VEVAK
SENIOR MEMBER
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- Oct 24, 2013
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The real nerve that was struck here is the fact that the RQ is not as 'stealthy' as people, especially Iranians, would like to believe.
The reality is that there is not a single accepted 'standard' -- and I quoted that word to emphasize its dubiousness -- on low radar observability. NOT ONE. Never from Lockheed since the days of the F-117 and up to today's platforms.
In the absence of any standard, people will impute whatever values they want. You cannot deny the technical issues I presented so far. There is no 'degrading' of anything by US and from US. I speak on a technical platform that none of you have.
Admit it...You guys have learned more about low radar observability from this American than from any Iranian forums.
Sure you can. I have said for yrs on this forum that radar sees all. The issue that you guys continues to dismiss is the TACTICAL DISTANCE of that detection.
So as I have educated you guys on 'stealth', I will educate you guys further on basic radar detection.
For starter, a radar beam is not like an arrow/line like how most illustrations have it. The real radar beam is conical, even the beam shape that is labeled as 'pencil' beam.
https://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/243/
Because of beam spreading, a radar that has a claimed maximum distance of 100 km, for example, would have an OPERATIONALLY USEFUL range of between %80-90 of max. This is real physics, not Chinese physics, not Russian physics, not Indian physics, and not Iranian physics.
Inclement environment, such as weather or terrain clutter, reduces that operational useful range by another %5-10. So now out of that 100 km claimed range, it is now more like about %75 of max.
When an aircraft is deliberately designed to be low radar observable, there is a range of reduction of that remaining %75. The low end of that additional reduction will be about %50 of that remaining %75. So just in using rough figures, the least 'stealthy' body will be detected at a tactical useful distance of about 30-40 km. The F-22 and F-35 are the more 'stealthy' shapes so now the detection distance for them will be around high 10s to low 20s km. This is assuming the jet is in a steady flight state.
F-22 and F-35 pilots do not have license to be careless in an EM high environment, such as combat. When I was active duty on the F-111, F-111 crews from RAF Upper Heyford and Lakenheath routinely trains to avoid those maximum radar ranges. That is how we would penetrate Warsaw Pact radars on CONEUR. A jet can touch a radar at those maximum range without the radar triggering a target detected alert. So when a movie have a 'blip' on the radar scope, that aircraft is already well inside that %75 operationally useful range.
Whenever the environment allows, F-22 and F-35 pilots will not allow themselves to be inside that minimum 'stealthy' range of low %10-20 of operationally useful range. You will be hit without knowing where the bullet came from.
Wow so you have truly deluded yourself to a point that makes you think your schooling me on Frequency with absurd high school level comments like frequency doesn't travel in a straight line
So sorry to burst your bubble but NOTHING you have said so far about stealth tech or frequency was any news to me let alone Iranian engineers working on Iranian radars & stealth tech....
And your delusions about the RQ-170 NOT being a stealth aircraft is absolutely degrading to U.S. tech! Your claiming the Aircraft designers were absolute morons for putting it's sensor package in a hidden low signature design that limits the sensors field of view, They were morons for putting a high drag screen in front of the intake & even bigger moron for trying to hide the screws for the screens inside the body to further reduce signature,.... add to that the fact that it's a flying wing design with no vertical surfaces with a height ~2ft (Gears retracted) and you truly sound delusional to a point that your degrading your own tech.
If anything one of the main missions of the RQ-170 in Afghanistan was likely to test the capabilities of Iranian radars against an aircraft with about the same size radar signature as American B-2's & or other US stealth fighters..... And Iran knowing this rather than try to go radar on & lock on using deployed SAM in the region choose instead to hack it. So yea Iran hacked, downed & reverse engineered an American Stealth UAV my god GET OVER IT already!