:
1. You fighter definition should not depend on the flip of a switch.
2. The separations in generations should be such that you cannot retrofit a prior generation to the next without serious redesign and in essence creating a new plane.
The F-35 can share it’s data in several ways. MADL, Link-16, and SATCOM are the major ones. In a high-threat environment, the F-35 is not going to want to continually advertise it’s presence by broadcasting unidirectional data via Link-16. It will send all the data via MADL or SATCOM and it can then be relayed to other assets in the area via Link-16 or another datalink. This relay can be done by a BACN relay (in the air or ground), a properly equipped AWACS, or another F-35 (who would not be putting his airframe in danger by broadcasting in Link-16).
In a less threatening environment the F-35 would be free to use Link-16 directly.
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