INTRODUCTION

Stealth or low observability (as it is scientifically known) is one of the

most misunderstood and misinterpreted concepts in military aviation by
the common man. Stealth aircraft are considered as invisible aircraft,
which dominate the skies. With an additional boost from Hollywood
action movies, stealth is today termed as the concept invincibility rather
than invisibility. Though, the debate still continues on whether stealth
technology can make an aircraft invincible it was found that stealth
aircraft are detectable by radar.
The motive behind incorporating stealth technology in an aircraft is not
just to avoid missiles being fired at is but also to give total deniability to
covert operations. This is very much useful to strike targets where it is
impossible to reach. Thus we can clearly say that the job of a stealth
aircraft pilot is not to let others know that he was ever there.
HISTORY

Development of stealth technology for aircraft began before World War

I. Because RADAR had not been invented, visibility was the sole
concern, and the goal was to create aircraft that were hard to see. In
1912, German designers produced a largely transparent monoplane; its
wings and fuselage were covered by a transparent material derived from
cellulose, the basis of movie film, rather than the opaque canvas
standard in that era. Interior struts and other parts were painted with light
colors to further reduce visibility. The plane was effectively invisible
from the ground when flow at 900 ft (274 m) or higher, and faintly
visible at lower altitudes. Several transparent German aircraft saw
combat during World War I, and Soviet aircraft designers attempted the
design of transparent aircraft in the 1930s.

With the invention of RADAR during World War II, stealth became
both more needful and more feasible: more needful because RADAR
was highly effective at detecting aircraft, and would soon be adapted to
guiding antiaircraft missiles and gunnery at them, yet more feasible
because to be RADAR-stealthy an aircraft did need to be not be
completely transparent to radio waves; it could absorb or deflect them.

During World War II, Germany coated the snorkels of its submarines
with RADAR-absorbent paint to make them less visible to RADARs
carried by Allied antisubmarine aircraft. In 1945 the U.S. developed a
RADAR-absorbent paint containing iron. It was capable of making an
airplane less RADAR-reflective, but was heavy; several coats of the
material, known as MX-410, could make an aircraft unwieldy or even
too heavy to fly. However, stealth development continued throughout
the postwar years. In the mid 1960s, the U.S. built a high-altitude
reconnaissance aircraft, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, that was
extremely RADAR-stealthy for its day. The SR-71 included a number of
stealth features, including special RADAR-absorbing structures along
the edges of wings and tailfins, a cross-sectional design featuring few
vertical surfaces that could reflect RADAR directly back toward a
transmitter, and a coating termed "iron ball" that could be electronically
manipulated to produce a variable, confusing RADAR reflection. The
SR-71, flying at approximately 100,000 feet, was routinely able to
penetrate Soviet airspace without being reliably tracked on RADAR.

Development of true stealth aircraft (i.e., those employing every

available method to avoid detection by visible, RADAR, infrared, and
acoustic means) continued, primarily in the U.S., throughout the 1960s
and 1970s, and several stealth prototypes were flown in the early 1970s.
Efforts to keep this research secret were successful; not until a press
conference was held on August, 22, 1980, after expansion of the stealth
program had given rise to numerous rumors and leaks, did the U.S.
government officially admit the existence of stealth aircraft. Since then,
much information about the two U.S. stealth combat aircraft, the B-2
bomber and the F-117 fighter (both discussed further below), has
become publicly available.
What’s the need for stealth?

It’s a matter of fact that the rapid development of stealth

technology occurred due to the pronounced improvement of the
dectection techniques like radar’s as they were the most commonly used
dectection methods in the 1930’s & 40’s. There are some key strategies
that triggered the development of the Stealth technology like the use of
Radar Aided-Anti aircraft systems and the use of Sonar’s for detecting
the Submarines by the Ships etc.

Thus the rapid development was the need of time to reduce

causalities. And that still remains so. As Stealth technologies touching
new heights day by day in the other side Anti-Stealth technologies are
also in full momentum to outdate the Stealth technologies. Thus stating
the need of STEALTH TECHNOLOGY.

Principles

Stealth technology (or LO for "low observability") is not a single

technology. It is a combination of technologies that attempt to greatly
reduce the distances at which a person or vehicle can be detected; in
particular radar cross section reductions, but also acoustic, thermal, and
other aspects:

Radar cross-section (RCS) reductions

Almost since the invention of radar, various methods have been tried to
minimize detection. Rapid development of radar during WWII led to
equally rapid development of numerous counter radar measures during
the period; a notable example of this was the use of chaff.

