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Detecting Stealth Planes

Zurk writes " Newsweek said China's new Passive Coherent Location (PCL) system tracked the signals of civilian radio and television broadcasts and picked up aircraft by analysing the minute turbulence their flight caused in the commercial wavelengths. cool huh ? " They hope to use it to detect the F-117A and potentially the F-22. Very cool use of technology to fix a problem.

409 comments

  1. heh .... technology always wins ..... by taniwha · · Score: 2

    now they'll have to go back to building wooden planes ....

    1. Re:heh .... technology always wins ..... by Tau+Zero · · Score: 3
      now they'll have to go back to building wooden planes ....
      Even that wouldn't work, because the technology appears to operate by detecting the disturbances in the air left by the airplane. Metal, wood, aerogel... the construction materials wouldn't make any difference.

      On the other hand, the fact that this technology can only detect the disturbance in the air opens possibilities. Decoys look just the same as real aircraft to the turbulence detectors, and if they're cheaper than AA missiles you can make it too expensive to shoot at things. Another possibility is transmitter technology which can fake the signature of turbulence trails, causing the enemy to "see" aircraft which aren't there. As long as you make them overlook the ones that are there, it doesn't matter much does it?

      This also has counter-counter-offensive possibilities for cruise missiles. Cruise missiles are hard to see because they're so small and fly low, but the effects they have on broadcast-band radiation can be seen nonetheless. On the other hand, using the same radiation signatures any aircraft scrambled to intercept the missile can be detected by the offense and the missile signalled to evade them. Missiles (or decoys) which get shot down mark the locations of AA guns which can be avoided by the rest. It's all one big game of one-upmanship, and since the USA already has a system like this proposed for air traffic control (talk about civilian conversion of military technologies!), you can bet that our side has some way to deal with the military issues already under development.
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    2. Re:heh .... technology always wins ..... by taniwha · · Score: 1

      yeah I realised I'd stuck my foot in my mouth after I'd posted - I wish slashdot let you moderate your own stuff down :-)

    3. Re:heh .... technology always wins ..... by Perrin-GoldenEyes · · Score: 1

      Just in response to the bit about making them waste SAM's on drones:

      It is a really cool idea, and it made me laugh out loud, but I think there's a fairly significant problem. They'll presumably be using radar too. Now radar will be able to identify the thing in the same ways that it can with current tech and tactics. It won't really look like a real plane on radar. Of course, you could use stealth technology to make your drones, but something tells me that would end up being a good bit more expensive than a SAM.

      I don't know all the technical details, so this is mostly speculation, but it does seem to make sense.

      Cheers,
      Perrin.

      --
      -Perrin.
      Now I want you to go in that bag and find my lightsaber. It's the one that says bad mother-fscker on it.
    4. Re:heh .... technology always wins ..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kinda funny that some dumbshit moderator moderated it up. Goes to show you that any well formatted and written post will go up no matter how factually incorrect. (This is a jab at the moderator, not you).

    5. Re:heh .... technology always wins ..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thing is...let's suppose they're able to spot the F22, F117As and B2s then, let's say they make the decoys, part of the idea of building these aircfts is to deliver a punch to the enemy without them knowing what hit them and/or that the punch was coming. As soon as this device or their radars detect something you can bet an alert craft will take off somewhere to intercept. Maybe they wont be able to lock on the aircrafts or even track them at all, but it sure could work as an Early Warning of what is coming... which is bad news to any attack force. Stealth is not only good to avoid losses and making the enemy fight blind...it is to avoid detection on ingress so they catch the enemy hands down...nothing like delivering GBUs and then being 20 miles out at the moment AAA starts firing...tracer fire looks cool from the distance.

    6. Re:heh .... technology always wins ..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The tech. is not new I remember reading about it first about 15 yr's ago in a publication called Analog. In a nutshell, the area above our heads (air or not) is bathed in a cacaphony of radio signals,from all directions,all frequencies all amplitudes, all phases. The resulting undisturbed standing wave pattern can be compared to the pattern resulting from moving material that can interact eletromagneticly.The problem has been the processing power to analyse and separate out significant anomolous signals, amongst all the noise.Imagine tracking the movement of a small boat across a pond by getting a huge group of people to stand around the edges, tossing in stones while you analyse the combination of resulting ripples. In other words it's good for sensing intrusion but not tracking for AA targeting.

  2. OH NO by I+Hate+Myself · · Score: 2

    But, America can't start pointless wars without having a tremendously unfair technological advantage! This ain't right! Oh and if you think this will piss the Pentagon off, it won't. Those guys are in the business of constantly building new weapons of war. This and things like this will only strengthen their case to allocate more funds for defense.

    1. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is a companion article to this.

      The NSA is whining that if it doesn't completely overhaul its ways of spying, it and us will be blind in ten years. No more bombing Chinese embassies because we know they're relaying radio transmissions for the nasties.

      Seems the bad guys the world over have learned how to use encryption and the fiber optic tech we sold to them. Even NKorea has a spook proof telly switching system. It's too bad we can never know just how much grief PGP gives them.

      Either that, or the NSA is just angling for more money. Hard to tell these days.

    2. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're right. Americans are so stupid that they think having their own people die in wars is a bad thing.

      Grow up! As long as there is warfare going on, America had better do something to protect it's interests (what it's interests are is obviously debatable). Do you think war is fair? If you're a pacifist that's fine but it not, how can you ever justify a limited war when someone as powerful as China can easily invade and overpower the US entirely with ground troops? The US may have technology but China has technology and plenty of manpower to back it up. If there is any serious threat to the US, you'd be lying to yourself if you didn't realize it is China.

      As for terrorism being a threat? Sure they'll be annoying but terrorist groups will never be able to destroy the US. They may weaken the US but tell me, who do you think will invade?

    3. Re:OH NO by Subculture · · Score: 1

      "but tell me, who do you think will invade?"

      Does it really matter who invades? honestly? If someone did invade you wouldn't only have the national guard but you would also have citizens with hunting/assult weapons attaching The ground troops. Also inorder to invade you need to have an extremely strong navy and from what I understand china doesn't have the navy that we have. So for now I think were safe.

      If you really want to know who is more powerful check out Janes I'm sure they have their listings.

      cheers,
      Mike

    4. Re:OH NO by Pointman · · Score: 1

      Technology that can be used against ones own country isn't cool. At the same time, technology cannot solely fight the war (or police action). The US relies too much on the technological marvels of warfare that they have created and in the meantime have cut troop numbers, falling readiness states and poor training of what troops there are. We won't even go into moral issues...

      It won't matter if they can detect the planes, anyway. They're scavenging good aircraft just to get spare parts now... there may not be many good aircraft for the next engagement.

      --
      Smith & Wesson: The original Point-and-Click interface.
    5. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The US has by far the most advanced airforce & navy, even the west-european NATO-partners cant hold up with them. China is building tanks which were constructed in th 50ies, their planes suck either, compared with the us-airforce(well, every Airforce sucks compared with the us). It is ABSOLUTLY unthinkable that china could invade the USA, i guess they wouldnt even leave the harbor. Nobody(including europe) can seriously challange the us-navy. The only realistic danger for the us is their thermo-nuclear arsenal, theres absolutly no change to win a conventional war. BTW, im not from US as you might think after this paise, und i do think some of their wars suckt A LOT.

    6. Re:OH NO by Surak · · Score: 1

      Those guys are in the business of constantly building new weapons of war.

      Exactly. Which is why the Pentagon has probably already figured out a way to combat this "new" threat. (If they have they wouldn't tell us :)


      This and things like this will only strengthen their case to allocate more funds for defense.

      What's wrong with that? As an American and a conservative, I favor strong military spending. Its what has kept the US strong and what has kept other nations from messing with us.

      Personally, I fear the deep cuts in military spending made by the Clinton administration. Those cuts are what has made the U.S. military look like complete fools in Bosnia ... the constant bungling is a direct effect of these cuts (inadequate training, faulty equipment, etc.)

    7. Re:OH NO by znu · · Score: 1

      Oh, come on. Our defense spending is out of hand considering the fraction of the population that doesn't have health care or even sufficient food. The development of this possible stealth detection technology as bad; it means now we're going to spend gobs more money figuring out how to hide from it.

      And anyway, China isn't the real threat at all. A large military does nothing against the only real threat to the US these days, terrorism. One of the reasons we're a terrorist target is because of our powerful military, and the way we use it to enforce out interests.

      --

      --
      This space unintentionally left unblank.
    8. Re:OH NO by Sarv · · Score: 1

      Well now, you can't simply say that its unthinkable. There are a couple of buzzwords will put in here: Tactics and Urban Warfare.

      Now, realistically, I don't think China's gonna go to war with the US anytime soon. Why? Yes, they're a communist state, but the relations between their state and ours is fairly stable. I'm not completely up on my current events, but I'd say I'm pretty close to the "right" on that.

      Ok, getting into tactics and urban warfare.. Its not inconceivable that they would attack us. The movie "Red Dawn" was a great example of how they could invade the US...by going through Communist Cuba. It'd be difficult to keep it undercover until the last moment, and then, keeping the transportation of troops up over the largest ocean on the planet would not be easy.

      If China was going to go to war, it'd be with some state closer to them (India or Tibet). But the days of Hitler and geographical expansion are pretty much over. We have very few "powerful" states that are part of the "Frustration/Agression Theory" (in which the people of the state are dissatisfied and would gladly go to war), nor are any of the states "dissatisfied." After WWII, Germany should've been the most dissatisfied. Do you see Germany ready to go to war today? No, their state is strong.

      So really, I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just saying that if you go out and tell us that there is no way the Chinese will attack, I believe that the debate would go on for a long time.

      Good day to you all.

    9. Re:OH NO by Skinka · · Score: 2
      China can easily invade and overpower the US entirely with ground troops

      Not. China has manpower, but you are overlooking the fact that China is on a whole other continent than the US.. There is litle pond called the Pacific Ocean between the two continents, and crossing that would be damn hard. Try to fly and you will get shot down. Most ships would be sank by mines, submarines and planes. Preparing a large scale invasion will take several months, so it is not like they can suprise you. And even if the Chinese army was somehow able to get foothold in the US, they could never hold it because even a 10 million man army is no match to 70 million angry, armed civilians who are protecting their homes. But of cource, this question is totally academic as China would never even consider attacking, as long as the US still has nuclear weapons.

      I don't think Americans are stupid, but if there is one thing I don't understand about you people, it is the paranoia that everyone is out to get you. "We are the best and most influential nation, so everyone wants us dead", "Every person who is not a US citisen is a potential enemy", "The Amerincan way of life/American dream/American whatever is at dander", and so forth... I guess it's the legacy of cold war or something..

      Getting really offtopic here..

    10. Re:OH NO by Surak · · Score: 2

      Not. China has manpower, but you are overlooking the fact that China is on a whole other continent than the US.. There is litle pond called the Pacific Ocean between the two continents, and crossing that would be damn hard.

      Assuming China still has good relations with Russia, and they could work out some sort of deal, they could send ground troops across the Bering Strait. I'm sure Canadian ground troops wouldn't stand a chance.

    11. Re:OH NO by Maurice · · Score: 1

      IIRC the Roman empire was the only superpower in its time and probably the only country worth counting and still it fell to a few thousand barbarian horsemen.

    12. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and at first sight of this we would bomb the bering straight. if not with convensional weapons to make it impassible, then with nuclear weapons to make it really impassible.

    13. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As an American and a conservative..

      I already hate you.

    14. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Chinese embassy was bombed on purpose. The Chinese embassy was supplying intel to the Serbs. The US had the convenient excuse that their maps were outdated.

    15. Re:OH NO by Field+Marshall+Stack · · Score: 1

      Anyway, classically superpowers don't invade each other, but rather scrap it out for ownership of colonies (or the equivalent thereof). The thing we've got to be concerned about IRT China is them invading Taiwan...which would suck...oh well. You know, if I was China I'd invade Taiwan without a thought, just cause invading stuff seems like it'd be pretty fun.
      --
      "HORSE."

      --
      "HORSE."
      -Flaming Carrot
    16. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So? What's your point? Do I care if you hate some guy who actually believes in the principles that made the US a great country? That's nice.. go have fun... just don't bother us while we try to defend your right to say whatever you want.

    17. Re:OH NO by Perrin-GoldenEyes · · Score: 1

      "Assuming China still has good relations with Russia..."

      Ahhhahahahahahahaha!!! ROFL. Those people hate each other. Durring the cold war the US had nukes targeted on the Soviet forces on the Chinese border because we knew that having those troops destroyed would scare the piss out of the Soviets. They thought that if their troops were no longer guarding that border then the Chinese would come swarming across and take their whold country.

      I apologize if I sound mocking, but this really did give me a good laugh. Just the idea of the Chinese and the Russians working together really is pretty funny.

      Cheers,
      Perrin.

      --
      -Perrin.
      Now I want you to go in that bag and find my lightsaber. It's the one that says bad mother-fscker on it.
    18. Re:OH NO by Malacai[GDI] · · Score: 1

      And who told you this? AC.

    19. Re:OH NO by elflord · · Score: 1
      As for terrorism being a threat? Sure they'll be annoying but terrorist groups will never be able to destroy the US.

      They could certainly do an enormous amount of damage if they got hold of the right weapons ( eg nuclear )

    20. Re:OH NO by Perrin-GoldenEyes · · Score: 1

      Mmmm...ignorance at its best. I'm very conservative in some ways and very liberal in others. I could meet somebody who was exactly my opposite, and I certainly wouldn't say I hated them. I would have to base that on their personality and the way they treated other people.

      "Any man who judges by the group is a peawit. You take men one at a time." -Michael Shaara




      Cheers,
      Perrin.

      --
      -Perrin.
      Now I want you to go in that bag and find my lightsaber. It's the one that says bad mother-fscker on it.
    21. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Think about it. 1. Infeasability. China can barely even feed its civilians, let alone feed and muster an real army. 2. More Infeasiblity. Do you really think that they could get across the pacific or canada without us noticing? 3. 2nd Amendment to the constitution... once the poor saps got on the group, can we say "Drive By"... think of the british troops during the American revolution that had to contend with every farmer having a musket. Though not a trained soldier, the british found it mighty hard to walk down the street without getting shot at. The mere fact that 280M civilians hold ~300M firearms, makes america a standing army in its own right. Yeah, they'd kill alot of us, but we'd make it real hard from them to get anything or get anywhere without major amounts of harrassment. 4. Viability. If the chinese army could actually "win" in any sense of the word, how would they hold this place. Yeah great, you've dumped half your troops getting this place but now you've got europe all pissed at you and allying against you, now russia who hates you anyway bombing the shit out of your homeland and every two bit shithead who thinks he's cool with a bomber trying to take over, ... yeah right... not to mention the whole american population using their personal firearms to screw things up left and right. nutshell: America is a really big place with lots of resources at its deposable. Attacking us would be stupid and short sighted.

    22. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's common knowledge for people who acquire their information from sources other than CNN and MSNBC. You can believe everything the traditional media dispenses if you want to. Like they say, ignorance is bliss.

    23. Re:OH NO by Pointman · · Score: 2

      I must have missed the health care section of the Constitution.

      Our current troops are over committed, ill trained, and ill-equipped. What I said about aircraft parts is true enough, and I've likely understated the situation.

      True about terrorism. Of course I don't agree with the way our Military is /has been/ used, either. I would not even say that we use it to enforce our /the peoples/ "interests" but more the "agenda" of (UN sympathetic / NWO) administrations.

      Along that vein, the US has done more to secure the foothold of Communism in this century than Stalin. We've opposed anti-communisism as an ideal. We've sent huge amounts of money to countries that don't have our good will at heart. We've proped up inhumane gov'ts. And where we didn't outright support the "agririan reformers" we thwarted their adversaries or treated them so badly the Communists looked like heros.

      Terrorism is a tricky issue. It is difficult to implement the steps needed to interdict terrorist activity without trampling the Constitution under jack-boots. At the same time, the US has sponsored its fair share of "terrorist" type black ops. There is a vengeful desire in some parts of the world that isn't entirely unjustified.

      As for China, I don't forsee a full invasion. But they have entangled their tentacles way too far into the US. While we toute civil rights here, we're one of the largest (if not the largest) consumer of Chinese goods. We lease them our ports (displacing US Marines), we let them land the management leases of the locks at each end of the Panama Canal. Let them (illegally) contribute to our political processes... What's that saying about not buying the cow when you can get the milk for free?

      --
      Smith & Wesson: The original Point-and-Click interface.
    24. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Have a look at this paper from Stratfor.com...now I only know what I read in the media (sad, I know) but the times, they are a-changin'. If the USA and Soviet Union can ally together against the Germans, the Russians and Chinese can certainly oppose America together.

      Wasn't this thread about a new way to track aircraft :) ?

    25. Re:OH NO by Pointman · · Score: 1

      That may be how it's supposed to be. But we've been legislated out of our miliary type arms, the only arms actually protected by the 2nd Amendment according to the US Supreme Court ruling. (US vs Smith: short barreled shotguns are not protected under the Constitution in that the defendant did not show evidence that such a weapon is of significance as a military weapon)

      Don't forget that Kennedy signed a disarmament treaty that includes the disarmament of the civilian population. Treaties carry the force of law. They're just trying to do it quitely since they'd had a major revolution on their hands if they'd tried it in the 60's.

      And the National Guard troops are effectively under Fed control. (Army-National Guard?) Which has been demonstrated to be all but a UN puppet anyway.

      Plus, the Chinese, via a Gov't owned shipping company, has leased a (former) military port in Long Beach, California. They could conceivably hide a lot of troops and/or logistical support that way considering they don't have to clear with US Customs until their shipments actually leave their port area. Not likely, but something to think about.

      In the meantime, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

      --
      Smith & Wesson: The original Point-and-Click interface.
    26. Re:OH NO by Pointman · · Score: 1

      And the fact that moral decay, political corruption, bread-and-circus, et al
      had taken such a toll that no one really gave a rats ass. Sounds familiar...

      --
      Smith & Wesson: The original Point-and-Click interface.
    27. Re:OH NO by Pointman · · Score: 1

      Ah, but the Russians only evolved as a friendly after Hitler broke their Treaty. Remember that Russia/USSR helped Hitler take Poland...

      The outcome could have been mighty different if Hitler had abided by his Treaty and thus only had to wage war on their wester front with their backsides secured by the alliance.

      --
      Smith & Wesson: The original Point-and-Click interface.
    28. Re:OH NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't worry, we Alaskan's will protect them!

    29. Re:OH NO by Spruitje · · Score: 1

      Well, about that Chinese embassy.
      The US is a master in getting lost.
      In the Gulf war there was an army unit which made the mistake of being somewhere else than where they should be (the difference was something of 30 Km).
      Even GPS doesn't prevent human errors....
      Mvgr,
      Anson

    30. Re:OH NO by jsm2 · · Score: 1

      It was printed in the London Observer a couple of weeks ago, and I'm not aware of any official denial.

      jsm

    31. Re:OH NO by neko+the+frog · · Score: 1

      i believe we consider china a threat due to their posture towards taiwan, which we have considerable interest in. if and when north korea were to come down here to the south to rumble, i pretty much guarantee you that china is going to make a move on taiwan while we're distracted. and giving the way our (u.s.) military is spread out, we'd more than likely have to choose which one we would aid.

      --
      -- the opinions stated above aren't those of my employer. in fact, they're probably not even my own. you know what, ju
    32. Re:OH NO by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      Oh foolish AC. The US has 80 million armed citizens. Combined with our military it would take all 1.5 billion Chinese coming at once from every side to mount any type of serious offense.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  3. Cannot be jammed? by tilly · · Score: 3

    This technology appears to be picking up planes by looking at the turbulence that they leave behind.

    Why can't a series of unmanned rockets leaving turbulence all around jam this?

    Another issue: if you are following the trail, how good is your fix on its current location? If it was in straight-line flight, OK. But if it was in defensive maneuvers?

    Hmmm...how well does it work in different weather conditions?

    There are a lot of questions here. Sure it is a cute step, but this is not the final solution and the race will continue.

    Cheers,
    Ben

    --
    My usual seat in the cluetrain is at A HREF="http://pub4.ezboard.com/biwethey.ht
    1. Re:Cannot be jammed? by treat · · Score: 2
      Why can't a series of unmanned rockets leaving turbulence all around jam this?

