Stealth technology

:For the 2005 movie, see Stealth.

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Stealth technology covers a range of techniques used with aircraft, ships and missiles, in order to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar and other detection methods.

Related Topics:
Aircraft - Ships - Missiles - Invisible - Radar

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Radar avoidance technology was first used on a large scale during the Gulf War in 1991. However, F-117A Stealth Fighters were used for the first time in combat during Operation Just Cause in 1989. Since then it has become less effective due to developments in the algorithms used to process the data received by radars, such as Bayesian particle filter methods. Increased awareness of stealth vehicles and the technologies behind them is prompting the development of techniques for detecting stealth vehicles, such as passive radar arrays and low-frequency radars. Many countries nevertheless continue to develop stealth vehicles.

Related Topics:
Gulf War - 1991 - Operation Just Cause - Algorithms - Data - Bayesian - Particle filter - Passive radar - Low-frequency radars

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The concept of stealth itself is not new. Being able to operate without the knowledge of the enemy has always been a goal of military technology and techniques. But "stealth technology" redesigns the vehicle itself to dramatically reduce its observability.

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A mission using stealth will obviously become common knowledge eventually, such as when the target is destroyed. But if the attacking force maximizes stealth and speed, it can also gain the element of surprise. Attacking with surprise gives the attacker more time to perform its mission and exit before the defending force can counter-attack. With stealth technology the defender might not be able to respond at all. If a surface-to-air missile battery defending a target observes a bomb falling and surmises that there must be a stealth aircraft in the vicinity, for example, it is still unable to respond if it cannot get a lock on the aircraft in order to feed guidance information to its missiles.

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