The term "stealth" in reference to reduced radar signature aircraft

became popular during the late eighties when the Lockheed Martin F-
117 stealth fighter became widely known. The first large scale (and
public) use of the F-117 was during the Gulf War in 1991. However, F-
117A stealth fighters were used for the first time in combat during
Operation Just Cause, the United States invasion of Panama in 1989.[15]
Increased awareness of stealth vehicles and the technologies behind
them is prompting the development of means to detect stealth vehicles,
such as passive radar arrays and low-frequency radars. Many countries
nevertheless continue to develop low-RCS vehicles because they offer
advantages in detection range reduction and amplify the effectiveness of
on-board systems against active radar guidance threats.[citation needed]

Vehicle shape

The F-35 Lightning II offers better stealthy features (such as this landing
gear door) than prior American fighters, such as the F-16 Fighting
Falcon

The possibility of designing aircraft in such a manner as to reduce their

radar cross-section was recognized in the late 1930s, when the first radar
tracking systems were employed, and it has been known since at least
the 1960s that aircraft shape makes a significant difference in
detectability. The Avro Vulcan, a British bomber of the 1960s, had a
remarkably small appearance on radar despite its large size, and
occasionally disappeared from radar screens entirely. It is now known
that it had a fortuitously stealthy shape apart from the vertical element of
the tail. In contrast, the Tupolev 95 Russian long range bomber (NATO
reporting name 'Bear') appeared especially well on radar. It is now
known that propellers and jet turbine blades produce a bright radar
image; the Bear had four pairs of large (5.6 meter diameter) contra-
rotating propellers.
Another important factor is internal construction. Some stealth aircraft
have skin that is radar transparent or absorbing, behind which are
structures termed re-entrant triangles. Radar waves penetrating the skin
get trapped in these structures, reflecting off the internal faces and losing
energy. This method was first used on the Blackbird series (A-11 / YF-
12A / SR-71).

The most efficient way to reflect radar waves back to the emitting radar
is with orthogonal metal plates, forming a corner reflector consisting of
either a dihedral (two plates) or a trihedral (three orthogonal plates).
This configuration occurs in the tail of a conventional aircraft, where the
vertical and horizontal components of the tail are set at right angles.
Stealth aircraft such as the F-117 use a different arrangement, tilting the
tail surfaces to reduce corner reflections formed between them. A more
radical method is to eliminate the tail completely, as in the B-2 Spirit.

In addition to altering the tail, stealth design must bury the engines
within the wing or fuselage, or in some cases where stealth is applied to
an extant aircraft, install baffles in the air intakes, so that the turbine
blades are not visible to radar. A stealthy shape must be devoid of
complex bumps or protrusions of any kind; meaning that weapons, fuel
tanks, and other stores must not be carried externally. Any stealthy
vehicle becomes un-stealthy when a door or hatch opens.

Planform alignment is also often used in stealth designs. Planform

alignment involves using a small number of surface orientations in the
shape of the structure. For example, on the F-22A Raptor, the leading
edges of the wing and the tail surfaces are set at the same angle. Careful
inspection shows that many small structures, such as the air intake
bypass doors and the air refueling aperture, also use the same angles.
The effect of planform alignment is to return a radar signal in a very
specific direction away from the radar emitter rather than returning a
diffuse signal detectable at many angles.

Stealth airframes sometimes display distinctive serrations on some

exposed edges, such as the engine ports. The YF-23 has such serrations
on the exhaust ports. This is another example in the use of re-entrant
triangles and planform alignment, this time on the external airframe.

Shaping requirements have strong negative influence on the aircraft's

aerodynamic properties. The F-117 has poor aerodynamics, is inherently
unstable, and cannot be flown without a fly-by-wire control system.

K32 HMS Helsingborg, a stealth ship

Ships have also adopted similar methods. The Skjold class patrol boat
was the first stealth ship to enter service, though the earlier Arleigh
Burke class destroyer incorporated some signature-reduction features.[16]
[17]
Other examples are the French La Fayette class frigate, the German
Sachsen class frigates, the Swedish Visby class corvette, the USS San
Antonio amphibious transport dock, and most modern warship designs.

Similarly, coating the cockpit canopy with a thin film transparent

conductor (vapor-deposited gold or indium tin oxide) helps to reduce the
aircraft's radar profile, because radar waves would normally enter the
cockpit, reflect off objects (the inside of a cockpit has a complex shape,
with a pilot helmet alone forming a sizeable return), and possibly return
to the radar, but the conductive coating creates a controlled shape that
deflects the incoming radar waves away from the radar. The coating is
thin enough that it has no adverse effect on pilot vision.