      This would probably work against any kind of aircraft detection. There's a few problems with it that I can see. The enemy knows that something is out there, even if they don't know which target is the real one. They may then be able to determine which is the real target by its size. The unmanned rockets have to be computer-controlled to fly around in a reasonable manner so they're not obviously decoys. If they only travel in a straight line at a constant speed, and the enemy can determine their speed, position, and trajectory, they can easily determine where they were fired from.

    2. Re:Cannot be jammed? by taniwha · · Score: 1

      well you could attack during a hurricane ... but these days US planes seem to need perfrect weather just in order to sneeze

    3. Re:Cannot be jammed? by Richard+Lamont · · Score: 1

      The article talks of ``minute turbulences'' in ``commercial wavelengths''. It's difficult to divine the precise meaning of this, but I suspect it is talking about the effect of radio reflections rather than some subtle atmospheric thing. All aircraft reflect broadcast signals - this is what causes the rapid `flutter fading' on distant FM stations, or makes the TV picture go wobbly when a military jet flies over your house at 250 ft. (Yes, they do that here in the UK!) Radar exploits these echoes. Most aircraft have curved surfaces which scatter reflected RF in all directions, so they can be detected easily. The planar surfaces of stealth aircraft are designed to produce specular (ray-like) reflections, which will probably point somewhere other than the radar site. It may be that the Chinese are hoping that if a stealth plane is illuminated by a very large number of broadcast transmitter sites, the probability of getting a specular reflection to point at a given receiver site is increased in proportion to the number of such transmitters.

    4. Re:Cannot be jammed? by Eraser_ · · Score: 1

      Woohoo, i could finally dust off the ole' catapult and hurl large rocks long distances through the air, maybe my trusty canon? then they would be nice and hot as to leave a heat signiture, really through them off.

    5. Re:Cannot be jammed? by drix · · Score: 2

      Sure it is a cute step, but this is not the final solution and the race will continue.

      Exactly. If this were anything more than glorified theory, you wouldn't be reading about it on Newsweek, of all places. The US didn't exactly run around trumpeting its sucesses to Time in the field of stealth technology when it was discovered decades ago. :)
      --
      "Some people say that I proved if you get a C average, you can end up being successful in life."

      --

      I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
    6. Re:Cannot be jammed? by Apuleius · · Score: 2
      To answer your question:
      Newsweek said China's new Passive Coherent Location (PCL) system tracked the signals of civilian radio and television broadcasts and picked up aircraft by analysing the minute turbulence their flight caused in the commercial wavelengths.


      Okay, so you broadcast noise at those
      wavelenghs in the region in question.
      If that doesn't drown out the effect of
      the planes flying around, then I'm an emu.

      This is of course, assuming that Newsweek did their homework , which may likely be an incorrect assumption. (Newsweek fscking up a tech story? Nah...)
    7. Re:Cannot be jammed? by leshert · · Score: 1


      This technology appears to be picking up planes by looking at the turbulence that they leave behind.

      Why can't a series of unmanned rockets leaving turbulence all around jam this?


      Because one of the major roles of the F117 is to fly missions in which you don't want the threat to know you're there in the first place.

      "Gee, sir, the airspace is thick with decoy rockets! You think there's an American stealth aircraft overhead shooting recon?"

      "Hmm... must be a drill."

  4. Stealth planes propaganda? by rm-r · · Score: 1

    Considering a lot of people consider stealth technology to be nothing but propaganda this could mean very little. The F117a is only undectectable when flying slowly at altitudes of less than 100m. True it has a smaller radar signature than other planes, but it still has one and that is what matters. If the plane flies below the radar though (100m) no amount of stealth technology will help or hinder it. The USAF just has a funny looking plane so that it can tell you the boys will be safe when they go to bomb some serbian villagers.

    --

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    1. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by reptilian · · Score: 1
      The F117a has a radar cross-section the size of a large bird. The B2 has a radar cross-section the size of a bumble bee. Radar reflects from a surface at very predictable angles. Years ago, the government got its hands on a paper from a russian scientist on how radar reflects, and was able to design its planes so that most all radar would reflect away from the source. Flying under the radar helps, to be sure, but I doubt you could hit a bumble bee with a stinger no matter how hard you tried.

      As an aside, the F117a was designed with minimal help from computers, which is why it's mostly flat surfaces. The B2, all the calculations were aided with powerful computer technology, allowing the designers to create a plane with not a single flat surface. It also gave them more room to play with aerodynamics, making it also more stable in flight than the F117.

      Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.

      --

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    2. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Tau+Zero · · Score: 1
      ... I doubt you could hit a bumble bee with a stinger no matter how hard you tried.
      I assume you mean a Stinger, not a stinger. ;-)

      A Stinger won't guide to a bumblebee, not because the bumblebee is so small, but because it's barely warmer than the air. Stingers are infrared-guided missiles, not radar. If you heated the bumblebee up to red heat, you could probably hit it with a Stinger.
      --
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      --
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    3. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, what propaganda did you read to get this garbage? Do you think the F-117a doesn't work or are you just pissed that you don't understand basic electromagnetic wave propagation theory that explains how materials reflect waves? If you did understand you'd realize that it doesn't matter so much that it isn't 100% undetectable. It only matters that it is harder to detect on radar. That is the advantage the USAF wants.

      BTW cite your reference for 100m.

    4. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes it does have a radar signature. its about the size of a gnat. and i dont think those 16 f117as were flying under 100m when the bombed bhagdad without being detected.

    5. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by rm-r · · Score: 1

      As mentioned elsewhere in this discussion, missile have been known to lock onto B2s

      --

      J-aims
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      Yo, whatever happened to peas? Join T( H)GS
    6. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Risking to look ignorant I would like to question whether Stinger is actually "infrared-guided", you said it's HEAT-guided, I always thought Infrared and Heat are not too same things. Please correct if I am wrong.

    7. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Tau+Zero · · Score: 2

      Infrared radiation and "radiant heat" are the same thing, if that's what you were wondering. (I could go into hand-waving about the characteristics of infrared radiation, but that's not really germaine to the passive Chinese aircraft detection technology or its countermeasures.)
      --
      Advertisers: If you attach cookies to your banner ads,

      --
      Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
    8. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      "Years ago, the government got its hands on a paper from a russian scientist on how radar reflects"

      What have you been smoking? The Brits obviously knew "how radar reflects" when they invented radar. The U.S. has done radar cross section studies of airplanes for decades. Perhaps we got salient information on Russian targeting radars that helped us, but nothing as basic as "how radar reflects".

    9. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There was a book written by a Russian scientist that had some theory that was used in the stealth program. It was not classified or anything, it was just some EM theory. So it wasn't as basic as how EM radiation reflects but it did have alot of insight that was useful to the stealth program.

    10. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by reptilian · · Score: 1
      oops, i didn't realize that (the irony or the tracking-mode). my mistake, but my point is made.

      Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.

      --

      72656B636148206C72655020726568746F6E41207473754A

    11. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? by Village+Idiot · · Score: 1

      Ive only ever seen one account of this and that was at Farnborough about 2 years ago. The USAF claimed that the reason the British(i think its a british company which makes the Rapier, correct me if im wrong) company involved was able to was because they knew the exact flightpath the aircraft would follow and hence were able to set the radar up so the chance of detection was favourable.
      If you know anything about other instances it would be interesting to hear.

  5. detector detector by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anything that receives a radio signal decreases the signals strength ever so slightly around the area it was received in. How about a radio receiver detector and radio receiver detector detectors, ad infinitum.

    1. Re:detector detector by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's like a packet sniffer sniffer buster, right?

  6. Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitters by sahai · · Score: 1

    Hmmm... If it is possible to do this with only commercial broadcasts, does it mean that this technology might be within the reach of hobbyists?

    Anyone know if this requires extremely sensitive and expensive antennas? Or is the hard problem really one of extracting the "signal" from the noise. It seems to be the latter on the face of it. The idea seems to be to study the patterns in what would ordinarily be considered noise to localize atmospheric disturbances.

    Could we really have a GNUAircraftTracker running a-la SETI@Home?

  7. Hard to hide a plane, it is by Oestergaard · · Score: 3

    Of course you can detect a stealth plane. You can detect a stealth anything. It exists, therefore it interferes.

    I believe it's the Typhoon class submarines you can detect by listening for silence in the waters. The submarine is so ``stealthy'' that it's more silent than the water that surrounds it. Blammo!

    I would have thought that satellites would have been the first to be used to track stealth aircraft. If you track how the earth reflects a radio signal (radar), and then suddenly something breaks the usual reflection (a stealth plane will break the reflection, but it will not reflect much back itself) you know where to aim.

    Isn't it just fantastic what can be done with technology today ;)

    1. Re:Hard to hide a plane, it is by Subculture · · Score: 1

      I don't think it's the typhoon. the typhoon is huge and it is nuclear powered rather than desal (sp) powered. I don't think the largest sub in the world is more silent than the water around it.

      cheers,
      Mike

    2. Re:Hard to hide a plane, it is by chazR · · Score: 1

      The Typhoon is easy to detect (for a submarine). NATO put a lot of effort into Magnetic Anomoly Detection kit (airborne, mostly) that was able to detect Alphas (mostly titanium). Then the USSR launched the 12,000+ ton Typhoons (steel construction). The MAD guys in NATO were delighted.

    3. Re:Hard to hide a plane, it is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Close, but no cigar...

      It wasn't the Russian Typhoon, it was the American Ohio class that was supposed to be so quiet that the lack of noise gave it away. But I believe that the story is generally considered to be the military equivalent of an urban legend.

      -Dorsey
      http://www.pobox.com/~dorsey

    4. Re:Hard to hide a plane, it is by craw · · Score: 1
      For something to be more silent than it's surrounding environment means that it absorb energy, block noise from another source, or be surrounded by a sufficient number of noise sources. Without getting into details, this is not the case for the Typhoon.

      The Typhoon survives because of several reasons. One it is constructed to withstand punishment. Second, it operates in a friendly environment; under the Arctic icecap or close to protected Russian waters.

      Acoustic stealth for subs depends on several factors. For low frequencies that travel a long distance, this achieved by improvements in the sub's props. For high frequencies, this is achieved by isolating internal noise (power plant) from the radiating outer hull.

      If you want to play around with 1st principles, consider that underwater sound travels at 1500m/s. At 10 Hz, the wavelength is 150m, while at 1KHz, it is 1.5 m. Consider the receiving array size needs to be several wavelengths long in order to get any directional info. Additionally, most acoustic source need to be about the same magnitude in size as the transmitted signal.

    5. Re:Hard to hide a plane, it is by mpe · · Score: 1

      Of course you can detect a stealth plane. You can detect a stealth anything. It exists, therefore it interferes.

      An assumption made with stealth vehicles is that the receiver is near the transmitter. (As is the case in most RADAR systems.) Thus the design is such any reflection which takes place is intended to be nonretroflective. If the receiver is not with the transmitter the the resulting RCS could be considerably larger, hence detectable.

    6. Re:Hard to hide a plane, it is by Duds · · Score: 1

      Exactly, the british had asolutely no toruble tracking an F-117a when they flew one over in for an air show.

    7. Re:Hard to hide a plane, it is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps, but when a stealth plane is flying into a commercial area where the radar isn't military, the plane can make itself visible by exposing corner reflectors that are designed to reflect alot of radar energy back so that it is easily detected.

  8. Cool thing? by friedo · · Score: 0

    While this may be a cool technology, the fact that the Chinese are doing it is not cool at all. Think back to the cold war. Every time we came up with a new technology, the commies figured out how to circumvent it. Even if they couldn't invent an airplane to dogfight with a U2, they'd sure as hell fly a bunch of migs underneath it to block its camera's view of the ground. China, now the largest (iirc) communist nation, has launched space missions, is working hard on nuclear warfare, and can now possibly detect stealth technology. Another cold war? This is scary.

    1. Re:Cool thing? by Tarnar · · Score: 0

      And what's cooler? The US thinking they're all that and a bag of chips? Thinking that since they're light years ahead of all the other nations that they can act as an agressor, decide to start and stop wars?

      No, my friend, a little Cold War is better then the States slowly trying to own the world. Granted, a Cold War sucks, but I'd rather have them shooting off their mouths and not their missles. That's why it's a Cold war.

    2. Re:Cool thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look back and see the advantages of the Cold War. There would have never been a man on the moon without it !
      I hope the Chinese cold-war fears manage to put back some energy into the US space program.

    3. Re:Cool thing? by jlaporte · · Score: 1

      Just a not to everyone out there... not all of us Canadians are as foolish as this guy.

      I would suggest you think long and hard about the relative merits of the world we live in today vs. a world in which China outpaces the US as a world superpower. There is a reason Canada can have a huge undefended border with the US. Take a look at China's neighbours... an undefended border didn't turn out so well for Tibet. China routinely reiterates its threats to invade Taiwan.

      What about proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies? The US has been a strong advocate of non-proliferation (recent CTBT rejection notwithstanding) in these areas. Compare this to China's record on proliferation: They have provided aid to the weapons of mass detruction and/or missile programs of Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Africa, India, Argentina, Algeria, and North Korea.

      I really sorry that you are bothered so much by "the US thinking they're all that and a bag of chips", so much so that you believe you can rationalize a second Cold War on that basis. The reason you can voice your opinion on this forum from the comfort of a free country is not the 70,000+ underequipped Candaian troops stationed here, it's the security guarrantees from our friends in the US, from our benevolent juggernaut neighbour. Get your head checked boy.

    4. Re:Cool thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A Cold War is one step closer to a World War III that I hope never happens. So while you can sit up there in Canada and never worry about anyone invading you, being in the US I don't want anyone even thinking about attacking the US. Are you so jealous at the attention the US gets that you will advocate another cold war just so that they have an equal and opposing power? You had better go watch Saving Private Ryan or something. War sucks! By your email address you are almost certainly old enough to remember the cold war and even though you're not in the US, how could you even think about choosing a cold war over minor conflicts (that still occured during the cold war... ever hear of Korea? Viet Nam?)

    5. Re:Cool thing? by Tarnar · · Score: 1

      I have no intent of rationalizing another Cold War. I just find that given the alternatives, letting the US be the World Cop is not a good thing. Do I like China? Not in the slightest. They have an appaling Human Rights record, they are agressive, they proliferate arms around with world.. But what are you going to do about it if they figure out how to circumvent US Stealth technology? Not a lot.

      Also, as far as non-nuclear weapons go, the US spent a great deal of time and effort spreading arms around during the Cold War to deal with the 'Commie' threat. You can hardly make them Heros. I'd rather have someone else representing the Free World. There's a reason that there are Jihads declared on the USA, and they have nothing to do with jealousy of world power. They have to do with the US believing they can control the world.

      The way the US has led the UN by the hand in justifying their military action lately (or skipping the UN entirely) is not exactly a good thing. And the US will continue to be a semi-agressor, doing what they please in the world unless someone does something. Another superpower can keep them in check. A Cold War doesn't even have to be the outcome.

      And for the sake of reference, Canadian troops put American ones to shame for training. The US just has more and a way bigger toy-budget.

    6. Re:Cool thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank god for metamoderation. That's all I can say. Flamebait my ass, there's following, informative discussion. Moron Moderators.

    7. Re:Cool thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A little underachiever's jealously from our socialist friends up North? I know socialism and communism go hand in hand, but don't think China will let you skip out of your share of the work.

    8. Re:Cool thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, could you be any greener from envy? It's so obvious you wish you were in Canada.. The True North Strong and Free, no crypto laws, a non-cenorship approach to the Internet..

    9. Re:Cool thing? by friedo · · Score: 1
      The way the US has led the UN by the hand in justifying their military action lately (or skipping the UN entirely) is not exactly a good thing. And the US will continue to be a semi-agressor, doing what they please in the world unless someone does something. Another superpower can keep them in check. A Cold War doesn't even have to be the outcome.

      That's a pretty naive view of power and responsibility. Here's how it works. Communists are evil. There's no room for ethical relativism here, they're bad. As the most powerful nation in the Free World, the United States has the responsibility to prevent evil people from threatening the sanctity of democracy. This may sound a bit meglomaniacal to you, but it's true. If the US had remained complacent while the USSR put nuclear missiles in Cuba, for example, they very well might have won the Cold War. It was US apathy during the 20's and 30's that let World War II escalate to the level it did.

      Now I'll be the first to admit that the US has problems, and there are many things about its foreign policy with which I disagree. But I can think of no place I would rather live, and for that reason, I'll do my best to insure that the values with which this nation were founded are not destroyed by communists, terrorists, or holy wars.

    10. Re:Cool thing? by Dracula · · Score: 1

      and?

    11. Re:Cool thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Communists' aren't evil. Oppresive, dictorial governments are.

  9. and in the meantime by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It will now become close to impossible to defend Taiwan, South Korea, Kuwait, and Kosovo in the manner we are used to.

    Joy.

    1. Re:and in the meantime by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      US and the NATO did not defend Kossovo, they simply bombed the hell out of it. When the US feels the warm breath of another superpower (China, Russia, I couldn't care less) THEN we'll have a better world.

    2. Re:and in the meantime by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another nuclear arms race will make you feel better? Explain

  10. looking around... by sporty · · Score: 3

    well.. if they fly low enough, you could just hire some low paid marine to point and say, "Hey! There's a plane!"

    ---

    --

    -
    ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

    1. Re:looking around... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      don't laugh.

    2. Re:looking around... by sporty · · Score: 2

      why not? you don't find the idea of hiring someone to stand out on the feild looking for planes to be.. odd?

      ---

      --

      -
      ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

    3. Re:looking around... by drudd · · Score: 2

      Considering that system worked wonders for the RAF during WWII.

      Even with the increased speed of planes today, a decently well trained, well dispersed program of ground observation could be quite useful against stealthy aircraft.

      Doug

      --
      Venn ist das nurnstuck git und Slotermeyer? Ya! Beigerhund das oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
    4. Re:looking around... by sporty · · Score: 1
      I guess I made the joke out of ignorance.. but I had more the picture of little tatoo yelling, "look boss! the plane! the plane!"

      ever wondered how they never simply never radio'd in when they were near by.... then again.. maybe tatoo never really needed to know exactly when. *shrug*

      ---

      --

      -
      ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

    5. Re:looking around... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stealth planes only fly at night, Einstein. They're painted black for a reason...

    6. Re:looking around... by sporty · · Score: 1

      1. its a joke 2. anything flying low enough can be seen and heard with a little light from grownd level

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      --

      -
      ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

    7. Re:looking around... by radish · · Score: 1



      You really think you'd miss a 30ft jet plane flying over your heard at, say, 150ft altitude? Even at night?

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    8. Re:looking around... by jafac · · Score: 1

      Those well dispersed ground observers better have some good carrier pidgeons to tell HQ they saw something, because the first thing that's going to happen is EW attacks on the communication infrastructure. We're talking downed phone lines, jamming signals, etc.

      That is IF these ground observers could SEE a black plane flying at night.
      If you've ever seen an F-117 at an airshow, you'll also note that except for directly behind, they are fairly quiet.

      I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  11. Here's an idea. by Starselbrg · · Score: 1

    If the Chinese plan to track stealth planes by looking at radio and televesion waves, couldn't the U.S. purposely alter those signals to make it appear as though there were stealh bombers all over the place?

    Or perhpas, could the U.S. put a transmitter in orbit and flood the air waves over China with bogus signals that have bogus torbulences that show bogus stealths.

    It seem that this type of technology would be easy to counteract.

    --
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    1. Re:Here's an idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They already do that with radar.

    2. Re:Here's an idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      If the Chinese plan to track stealth planes by looking at radio and televesion waves, couldn't the U.S. purposely alter those signals to make it appear as though there were stealh bombers all over the place?

      That's it!!!! lets infiltrate the chineese DJ corp. Seriously, altering the signals would recquire either a spook, a hack(crack) or direct physical action.

      Or perhpas, could the U.S. put a transmitter in orbit and flood the air waves over China with bogus signals that have bogus torbulences that show bogus stealths.

      Then why use stealth, that is just normal radar jamming, and anyplane can then be used. (though stealth would have a slight advantage in "border" zones.)

    3. Re:Here's an idea. by Mindless+Machine · · Score: 1

      >If the Chinese plan to track stealth planes by looking at radio and televesion waves, couldn't the U.S. purposely alter those signals to make it
      appear as though there were stealh bombers all over the place?

