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On stealth fighters

On stealth aircraft

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Since debut of F-117A in Iraq and Yugoslavia, stealth craze has taken the world. Stealth aircraft are appearing - complete with flashy advertising and statements about nigh-invulnerability of these aircraft by defense industry officials - all over the world. But what is the truth? Race in armaments lasts since dawn of human kind. Many new weapons performed admirably. Many failed miserably. Probably most famous example of latter are German Wunderwaffe from World War II, with whom stealth fighters share their basic belief: that quality can beat the quantity. Is that correct? Find out in this presentation.

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Page 1: On stealth aircraft

On stealth fighters

Page 2: On stealth aircraft

Value of radar stealth● stealth proponents see stealth as game-

changing technology, but history shows that:● game-changing technologies usually cheap and

simple compared to most other technologies of the era

● basic facts of warfare are mutable to the point of qualitative superiority being more advantageous than quantitative superiority only over very long time period

● forces are always in danger of being attacked in "safe" areas

Page 3: On stealth aircraft

What this means in war● stealth aircraft are in danger of being

overwhelmed by large numbers of small, cheap fighters equipped with RWR and/or IRST

● even if enemy does not use IRST and cannot detect stealth aircraft except visually, and stealth aircraft do not engage opponent in visual range themselves, air bases remain vulnerable to attack; once stealth aircraft are tied in defending the bases, advantage of radar stealth is all but gone

● all stealth aircraft to date require large concrete runways: cannot land if these are destroyed

Page 4: On stealth aircraft

What this means in war● "base camping" / "base tendering": numerically

superior opponent can use numbers to prevent stealth aircraft from taking off from or landing on their easily-visible runways

● air base vandalism: destruction of runway by cruise missiles or other means prevents operation until runway is repaired; concrete runways take long time to repair, and are easily found

Page 5: On stealth aircraft

Importance of numbers● ability to cover more area● slows down or breaks opponent's OODA loop

by causing information saturation● higher resillience to unavoidable attrition

● increase in total number of combatants in the air leads exchange ratio towards parity irrespective of individual unit quality

● numerical advantage increases possibility of getting first shot

Page 6: On stealth aircraft

Importance of numbers● Lanchester square ratio:

● per-unit quality of outnumbered force must be square of force ratio

● but per-unit quality usually increases linearly with cost - twice as expensive aircraft at best twice as effective

● higher complexity results in lower sortie rate per aircraft

● rely on low-cost technologies that provide disproportionate increase in effectiveness to compensate

Page 7: On stealth aircraft

Revolutionary, but too few

Page 8: On stealth aircraft

Situational Awareness game● passive vs active sensors● detection

● visual● electronic

– active (radar)– passive (RWR)

● infrared

Page 9: On stealth aircraft

Situational Awareness game● goal: detect enemy first without being detected

● can only be achieved by passive sensors● reduced signatures

– infrared– visual– electronic

● no or minimum emissions (radar, IFF, communications, uplinks)● also applies while on the ground

– underground air bases– if air base is in open, use dirt air strips and minimum

infrastructure - requires resillient, maintenance-friendly aircraft

Page 10: On stealth aircraft

● Typhoon equipped with advanced RWR● F-22 is likely to encounter opponents with

similar technology in any war it might be used in

Page 11: On stealth aircraft

Game-changers?● IRST

● QWIP IRST allows for completely passive detection of subsonic passive opponent at distances of over 50 nm (90 km) head-on, 90 nm (145 km) tail-on

● RWR● detects enemy radar emissions

● passive radar● jammers

● radar● IR

Page 12: On stealth aircraft

Situational Awareness: conclusion● stealth fighters no longer have SA advantage● smaller fighters will be detected later,

irrespective of any expensive radar LO measures applied to larger fighters

● reliance on passive sensors and visual detection

Page 13: On stealth aircraft

BVR combat● stealth fighters based around idea of radar-based BVR combat● requires active emissions - surrenders SA advantage to the

opponent● allows opponent to identify and engage it from BVR

completely passively● gives opponent starting advantage in OODA loop● radar can be jammed

● high complexity● high cost● low reliability => per-missile Pk ≤0,08 between capable

opponents● only effective against far less capable and less numerous

opponents● 10 - 15 seconds electronic acquisition for cooperative target

Page 14: On stealth aircraft

WVR combat● requirements

● large force size– low cost aircraft– high sortie rate

● situational awareness– cockpit visibility– sensor coverage

● high maneuverability– fast transients– high turn rate

● low wing loading– quick acceleration and climb

● low drag● high thrust-to-weight ratio

Page 15: On stealth aircraft

WVR combat● requirements

● good combat persistence– low drag– high fuel fraction

● reliable kills– weapon requirements

● high Pk● adequate ammo● minimum time-on-target required for the aircraft● minimum vulnerability to countermeasures (simple targeting

process)– IR jammers make IR missiles more vulnerable to

countermeasures → return of gun-only dogfights??

Page 16: On stealth aircraft

Force size: F-22 Raptor vs JAS-39 Gripen

● Flyaway cost: 250 million USD vs 40 million USD

● Maintenance cost per hour of flight: 61 000 USD vs 4 700 USD

● Maintenance downtime per hour of flight: 45 hours vs 10 hours

● For 1 billion USD:● 4 F-22s flying 15 1-hour sorties per week● 25 JAS-39s flying 382 1-hour sorties per week

Page 17: On stealth aircraft

F-22 Raptor vs JAS-39 Gripen

Flyaway cost Maintenance cost Aircraft for 1 billion USD Sorties per week

F-22JAS-39

Page 18: On stealth aircraft

Force size: F-22A vs F-15C● Flyaway cost: 250 million USD vs 108,2 million

USD● Maintenance cost per hour of flight: 61 000

USD vs 30 000 USD● Sortie rate: 0,5 vs 1,0

Page 19: On stealth aircraft

F-22A vs F-15C

Flyaway cost Maintenance cost per hour of flight Aircraft for 1 billion USD Sorties per week

F-22AF-15C

Page 20: On stealth aircraft

Ground threats● radar stealth dependant on size of shaping

features relative to wavelength● F-22 and F-35 typical fighters in size and

configuration; same for J-20, J-31 and PAK FA● Result: easily detected by VHF, HF and passive

radars

Page 21: On stealth aircraft

VHF radar - Nebo SVU

Page 22: On stealth aircraft

● Written by:● Picard578

– defenseissues.wordpress.com