Non-metallic airframe

Dielectric composites are more transparent to radar, whereas electrically

conductive materials such as metals and carbon fibers reflect
electromagnetic energy incident on the material's surface. Composites
may also contain ferrites to optimize the dielectric and magnetic
properties of a material for its application.

Radar-absorbing material

Radar-absorbent material (RAM), often as paints, are used especially on

the edges of metal surfaces. While the material and thickness of RAM
coatings is classified, the material seeks to absorb radiated energy from a
ground or air based radar station into the coating and convert it to heat
rather than reflect it back.

Acoustics

Acoustic stealth plays a primary role in submarine stealth as well as for

ground vehicles. Submarines use extensive rubber mountings to isolate
and avoid mechanical noises that could reveal locations to underwater
passive sonar arrays.

Early stealth observation aircraft used slow-turning propellers to avoid

being heard by enemy troops below. Stealth aircraft that stay subsonic
can avoid being tracked by sonic boom. The presence of supersonic and
jet-powered stealth aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird indicates that
acoustic signature is not always a major driver in aircraft design,
although the Blackbird relied more on its extremely high speed and
altitude.

Visibility

The simplest stealth technology is simply camouflage; the use of paint or

other materials to color and break up the lines of the vehicle or person.

Most stealth aircraft use matte paint and dark colors, and operate only at
night. Lately, interest in daylight Stealth (especially by the USAF) has
emphasized the use of gray paint in disruptive schemes, and it is
assumed that Yehudi lights could be used in the future to mask shadows
in the airframe (in daylight, against the clear background of the sky, dark
tones are easier to detect than light ones) or as a sort of active
camouflage. The original B-2 design had wing tanks for a contrail-
inhibiting chemical, alleged by some to be chlorofluorosulfonic acid,[23]
but this was replaced in the final design with a contrail sensor from
Ophir that alerts the pilot when he should change altitude[24] and mission
planning also considers altitudes where the probability of their formation
is minimized.

Infrared

An exhaust plume contributes a significant infrared signature. One

means to reduce IR signature is to have a non-circular tail pipe (a slit
shape) to minimize the exhaust cross-sectional volume and maximize the
mixing of hot exhaust with cool ambient air. Often, cool air is
deliberately injected into the exhaust flow to boost this process.
Sometimes, the jet exhaust is vented above the wing surface to shield it
from observers below, as in the B-2 Spirit, and the unstealthy A-10
Thunderbolt II. To achieve infrared stealth, the exhaust gas is cooled to
the temperatures where the brightest wavelengths it radiates are
absorbed by atmospheric carbon dioxide and water vapor, dramatically
reducing the infrared visibility of the exhaust plume. [1] Another way to
reduce the exhaust temperature is to circulate coolant fluids such as fuel
inside the exhaust pipe, where the fuel tanks serve as heat sinks cooled
by the flow of air along the wings.[citation needed]

Ground combat includes the use of both active and passive infrared
sensors and so the USMC ground combat uniform requirements
document specifies infrared reflective quality standards.[25]

Reducing radio frequency (RF) emissions

In addition to reducing infrared and acoustic emissions, a stealth vehicle

must avoid radiating any other detectable energy, such as from onboard
radars, communications systems, or RF leakage from electronics
enclosures. The F-117 uses passive infrared and low light level
television sensor systems to aim its weapons and the F-22 Raptor has an
advanced LPI radar which can illuminate enemy aircraft without
triggering a radar warning receiver response.

WHAT IS RADAR?

What is Radar Absorbing Materials (Stealth)?

 Nanostructural composite material, absorbing without reflection
radar wave.
 This new material is based on nanotechnology.

Materials

 Carbon fiber composites.

 Magnetic ferrite-based substance
 RAM reduces the radar cross section making the object appear
smaller.
 Where is the stealth-technology already used?
 B-2 Bomber

bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets,

by dropping bombs on them.The B-2 bomber, commonly known as the
stealth bomber.
Stealth Aircraft, military aircraft, fighters, and bombers designed to
elude detection and tracking systems, such as radar and infrared
monitoring. Stealth technology is used to mask unmanned objects such
as cruise missiles. The United States is a world leader in developing and
deploying stealth technology, although much about its program remains
classified.
Stealth technology includes a variety of design features that affect an
aircraft signal, also called its signature, on tracking systems. These
features include an aircraft shape and the materials used to build it. For
example, it is harder for a radar to detect an aircraft that has smooth and
rounded curves. Special composite materials or coatings on the surface
of an aircraft can absorb or deflect radar signals. Engines placed within
the body of the aircraft and exhaust vents may be arranged to mask the
heat coming from engines and help hide an aircraft from heat seeking
sensors. Reducing the noise.
HOW TO MAKE THINGS INVISIBLE?
 How to make things invisible?