      Only if they want the Chinese to bomb Hawaii and Alaska in response.

  12. Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Sorry, but why so complicated ? One problem with the current stealth bombers is, for instance, that they are black. Macho look, cool -- yes, the military wanted it that way. Now a black stealth bomber on a blue sky, well ...

    Next thing is as soon as it opens its, insert the right word here, flaps to actually let off a bomb. Just the best moment to detect it with out of the box technology - *plonk* - game over.

    I have to admit though it is a good looking plane - a real designer weapon - nice, expensive, useless.

    1. Re:Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, you sure are a dumbass. Hmmm, what if they fly it at *NIGHT*?

      Look, if they wanted it to blend into the sky, they'd make it grey, like most fighters. Would that really be a good idea, for a stealth fighter?

      IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S VISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EYE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. Your ideas of air combat are circa 1942. The game isn't played that way any more.

      But that's okay, your lack of knowledge about stealth technology will give the rest of us a few good laughs.

      Go back to playing ATF on your Win3.1 box, and please, tell us if you can think of anymore things the government overlooked! Wow, who would've guessed that a 13-year-old reading /. would be smarter than the entire Air Force and Skunk Works combined? Maybe you should apply for a position at Lockheed?

      *PLUNK*

    2. Re:Stealth -- not by maroberts · · Score: 1

      Did the miltitary say it had to be black ?
      - I thought that was just a function of the material they made it out of - course they could have painted it that blotchy infra-red absorbent grey like the rest of the US airforce.....

      or did Lockheed suddenly get taken over by Henry "you can have it any color you want as long as it's black" Ford ? :-)

      --

      Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
      Karma: Chameleon

    3. Re:Stealth -- not by Subculture · · Score: 1

      I read somthing in news week along time ago about how they developed somthing with lighting to make a plane nearly invisable in day if I can find the article I will tell you the day mounth and page sorry I don't have it on hand.

      cheers,
      Mike

    4. Re:Stealth -- not by Junta · · Score: 1

      The black color is not a liability, but an advantage. It is common sense that it the daytime, with a much more irregular sky and excessive light, that making a plane near invisible would be most difficult, and the best bet is to paint it black and fly at night, when, on most nights, black planes are mostly undetectable at night. Also, It was either use of bay doors or exterior weapons, using bay doors makes sense.. for a small amount of time it sacrifices stealth capability, but only for a relatively short time and the weapons are ready to fire, and it is pretty much too late to do anything about it.

      --
      XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
    5. Re:Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Stealth bomber was made flat, so it can't be detected when flying in a straight line. It really DOES count if the human eye can spot it, because Stealth bombers don't fly super-sonic. You don't seem to know too much about it yourself.

    6. Re:Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, it's called Light Blue Paint(TM). The Russians have it on all their planes.

    7. Re:Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Operation Lamplighter, WWII, Pacific Theater. They flew with the lights on to make the planes harder to see. Sounds screwy, but it works.

    8. Re:Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a.) Many people do refer to the F117A as a "fighter". Also, when referring to the "stealth bomber", many people think of the B2. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. This is easily circumvented by refering to the aircraft by its military designnation or nickname. I apologize for any confusion.

      b.) An aircraft's visibility to humans isn't as big an issue as it used to be. The whole point of "stealth" technology is to evade detection by radar signature.

      There is a VERY GOOD REASON the aircraft is black. The original poster seemed to think the color was chosen to look imposing and was an oversight on the part of the designers. This angered me. The entire aircraft, from its shape, to its building materials, to its insulation, to its finish, was designed to absorb and reflect active and passive radar in a manner as to make it nearly "invisible" to the comtemporary tracking technologies. NOT to look "macho". (Ugh.)

      c.) I know stealth bombers don't fly at supersonic speeds. The technology at the time didn't support an engine capable of supersonic flight with an acceptably low IR signature for a stealth aircraft. This is only more proof that the F117A wasn't designed to evade visual detection. If everthing goes as planned, ground forces don't see it until it's too late, and radar systems don't see it at all.

      d.) The plane doesn't HAVE to be invisible to the human eye. Obviously the enemy will be altered to the aircraft's presence by the bombs dropping everywhere. But even with proper training, there's just a certain point where you can't identify the aircraft visually. The aircraft will only dive below cloud cover long enough to drop its payload and then return to base. But hopefully the stealth capability will prevent detection *up till* the target point. That way, the enemy won't know it's coming until it's already there. And until it's there, it's not going to flying low enough for easy visual indentification.

      e.) The flat underside of the aircraft was not only designed to make it less visible on the horizontal plane (no pun intended). If that were true, it would only make it *more* visible to SAMs.

      Excuse me for replying in an immature manner before, but I have some very good reasons for supporting Skunk Works, and the way the original poster decided that the plane's color makes it a poor stealth aircraft pissed me off. I hope *this* reply was at least marginally more mature. ;-)

    9. Re:Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1. The new F-117's I've seen are charcoal grey, not black.
      2. How long do you think the bomb bay door needs to be open for the bomb to drop? Game not over.

    10. Re:Stealth -- not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Akchewelly, black is not the desired color for stealth at night. If you look up at night, even without a full moon, it's hard to see a truly 'black' part of sky. (and there's no moon at all for only a few nights out of the month. Remember in WW2 the bombers only painted their undersides black and they were still spotted by spotlights. Light refelcts off clouds and air particles from cities and fires, that's the color you want under an aircraft for stealth. The top guys at Skunkworks recommended a sandy-pink color, but the USAF just COULDN'T have its boys flying a pink wierd thing. If you find some early archive photos of it you'll see what I mean.

    11. Re:Stealth -- not by shogun · · Score: 1

      You just have to explain how this one works....

    12. Re:Stealth -- not by miscellaneous · · Score: 1

      The human visual system is an odd thing.

      Basically, by running with your lights set up right, you give off the same ambient light level as the sky, or close enough, and you become very hard to pick out.

      Just painting the plane doesn't have the same effect, because you can't reflect 100% of the available light, so you turn up darker. In the case of the bottom and most of the visible front of the aircraft, most of the light you're reflecting has already lost intensity by being reflected off of the ground.

      --
      -k. ^-^ ^D
  13. Stealth Tecnology by bencc99 · · Score: 1

    I remeber a couple of years back, while they were saying that the B2 was untrackable, as they were showing it off at a British airshow (farnborough i think) British rockeye missiles managed to track it. Useful if we ever go to war against the americans. Just goes to show, that the technology is never as good as they claim.

    1. Re:Stealth Tecnology by TurkishGeek · · Score: 5

      Both the F-117 and B-2 fly with special fittings when they are not in combat duty. In the F-117 this is in the form of small rectangular boxes over the wings. These fittings increase the radar cross-section of the airplane and make it equal to an ordinary civilian plane; to make friendly skies safer to fly by allowing the planes to be tracked by air traffic control, just like every other plane.

      Plus, you don't want everyone on the fair grounds to learn about the capabilities of the plane. If you're interested in the topic, just compare the cockpit photos of the Mig-29 demonstrated to the West in 1989, and Mig-29s in actual service with the Russian Air Force. You will be amazed to see how they dumbed down the cockpit layout so that the first Western smart-ass to see the photos would say "Gee, Russians are using 1950s technology in these."

      It is amazing how this little known security feature causes people to downplay the capabilities of these aircraft. I remember back when a bunch of F-117s came to Turkey; the armed forces and civilian air traffic control boasted how they could easily detect the so-called "stealth" fighters. As the Iraqi and Serbian can tell, it is not that easy without the fittings.
      --

      BluetoothCentral.com
      A site for everything Bluetooth. Coming in January 2000.

      --
      Zigbee Central: A Zigbee weblog
    2. Re:Stealth Tecnology by Zurk · · Score: 1

      score 3 ? you ignorant twit - the fitting or the black box is a radar reflector - the brits used a themal imaging system to detect and track the B2 at the airshow.
      The B2 was NOT outfitted with an "enhancer" that increased its thermal cross section.
      Thus the brits DID track the B2 with an IR based SAM system -- just as they would do the same in a real life combat situation. Stealth != IR invisible, stealth = reduced radar cross section.

    3. Re:Stealth Tecnology by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 1
      > Both the F-117 and B-2 fly with special fittings when they are not in combat
      > duty. In the F-117 this is in the form of small rectangular boxes over the wings.
      > These fittings increase the radar cross-section of the airplane and make it equal
      > to an ordinary civilian plane; to make friendly skies safer to fly by allowing the
      > planes to be tracked by air traffic control, just like every other plane.

      This sounds rather silly. Why not simply put a radar transponder that you just turn-off when you need to go stealth, instead of having to land and remove the "boxes"???
      -- ----------------------------------------------
      Vive le logiciel... Libre!!!

    4. Re:Stealth Tecnology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      thank god someone knows what they're talking about! even /civilian/ planes are hard to track at any distance without the transponder!

    5. Re:Stealth Tecnology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "score 3 ? you ignorant twit - the fitting or the black box is a radar reflector - the brits used a themal imaging system"

      I just love it when people bash other people while making mistakes themselves.

      I'm not saying you're wrong, just that you needn't say it in such an aggressive tone.

    6. Re:Stealth Tecnology by Slashdot+Fool · · Score: 1

      To be fair about the Mig29 thing - this may not actually have been an attempt to mislead. Many aircraft (and indeed other military vehicle) types start their production without the sophistications that were planned in the original design - these are retrofitted later.

      For a really gross example of this, see the RAF's Tornado aircraft, which flew with the "Blue Circle" (lump of concrete) radar to replace the Blue Fox radar, which was going to be introduced Real Soon Now.

      Steff

  14. Re:Cannot be jammed? - the solution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    But the US thought of that. That's why they had a nuclear anti-air defence system on Thule. Just blow the sky away, and the planes will fall down with it ;)

    This is almost funny !

  15. Sounds like FUD to me by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 1

    This sounds like a bunch of China-Parnoia to me.

    I've been seeing alot of China fears coming from the press of late.

    For one thing, just becase someone has a new technology there is no telling how long it will be until it works. Look at the B-1B and it's advanced defensive/Offensive electronic packages...are they operational yet? I don't think they ever reached the promised level of operation.

    Saying this new technology might work against the F-22 is simply conjecture. The F-22, when operational in FY-03 will be 14 years newer than the newest F-117A. Plus the F-22 does not rely just on stealth like the F-117 does. The F-22 has an extremly robust powerplant and radar system. The F-22 can cruse about 10,000 feet higher than the F-15, at a higher speed making it much harder for SAMs to intercept the aircraft.

    1. Re:Sounds like FUD to me by The_Messenger · · Score: 1

      Thank you! Finally some sense in this discussion. You bring up a very good point -- the powerplant.
      One of the F-22's key selling points is its ability to supercruise (fly at supersonic speeds WITHOUT the use of afterburners). This results in higher speeds, with a lower IR signature, and will make it not only harder to track, but harder to hit with IR-guided SAMs.

      People seem to think that the F117A was designed to be a "fighter" in the same sense of the F-16. The F117A would be taken down easily in a "dogfight". It just wasn't designed for that. And the F22 is not designed to be a "stealth fighter" in the same vein as the F117A. Its stealth technologies only *augment* its excellent maneuverability, powerplant, and weapons capabilities.

      /. doesn't usually have military discussions, but I'd love to hear what people think about Congress' lack of F22 support, and also a discussion on JSF.

      --

      --
      I like to watch.

  16. This isn't quite so new by RNG · · Score: 2

    I remember reading something similar a few years ago. Back then (this was a few years stealth planes first made their mark on the battle fields in Irak) the Australians had developed a radar device that could track these planes by the turbulence they generated.

    Turns out that the shapes these planes were built to, which gives them their low radar profile, was very bad aerodynamically (in the sense that it caused a lot more turbulence than traditional planes would) which in turn enabled this radar to locate the turbulence. Not sure what happened to this project since, but the idea of tracking stealth planes by the turbulence they cause, is nothing new ...

    1. Re:This isn't quite so new by bueller · · Score: 1
      The Australian DSTO has over the last 20 years been developing an over the horizon radar know as Jindalee .

      IIRC it can see stealth planes because normal radar hits the underside of the plane, while this radar hits the top of the plane, and the stealth planes aren't stealthy on top.

      Naturally, authoritive details that this is the case are hard to find. Aussies will tell you this is because the Yanks are still pissed they spent so much time developing something 'invisible' and the Aussies immediately said 'We can see it.'

      I can't say whether newer stealth planes are stealthy on top and therefore get around the initial failing.

    2. Re:This isn't quite so new by EvilBastard · · Score: 1

      Jindalee Over the Horizon Radar. Bounces radar waves off the ionosphere.

      Catches :

      1) If the Sun's in an active phase, it doesn't work
      2) You get *a lot* of noise
      3) It has a minimum range in the 100's of km's. Good for knowing what's going to hit you in an hour or two, as long as it's not a fishing boat of Timor or some other ground clutter.
      4) It doesn't look cool. It just looks like a fencing project that's gone out of control, and they are waiting for a shipment of gates.

      The whole point of Stealth is - The US Built them in the 1970's. Other countries have to scrap their multi-billion $LOCAL_CURRENCY radar sets, and build new ones. Sure, it costs money to build these planes, but they force other countries to spend much more to perform a forced upgrade. They have now begun to roll out these new radars, and it's time to change the playing field to make these out of date.

      So, you could say Stealth is the aviation equivilant of Microsoft Office 2000.

      Meanwhile, the US has had another 20 years to build cooler stuff. The F-117 Prototype is a mid-70's design. B-2 is late 70's early 80's. We found out about them in 1989. Rumors on existing planes range from hypersonic to powered transports that can do under 10 kph with no engine noise. And we'll find out about them, when they have finished it, and will be designing the 7th generation toys.

    3. Re:This isn't quite so new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      because the Yanks are still pissed they spent so much time developing something 'invisible' and the Aussies immediately said 'We can see it.'

      Ah, but the Stealth aircraft only had to be invisible to Soviet radars...or are you volunteering Australia to be the next target of American aggresion? :) Australian military could hardly even manage an unopposed invasion of E. Timor.

    4. Re:This isn't quite so new by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 1
      The F-117 Prototype is a mid-70's design.

      I'll say. As I understand it the weird faceted shape was primarily governed by the poor computer models they had back when they were designing it. It's pretty stealthy, but is supposed to have the handling characteristics of a brick. Can't wait to see the new stuff.

      --
      -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
  17. Fair use? by itp · · Score: 2

    Curiosity question... whoever submitted the story basically copied the text directly from the web page. The story (at cnn.com) directly attributes Newsweek, but the words are from a Reuters story (copyright 1999, all rights reserved, no permission for redistribution). Since this is unattributed and more than just a summary, is this fair use?

    --
    Ian Peters

    1. Re:Fair use? by cabbey · · Score: 1

      so Newsweek did all the investigation and wrote the story for their dead tree based media, which Reuters reported on via their wire service, which cnn.com picked up and put on their web page, and then /. copied in a story reference. So the /. story is a report that cnn.com is blindly repeating a reuters wire story reporting on a newsweek article about ancient technology detecting stealth planes. And in so doing they used words written by Reuters to reference a cnn.com page containung a reuters report about a newsweek story.

      One of my highschool journalism teachers used to have a phrase for that kind of reporting: inbread.

    2. Re:Fair use? by Zurk · · Score: 2

      not sure. i operated on the assumption /. editors would moderate this highly and put it in their own words...i just whacked the link at the top in plain text, copied a bunch of stuff from cnn below it and ended with a cool, huh ? guess /. editors dont edit as much as they should...or read the cnn story as much as they should.
      anyway, here a suggestion - how bout /. allowing readers to moderate the input queue (last time i checked it had 475 stories/day or something like that) and select the ones most interesting with comments on what it should look like on the front page. the highest ratings can then be placed on the front page. put it in a slashbox - rawqueue or something and give everyone a fixed no. of points.

  18. you only need to find the general location by rm-r · · Score: 1

    Well, we've already found a couple of ways of finding the general location of a stealth fighter, wether it be by air turbulence or satellite radar. The information you get doesn't have to be precise enough to send a missile after it. Once you know where a fighter is roughly you can send up a noraml fighter/intercepter to tack it down. The F117a is notoriously hard to fly, the pilots call it the wobbly goblin on account of how shaky it is, also don't forget during the serbia thing one guy accidently crashed. That doesn't happen in a normal fighter, in an old-fashioned dogfight the stealth fighter would get murdered!

    --

    J-aims
    --
    Yo, whatever happened to peas? Join T( H)GS
    1. Re:you only need to find the general location by Dreamweaver · · Score: 1

      Stealth planes dont dogfight, it doesnt work. The plane is designed for speed and undetection. The undetection so it can get in and get out (hopefully) without being seen and the speed so that if it Is seen it can get away without a fight. Stealth planes dont even have guns.. this may be an urban legend, but supposedly they tried to stick a chaingun on the front of one and it ran into its own bullets.
      Finding the plane precisely is important because you have to launch a missile well before it gets to you so that the plane essentially runs into the missle, since no missile can actually Catch one.
      Oh, and there's no such thing as a 'stealth fighter'.
      Dreamweaver

      --


      "If a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live" -- MLK, Jr.
    2. Re:you only need to find the general location by maroberts · · Score: 1

      > That doesn't happen in a normal fighter, in an old-fashioned dogfight the stealth fighter would get murdered!

      Does a stealth fighter actually have a cannon ?
      AFAIK, it doesn't, meaning it shouldn't even try to enter a dogfight.

      --

      Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
      Karma: Chameleon

    3. Re:you only need to find the general location by rm-r · · Score: 1

      You seem to have missed my point. It is precisely that stealth fighter/bombers/whatever don't dogfight- If caught they die

      --

      J-aims
      --
      Yo, whatever happened to peas? Join T( H)GS
    4. Re:you only need to find the general location by The_Messenger · · Score: 1

      Amen, brother.

      --

      --
      I like to watch.

    5. Re:you only need to find the general location by Dreamweaver · · Score: 1

      Which was my point.. they're not Supposed to dogfight. Saying that they're no good because they cant dogfight is like saying a formula-1 racecar is no good because it cant make it through an offroad course. It was never designed to go through offroad conditions, but it can beat the hell out of a dirt bike in its own element. The stealth was made to go fast and drop bombs.. nothing does that better than it does. There are other planes to be sent in when a dogfight is expected.
      Dreamweaver

      --


      "If a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live" -- MLK, Jr.
    6. Re:you only need to find the general location by proberts · · Score: 2

      You're wrong about "go fast." A 747 at max throttle can outpace the stealth aircraft. Going fast generates too much of a heat signature and makes them less stealthy.

      Paul

      --
      http://www.pauldrobertson.com
    7. Re:you only need to find the general location by SEE · · Score: 2

      Why do you need to locate the stealth aircraft at all? Just fly your fighters around the places you don't want bombed, and have them blow up any stealth aircraft that try to attack.

      Sending any kind of bomber (which, frankly, the F117A really is) unescorted against fighters has always been suicide. Just because stealth doesn't change that doesn't mean stealth is useless, just that it isn't a shield of invincibility.

    8. Re:you only need to find the general location by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, unless I'm mistaken, one of the selling points of the F-22 was that it is capable of supersonic speeds. IIRC, it's the first plane to "super-cruise", or go > mach 1 w/o having to engage the afterburner. Of course, I could just be wildly mistaken... ;-)

      -- ioctl

  19. Anti-Chinese sentiment should not cloud opinion by Sylvestre · · Score: 3

    Just because a technology was developed by the Chinese does not mean it's bad. Have you ever considered that what was developed was a press release, or maybe a few well planted leaks? Both sides of the Cold War did this for years, and still do it. Using the media to plant seeds of doubt? Think Viet-Nam, Korea, Tokyo Rose in WW2. None of this is new.

    Now if the Chi-Coms have invented and put into practice this technology, it only means we need to find a way to circumvent it. Say, by bombing TV and radio stations first.

    Really folks, we have bigger problems to worry about. You know, the Chinese has the first compass. They kept it in a room and never used it until Marco Polo showed up with his. They pulled it out and said, so what?

    Don't forget it was a Russian scientist who invented Stealth. He published a paper that inspired our development of the prototype.
    --

    1. Re:Anti-Chinese sentiment should not cloud opinion by Ronin+Developer · · Score: 1

      Your right. If anything, it should be Anti-Clinton/Gore sentiment. Before I am label a troll, check out the facts. At the very least, it'll make you think that perhaps character DOES count.

