Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Next Revolution - Anti Stealth Technology

Anyone who has an idea about stealth technology would marvel at its capabilities, and most of the world considers them to be a "game changer" in an actual battlefield scenario.
       This is true, if , and only if , detection methods don`t evolve.. and it is already evolving, but maybe not gaining media glare `cos of the undulating hype surrounding stealth. Anti -Stealth technology is fast becoming a reality , thanks to some ingenious thinkers who refuse to accept the "Stealth is God" school of thought.

 In fact, most of the current anti-stealth detection theories are not based on hi-fi sci-tech concepts but on crude, and dangerously practical ,scientific common sense. Yes, stealth vehicles can be detected. , if present estimates are to go by.

How it is done :-

The most astonishingly "simple" method which I`v seen is by using Radio telescopes - those astronomical instruments which scientists have used for decades to observe the star and constellation activities , now in  catching Stealth Aircraft !!! Here is how:

1) Radio telescopes and radars don`t emit waves on their own, but receive radio signals from stars.All stars emit radio signals, and the radar receives all of them. 
All astronomical agencies have a definitive " Star map" of a region, which shows the actual number of stars whose radio waves are received by the radars, and their respective intensities ( based upon the star`s distance from earth)

2)  Any "obstruction" or "barrier" in the sky between the radar and the stars would result in a definite loss of signal strength or quality  being received by the radar base station.

3) Hope you got the trick :-). Now, in the event of a stealth plane in the skies, it would absorb the radio waves by default, which would prevent the star radio signals reaching the radar.

4) The radar computer shows a loss in signal , pinpointing the location - the "void"  in the sky from where signal loss is detected
And that "void", is nothing but our flying stealth beauty :-).
         Once this is done, computers are smart enough to calculate the distance,speed and shape of the plane.There are ideas on equipping these bases with SAMs ( Surface-to-Air Missiles) to send it to oblivion :-P.

On second thoughts,
It may take time to this plan to be foolproof since the star map has to be accurate enough , lest there be false alerts. 
Also, this requires really sensitive and high aperture radio telescopes, coupled with some really fast computers.This is a challenge, but will be overcome in the near future.

Anti-Stealth radars do exist at present ( Widely rumored to be the Russian Tamara radar), but any information on them is highly regulated,which makes the average non-military observer difficult to comment on its actual capabilities. 
A US Airforce Stealth F-117A was shot down in Kosovo a few years back , apparently after being "detected" after it flew in the rain.... making it radar-visible.

Various theories abound, but none confirmed yet. The shroud of secrecy over the actual efficacy of stealth is also a pending issue.
But anyhow,once the global wide-eyed admiration for Stealth comes to normal, Anti-Stealth will come to light.
Till then, speculation rules the roost.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Genial!

Anonymous said...

"The radar computer shows a loss in signal , pinpointing the location - the "void" in the sky from where signal loss is detected"...yes it does but stealth skin as found in fighter like the F-22 divert the emitter's signal away from the receiver rendering the radar clueless about the position of the stealth aircraft.

Unknown said...

I'm sure many others will find it interesting because it's about a widely discussed topic.
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