But how could it works, that Martin is able to see Katja ?

  When light incident on katja the reflected light goes Martin
eyes but if person Maria or an object presence in between
them Martin can’t See Katja the reflect light is stopped by
Maria.
 By placing charm coat around Maria the reflect light bends
around Maria and reaches to Martin.
 Incase of charm coat the reflect lights from Katja bends
slightly depending upon refractive index of charm coat and
reflect to Martin eyes.

How could the light be deflected?

 Refractive Index
 Optical Materials
 Metamaterials
The refractive index, n, of a medium is defined as the ratio of the
speed, c, of a wave phenomenon such as light or sound in a reference
medium to the phase speed, vp, of the wave in the medium in question:

It is most commonly used in the context of light with vacuum as a

reference medium, although historically other reference media (e.g. air
at a standardized pressure and temperature) have been common. It is
usually given the symbol n. In the case of light, it equals

The refractive index or index of refraction of a substance is a

measure of the speed of light in that substance. It is expressed as a
ratio of the speed of light in vacuum relative to that in the considered
medium.[note 1] The velocity at which light travels in vacuum is a
physical constant, and the fastest speed at which energy or
information can be transferred. However, light travels slower through
any given material, or medium, that is not vacuum.

Optical fiber

All substances used in the construction of devices or instruments whose

function is to alter or control electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet,
visible, or infrared spectral regions. Optical materials are fabricated into
optical elements such as lenses, mirrors, windows, prisms, polarizers,
detectors, and modulators. These materials serve to refract, reflect,
transmit, disperse, polarize, detect, and transform light. The term “light”
refers here not only to visible light but also to radiation in the adjoining
ultraviolet and infrared spectral regions. At the microscopic level, atoms
and their electronic configurations in the material interact with the
electromagnetic radiation (photons) to determine the material's
macroscopic optical properties such as transmission and refraction.
These optical properties are functions of the wavelength of the incident
light, the temperature of the material, the applied pressure on the
material, and in certain instances the external electric and magnetic
fields applied to the material. See Atomic structure and spectra,
Dispersion (radiation), Electromagnetic radiation, Electrooptics, Infrared
radiation, Lens (optics), Light, Magnetooptics, Mirror optics, Optical
modulators, Optical prism, Polarized light, Reflection of electromagnetic
radiation, Refraction of waves, Ultraviolet radiation

There is a wide range of substances that are useful as optical materials.

Most optical elements are fabricated from glass, crystalline materials,
polymers, or plastic materials. In the choice of a material, the most
important properties are often the degree of transparency and the
refractive index, along with each property's spectral dependency. The
uniformity of the material, the strength and hardness, temperature limits,
hygroscopicity, chemical resistivity, and availability of suitable coatings
may also need to be considered.

Metamaterials are artificial materials engineered to have properties that

may not be found in nature. Metamaterials usually gain their properties
from structure rather than composition, using small inhomogeneities to
create effective macroscopic behavior.[1][2][3]

The primary research in metamaterials investigates materials with

negative refractive index.[4][5][6] Negative refractive index materials
appear to permit the creation of superlenses which can have a spatial
resolution below that of the wavelength. In other work, a form of
'invisibility' has been demonstrated at least over a narrow wave band
with gradient-index materials. Although the first metamaterials were
electromagnetic,[4] acoustic and seismic metamaterials are also areas of
active research.[7][8]

Potential applications of metamaterials are diverse and include remote

aerospace applications, sensor detection and infrastructure
monitoring, smart solar power management, public safety, radomes,
 high-frequency battlefield communication and lenses for high-gain
antennas, improving ultrasonic sensors, and even shielding structures
from earthquakes.

Factors of Stealth Technology

 The object can be shaped so that any radar signals it reflects are
reflected away from the radar equipment.
 The object can be covered in materials that absorb radar signals.