      First, let's understand how this system supposedly works:

      It takes passive RF signals and looks for changes in the beam. Sort of link interferometry. A sufficient number of antennas (let's say 3) with a reference signal can detect the aborations and compute a 3-d picture. Anything in that distorts the RF field (say a plane) can be detected. Period (Remember the tacyeon (sp) beams in Star Trek to detect cloaked ships???).

      We used a similar technology to detect minute stresses in optical fiber. This is just on a larger scale. Heck, they're probably using Beowolf clusters to do the math.

      Now, let's see where they got this technology - Lockheed Aircraft. Isn't Lockheed the developers of the F-117 and F-22? They sold the technology as a under the guise of low-cost Airtraffic Control System. Uh huh.

      Now, let's consider AWAC technology recently aquired by the Chinese. Did we sell it to them? No. It was sold to them by Isreal (who created the techology on what the US sold them).

      Now, let's consider nuclear warhead technology. Where did they get it? Supposedly from the accused Dr. Lee or a system integrator (or both).

      Now, let's consider ballistic missle technology. Where did they get it? Martin-Marietta.

      Now, let's consider the Panama Canal. Where did they get it???? Yup...you guessed right.

      When did all these trangressions occur? During the Clinton Regime.

      Who purchased a Naval shipyard facility in, I think Washington State? The Chinese.

      Who gave money to the Clinton campaign? The Chinese.

      Who is quickly being accepted into the WTO? Yup.

      Who helped them get accepted? Yup. Right again.


      Oh yeah....who recently established a cryptologic laboratory in China? Can you say RSA Data Security, Inc.? How? Isn't the export of strong crypto illegal (at least at THAT time). They (RSADSI), found a loophole in the law. Doesn't the NSA usually patch those holes when something is able to slip through? Uh huh.

      There are dozens of events during the Clinton administration that point directly to the aquisition of military technology by the Chinese.

      Makes one think, eh? Let's not blame the Chinese. They are only being enterprising and resourceful. It's just a sad state of affairs when our own gov't is selling us out and everyone (i.e. the media) is turning a deaf-ear and wearing blinders.





    2. Re:Anti-Chinese sentiment should not cloud opinion by Sylvestre · · Score: 1

      I wish your email address worked, please read this for more information on ChiCom-Clinton axis than you every wanted to know.

    3. Re:Anti-Chinese sentiment should not cloud opinion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Say, by bombing TV and radio stations first.

      Now that's a coward and lame way to do it.
      How about bombing the World Trade Center?
      Where do you feed this aggression???

    4. Re:Anti-Chinese sentiment should not cloud opinion by cybercuzco · · Score: 1
      Say, by bombing TV and radio stations first.
      Now that's a coward and lame way to do it.

      Its not cowardly if it works and saves lives, when you think about it planes and missles are pretty cowardly too, all you have to do is push a button to bomb somone. Why dont we forget about all these yellow bellied ideas and go back to good old hand to hand combat, thats the manly way to fight.

      --

    5. Re:Anti-Chinese sentiment should not cloud opinion by wumingzi · · Score: 2

      My goodness! Some people just aren't able to sleep at night without an evil empire to keep them warm.

      The Panama canal story is so old and worn out that I wonder why you bother with it. Hutchison Whampoa, the manager of the ports at the either end of the canal, is a publicly traded company (on the Hong Kong stock exchange). Want to be a part of the Great Chinese Conspiracy to control "our" canal? Reach into your bank account and buy a few shares.

      Export of cryptography is a joke. Please don't get me started on this one.

      Returning to the main topic (the detection of stealth aircraft), about eight years ago I was talking with a friend about techniques for detecting a stealthy aircraft. While we were thinking of using a thermal sensor rather than using radio, the principle was the same, namely to look for atmospheric disturbances. While the technology to accomplish this is non-trivial, I sincerely doubt it would require access to classified data.

      Is there Chinese espionage of American military and industrial data? Sure. And French espionage, and Japanese, and Israeli, and so on. As long as the United States has the world's most sophisticated trove of military technology, people will attempt to steal it. Occasionally they will succeed.

      I feel that much of the attention/criticism which has been heaped on the Clinton administration is somewhat unwarranted. More than anything, Chinese espionage techniques have become much more sophisticated in the last 10 years, and China has made acquisition of military technology a much higher priority.

      If you really need a domestic enemy who has been "selling us out" to the Chinese, perhaps you should look at Boeing, IBM, Sun, Lockheed, and the other champions of American business who have been scampering to sell goods, services, and technology in China. The Chinese are demanding technology transfer of one form or another as a requirment for entry to the PRC's domestic market. Any time the Congress or Clinton administration attempts to slow this process down (and no, it doesn't happen much), out come the lobbyists to explain to our elected officials the error of their ways. Don't kid yourself, Boeing contributes more money to both parties than any Buddhist monestary could ever hope to.

      In summation, don't worry about the penny-ante sideshow that gets reported in the media. Keep your eye on who's REALLY giving away the store!

      Jeremy Anderson

    6. Re:Anti-Chinese sentiment should not cloud opinion by Ronin+Developer · · Score: 1

      Returning to the main topic (the detection of stealth aircraft), about eight years ago I was talking with a friend about techniques for detecting a stealthy aircraft. While we were thinking of using a thermal sensor rather than using radio, the principle was the same, namely to look for atmospheric disturbances. While the technology to accomplish this is non-trivial, I sincerely doubt it would require access to classified data.

      Probably wouldn't work as the thermal emmissions from stealthy aircraft is extremely low. Detection of turbulance (aka doppler) or interferometric detection (as what is being proposed), is more likely to succeed.

      Is there Chinese espionage of American military and industrial data? Sure. And French espionage, and Japanese, and Israeli, and so on. As long as the United States has the world's most sophisticated trove of military technology, people will attempt to steal it. Occasionally they will succeed.

      Seems they are succeeding more often than not (if you can believe what is in the media). Funny how we keep channelling money to those nations, isn't it.

      I do accept your statement that it is the big business who, through lobbyiest, are given away the store. But, they need help in doing it or they won't be in business very long. That help is given to them by the gov't.

      I personally don't need a domestic enemy to sleep better at night. As a former military officer, I've seen how our forces have be diluted to a point to being almost ineffective. That's why I left military service. Add to this the "selling" of technology to other nations by corporations and gov't alike, and we are quickly equalizing the playing field.

      Maybe that's a good thing; If no one can gain an advantage on the battlefied, then nobody will dare attempt war.

      But, this view is unrealistic. There is always somebody out there who thinks they can win. Hate is always present (just look at Kosovo, Somalia, Ethiopia, and the dozens of other places where fighting is going on). Somebody has to have the edge. If I'm going into battle, I want that edge. Period.

      Personnally, I'd like to walk softly and carry a pretty damn big stick and ignore the liberal yahoos who think we live in idealistic society. Placidity is the root of demise of great nations.

  20. Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    I saw a wierd vapor trail in the sky once through my telescope (while observing the sun). I removed the solar filters and observed the trail. It was a single trail with what looked like periodic rings around it. Like a string from an abacus made with skywriting. Rumors (all we have to go on) is that this is some kind of high speed, high altitude, military spy plane from the US. The plane operates by essentially firing off a periodic serpes of explosions to propel it (hence the ringed trail). Anyone know more about this?

    1. Re:Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by Subculture · · Score: 1

      heh sorry I didn't read your title. damn I feel like an ass.

      cheers,
      Mike

    2. Re:Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, it does. Jet fuel is streamed out of the engine through the center of a parabolic dish. Sonic waves are used to detonate the fuel at the correct distance from the dish to provide maximum push, so all combustion takes place outside of the craft.

      The Aurora system is composed of two aircraft, the first being a larger ship whose body structure is vaguely remiscient of a SR-71 (but technologically very different) and a smaller craft that sort looks like a cross between a F-117 Stealth fighter (which is actually a bomber, but I digress...) and a X-33. The smaller craft hitches a ride on the larger one until it reaches an unknown-to-me very high altitude, at which point it detaches from the larger ship and can use it's own rocket-only engines to achieve low earth orbit.

      Cheers!

    3. Re:Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By chance I know someone working on the inside of a top-secret facility. She confirmed there is a project there called Aurora. I don't know if it is the same one, but my guess is that it is. And no, I won't inquire further. ;)

    4. Re:Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone get the feeling that defence officials who are in the know are laughing their asses off at a couple of things said here?

    5. Re:Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by EvilBastard · · Score: 2

      Aurora did exist.

      The problem is, it was the code-name for the Lockheed Stealth Bomber prototype.

      The Hypersonic plane which may, or may not exist, is still in the realms of model kits and "I saw something strange" stories.

      There's also the TR-3 or Black Manta, which has much more evidence supporting it (a stealth recon / laser designation platform) including some actual videotape existing somewhere. More information in the rec.aviation.military faq (RAM is my current favorite newsgroup - WWII pilots, Vietnam Pilots, B-52 Pilots, SR-71 Pilots, and a permant floating flamewar RE: Yugoslavia/Russia/America)

      Personally, The Aurora is a silly code name for a high-flying plane. Should be called something like Dwarven Cleric. Sure, it's not a very cool-sounding name, but if the codename leaks you'd have your enemy working on upgrading their seismology tech, while you fly over happily at Mach 8+ taking happy snaps

    6. Re:Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes we are, its very funny! Do you know how many military vehicles are not yet known to the public, the B2 was 15 years old when people thaught it was "new".

    7. Re:Aurora? High speed pulse jet. Does it exist? by x0 · · Score: 1

      Wierd vapor trails == shock diamonds. Look at the photos of the exhausts of many high powered military turbo[jet|fan] powered aircraft and you can plainly see these dimaonds. I don't kow the dynamics of why these diamonds are formed, but it isn't some new form of propulsion. Oh, and ramjets also create them also.

      --
      In the immortal words of Socrates, who said; 'I drank what?'
  21. Silent Sentry by Detritus · · Score: 3

    Lockheed-Martin has a web page for their Silent Sentry system. Not much in the way of technical description but it can't be that secret if they put it on the web.

    --
    Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    1. Re:Silent Sentry by anomaly · · Score: 1

      I wrote to the folks at LMCO and asked for more information. Please see their response below.

      R,
      Tom Cooper

      -----Original Message-----
      From: Madden, Thad [mailto:thad.madden@lmco.com]
      Sent: Monday, November 29, 1999 4:47 PM
      To: 'tom_cooper@bigfoot.com'
      Subject: question about the PCL system


      Tom,

      Tom Kuba asked me to get back to you regarding your question about PCL
      technology. To answer your question, Lockheed Martin does not have a
      contract or an agreement to provide the technology/system you reference to
      the Chinese government, nor do we anticipate one. We were not a source of
      information for that news article you refer to.
      > ----------
      > From: Tom Cooper[SMTP:tom_cooper@bigfoot.com]
      > Sent: Monday, November 29, 1999 10:46 AM
      > To: tom.kuba@lmco.com
      > Cc: tom_cooper@bigfoot.com
      > Subject: question about the PCL system
      >
      > Tom,
      > I picked up your email address from the following URL:
      > http://silentsentry.external.lmco.com/proj/nonsecu re/sentry/benefits.htm
      >
      > I was reading an article on a portal this morning about China's new
      > defense
      > system, and it appears that they may have been able to purchase a system
      > from a US company that would help them overcome our military's efforts at
      > stealth.
      >
      > Can you allay those fears? Will the PCL help China identify the F117 and
      > other stealth planes?
      >
      >
      > Thanks for the response.
      >
      > Regards,
      > Tom Cooper
      >
      > BTW - the story I was reading is available at:
      > http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/11/28/172323 0&mode=thread
      > This message reflects the personal views and opinions of the author only,
      > and not necessarily those of any organizaion to which the author is
      > related.
      >
      >

      --
      But Herr Heisenberg, how does the electron know when I'm looking?
  22. Indeed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yup, guess well just have to build some more shit. do i have quams about my tax dollars going towards this? nope. our "pointless wars" and expensive weapons are the reason why were the only remaining superpower. whining about it wont change things. hail the conquering heros.

    1. Re:Indeed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heroes, even.

  23. Re:F117 by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 1

    1. The name "Woobly Goblin" was a joke from the first generation of flight control systems. This was back in the early 80s. It was picked up in Popular Science/Mechanics, in the article with the first offical photos of the 117. It is an inaccurate term.

    2. Normal fighters do tend to crash on a regular basis, esp one engire fighters like the F-16 or A-7. Take a look at crashes of fighter types for every 100,000 hours and notice that single engine fighters crash about twice as much.

    3. The single F-117A lost in Serbia was lost (pbly) to a SAM that locked on during the bomb run while the weapons bay was open and thus the aircraft was unstealthy. Or it was lost to a combination of SAM and airborne radar illumination coupled with optical sights. It was a full moon on the night the F-117 was lost.

    For more on the F-117/F-22 go out and find World Air Power Volume 19 and 38.

  24. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    China can easily invade and overpower the US entirely with ground troops

    I'm curious how exactly you think that China could invade the US with ground troops? Sure they've got billions of people in their army, but I don't see how they will wind up in the US. It would be exceedingly difficult to come anywhere near the US shore with any kind of sizable force.

  25. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by Tau+Zero · · Score: 1
    Anyone know if this requires extremely sensitive and expensive antennas?
    I can't say I know, but I strongly doubt it. What you probably need is an array of omnidirectional antennas and a lot of DSP horsepower. What you're looking for is a changing reflection/scattering in a relatively constant signal. Think of something like an electronically-steered phased-array radar without the transmitter and I expect you're on the right track.
    --
    Advertisers: If you attach cookies to your banner ads,
    --
    Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
  26. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Other reports I saw for this said that it requires thousands of antennas most likely spread out over a very wide area (kinda like the VLA telescopes). Then after getting the signals from the antennas, the actual computations on the data are certainly far beyond the comprehension of even very serious hobbyists. It would take someone very well versed in radar and electromagnetic theory to even understand the algorithms. Creating the algorithms from scratch would be even harder.

  27. Why this won't work? by Ex+Machina · · Score: 2

    Couldn't you just randomly add bursts of these commerical signals (but broadcast from all over the place) to basically add a lot of "noise" to the data. Sort of like /. at -1.

    1. Re:Why this won't work? by Anonymous+Freak · · Score: 2

      Yes, and most fighters and bombers have this... It's called ECM, for Electronic CounterMeasures. However, the stealth planes (F-117A and B-2) have NO transmitters of any kind (other than std radio, which is kept totally silent during missions.) so they don't get an ECM pod. Broadcasting over every wavelength kind of defeats the purpose of being stealthy. For most fighers/bombers, this is fine though.

      Most people misunderstand the main purpose of stealth aircraft. They are not stealthy to prevent them from being hit, but rather to not let the enemy know that they're there in the first place. They are meant to quietly sneak in, bomb the crap out of comething, then leave. The whole selling point of the F-117A was "They won't know you're there until they're dead."

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    2. Re:Why this won't work? by Raven667 · · Score: 1

      > Most people misunderstand the main purpose of stealth aircraft. They are not stealthy to prevent them from being hit, but rather to not let the enemy know that they're there in the first place.

      Yeah, especially since an F117 was shot down over Bosnia this past spring. They are not invincable folks.

      --
      -- Remember: Wherever you go, there you are!
  28. Holy flying monkey love batman! by Roofus · · Score: 1


    Does this mean they'll be able to detect me flying over China even when I'm wearing my composite spandex Robin outfit? Dammit! I new my sexy curves would be the end of me! Why couldn't I just be flat like Bob's Mom?

  29. This is NOT the same. by FallLine · · Score: 2

    This device is passive, meaning it doesn't emit any RF to detect. Conventional radar emits microwave energy, and allows for countermeasures (by homing in on the radar source). This system, if my interpretation is correct, detects the plane based on civilian RF (e.g., FM, AM, etc.) noise. If this technology does not depend on single sources (e.g., large radio towers), but rather a multitude of smaller civilian emissions, it would be very hard for the US to squash, atleast not without causing a lot of collateral damage. That is a pretty big technological leap; not yet developed/implimented anywhere.

    However, this development is not an end game by any means. I have little doubt that the US will come up with ways to circumvent it. What is really troublesome for the military, I suspect, is that it could probably be implimented by 3rd world countries which otherwise don't have the resources for such defense mechanisms.

    ...I personally feel that stealth is a bad way to play the game. Cheaper unmanned vehicles is far better....fly more, who cares if they shoot a few down....

    1. Re:This is NOT the same. by sysadmn · · Score: 1
      ..I personally feel that stealth is a bad way to play the game. Cheaper unmanned vehicles is far better....fly more, who cares if they shoot a few down...


      Except, of course, that the US Navy and Air Force are run by men who got where they are by being hot-shit pilots...

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      Envy my 5 digit Slashdot User ID!
  30. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Two words -- D-DAY

  31. It's pretty spiffy by Improv · · Score: 1

    I think it's great.. You can bet that chinese
    spy planes would be shot down if flown over the
    U.S... well, it's nice to know that the converse
    is true.. Personally, I got a good chuckle when
    the USSR shot down a spy plane back in the 80s

    --
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    1. Re:It's pretty spiffy by eomir · · Score: 1

      spy plane? those were "weather planes"

    2. Re:It's pretty spiffy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, a sovient weatherman asked his american friend to help him out because he was loaded with work. Whats your point?

    3. Re:It's pretty spiffy by Village+Idiot · · Score: 1

      Either that or he finds the shooting down of a Korean Airlines 747 funny.

  32. Nope, not FUD by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 2

    Lockheed and another company are working on similar products. I believe they are competitors, and the other company took the low budget route, relying on the interference of civilian (AM? FM?) radio stations - a bunch of low tech antennas listening in on the disruptions ("shadows") as planes went around. This was in Aviation Leak several months ago, and I think even hit Slashdot.

    Also, apparently the low tech low resolution long wavelength radars still in service by Russia and their customers, who can't afford the snazzy new short wavelength radars in use by NATO, are better at detecting stealth planes than those snazzy new radars. I gather the US tried to downplay this, out of embarrassment and cover-your-ass syndrome.

    And another tack is mumble-mumble radar, where the transmitter and receiver are far apart. Stealth planes are stealthy not just from absorbing the radar energy, but also from directing radar energy away from the straight return path. Those non-normal directions get more than their share of the reflection -- put a transmitter ahead of the plane and separate receivers on the side, and the side receivers get a better return from the stealth plane than forward receivers get from a non-stealth plane. Or something like that.

    --

    1. Re:Nope, not FUD by sysadmn · · Score: 1
      And another tack is mumble-mumble radar, where the transmitter and receiver are far apart.


      mumble-mumble == 'bistatic'.
      Sorry to be pedantic...

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  33. Re:F117 by rm-r · · Score: 1

    The plane was lost very near the border, it wouldn't have had it's bay doors open. It was not lost due to being shot down, take your point on just falling out the sky- but it was either that or pilot error,. I also stand corrected on the nick

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  34. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Of course it's within reach of hobbyists! If you're using an antenna (instead of cable) to receive TV, you've most likely seen the effect that is used. Whenever an aircraft flies near the line of sight between you and the TV transmitter you may experience dynamic multipath reception with characteristic fading of the signal (the picture pulses on/off at a changing rate). This can also happen with FM radio. If you were to characterize the amplitude, phase & frequency of every known transmitter in your area as received at your antenna, any disturbance in these parameters would indicate the presence of some type of reflector (cars, planes, etc.) Collect and correlate enough data and you could predict speed, location, etc. Not particularly practical for hobbyists, but well within the reach of most governments.

  35. This is incorrect by freddie · · Score: 1

    It's not picking up by the turbulence of the air molecules, since it's not the same kind of 'turbulence' that pilots refer to on the airplane.

    This kind of turbulence refers to the radio frequency spectrum.

