Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!exodus!appserv!sun!amdcad!amdcad!military From: greg@sif.claremont.edu (Tigger) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: How effective was the Stealth fighter? Message-ID: <1991Apr16.041430.27917@amd.com> Date: 13 Apr 91 00:32:14 GMT References: <1991Apr9.025945.1283@amd.com> <1991Apr11.033856.5300@amd.com> <1991Apr12.055301.14403@amd.com> Sender: military@amd.com Organization: Pomona College Lines: 25 Approved: military@amd.com From: Tigger In article <1991Apr12.055301.14403@amd.com>, prentice%triton.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu (John Prentice) writes: > It is possible that Stealth also showed up on the Iraqi > radar (it has been suggested that it is less valuable against less > sophisticated radar. There are some basic physical principals for example > that say it shouldn't work that well against longer wavelength radar. > None of those sleek shapes and abrupt corners matter much against long > wavelength radar.) and there were other reasons that the Iraqi's were > unable to knock these aircraft out. It is my understanding (though I am far from being an expert) that long wavelength radar (such as weather radar) is indeed capable of detecting a stealth aircraft. However, long wavelength radar is not capable of pinpointing an aircraft (stealth or otherwise) well enough to guide a weapon (such as a SAM) to the target. Knowing that an F-117A is somewhere in a region the size of a respectable cloud just doesn't seem useful unless you're shooting nukes, especially when the target is moving at near-supersonic speed... -- Greg Orman greg@pomona.claremont.edu