Shape of any object

Most conventional aircraft have a rounded shape. This shape makes
them aerodynamic, but it also creates a very efficient radar reflector. The
round shape means that no matter where the radar signal hits the plane,
some of the signal gets reflected back:

A stealth aircraft, on the other hand, is made up of completely flat

surfaces and very sharp edges. When a radar signal hits a stealth plane,
the signal reflects away at an angle, like this:
In addition, surfaces on a stealth aircraft can be treated so they absorb
radar energy as well. The overall result is that a stealth aircraft like an
F-117A can have the radar signature of a small bird rather than an
airplane. The only exception is when the plane banks -- there will often
be a moment when one of the panels of the plane will perfectly reflect a
burst of radar energy back to the antenna.
ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATIONS

The benefits of stealth apply not only to platforms but to a lot of

weapons as well. Anti-surface munitions like the JSOW, JASSM,
Apache/SCALP/Storm Shadow, Taurus/KEPD and many others are
specifically shaped and treated to minimize their radar and IR signatures.
This has two useful payoffs: On the one hand, the weapon itself becomes
less vulnerable to enemy defensive systems, which means that fewer of
the weapons launched will be shot down before reaching their target(s).
This in turn means that fewer weapons and their parent platforms need
to be allocated to any given mission, and finally the end result is that a
greater number of targets can be confidently engaged with a given force.
The other benefit is the advantage of surprise and its effect in cases
where shrinking the enemyâ„¢s available reaction time is of the essence.
A good example of such a situation is a typical OCA strike against an
airfield. If non-stealthy strike aircraft or stand-off weapons are used, it is
quite likely that they will be detected far enough out that the enemy will
have some time available (even just 4-5 mins will do) to gets many of
his ready-to-fly aircraft in the air and fly them somewhere else to
preserve them. If the aircraft being flushed include armed hot-pad alert
fighters (a common protective measure) these can immediately and
actively contribute to the baseâ„¢s defence against the incoming attack.
Contrast this with a situation where, as a result of using stealthy

weapons and/or platforms, the base is caught virtually napping and the
attack is detected so perilously close that the enemy Has no time to get
anything in the air but instead can only rely on his ground-based
terminal defences. This can mean the difference between the base
suffering little or no damage and being virtually obliterated

Disadvantage of stealth technology :

Stealth technology has its own disadvantages like other technologies.

Stealth aircraft cannot fly as fast or is not maneuverable like
conventional aircraft.
The F-22 and the aircraft of its category proved this wrong up to an
extent. Though the F-22 may be fast or maneuverable or fast, it can't go
beyond Mach 2 and cannot make turns like the Su-37.

Another serious disadvantage with the stealth aircraft is the reduced

amount of payload it can carry. As most of the payload is carried
internally in a stealth aircraft to reduce the radar signature, weapons can
only occupy a less amount of space internally. On the other hand a
conventional aircraft can carry much more payload than any stealth
aircraft of its class.
Whatever may be the disadvantage a stealth aircraft can have, the
biggest of all disadvantages that it faces is its sheer cost.
Stealth aircraft literally costs its weight in gold.
Fighters in service and in development for the USAF like the B-2 ($2
billion), F-117 ($70 million) and the F-22 ($100 million) are the costliest
planes in the world.
After the cold war, the number of B-2 bombers was reduced sharply
because of its staggering price tag and maintenance charges. There is a
possible solution for this problem. In the recent past the Russian design
firms Sukhoi and Mikhoyan Gurevich (MiG) have developed fighters
which will have a price tag similar to that of the Su-30MKI. This can be
a positive step to make stealth technology affordable for third world
countries.

is clearly the future of air combat. In the future, as air defense systems
grow more accurate and deadly, stealth technology can be a factor for a
decisive by a country over the other. In the future, stealth technology
will not only be incorporated in fighters and bombers but also in ships,
helicopters, tanks and transport planes. Ever since the Wright brothers
flew the first powered .

Future of stealth technology

 Stealth technology is clearly the future of air combat.
  In the future, as air defense systems grow more accurate and
deadly, stealth technology will not only be incorporated in
fighters and bombers but also in ships, helicopters, tanks and
transport planes.
 Stealth technology is just one of the advancements that we
have seen.In due course of time we can see many
improvements in the field of military aviation which would
one-day even make stealth technology obsolete.

CONCLUSION
 Well to conclude the current scenario appears some things similar
to the cold war both sides are accumulating weapons to counter
each other and each side can be termed as “stealth technology” and
the other as “anti-stealth technology”.
 An advance in one fields , such as materials or aerodynamics,
must be accomplished by advances in other fields , such as
computing or electromagnetic theory.
 Stealth teaches the lesson that technology is never static – a
”stealth breakthrough” may only last for few years before an
adversary finds a means of countering it.