    1. Re:This is incorrect by Village+Idiot · · Score: 1
      Im not sure but i sort of read it differently. (im an aero eng student,not elec so i dont really know how commercial radio signals would reflect/distort due to the actual aircraft, rumour has it that some radars with a longer wavelength can detect the F-117 but not actually track it( the missile guidance radar is a much shorter wavelength and ive heard the f-117's facetting is optimised for these wavelengths))
      I read the story that it was the air turbulence caused by the aircraft that distorted the radio signals not the actual aircraft however im the first to admit my interpretation could be wrong. My main reason for reading it that way was that there has recently(read 10 yrs or so) been a lot of research into detecting clear air turbulence and windshear and thought this could have been a spinoff from someone's research. If it is then i guess it would be interesting as clear air turbulence cannot be detected by radar and so far the only methods which have to my knowledge been successful are using Lidar(uses a laser beam which will reflect off aerosols and dust hence providing data on the air mass ahead).

      Cheers

  36. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by Tau+Zero · · Score: 1
    It would take someone very well versed in radar and electromagnetic theory to even understand the algorithms. Creating the algorithms from scratch would be even harder.
    Eh? I don't think so. You're looking for an interference pattern caused by a source of reflection/scattering that is moving over time. All you'd have to do is take deltas in strength and phase from one sample to the next (good clocks are necessary to synchronize the timekeeping) and look for the source of the stuff that changed (backtrack a spherical wave and its reflections to the source). This is not black magic; something very similar was done with air-traffic control radars many years ago to eliminate the stationary ground clutter - using ultrasound waves in glass tubes of mercury as the storage elements!

    If that's all it takes to do the reception and analysis, then connectivity is the only other hurdle. When everyone has T1 equivalent connectivity at home, I'll bet that distributed.net will have competition from distributed.track.
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  37. Why doesn't jamming work? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't see why jamming won't work. Might take a different method than used for normal radar, but overpowering the normal radio and TV bands with signals that are hard for the receivers to analyse should work.

    Also the standard tactic of destroying the transmitters should work just fine - might have to set the anti-RF missles to a new channel though.

    I just hope cops don't switch to this tech for traffic radar ;-)

  38. More new military technology China is acquiring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    1. Re:More new military technology China is acquiring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, by this logic, will the US cut off itself, since China aquired alot of nuclear secrets from one of the DOE's national research labs?

    2. Re:More new military technology China is acquiring by Pointman · · Score: 1

      With the sums we're already sending to Communist countries, and likewise technology, cutting anyone off at this stage of the game would like closing the bard door after the horse got out.

      If Israel hadn't done it with our tacit approval, then the current (US)administration would have found another way just like they have with missle guidance technology, ball bearing manufacturing, super computers, et al. It'd be like shooting the messenger.

      --
      Smith & Wesson: The original Point-and-Click interface.
  39. Likely misconceptions by sjames · · Score: 2

    My take on what the technology actually is.

    When watching broadcast TV with a crappy antenna, a plane flying overhead will disrupt the signal. An array ground based antennas can determine the exact pattern of the disruption, and with calibration, determine the size and position of the object causing that disruption. Since the goal isn't to watch TV, the detectors can be made much more sensitive to small disruptions.

    The best weather to fly in to avoid this sort of detection would be a thunderstorm (but hard on the planes and pilots).

    Such a system is not likely to have the precision of conventional radar, ind is more likely to mistake one target for another (I base that on the longer wavelength of commercial broadcasts).

    Final critique, it's a very creative idea!

  40. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? - Yes.. by freddie · · Score: 1

    Doppler radar can detect raindrops. I'm sure the same kind of radar would have no problem detecting stealth planes.

    There will be a lot of things that the radar picks up that are larger than bumble bee, maybe thousands, but which ones are moving at more than 500mph?

  41. Aren't their other ways... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...to kill serbian villagers? i'm not an expert, but you can always go ask your buddy milosovec, moron. he's kills people throughout the region.

    1. Re:Aren't their other ways... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, by firing missiles from navy ships like the NATO bastards did. BTW, how did you learn that Milosevic killed people throughout the region? I guess you heard that on CNN, huh? Well, THAT'S a reliable source! I also guess you don't mind about bombs killing journalists, villagers, civilians -- but then, you probably never heard that. "It was a human mistake" -- James Sean

    2. Re:Aren't their other ways... by rm-r · · Score: 1

      I don't know what in that post made you think I am a friend of Milosovic's, I am not. But, there is no getting around the fact thact hundereds of innocent serbian civilians, most of whom hate Milosovic too, were killed, that massive amounts of civilian infrastructure was destroyed, and that the blocking of the Danube with the remnants of it's bridges is having a massive economic effect on all the countries of eastern Europe, with the possible exception of Serbia, as few people trade with them and they never used the Danube as much as others anyway.

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    3. Re:Aren't their other ways... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many people did NATO kill? 3,500

      How many people did Serbs kill in Kosovo during fighting the militia? 2,500

      Is this justified?

      Read some other news than what CNN and MSNBC feed you. Ever heard of Bilderberg? Guess not. It's just the biggest secret organization noone ever heard about since heads of media corporations and other elite are in it. Do a search on them.

    4. Re:Aren't their other ways... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It wasn't our fault!

      Really, I felt it was stupid. America tries to fight too much of a political war. They have a bunch of politicians sit around and select targets, NOT the military leaders. If the military leaders had more control over what bomb went where, there would have been less.

      As an americian, I believe we need to pull out noses out of other people's business. We have our own problems, and washington needs to learn that we need to be a bit more... self centered...

      I feel kind of trapped right now. Republicans want more guns and more jesus, and the demacrats want Virtual CIA black helicopters flying around the internet. I feel trapped. Oh well, perhaps I'll move to canada in a few years...

    5. Re:Aren't their other ways... by earwicker · · Score: 1

      are they like the Knight Templars or Rosicrucians? Can they tell me how to get back to atlantis? I'm tired of being stuck in James Joyce's "brain," serving drinks to da Irish.

  42. Wild Weasels by sixoseven · · Score: 1

    According to what I've read about Gulf War rules of engagement, flying below radar is essentially suicidal. Any pocket rocket can take out low-flying aircraft. To get above that American attack aircraft fly nowadays in pods of 4 at 15-20,000 feet using ECM to convince ground-based SAMs that they are one aircraft or multiple pods.

    'Wild Weasels' are A4 pilots on anti-SAM duty. They draw SAM radar and fire AMRAMs to blow them up. This scares the bejeesus out of SAM operators who will then only illuminate targets for a quick moment.

    The scary thing about this technology is not that it can be used against stealth aircraft, but that it doesn't transmit, and therefore cannot be countered by Wild Weasel tactics.

    --
    fault-tolerant
    1. Re:Wild Weasels by TurkishGeek · · Score: 1

      'Wild Weasels' are A4 pilots on anti-SAM duty. They draw SAM radar and fire AMRAMs to blow them up.

      Wild Weasels are not "A4" pilots. Wild Weasel duty has been flown by different types of planes in the US arsenal-most recently the F-4G Phantom(which is purpose built for this duty), and F-16s. F-4G has been used in the Gulf War, but I don't think it's still in use as a Wild Weasel aircraft.

      It is true that radar operators are scared and illuminate targets for a short time, fire their missiles and turn the radar off. While this seems to be an extremely dumb idea, not all SAMs rely on radar guidance throughout the flight, and Iraqis scored on numerous US and Allied aircraft using this method in the Gulf War.

      The primary anti-radar missile in use by the US now is called HARM, not "AMRAM". AIM-120 AMRAAM is a different beast, a BVR(beyond visual range) medium-range air-to-air missile. HARM was used in the Gulf War, and most recently HARMs were quite useful in reducing rabid Milosevic's air defense radars to scrap metal.
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    2. Re:Wild Weasels by Maurice · · Score: 1

      I think passive radars (that don't emit) are standard equipment on most fighter planes. You only need to illuminate a target (actually emit radio waves) when you start tracking it.

    3. Re:Wild Weasels by Pointman · · Score: 1

      Throw in that they were trying to retire what was likely the best ground attack aircraft ever built, the Warthog A-10. Nothing like flying by the seat of your pants when you're sitting in a titanium bucket!

      And anyone thats been around knows that the Apache's are a joke even if they are cool technologically.

      The A-10s at our areas air reserve bases were replaced with F16's. Much more fragile and difficult to maintain. Terrible TOT (time on target). And a stall speed that is higher than the cruising speed of the A-10.

      Thankfully, the Gulf "training" revived the interest in this craft to a great degree even if they are still bitching about the Uranium slugs.

      --
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    4. Re:Wild Weasels by lamer_is_my_middle_n · · Score: 1

      You gotta be kidding, enlighten us please as to how many SAM sites were thus reduces to scrap metal? One? Two? The whole kosovo operation was a huge failure in terms of achieving its military objectives. One of the reasons why the campaign got so protracted was exactly the inability of NATO planes to take out the serbs' air defense system on the first night as they did with Iraq's.

  43. Lockheed Selling Similar System by CrusadeR · · Score: 1
    --
    :wq
    1. Re:Lockheed Selling Similar System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Moderate this up!

  44. who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    the abundence of hate that democracy and communism have towards each other is probably going to culminate in bio-genetic warefare anyway.

    let's see, the US chucks a skyburst of a bio-genetic bomb over beijing, wiping out the population, leaving people writhing in agony as blood spurts from their various orifices.

    of course, China will chuck a skyburst of a bio-genetic bomb over Los Angeles, wiping out the population, leaving people writhing in agony as blood spurts from their various orifices.

    what fun! and all because the USA tends towards laisez faire capitalism, which has a unfortunate side effect of homelessness and a disparate stratification of the classes (high, low, and the big lie).

    what fun! and all because China insures it's people have the bare essentials to survive (except for that 5% that live obscenely high on the hog), and refuses to let anyone criticize that system (unless they want to go to jail, a mental hospital, or be executed).

    what fun! both sides view the other as evil. oh well, maybe the death agony will be short. or somehow the two side can compromise? will china get free speech and elections? will the US increase human rights and respect for all people?

    1. Re:who cares? by Perrin-GoldenEyes · · Score: 1

      You can call me naive if you want, but the US does not currently, and most likely never will, develop biological (or bio-genetic) weapons. We signed a treaty with the Soviets to that effect, and unilke them, we signed it in good faith. Biological weapons are too dangerous to everyone involved (including the side using them).

      Cheers,
      Perrin.

      --
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  45. If I wanted to disrupt the US military... by Bill+the+Cat · · Score: 1

    ...I would find a way to disrput GPS services over the battlefield. Bombs using the GPS guidance packages are the B-2's main conventional weapon, and will soon be in widespread use throughout the USAF.

    Any bad guy that manages to take out the GPS satellite constellation in some will take away a capability that our armed forces put to very good use.

  46. Re:Awesome! by JohnG · · Score: 1
    don't worry, the more gen-x and gen-y sit around on their butts debating whether or not to go to college, the less of a future you have. unless your idea of a cool future is that line from the dead kennedys song, how does it go?

    Hmmm, I don't think going to college really has a terrible lot to do with it. I mean the most evil tyrannical dictator in the history of the world second only to Hitler, Bill Gates, dropped out of college and is sadly one of the most powerful men alive today, and the richest.
    Nikola Tesla went to college, where he was told by his professor that a brushless electric motor was "impossible". In fact just about everything he invented defied what college professors thought at the time to be true.
    Albert Einstein often cut class to study physics on his own, he went on to become the most famous scientist of all time.
    I am by no means saying that a college education is a bad thing. But just because someone isn't a college graduate doesn't make them dumb, and just because someone is a college graduate doesn't mean they are smart.
    I believe the saying is "It's sad that having a science degree doesn't make one a scientist."

  47. Dogfight with a U2? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Hunh? Doesn't "dogfight" imply a turning radius less than the width of Australia?



    1. Re:Dogfight with a U2? by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      Yup, and it also requires you to fly slower than the bullets you'd be firing. :)

  48. Re:Stealth planes propaganda? - Yes.. by dbullock · · Score: 1

    RADAR's don't detect raindrops per se. The reflections that humidity bearing clouds give back on the scope is pretty distinctive, and all RADARs (SPS-10, SPA-40, misc fire control RADARs) I've used will do that.

    And there's a huge difference between DETECTING raindrops and TRACKING raindrops. I HIGHLY doubt even a SPY-1x will TRACK raindrops.

    --
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  49. SAMs can swat any jet fighter like a fly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Anti-aircraft rockets typically use solid propellent and go like a bat out of hell.

    Most modern anti aircraft missiles fly at speeds far beyond what any manned craft can attain at any altitude.

    1. Re:SAMs can swat any jet fighter like a fly by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 1

      True.

      However, due to the high alltitude and low-observability of the F-22 most SAMs will not beable to aquire and launch until the F-22 has already past, this turns the pursuit into a tail chase where the F-22 has the advange since it can manuver and spoof with chaff/flares. Also it is harder for a SAM to manuver because of it's smaller control surfaces and the higher altitude the F-22 operates at.

      The majority of Soviet-Bloc SAMs were developed with the F-16/15 and Torando in mind. The F-22 is faster and higher flying than the last generation NATO fighters.

      Most SAMs operate in the Mach 2-4 range, and they use all of thier fuel in the first few seconds of flight.

  50. Oh, dear Jesus . . . by Venomous+Louse · · Score: 0


    Great, another goddamn anti-Commie paranoia festival. Coming soon to a Slashdot near you!

    Is China a blockable topic in the Slashdot preferences? I'll have to check.

    --
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  51. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A cool use of technology to fix a problem? What problem? You aren't supposed to be able to find stealth planes!

  52. rivit-joint. by skyfish · · Score: 1

    we also have an aircraft named rivit-joint which, by making use of two other planes, flys into enemy airspace and in a matter of seconds knows everything about every kind of transmition in the area. that includes radar, radio, telephone, and of course television. everything in 2 seconds. this planes existance isnt classified, but it isnt glorified either for obvious reasons. measure, counter-measure. neat idea though.

    1. Re:rivit-joint. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      arent those C-130's with EW packages ? nothing secret about em.

  53. Stealth is a write-off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Stealth fighters have been detected by other American fighters during drills numerous times.

    Popular Science had a good article recently detailing how the "stealthiness" of these planes has been greatly exaggerated over the years.

    They are not invisible to the eye or modern radar systems.

    1. Re:Stealth is a write-off by Maurice · · Score: 2

      From what I've read, if you have a large distributed radar network (many radars all over the place, coordinated by a central computer), you have a high chance of tracking stealth planes like f117 and b2, because one radar's signal will get reflected in a different direction and may be caught by another radar. Also, stealth planes are as visible as ordinary fighters when they open their weapon bays to fire. There have been cases when the weapon bay jams open and then the f117 is basically a sitting duck.

    2. Re:Stealth is a write-off by hagar� · · Score: 1

      SO what if its detected? its irrelevant.
      What is important is when that radar detecting you is able to switch to fire control mode and guide a missle into your burners. Few fire control radars can lock onto a 117.

      Operationally, stealth has done well compared to other aircraft. For example 117's never lost a plane over the Gulf. That in itself is a hell of an achievement in any war zone, especially given that random effect that bullets and flak tend to have on your life when you are over a war zone.

      One stealth went down over Kosovo, which is a loss, but hardly a huge tragedy or blow to the stealth program. And this 117 was only shot down when its bomb bays were opened, giving a slight radar signature that was locked onto.

      Another stealth fell from the sky without being shot at, which is bad, but nothing compared to some of the incidents regarding russian made aircraft, or even some aircraft such as the f-16a, or the f/a 18, which had some major teething troubles, resulting in deaths.

      regardless if a radar can detect you, someone still has to shoot you down, and standard fire control radars in migs cant do it, no standard fire control radars on russian designed sams can do it.

      I havent read or heard anything saying this PCL system has fire control capabilities, thus is only a pain in the ass, and not a show stopper.
      Best they can do is direct planes that cant easily lock onto you in your direction. And most pilots know how to deal with that. Hit the turf on full burner and get the hell out of the way.

      --
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    3. Re:Stealth is a write-off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Operationally, stealth has done well compared to other aircraft. For example 117's never lost a plane over the Gulf.

      Persausive arguments have been made regarding the fact that 117's have never really been put into high risk environments (comparatively speaking, compared to the fire fights that the F15 and F16 are sent into).

      There gets to be a point where the plane is worth more than the pilot. That sounds cynical, but in terms of over-the-top planes like the B2, it is certainly true.

    4. Re:Stealth is a write-off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I seem to recall reading somewhere that the British are quite capable of tracking the Stealth, and demonstrated the capability too, much to the displeasure of the US military bods.

    5. Re:Stealth is a write-off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Best they can do is direct planes that cant
      easily lock onto you in your direction. And
      most pilots know how to deal with that. Hit
      the turf on full burner and get the hell out of the way.


      Et voila, an IR signature visible for miles around....

    6. Re:Stealth is a write-off by hagar� · · Score: 1

      Im not sure its easy to compare the 117 with those two aircraft, as both of those are multi-role combat aircraft, while the 117 is primarily a bomber. It is obvious though that those aircraft would have been in more dangerous situations, but mostly because they are rather easily detected by standard SAM sites, and air to air threats(even with ECM pods), thus they would attract more enemy attention. However, I would say that the 117 missions over baghdad, given the amount of flak that went up during those missions, amazes me that not one of the aircraft was shot down, even by chance, disregarding the technology. I agree though that we are at a point where the aircraft is worth more then the pilot, I wonder if we will reach a point one day where the pilot is considered ballast and redundant.

      --
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  54. China already show stealth on, uh, normal? radar by leonbrooks · · Score: 1

    China's Jindalee clone was demoed with a live track of an aircraft over North China, whose flight parameters just happened to match "stealth"; although nobody there actually made any announcements about this funny track they were showing, the US reps suddenly got very nervous...

    --
    Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
  55. Passive Detection Networks. by Artie+FM · · Score: 1

    This technology has been around for quite a while. Lockheed Martin has a passive detection system which isn't even completely classified anymore. One of the great things about this tech is that it can do much more than detect anti-stealth aircraft. It can also detect thing flying at very low altitude, which would normally be below radar. Imagine how much low altidute drug traffic can be stopped with a network of silent sentry sites in the Gulf of Mexico.


    Many other countries are rumored to have this technology including the Czech Republic and Turkey. When you consider that these places are not the most tech advanced places in the world, it should come as no surpise that we decided to take out all broadcasting capability in Yugoslavia. I'm sure that China having this ability is no shock to the people running the show. What they probably worry about on a daily basis however is when will Iraqi get it. Sooner or later someone will sell it to them and it will get much tougher to bomb them as we are now.

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  56. An army walks on its belly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    as powerful as China can easily invade and overpower the US entirely with ground troops

    This is a ridiculous conjecture.

    Firstly, China's army may be the muumerically largest, but straight numbers haven't counted much for at least thirty years. Nukes made straight bean counting irrelevant. Even cursory reading of any military history of the cold war would have illustrated this to you.

    Secondly, the logistical problems of sending an army across the pacific to invade the United States would be insurmountable. See Vietnam, or the American Revolutionary War, for examples of what happens to superpowers who overextend their reach.

  57. Are you the Flash? by JohnG · · Score: 1
    You must be able to run really really really fast if you think seeing a plane with your eyes that plans on dropping a bomb on you means you are safe!

  58. Stealth and Radar by thales · · Score: 2

    I spent 8 years as a radar tech in the Navy. I can tune a radar in so good that it can detect a seagull at several miles, But it's worthless when it's tuned in that good. Most of the time you can't find the seagull because there's too much Garbage that is also displayed on the screen. So the radar has to be slightly detuned. That way you only see the stronger signals. Stealth takes advantage of this. Tune the radar in good enough to detect the small radar cross section of the plane and you can't find it on the scope because of all the other garbage. Stealth just hides in the garbage. When you consider how much turbulance there is in the air without any plane to add to it you will quickly run into the same problem of finding the target in the garbage.

    --
    Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
    1. Re:Stealth and Radar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most garbage does not follow a linear path at a constant speed I assume? (although the seagull might :)

    2. Re:Stealth and Radar by thales · · Score: 1

      No it dosen't. However you have to know the speed in order to filter it out. reflections at slower speeds can be filtered (MTI) but the random stuff appears to happen at random speeds. You are looking for a blip moving in a linner path surrounded by thousands of blips that jump in and out. Tune a TV to a station that dosen't have a signal on it. Lots of RF noise. Some of it is random. Some of it is generated by something that creates a pattern (Say an electric motor). try to find the noise with a pattern in the field of random noise

      --
      Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
    3. Re:Stealth and Radar by Raven667 · · Score: 1

      Hey, just don't tell the weather guys. Some bright fools in actually started a program to use the Nexrad to detect flocks of birds (for birdstrike prevention). What a load of crap, between the height of the scanning beam and noise it is completely worthless (except that someone gets Kudos and an award/promotion points)

      --
      -- Remember: Wherever you go, there you are!
    4. Re:Stealth and Radar by jafac · · Score: 1

      my brother in law shot Hawks for the USMC, and he told me stories about you radar techs and seagulls. . .

      I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  59. Re:F117 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    If it was not shot down, why was there was shrapnel damage to the underside of the wing of the airplane in the photos taken the night of the event.

    The scuttlebutt in the U.S. Air Force is it was shot down by an SA-3, but no one knows for sure since the report is classified.

    The speculation about the bomb-bay door was that the door stuck in the open postition during the bomb run.

  60. Re:Two Words by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 1

    Power Projection.

    If you don't know what this means, it is the ability to project power in areas far from your homeland. The United States has this ability, as do the UK and France to a lesser extent. China does not have the warships or experiance to succesfully project power. If you look at the Chinese invasion of Vietnam in 79 they were mauled by the Vietnamese army.

    Simply, China or India can not invade the US just because they have more people.

  61. Re:China invading the US by znu · · Score: 1

    Several groups of two words: spy satellites, cruise missiles, B-2 Bombers, and Sekrit Stuff(TM) we've never ever heard of. Now add in several thousand ICBMs aimed at Chinese cities. Given all this, do you really think China would try to invade the US?

    Why would China invade the US anyway? China has the power to invade most countries in the world right now, but you don't see it happening. People who think like this are paranoid. The whole "Us" and "Them" thing is way out of hand. I'm sure the Chinese have no more desire to be involved in a huge, bloody, devastating war than the US does.

    --

    --
    This space unintentionally left unblank.
  62. Poverty in China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    what fun! and all because China insures it's people have the bare essentials to survive

    If you have ever been to China, you would understand quite clearly that much of the population lives a peasant lifestyle that has very little to do with the "essentials", at least in a first-world sense.

    1. Re:Poverty in China by elflord · · Score: 2
      If you have ever been to China, you would understand quite clearly that much of the population lives a peasant lifestyle that has very little to do with the "essentials", at least in a first-world sense.

      He said bare essentials. "In a first world sense" presumably includes a number of things one could ( and indeed prior to 1900 would ) live without ( for example, cars and electricity ). You are guilty of confusing "wealth" with "bare essentials"

    2. Re:Poverty in China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      does clean water count? china is the most polluted nation on earth.

  63. Re:China invading the US by dduck · · Score: 1
    So I take it you've never heard of the "Peoples Bomb", as reported by the great journalistic authority Gilbert Shellton? It's like this: you build a great big rocket, and place about a million red chinese armed with guns, knives, bayonets or even their own bare hands in it as payload. Then you aim it at a major (US) city, and gamble that fatalities at impact will be no more than 50%. Eureka! Half a million of those wacky red chinese ruining your nice suburban morning with rusty knives and lusty shouts of "Sha! Sha! Sha!"

    So no D-day, but rather :D-day IMHO.

  64. Is it really random? by SETY · · Score: 1

    Has anyone studied this garbage to see if it is random or not? If it's not, then develope algorithms and tune up the radars. and yes it would be hard, but this is war :) or so were told.

    1. Re:Is it really random? by thales · · Score: 1

      The garbage is reflections fromm side lobes, other seagulls, water mist, trace noise from sloppy transmitters and anything else cabable of generating rf. Some of it is removed by MTI (moving target indicator which deletes signals that allways appear in the same place, But too much is truly random.

      --
      Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
  65. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    So I take it you've never heard of the "Peoples Bomb", as reported by the great journalistic authority Gilbert Shelton? It's like this: you build a great big rocket, and place about a million red chinese armed with guns, knives, bayonets or even their own bare hands in it as payload. Then you aim it at a major (US) city, and gamble that fatalities at impact will be no more than 50%. Eureka! Half a million of those wacky red chinese ruining your nice suburban morning with rusty knives and lusty shouts of "Sha! Sha! Sha!"

    So no D-day, but rather :D-day IMHO.

  66. Logistics by hagar� · · Score: 5

    An invasion could be undertaken on the US. It would have problems though.

    First you send in infiltrators, who set up airstrips in remote locations, and purchase ammunition. They purchase vehicles and fuel. You then take about two dozen chartered commercial jet airlines, you load them with troops and land them at US airports all friendly like, most likely the east coast. It doesnt take long for 500 or so armed troops to capture an airport, and then fortify their position quickly. The 747's can carry anti-tank/heavy weaponary, and plenty of ammunition. No food, cause that isnt neccessary. These troops are the first wave and will only be the front line for a short period. 10-20 minutes behind these 747's, are standard long range cargo planes, carrying light armor vehicles and more troops, these land at the commercial airports and at the private airstrips you have set up.

    Your troops take the LAU's and go like hell towards your assigned targets. Airbases, Army Bases, Naval Bases, Police Stations, Gun Stores.
    The trick is to move fast and capture quickly. A night attack on a weekend would be best, as you would capture quite afew bases relatively lightly manned and vulnerable, you might even bring pilots/tankers/sailors with you to take the captured vechiles and add to the chaos. You continue to bring in troops from china by air and land them at your secured areas.

    At this stage it gets sticky. Your main mode of transport of large armor and troops is by sea. Getting by SOSUS is quite hard, and you have to deal with naval assests in the pacific. Hopefully you would attack at a time when a carrier isnt present close by in the pacific. You have to get your tanks in, so one way would be by using normal car carriers, who are on scheduled runs to make landfall on the same day as your attack to deliver vehicles. If you were serious about your plan, you might even nuke pearl/guam in the first 24 hours of your attack, to make it easier to move more heavy units from china to the US. This would also allow you to move a chinese carrier closer to the US to provide air support for the grunts and eventually transferring all aircraft to captured US runways.

    You have to link up your heavy armor, light armor and infantry to push inland, obviously after securing your captured cities. You then utilise these cities, and the railroads to supply food and munitions to your front lines as they spread inland. Time elapsed is about 48-72 hours, more then enough time for the US army to mobilise and to present a good front line, possibly near the rockies.

    Attack of the US is not an easy task, and requires exquisite timing of delivery of assets. It requires china to send troops a huge distance, and to get past pearl with ships. It would obviously be easier to attack with an allie close by, say from cuba or south america, to attack other borders at the same time. This draws units away from your main assault.

    Now this is a possible scenario, if, china had the logistical assets to do this. The Chinese army is much like the soviet army used to be. A large club to bludgeon your opponent to death with numbers, aslong as he is relatively close. China has never had to move huge amounts of troops over an entire ocean to attack an enemy so far from home. It isnt easy logistically. But possible. To make it more interesting, an enemy may even release chemical/biological weapons before he attacks. He may poison water supplies. He may release anthrax or similar diseases. He may sabotage power stations, he may cause an increase in terrorism before hand.

    There are alot of things in warfares bag-o-dirty tricks.

    As for disabling the US nuclear counter attack, that is a tough nut to crack, and would require unconventional techniques im sure. For example purchasing properties near known ICBM silos, buying a few hundred stingers and praying you can cripple a few missles before they hit your country. Perhaps small backpack nukes could be used to crack the silos at close range, but thats debatable, as those silos are hardened and quite well built. Maybe wait till they open up to launch? Who knows.

    Naval nukes are even harder to disable apart from an intense naval campaign by your forces to kill the subs, even then, they can launch from almost anywhere, and damn but their quiet.

    Carrier based nukes are also a concern. It is unlikely you would attack the US without first developing a good ABM defence.

    So in answer to your comment
    'It would be exceedingly difficult to come anywhere near the US shore with any kind of sizable force.'
    True, but not impossible. Give war a chance!:)

    --
    Insert something insightful here, or I'll insert something painful there.
    1. Re:Logistics by zantispam · · Score: 2

      You've obviously done this before :-)

      Here's more thoughts:

      Maybe nukes would be good. Think Maskrovia in _Red_Storm_Rising_ You set off your nukes at very discreet, tactical targets. Make sure, however, to nuke one large city in a very messy way. The US responds, and you make sure that, while some of your cities are being taken out, you nuke, say, Kiev. Now the Russians are in on it, and you have support.

      Of course, this scenario ignores the fact that your country is a glowing hole in the ground...

      My other thought revolves around guerrela warfare. If you get enough nationals in the country in the 6-12 months prior to commencement of hostilities, you may be able to set up enough of an infrastructure to paralyze the US for 72 hours. That would be more than enough to push to Washington and sue for peace (following your "East-Coast Scenario").


      Jedi Hacker (Apprentice) and Code Poet

      --

      censorship is a form of noise, which actively seeks to drown out content with silence - Crash Culligan
    2. Re:Logistics by hagar� · · Score: 1

      Sure you could slip in plenty of nationals, but you risk the one true killer of campaigns.

      Operational Security.

      The more people you involve on the covert side of the operation, the larger your chances of being discovered too early.

      Things happen, say one of your nationals gets arrested for something, perhaps he gets into a fight. He talks, or he inadvertantly lets something go in interrorgation. Or even worse, one of the men defects to the US while in country, or even worse, is a double agent.

      Kinda gets more complicated the more people you involve. A better option would be to recruit chinese americans, like the Germans did in world war one, recruiting german americans, to sabotage factories, rail roads, munitions and docks in both the US and Canada.

      A multicultural country such as the US, or in my case Australia, often has many enemies, some of which, live inside of it.

      A 'home grown' guerilla war would be much more effective, as your troops already know the land, they know the lingo, they know the real targets from the imagined and best of all, they can dissappear back into the crowd.

      Up to true hostilities these people could be used in a terrorism campaign. Drawing resources from the US into internal security concerns instead of external, allowing your forces to perhaps draw near enough to strike.

      --
      Insert something insightful here, or I'll insert something painful there.
    3. Re:Logistics by Perrin-GoldenEyes · · Score: 1

      Wow, that is a really well thought out strategy. I hope you never fall into Chinese hands. One problem. You'd want to avoid nukes, chem, and biological weapons at all cost. Use of any one of these on the US WOULD result in nuclear retaliation. And the fact is that you CANNOT completely disable US nuclear forces. Even if you could stop all the ICBM's, B-52's, B-1's, and B-2's, you wouldn't have a prayer of disabling our Trident submarines. And those are the most useful part of our nuclear arsenal anyway. If China tried to nuke (or chem or bio) us there's a pretty good chance that the country would be paved and the nukes would come from a few miles off their coast.

      Cheers,
      Perrin.

      --
      -Perrin.
      Now I want you to go in that bag and find my lightsaber. It's the one that says bad mother-fscker on it.
    4. Re:Logistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure. Let em come. They might take an airport or two. But then where are they going to go? You're completly forgetting the largest armed force in the USA. The NRA. It would be quite amusing to see the Lefty's trying to explain how Homer and Gomer are keeping the Chinese pinned down while the Army regroups for a counter attack.

    5. Re:Logistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Eh, I've always been more of a fan of biological and/or chemical warfare. The reason is this: you can be excessively stealth with biol. or chem. tactics if are patient. I know of a researcher who's actively working to figure out how neurons extend from their fetal positions (where the interconnectedness of neural pathways isn't yet complete) to their mature positions. He's getting fetal rat brains, dicing them up, culturing them and flooding them with various protiens and monitoring the neural growth and growth direction. Since there likely are enzymes involved in the process, and enzymes can be blocked by mimicing protiens (toxins), who's to say there isn't a protien that can be made or that naturally exists that could inhibit the growth and extention of nerve cells in feti (fetuses?) or small children? If that protien were released into the water supply of a few major cities, neural development in all young humans may be stopped to the point where, say, 50 years down the line, any given invading country would vastly outnumber the invadee population (if the previously mentioned scenario caused an outbreak of SIDS or something similar) and an overtaking and cleaning of the water supply might be much easier.

      It would take a longer time to take a country this way, but it'd be really effective and damn near stealth.

    6. Re: Logistics by GooseKirk · · Score: 1

      Now this is a fun topic of debate!

      I'm a little skeptical about the viability of the airport sneak-attack plan. First of all, a mass influx of heavy transport planes coming into these airports from China in such close order would, I'm sure, raise a few eyebrows at SAC. If you could stream them in from various places around the globe you might have a better chance of slipping by unnoticed, but then you've got an even bigger counter-intelligence problem with trying to keep it all secret. And if word got out, the Air Force would swat those planes out of the sky without even breaking a sweat, and then you're left with nothing but a whole lot of explaining to do.

      And if you do pull off the transport itself, securing the airports might be pretty tricky. In urban areas, police SWAT teams with helicopters and night-vision scopes would respond relatively quickly; sure, they may not be able to go toe-to-toe with your infiltration force, but they'd likely throw some wrenches in the works. And what are you gonna do when John McClane shows up? (i.e., http://us.imdb.com/Title?0099423)

      I'm not buying the private airstrip thing, either. A private airstrip big enough to land a 747 is going to get noticed by the county planners. And then when a whole bunch of huge transports inbound from China start landing at an unknown or even known civilian airfield in rural Bassackwards, Idaho, well, someone's going to be curious about that, and that someone will have guns. Big guns.

      You're talking about a pretty significant amount of material to move via air, and I don't think you could move enough to assault military bases, for example. You'd have to contend with, in most places, fairly congested civilian roads, and I think people would tend to notice a large, foreign invasion force cruising down I-75. If you used US military hardware that'd probably help, but odds are pretty strong that by the time you got to the gates of the nearest airbase, they'd be expecting you. A couple hours warning may not be enough for the US troops to gas up the big guns, but on the other hand, you wouldn't have any, either. And let's say you did take over a small base here or there - what've you got? You'd just be sitting there waiting for other US troops to get mobilized to come overrun you.

      You could make a rush to take over a few port facilities, where you immediately start offloading your thousands of pieces of heavy equipment from your fleet of transports, but then, why bother with the airport business at all? Wouldn't take much to commandeer a port. You have your transport pull up to the dock one night and have a couple dozen guys with pistols round up the rent-a-cops, and there you go. As long as you're offloading a bunch of armor and anti-air assets, you're good to go.

      Of course, you'd have to have a whole hell of a lot of transports pulling up in very short order to pull it off, and then you're back to the problem of moving a huge invasion force across the ocean without anyone in the free world noticing. Even if you could somehow neutralize or avoid the entire US Seventh Fleet, you wouldn't make it within a couple hundred miles of shore before the Air Force starts raining stand-off missiles on your fleet. The sheer amount of firepower the US military could bring to bear on a naval fleet approaching its coastlines is enough to make my head spin. No way is it doable. And even if it were, you'd crawl up the beach only to be greeted by a sea of ground forces stretching from horizon to horizon, and they've been following your fleet's progress on CNN and are quite anxious to make your acquaintance.

      Maybe a case could be made for a sneak amphibious assault across the Bering into Alaska, but then again, I imagine the US military has considered that too, and there are probably some significant defenses in that area that we civilians aren't even privy to. Even if there aren't, it's a long drive from Alaska to the lower 48, and AFAIK there's only one sizeable road you can take and I bet there a bunch of A-10 pilots who are already pretty familiar with it.

      And anyway, lastly, the real question is - why would China ever WANT to invade? Even if it was possible, what could they theoretically gain from it? Offhand, it seems like a losing proposition any way you look at it... to put it delicately, occupying a nation as large and rambunctious as the US would be problematic. And where's the profit in it?

      No, no, my friends... a much better idea would be an invasion of Baja California. Now there's a prime piece of real estate just itching to be annexed by somebody! If you or someone you know is a major global power looking for an extracurricular military excursion, then have I got a plan for you! Except you, France... I've got a reputation to uphold, y'know.

    7. Re:Logistics by dalroth5 · · Score: 1

      Er...you seem to be forgetting that all your guys are...our guys...(Asian, Russian, European, African, Latin American, Australasian, hope I didn't leave anybody out of the party...) That's what draining our brains does fer ya! Now you see our master plan. Invade the US with our brightest people on the pretext of looking for better-paid jobs, then when the moment is right (Thanksgiving, as I said somewhere earlier) we strike! Doh! Just gave away the store!
      For more paranoia like this, please visit Disneyland.

      --
      "We reject kings, presidents and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code." Dave Clark, IETF
    8. Re:Logistics by Zak3056 · · Score: 1

      The downside to this (for the Chinese) is that they'd get their asses kicked by Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze.

      Sorry, I couldn't resist that. Your scenario just sounded too much like Red Dawn, especially the Cuban tie-in, front line on the Rockies, and the limited nuke strikes, and the chartered commercial aircraft.

      I've often wondered if such a scenario would work. The one big problem with your scenario, however, is America is just too damn big. There are too many army bases, navy bases, gun stores, police stations, National Guard armories, etc. for any force to take more than a tithe of them before organized resistance could form around them.

      --
      What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
    9. Re:Logistics by fat_mike · · Score: 1

      In my opinion, we (the us) could be invaded, but unless somebody nuked us into submission, I don't think any one or two countries could take and hold the US. Think of every gang in most major cities that has better weaponry than most third-world armies. An invading force could maybe get to the Rockies, but every yahoo for North Dakota to Georgia would be saying "Ma, get me my gun" and that would be the end of any invading force. Look at how many Americans died to protect their country during the Civil War and that was with brother's fighting against brothers. Imagine brothers fighting with each other against some country who had the balls to come and invade their city. To many people with guns that know how to use them in the US.

      Matt

      Matt

    10. Re:Logistics by The+Mad+Hawk · · Score: 1

      One major problem I see with this... while having your military come in on commercial airliners - perhaps your own national carrier - to take a "beachhead" at the airports will look convincing enough to allow them to land, the US air defense system would certainly see your materiel cargo planes behind them, and would turn them back or just splash them outright into the Atlantic.

      So now you've got your nation's whole GDP for the last couple of years turning into reef fodder on the ocean floor and control of a couple of airports. Oh, yes, and a bunch of US Marines in your capitol building, too. :)

    11. Re:Logistics by jafac · · Score: 1

      A stinger could not catch a Minuteman III. It would be like sending a Piper Cub against an F-16.

      We're talking about a missile that has a maximum speed of about mach 4, maximum altitude of about 20,000 feet, against a missile that has a maximum speed of about mach 25, and an altitude of about 500,000 feet. There might be a window of opportunity within about the first 5 seconds of launch, but you'd have to be within a few hundred yards of the launch site, and I don't believe there's any unsecured real estate that close to any launch silo.

      A task like that would take some serious AA firepower, like a Hawk or Patriot.



      I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    12. Re:Logistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First you send in infiltrators, who set up airstrips in remote locations, and purchase ammunition. ... private airstrips you have set up. Ok this is the first flaw. This would leave you with your troops being stranded in hostile territory with no supplies. Note china has no way to project air power. Their air force has no tankers logisticly there for they will be unable to resuplly the beach head. This was tried in world war two as an American air drop that turned into a masacure. Your troops take the LAU's and go like hell towards your assigned targets.... You continue to bring in troops from china by air and land them at your secured areas. after the first wave aircraft from perl as well as any air base on the second half of the united states would block airborn reinforcments. Also note it would take over an hour to get from any comercial airport to any west coast airbase. By the time you could get there assuming no resistance they would be airborn/and the ground forces would be dug in. At this stage it gets sticky. Your main mode of transport of large armor and troops is by sea. Getting by SOSUS is quite hard, and you have to deal with naval assests in the pacific.... This would also allow you to move a chinese carrier China has nothing heavier than a destroyer and all of their subs suck. They have NO functioning air craft carrier and no carrier based jets if they did have one. There for china can not project a naval might or air power across the pacific. Almost all of their subs are dessal and you are right that a single carrier group could destroy the entire chinese navy with little or no damage. closer to the US to provide air support for the grunts and eventually transferring all aircraft to captured US runways. Attack of the US is not an easy task, and requires exquisite timing of delivery of assets. ...other borders at the same time. This draws units away from your main assault. Now let's note that Mexico defends our southern land border and has to many troubles of it's own to go looking for a fight. there for we can assume that border is secure. The gulf does present a problem untill you remember that cuba has no navy at all and a carrier group is always cruising the east coast. Combined with the crusier group based there a cuban attack will do little more than initiate a massive retaliation. In short China has no current capabilities to invade the united states. This is more significant as China want's to defend itself if we decide to invade them if they ever invade tiwan which they consider a rebelious province. At the moment their capability to even invade this island a hundred miles off of their coast comes into question. On the other hand based on our current policy at maintaining the status quo they might be justifiable in expecting a air attack on any forces they send into tiwan. While china does have a two and a half million man army they could not land more than the initial three or four thousand men in the initial landing. Untill they develop some method of projecting long range airpower they can't even fly one way to the united states in a fighter.

  67. Re:F117 by TurkishGeek · · Score: 1

    A Russian aviation fan, who naturally happens to be a fanatic Serb supporter, put up a page about US and Allied losses in the Kosovo campaign.

    Check the site out for more information about the F-117 loss, and other claimed US and Allied losses. The F-117 is credited to SA-6 missiles in this page.


    --

    BluetoothCentral.com
    A site for everything Bluetooth. Coming in January 2000.

    --
    Zigbee Central: A Zigbee weblog
  68. You are incorrect regarding F117, B2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    There has been a substantial number of articles in the popular press regarding the degree to which stealth has been oversold.

    B2 and F117 planes have been detected, sometimes accidentally, by other American jets. I am not offering conjecture - there are written accounts of accidental detection.

    Detection of these planes is no longer considered difficult by first-world defense planners.

    As for the B2 - it is a plane without a mission, and an egregious waster of money.

    The Air Force knew this plane was not a useful countermeasure and attempted to block its development (see quotes by Gen. Horner, who was then the commanding General of the Air Force). Think about it - if the Soviets (who were the threat at the time) had portable launchers, they could hide them anywhere in the five million hectares of forest in what was the Soviet Union. You can't bomb what you can't find.

    By the way, spy satellites cannot see through solid object, so the the density of the Soviet forest was well suited to block prying eyes from watching missiles launchers from being moved around.

    As a small common-sense conjecture, one must wonder why the B-52 is still the most heavily used bomber in service, even though the B1 and B2 were intended to replace it (at least partially).

    1. Re:You are incorrect regarding F117, B2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      B2 - Without a mission! While its original mission has been diminished, the B2 is still an incredible conventional bomber. Look at the amount of ordanances dropped by the B2 on Yugoslavia.

    2. Re:You are incorrect regarding F117, B2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Look at the amount of ordanances dropped by the B2 on Yugoslavia.

      Yes, a fraction of what a B-52 could drop at much less cost.

      The Air Force knew that it was a "use it or lose it" proposition for the B2. If they couldn't demonstrate that these planes had ever proven effective in combat, it would be difficult to get congress to throw more money at even bigger pork projects in the future.

    3. Re:You are incorrect regarding F117, B2 by Village+Idiot · · Score: 1

      Just a couple of points, if by portable launchers you mean small shoulder fired type missiles such as the stinger,sa-7 etc then the problem would be they rely on infra-red detection and with a plane optimised to be stealthy in the infra-red spectrum and which also may be flying above 20000 feet or so(where shoulder launched missiles are often said to become ineffective , i'm not sure whether this is due to the control surfaces becoming ineffective or whether it is their rocket motor doesnt burn long enough to engage above this altitude.... anyone know?). If you are talking mobile as in mobile launch vehicles then i would imagine there is a fair chance that one would be able to pick up the vehicle by its infrared signature, or possibly by airborne radar such as that on the JSTARS aircraft.
      Second point on the matter of B-52's being used over B-1's and B-2's i believe that at the time of the gulf war most of the B-1's werent capable of dropping conventional munitions and it is only since then that they have been converted. Also if you are hinting that the B-1B isnt a very good replacement then if you believe Ben Rich's book "Skunk Works" the only reason it got built was because Reagan promised the Californian electorate(Rockwell was situated there i believe) he would reinstate the B-1 program which Carter had cancelled due to the development of stealth technologies. Whether improvements to the aircraft have made it useful or not would probably be a better question for a bone driver. On the B-2 i guess the argument could be that if you are going to be able to fly an aircraft that is nearly 50 years old into a certain low threat situation and do the same job as one which is brand new but worth over $1bn which would you choose?

  69. Re:Stealth Dogfight by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 1

    I remeber a quote on the subject of F-22s vs. the newest Russian fighters.

    "If you have a sniper rifle and you are trying to shot a knife wielding midget in a telephone booth are you going to get in the phone booth with the midget or are you going to shot him with the rifle?"

    The point is a fighter like the F-22 isn't going to get in a knife fight with an SU-35 or F-16. It is going to stand-off and fire AMRAAM missiles at a range where the target is unable to lock on to the F-22. An F-22 will prbly be one hell of a dog-fighter, like the F-15 or F/A-18 is, but thats not it's primary job. It's job is to defend the AWACS/JSTARS and sweep the skys so the F-117s and F-16s can do thier job.

  70. Re:Its obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just wipe out all the commercial broadcast transmitters in the region. Maybe tell neighbouring countries to turn theirs off or else. In all the recent wars they were doing this as a matter of course (fighting "media war"). But a better long-term solution is to work on cheap strike missiles and minimally stealthed UAVs and get pilots out of the frypan. With new advances in reconnaissance positioning and communication links it would probably already be cheaper to do this than piloted stealth.

  71. Not hard enough evidently by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    It only matters that it is harder to detect on radar. That is the advantage the USAF wants.

    Not nearly hard enough, or the US wouldn't be making such heavy use of F-15s and B-52s. Not nearly hard enough, or illiterate reservists in Yugoslavia wouldn't be able to swat them out of the sky.

    You could say they got a lucky shot, but that would run counter to the growing number of accounts of easy radar locks pilots are getting on these planes, sometimes without any extra effort (since you like citations, check recent PopSci articles to this efect).

  72. Technology Investment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Soviet Union spent more than 70 billion dollars for radar technology. The investment meant that they had the most advanced radar technology at the time. But it was disappointing to them, because of stealth technology. All powerful nations have very bright ideas and good technologies, but it's never good to take a step that's too big. A country should invest, check if it works and then invest some more. Not so much investment at a time. Countries shouldn't fear each other's technology, if the hostility reduces, countries might learn from each other. VX rockets were feared sixty years ago, but in this generation they are used for satellite launches and that sort of stuff.

  73. You are correct - blue was recommened color by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The planes were originally designed to be baby blue to blend in to the daytime sky. The military simply thought they didn't look threatening enough. They wanted black. Now they have to fly at night.

  74. Uhm, no. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    A plane painted light blue is not patently more visible at night than a black one. There is less ambient light at night, such that the relative albedo of a blue plane will not make a difference unless a spotlight is trained on it.

    The end result is that a baby blue plane would be less visible during day, and essentially as invisible at night. A black plane offers a small advantage at night, but during the day is plainly visible even in bad weather.

    This is why the plane's original color was suppoed to be baby blue.

    Think about it - airliners are usually painted white. Can you see them any better above your house at night because of this? No, because there is no light to reflect off of them in any case.

    1. Re:Uhm, no. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The best color is actually a dark violet, the color of a moonless sky.

      Stealth is black because real men don't fly purple planes. (Kind of like why fire engines are red normally, instead of the fluorescent yellow) However, I've heard rumblings of re-paints on them to the weird purple color.

  75. This announcement was not too bright. by Stormbringer · · Score: 1

    From what I read, it mainly means that PRC can now expect to lose most of their broadcast transmitters to American cruise missles in the first hour of any action against Taiwan. Ditto Taiwan. Or am I missing something here?

    1. Re:This announcement was not too bright. by AndyL · · Score: 1

      Perhaps the technology isn't seriously useable. Perhaps there's too much random noise to make it usefull. So the anouncement is just PR.

  76. Slashdot pirating by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must know that in this forum, people only get indignant when someone violates the GPL. Every other license or copyright is "IN L3AGU3 W1TH 81LL GA7E5" and hence doesn't need to be observed.

    1. Re:Slashdot pirating by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      d00d ur l33tsp34k is L4YM3@!!!!!

  77. Invasion? What are you talking about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I browsed through the articles and read about fear of invasion. You should go out more often! In Russia, they think Americans will invade Russia, in the U.S. they think either Russia will invade the U.S. or China. People wake up! No one wants to invade no one. There are wars about territories going on, but at this moment there are no plans for any superpower to colonize another superpower. e2fsck your brainwashed heads people! And don't forget -c.

    Peace.

    1. Re:Invasion? What are you talking about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "There are wars about territories going on, but at this moment there are no plans for any superpower to colonize another superpower."

      This is probably true, as a US ground invasion of China would be almost logistically impossible to pull off, never mind the fact the US has the world's strongest navy.

      However, just because neither country intends or could even feasibly attempt to invade the other does not mean there cannot be armed conflicts between the two, either directly or through proxies. And though I can understand the desire of the Chinese to check US military power by developing counter-measures, I do not consider the fact that a hostile, foreign dictatorship is now better equipped to shoot down my country's planes to be a "very cool use of technology to fix a problem". There is more to life than technophilia, Hemos, and geopolitics is a decidedly zero-sum game! Please think before you write next time!

  78. Re:China invading the US by Skinka · · Score: 1
    Two words -- D-DAY

    Isn't that more like just one word? *g*

    Anyways, the distance from UK to France is a lot shorter than from China to US. The US would learn about the invasion early enough to build a good defence at the west coast and Mexican+Canadian borders (it is highly unlikely that China would attempt a direct invasion). Besides, there is absolutely no way to prepare a large invasion in secret these days. AFAIK, Germany didn't have any spy satellites at WW2 ;-)

  79. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by chazR · · Score: 2

    I agree. You'd need to have a good understanding of EM radiation, antenna design etc. Then you'd need some signal processing kit. Due to the amount of EM around, I thing DSP would be daft (in the initial stages of the processing setup at least). I'd look at doing filtering with tuned passive stuff first, then feeding that to some electronics to watch variations, then feed that to an output stage (I'd be doing at a lot of oscilloscope time before I considered digitising it).

    I live near a large flock of ravens (corvid family - about 150 of them). They fly over at predictable times at between 30 and 120 feet. I'd calibrate the kit against them first. Calibrating the setup, and keeping it calibrated, would be the headache.

    If I could detect the ravens, then I'd ask the US military for a stealth plane to play with. This is where the 'hobbyist' bit is limiting.

    I suspect there would be major problems in a populated area with transmissions from electric motors, microwave ovens, mobile phones, overhead lines and all the other bits of electromagnetic technology we rely on. I'd give it a go if I had the time, though.

  80. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    There's a big difference between crossing the English channel with a few thousand troops, and crossing the pacific with an invasion force. Here are a couple of problems with the Chinese invading:

    1) The ships would take several days to get here, and they'd be picked up by satellites LONG before they go to North America.

    2) the entire invasion force could be taken out with a nuke, while it was at sea. What would the Chinese say, that they were sending over 50 cruise liners as a good will gesture?

    3) They could invade Alaska, if they got the Russians to go along with it, by crossing the Bering Straight. Personally, I wouldn't want to travel over a thousand miles of tundra and mountains with no roads. I doubt the Chinese army would either. HUGE logistical problems.

    China isn't going to invade, period. North America is just too far away to make it feasible.

  81. Shoot by CAIMLAS · · Score: 1
    China is supposed to be on our side now, whether we believe it or not. I'm an optimist, but here I'm going to have to be realistic. China is a commie nation, plain and simple. Their citezens have no rights as people, and are merely treated as numbers. Freedom is a dream in China.

    Now that that's aside, I'll make mention of our little stealth-detecting technology.

    It sucks. Plain and simple, it's not a good thing for the US - the masqurading force in freedom preservation and technical innovation, amongst other things. If America's military force and status is challenged any more, it will eventually crumble to another attacking nation. China now presents itself as the second, if not first, most powerful nation in the world. They've got our missile technology (thanks Bill), and now they seem to have technology that could possibly rival and destroy the most expensive and powerful air force in the world. It has the potential to nullify millions - or even billions and trillions - of dollars in research.

    -------
    CAIMLAS

    --
    ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  82. Typhoon class boats (OT) by zantispam · · Score: 5
    Right and wrong.

    "the typhoon is huge"

    Right. The largest military sub to see active duty.

    "it is nuclear powered rather than desal (sp) powered"

    Wrong. The Typhoon boats are nuclear, diesel, and battery powered. Why do you think they were so darned big? The reactor put out enough juice for a city. If that failed, there were two mammoth diesel engines. By mammoth, I mean 12'x10'x6', 10,000+ hp, and enough tourque to drive the boat through the water at 20 knots. Should those fail, there were two large banks of dry cell batteries on either bow. The batteries served three purposes:
    • Means of electrical power.
    • Additional trim control. Since the reactor and the diesels were aft and the missles midships, there was a lack of weight up front. Solution? Several tons of batteries added a degree or two of down angle to the centerline. Voila; a controllable boat!
    • Armor. Considering how much explosive was in a NATO torp (618lb for the mark 48), and considering that one could be fatal to a smaller boat, and considering that one Typhoon carried 20 ICBMs, any tactical advantage that one could get was worthwhile. Since the Typhoon's designers felt that most torps would hit the bow (standard sub tactics says to turn into a torp; makes for a smaller sonar return), having a boat that could take several hits and still fight (or stay alive long enough to launch her missles) made good tactical sense.


    "I don't think the largest sub in the world is more silent than the water around it."

    Wrong. Here's an example: Let's say that there is a skyscraper in the middle of a field (just follow me on this). Now let's say that the wind is blowing out of the North. Let's also say that you are blind, and walking past the south side of the building (going East to West). There will be a point when the building will start to block out the wind. Logic will tell you that it's no longer windy, and it's also very quiet. You may then deduce that there is a building to your right. Here's a diagram:

    **********************
    **********************
    .........--------*****
    .........||||||||*****
    .........||||||||*****
    ....o....||||||||*****
    .........||||||||*****
    .........||||||||*****
    .........--------*****
    **********************
    **********************

    Legend:
    * = wind;
    -,| = building;
    o = you;
    . = calm air;

    Now, relate that to being in a sub. Since there is always ambient noise in the ocean, the trick is to find someplace where there isn't enough noise. That'll be a Typhoon (or maybe a Charlie) with her plant cut way back. If you know where you are and how fast you're going, you can figure a bearing on the Typhoon. Once you have that, you can use basic trig to figure out range, speed, and mark, in that order. After that, it's simple to sneak up and fire your torps and get back out.

    zantispam (who gets waaaaaaaay to into this stuff)

    Jedi Hacker (Apprentice) and Code Poet
    --

    censorship is a form of noise, which actively seeks to drown out content with silence - Crash Culligan
    1. Re:Typhoon class boats (OT) by craw · · Score: 1
      What are the sources of ambient noise in the oceans? There are several to be considered; rain, biologics, breaking waves, and shipping. These are a combination of low, mid and high frequency sources. I'm going to assume that you are talking about high frequency sources, given that you allude to blockage.

      Waves, shipping and rain are sources that originate close the sea surface. This energy needs to be transmitted to the depth of the sub in order for the signal to be blocked. This does happen due to the changes in the vertical sound speed structure in most of the oceans. However, the propagation paths will be complicated due to the vertical sound speed structure and the variablity of this function. Note that rain and breaking wave sources will be broadly distributed (including those close to the sensor).

      Biological noise is common in many places, although it is more common in shallower waters. In deeper water, biological noise from marine mammals is observed. For the tooth whales, these signals are high frequency. Certainly, the movement of a vocalizing dolphin that passed behind a sub would be a suspect signal. However, one should not have to depend on this happening.

      If you are talking about low frequency signals, then the dominant source is shipping, earthquakes, and whales. However, the longer wavelengths will be more difficult to block.

      Sorry for this rather crude explanation.

    2. Re:Typhoon class boats (OT) by craw · · Score: 1
      Woops, I should have pointed out that from a tactical perspective, one seeks out places where the noise level is high (reduction in the S/N ratio). Variability in the ambient noise level is common. Hence, a drop in the ambient noise level is to be expected. Ambient noise level in the oceans is not a constant.

      Your wind model would seem plausible if the wind were a constant source of noise. If natural fluctuation occur, then how do you differentiate betweeen natural fluctuations and the "silence" of a sub?

    3. Re:Typhoon class boats (OT) by Ozwald · · Score: 1

      I don't think this is right. When moving air hits a round object (or an object boing through air), it tries to go around and continue on its original path. This is like the old experiment with the candle and coffee can.

      Ever drive down a highway at 100 km/hour behind a truck/trailer? Being directly behind one causes your car to bounce side to side from the truck's turbulance until you finally get atleast beside the cab of the truck.

      A aerodynamic object like a plane, submarine, trout, etc. are designed not to cause turbulance from movement alone, but it is impossible not to if it is maintaining a speed or accelerating. They must move by taking air or water in front of them and pushing it back. As long as it is coasting, turbulance will be minimal, possible for a sub, a little difficult for an airplane.

      Ozwald

    4. Re:Typhoon class boats (OT) by zantispam · · Score: 5
      Ok. This reply is going to cover the three replies I've received so far. I apologize in advance for the long post. And to anyone thinking of dropping out of High School, stay it, if only for the math (you'll see why later). Bear with me.

      craw wrote: "What are the sources of ambient noise in the oceans?...I'm going to assume that you are talking about high frequency sources, given that you allude to blockage."

      Actually, I was referring to flow noise. Flow noise occurs because, well, water flows. When trillions of molecules of water move and tumble and collide, they make noise. Depending on water speed, depth, and temperature, water can have all three frequency ranges...

      craw wrote: "However, the propagation paths will be complicated due to the vertical sound speed structure and the variablity of this function. Note that rain and breaking wave sources will be broadly distributed (including those close to the sensor)."

      Correct. This is complicated further by the position of the thermoclyne(sp?).

      When water is of two contrasting temperatures, the cold water will sink and slow down. It forms a fairly flat `layer'. On top of this is the warmer water. Water on top of the layer tends to move faster and have more variety of currents. Therefore, detecting sound below the layer from above the layer is more difficult than detecting sound above the layer from below the layer. Since the layer sits at between 200 and 600 feet, it's easy to stay underneath it.

      Now, if I'm 100 feet below the layer, and the Typhoon is 100 feet above the layer, and the chop is about 20 feet (think mid-Atlantic in fall), I will probably have a difficult time hearing her.

      If the chop is closer to 5 feet, however, and all other factors are equal, I should be able to hear the Typhoon if I'm +- 3 degrees to either side of her (like this: /\).

      Below the layer, these factors are mitigated.

      craw wrote: "If you are talking about low frequency signals, then the dominant source is shipping, earthquakes, and whales."

      And flow noise (below the layer). Remember that the currents under the layer run at about 3 to 6 knots. These currents are not nearly as fickle as the currents above the layer, therefore, we can depend on them (a bit more).

      craw wrote: "If natural fluctuation occur, then how do you differentiate betweeen natural fluctuations and the "silence" of a sub?"

      If the current is coming from the East, and there's a Typhoon to my East, then depending upon the difference between our respective `altitude' (can't remamber the proper word) and distance between us, I may be able to detect her, either from an absence of flow noise, or because of a variance in what I'm expecting to hear. The point is that I should hear x amount of y different types of noise. If x is ever more than a standard deviation off, I have cause to investigate. More on this later.

      Ozwald wrote: "When moving air hits a round object (or an object boing through air), it tries to go around and continue on its original path."

      But is does not do this perfectly. See below...

      Ozwald wrote: "Ever drive down a highway at 100 km/hour behind a truck/trailer? Being directly behind one causes your car to bounce side to side from the truck's turbulance until you finally get atleast beside the cab of the truck."

      You have proven one of my points for me. (Keep in mind that Typhoons can't (and wouldn't) go 100 kph) Ok, when you're behind that semi, everything concerning the air is totally different than it would be if you were not behind that semi. Because it is there, and because it is causing a disturbance several meters behind itself (you don't tailgate, right ;-), you notice that it's there. That's one thing to look for.

      Another point: have you ever sat in the back of a pickup? If it's going slow, the air is calmer right next to the cab than it is by the tailgate (it's much easier to light a cigarette there). If you're looking for a sub that's going reeeeeealy slow (as boomers are want to do), they will leave `holes' in the water at those speeds. How big a hole is a function of the speed of the boat (I wish I could remember my trig - all two weeks of it before I dropped out. Thought I forgot, didn't you?).

      Diagram:

      ***************************
      ***************************
      ************.**************
      **********...**************
      *******...../\*************
      ******.....|T |************
      ******.....|Y |************
      ******.....|P |************
      ******.....|H |************
      ******.....|O |************
      ******.....|O |************
      ******.....|N |************
      ******.....|__|************
      ******.........************
      ********......*************
      **********..***************
      ***************************

      Legend:
      * = Flow Noise
      . = Hole in the Water (quiet water)


      Because of this hole in the water, the noise that reaches the sonar will be different for roughly that shape (as in the diagram above) for a certain distance at a certain speed yadda yadda ad nauseum.

      Ozwald wrote: "A aerodynamic object like a plane, submarine, trout, etc. are designed not to cause turbulance from movement alone,"

      Number one: They may not be designed to, but they do. Remeber that air is a liquid too, for the purpose of this exercise. Liquids have this nasty property called adhesion. Because all of the molecules of (water|air) are togeter in a finite space, moving one molecule will case it's neighbors to move. This is called drag. For a better explination of why this is a problem and possible solutions (for aircraft, anyway), look up the Laminar Flow wing here and here).

      Ozwald wrote: "but it is impossible not to if it is maintaining a speed or accelerating."

      Subs have to move. Kinda like sharks. Well, they dont have to, but they need to. Why? Three reasons (off the top of my head):
      • To prevent broaching. Subs are designed to be a tiny bit boyant. That's why when they move normally at a constant depth the diving planes are at a slight down angle (usually a degree or two). If the sub stops moving, she can no longer totally control her depth. That's a Bad Thing ©
      • Steerage. Almost the same problem as above. Any good skipper will try to go no slower than 2 or 3 knots. That way, the boat will still be responsive to steering input. Why? beacause...
      • Sonar equipment only works in cones or echelons. Problem: you cannot cover the entire 360 degrees around a boat with one passive sonar. Solution: have multiple passive sonars. Most boats have a front array, lateral array, and some (I know the Los Angeles boats do) have towed arrays. For those to work, the boat needs to be able to move the arrays around (purposes of triangulation and all).


      Therefore: Subs will never not move. Boomers will usually hold a really slow speed, but it's constant. Laminar flow problems and adhesion cause disturbances in the water, especially under the layer. And a really good sonarman can detect these disturbances.

      *whew* I'm done now...


      Jedi Hacker (Apprentice) and Code Poet
      --

      censorship is a form of noise, which actively seeks to drown out content with silence - Crash Culligan
    5. Re:Typhoon class boats (OT) by craw · · Score: 2
      Much of what you describe is unfortunately incorrect. I suggest you read Wenz, Acoustic ambient noise in the ocean: spectra and sources, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol 34, 1962 (note the year!).

      Your flow noise exists for flow around a solid body. Elsewhere, this "noise" would be extremely small. But suppose it did exist. Then what a sensor would pick up would be the noise from sources that were close by; remember, your noise source is omnipresent. Underwater acoustic attenuation is a combination of geometrical spreading and absorption loss. For high frequencies, this loss can be described by spherical spreading with the signal loss related to the distance, R. In this case the loss is R^2. IOW, local noise sources will dominate the signal received by the sensor.

      There is something else, this noise source may be incoherent. But in this case, there will be noise cancelation by summing the signal received by the many elements of the receiving array. Result: no noise! But then, how would you hear a quiet zone?

      Your last part of your comment describes flow noise past a solid object. In this case, your model is more appropriate for describing noise at the sensor, not the source.

      You did get a whole bunch of karma for your comments!:-)

    6. Re:Typhoon class boats (OT) by zantispam · · Score: 2

      Ok. Big long reply to several replies again.

      StarFace wrote: "You don't happen to be Tom Clancy incognito?"

      I'm not Tom Clancy, but I play him on Slashdot. :-) Actually, the book that got me into this whole thing was _Run_Silent,_Run_Deep_. Don't know the author, but I read it in sixth grade. Been hooked ever since.

      craw wrote: " I suggest you read Wenz, Acoustic ambient noise in the ocean: spectra and sources"

      I most definantly will. Thanks. BTW, I've never had any formal training for this. I appreciate you pointing out my mistakes.

      craw wrote: "IOW, local noise sources will dominate the signal received by the sensor."

      By local, do you mean 100 meters? 1,000 meters? 10,000 meters? If passive sonar can be effective at upwards of 50,000 meters (or greater when acoustical conditions are good), then local becomes kinda moot, I would think.

      craw wrote: "Your last part of your comment describes flow noise past a solid object. In this case, your model is more appropriate for describing noise at the sensor, not the source."

      Ok. However, there will be noise at the source. Analogy time. Let's say that you're in a completely empty warehouse. There is some ambient noise, either from air conditioning, or outside sources, or whatever. While some of the noise will be confused, there will be a fairly constant source of noise. We'll call that flow noise. Now, your friend walks silently up behind you (by silently, I mean that he doesn't make any movement to cause any noise that would be louder than the ambient `flow noise'). You would then notice the person, not because he was making noise, but because he was blocking noise and effectively becoming a hole in the air.

      This is my personal experience. I have ultra-hyper sensitive ears. YMMV.

      My point is that what you `hear' (or don't hear) is a result of a very slight change in timbre in the general flow noise. Because you hear something slightly different than what you expected to hear, you can detect your friend, even though he has made no noise whatsoever. In other words, he was too quiet.

      And, if you took two steps to your left, you could triangulate a bearing because the change in the sound would remain localized to your friend.

      Am I making any sense at this point?

      SEAL wrote: "You can adjust your buoyancy any way you want. This is done with ballast tanks, of course.[...]Some boats can rapidly cycle water within special tanks. The idea here is to keep the sub level, since it is tough to perfectly adjust the different ballast tanks available on the boat."

      Right. However, those adjustments cause...you guessed it: noise. What's a boomer driver's biggest worry? Noise. Since it's easier (and quieter) to maintain depth by going 2 or 3 knots, that's what they'll do.

      I guess I should have said, "For all practical purposes, a sub (especially a boomer) will never not move."

      Good point.

      SEAL wrote: "A missile sub will stop when preparing to launch missiles"

      At which point noise is a non-issue (klaxions, tube doors opening, blast of compressed air to shove the missle out of the tube, etc.). But, you are right.

      SEAL wrote: "For example when running submerged, you get backpressure on your exhaust due to the water it has to push through (via the snorkel)."

      I was under the impression that snorkels were only used when near the surface, when running the diesels for long periods (recharging the battery, reactor maintenace, etc.). When a boat is at (let's say) 100 meters, the exhaust goes out the rear. The exhaust can then act as propellant, and the backpressure is mitigated in the cavitation of the blades.

      I might be completely wrong on this, of course. :-)

      SEAL wrote: "Oh yeah, and the diesel gives everything on the boat, especially your clothes, a quite unforgettable odor. :-)"

      Can I assume you've served on a sub?


      Jedi Hacker (Apprentice) and Code Poet

      --

      censorship is a form of noise, which actively seeks to drown out content with silence - Crash Culligan
  83. The Russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who cares.. the Russians have had this for YEARS. How do you think they shot down the stealth in Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War?

  84. Re:Chinks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I somewhat agree. There are over a billion of them in the world now. At least need to be nuked, if for no other reason than to reduce world food consumption. Our grains could go to more worthy causes, like the people of Bosina. However, you also have to be sensitive to their concerns. Therefore, I recommend a simple poisoning of the rice - they all eat rice (duh) and so they would die off, and we wouldn't have to use nuclear bombs and risk fallout and the like. Good idea IMHO. Lets move forward. How about a CVS server.. Anyone? Does this qualify as an Open-Source project?

  85. THIS IS NOT NEW, LOCKHEED HAD THIS YEARS AGO by Drizzt · · Score: 1

    This is not a new development, Lockheed had
    this system developed years ago. Hell, they
    even wanted to sell it as a Air Traffic Control
    System.

    In any case Stealth technology is not that
    great anyhow, it is relatively trackable
    by decent missiles anyhow.

    Hell, it was shown that the more advanced
    IR/Radar SA(Surface to Air) missiles could
    track them with relative ease.

    In any case, an arms race with China will
    probably be inevitable anyhow given a U.S.
    stance of global military superiority.

    -Alan

    --
    -- Man was created on the seventh day when god was tired. --
  86. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Eh? I don't think so. You're looking for an interference pattern caused by a source of reflection/scattering that is moving over time. All you'd have to do is take deltas in strength and phase from one sample to the next (good clocks are necessary to synchronize the timekeeping) and look for the source of the stuff that changed (backtrack a spherical wave and its reflections to the source). This is not black magic;

    It is also not something that a hobbyist except maybe a fanatical hobbyist would be able to pull off. How much time and money do you think a hobbyist would have to put into developing something like this? I probably just don't have a good feel for the capabilities of the average hobbyist and probably am underestimating them. It just doesn't seem very likely that it would be an easy task.

  87. Re:Chinks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OH MAN MODERATE THIS UP i TOTALLY AGREE LETZ GET CVS LIKE U SAY i WILL RUN AT WWW.COMMIE.ORG SHOULD BE UP IN 15 MINUTES GIMME UR E-MAIL ADDRESS TO DISCUSS.

  88. Re:Chinks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My email address is kr4dgenocidist@hotmail.com.
    Kickass! I'll supply the brains, you supply the poison!

  89. This is getting silly by tilly · · Score: 2

    China and the USSR got on bad relations decades ago. I don't think that the "collapse of communism" changed that much.

    Even so, you would NOT want to send troops over the Bering strait. Why not? Terrain! Go look at a map, count mountain ranges. That is *not* territory through which you want to maintain an overland supply train.

    No, the idea of China invading the US any time soon is sheer idiocy. They are far better advised to just wait. The US today is the largest debtor nation in the world, and it has held that title for over a decade. The current economic boom is hiding it, but eventually the markets will wake up to the fundamental economic reality, and in due course of time military might will follow the money.

    The days of the US single-handedly dominating the planet are numbered, and the Chinese leadership knows it. This is not to say that the US will be toothless any time soon. But, like the British Empire before it, the Spanish empire before that, and so on through history, economics is catching up to current World Superpower.

    Of course the realization of this status may take a while. Look at the British Empire. Between WW I and WW II the stage was set for its collapse. WW II demonstrated that it would not last, and the years following saw Britain quickly losing its territory. Yet the British public didn't realize this for decades after. They even went to war defending a corner of the Empire as late as the 1980s, and we still have as a last cultural hurrah the James Bond movies...

    Cheers,
    Ben

    --
    My usual seat in the cluetrain is at A HREF="http://pub4.ezboard.com/biwethey.ht
  90. Detect some UFO's now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe we could use this to finally detect and prove that UFO's exist.

    1. Re:Detect some UFO's now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a monkey!! :)

  91. Covert Espionage by / · · Score: 3

    And shortly after this information was leaked, secret double-agent panda Hsing-Hsing committed suicide at the National Zoo. The tricky part was knowing the leak was going to happen months in advance so he could start dying of renal failure.

    --
    "If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
  92. NAZI PIGS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What happened, did the Chinese guy in your class score an A and you an F?

    Moderate these nazi pigs down!
    Humans of such pathetic low level of intelligence shouldn't be on a technical messageboard!

    Racists like these should be buried alive in their parents garden.

    By the way, you're a nazi wannabe, I'm Dutch and therefore I can speak German, you want to be German, but you're not, your're a low-life, trailerhouse, drunk childmolester! F.U.!

    1. Re:NAZI PIGS by krital · · Score: 1

      I agree with the spirit of your letter completely. People like this have no place in a (mostly) intelligent place for discussion. However, you should consider that the way you addressed them does not make you too much better.
      Moderate them down!

      --
      -- K
  93. Jealous. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jealous moron. I knock you out with 1 fist. (right between your pig-eyes) You can't hide because you're on the net. Come up, show yourself, coward mosquito! Maybe it's more fun to knock you out with 3 moves, one knuckle on your left eye, one knee in your balls and a pen in your girl-voiced throat. I'm big, I'm fast, I'm smart and hungry for a man-to-man fight with a wimp like you.

    1. Re:Jealous. by Mr.+Mikey · · Score: 1

      You know, there are caffeine-free varieties of coffee that are just as tasty. Really.

      --
      wants to be the first monkey to touch the monolith
    2. Re:Jealous. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously not fucking honorable, though.

  94. Clue me in... by Silicon_Knight · · Score: 0

    Since it's basically just a really another way of tracking planes, this technology has no offensive capabilities, right? I mean, it's not like it's a radar system that can be mounted onto a ship and taken into a theater of conflict - this technology is totally for defensive use only.

    So why the hell are people so upset about it? Gee, poor USAF, they are gonna fly their plane into some other country's airspace and they might actually get shot down? Oh, horror, horror.

    All the racist comments from the Chinese-bashing idiots about how this technology in the hands of the Chinese is evil are about as valid as a script kiddie grumbling about the new firewall that someone installed to protect their box from "l33t h4x0r winnuke" attacks.

    -=- SiKnight

    1. Re:Clue me in... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And why the FUCK was that marked flamebait? I don't see you jackass racist moderators moderating down that trailer trash posting messages that says "Fuckin' chinks!". Fuckin' dumbass arrogant piece of shit script kiddie with moderator access.

  95. Russian Stealth by Michael+K.+Johnson · · Score: 2
    In the FWIW department: In August of this year, roughly ten years after that 1989 demo you mention, Private Pilot published a flight test review of the MiG 29. (You, too, can conduct your own flight test for only $27,000 or so...) I'll quote a few paragraphs here in what I hope is fair use.
    The cockpit's analog "steam gauges" are reminiscent of the cockpits of U.S. fighters of the 1970s. One big drawback of the weapons-management system is the complexity of operating it, requiring the pilot to manually sequence a multitude of settings and divide his time between inside and outside the cockpit.

    There is, however, on interesting twist on weapons management: The MiG 29 has a so-called "passive" infrared targeting system, which may also be linked to a helmet-mounted sight. The advantage of this system (effective only in visual conditions) is that it allows MiG 29 pilots to turn off everything "active," such as their radar, that would allow their opponents to acquire a lock on them....

    The Mikoyan Design Bureau has been working hard to overcome the airplane's drawbacks... new versions of the fighter have been recently introduced, featuring glass cockpits...

    The clever Chinese passive detection system is just one of many passive detection systems... :-)

    In general, everything I've heard, which has been common knowledge in the west, has been that the MiG fighters have a very good reputation for engineering. In particular, westerners seem amazed (I was amazed, for one) to learn that the MiGs are not fly-by-wire and are still very easy to fly.

    --

    -- "Ever wonder why the SAME PEOPLE make up ALL the conspiracy theories?"
  96. Actually the germans... by A+Bugg · · Score: 1
    The russians weren't the ones who first developed stealth, it was the germans during WWII, but Hitler didn't want to dedicate enough time and energy into it, so basically it got mothballed. Then the technology got lost for at least a decade until the americans or the russians found it, (not sure who was first, or the exact dates).

    It's my WAY or the HIGHW..., wait a sec has this been done before ?

    A Bugg

  97. Seems like propoganda... by THotze · · Score: 2

    Honestly, this isn't all that much of a surprise for a number of reasons. The article goes very lightly on Lockheed Martin's Silent Sentry system which we've had for years. So much, in fact, that the way that it works isn't even classified anymore.

    Furthermore, it seems that the by using commercial broadcasts you're risking a lot. Turn on your TV with just an antenna. Even use a really powerful antenna. Unless you're right by your local TV station, you're out of luck. The picture will get scrambled from interfereance over space by the uneven random distrubance of everything from atmosphereic/pressure differences to object's in it's path. So unless you had a vaccum and a perfect signal between all your recieving antennas (as has been pointed out you'd need at leat 3 to get a 3D reading, although more would be helpful.), you'll have some interference and turbulance. Furthermore, radio signals in places like China are less likely to be reliable than in more developed countries.

    Also remember that we've had this technology for a number of years. We haven't widely deployed it dispite the fact that it's cheaper to do so than most conventional radars. Believe me, the military likes *NEW* toys more than they like *EXPENSIVE* toys. And this would be a new toy. It evedeintly isn't that reliable, unless the Chinese have managed to leapfrog us in this.

    Also it's been pointed out that you can just start taking out TV/radio stations. The silence would be deadly if this was your only air defense. You could also theoretically do such things as rotate the plane every now and then to change the way that it disturbs the air. By traveling at different directions to the wind and at different angles and wind patterns, you'll change the turbulance that you create. Also remember that air craft (with the exception of ones like the F-117, designed before we had good enough computers to effectively design a plane like the F-22) are *DESIGNED* to make as little disturbance as possible. Before it was just areodynamics, now it may be a possible way to be stealthy. Futhermore a system this sensative would also detect things such as low pressure zones, air disturbance created by such things as factories, etc. (especially in cities), and would probably be *MUCH* more prevalant than the signature left by a 20m aircraft.

    1. Re:Seems like propoganda... by jafac · · Score: 1

      This is why attacks with stealth fighters are preceeded by cruise missiles which take out the power plants, which power the tv stations.

      I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  98. next gen by shazam* · · Score: 3

    of course the next step is quantum stealth
    you can detect it, but as soon as you figure out where it is, you cannot know where its going

  99. Big deal by Graymalkin · · Score: 2

    Austrailian radar techs discovered they could find stealth aircraft by bouncing radar off the turbulence behind the plane. If you've ever seen an F-117 it has some pretty awesome turbulence, so awesome it needs special compensators just to let the thing fly. Until someone figures out how to build an aircraft with little or no turbulence caused by drag anything is detectable if you put some thought into it.

    --
    I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
    1. Re:Big deal by haakon · · Score: 1

      This is a slightly fuzzy memory but it is worth the read.

      The Australian radar that picked up the stealth planes is a backscatter radar (over the horizion). It works by bouncing the radar signal off the Ionosphere and then hitting the topside of the plane. (rumor)The stealth plane that was orginaly picked up by the radar was the B2 not the F117. If you look at the difference in the crossection profile of the B2 front on and from the top you will see a huge differnce and that is why it got picked up. (/rumor)

  100. Dogfight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude youre an idiot. Dogfights happen between highly manuverable fighters like f-16A's and Mig-29's and f-16C's and Su-27's, f-15s and the whole line of russian planes. Not the U2 and the migs. Migs in the days of U2's couldn't keep up with the U2's if Nikita kruschev's life depended on it...Mig's shadowed u2, now thats funny

  101. Re:Over the horizon Radar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's the Austalian Jindilee over-the-horizon radar project. The full system is still under construction, but the prototypes work very nicely against conventional and stealth aircraft. Not sure how it will go next time you americans lob a space station at us, though.

  102. nothing "cool" about it. & Aurora (web sites) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hemos and the like.. you've made some good posts..but this is off the wall - what do you mean "cool use of technology".. to solve "a problem".. you guys might want to think a little..your sounding like teenagers who just saw a James Bond film.. nothing cool here

    We all know if China really had something like this then they could very well use it for:

    - tracing all pro democratic or anti-gov broadcasts. Unlike in this country where your free to transmit whatever your dement..

    - putting our pilots at risk. that means the 18-22yr old kid on the other end of the street who flys one of those stealth planes.

    - spending more Tax $$ on something new to meet the challenge..

    - Within 2yrs they will attack Taiwan.. that is not only going to turn the technology world (your wonderful stocks too) upside down, but also the balance of power.. china is expansionist, you have no IDEA the level of their governments commitment to this.

    I am not so gung-ho about mil tech.. but we do have all this tech crap for something..thats to protect our freedom. thats not a patriotic stance its just common sense. I've lived in a communist country for a few years on exchange.. you realize what it means to have what you have here..

    wake up man. Now let some idiot half brain respond to to this...nothing cool about it.

    Anyways.. they (CIA) probably knew about for some time and decided its time to post this so that mil can get $$ for Aurora. (what their building in Colorado)..the one that I've read on various sites.. Uses fiber optic stuff to project basically invisible plane. yeah the fibers lead into panels that project a clear image..or the image behind it.. you can't see it.. day attack no problem if you can't see it from a mile away.. doubt that claim..? check out EG&G ad in EE times (area-51 recruiter) for more opitical engineers.. although I guess the turbulence might be a problem for the more common F-22s.. either scrap it and comeup with something better costly $$, or sabatoge the labs..risky.

  103. From the web page at lockheed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    advantages: Low system cost due to the use of existing commercial radio and television broadcast signals. Transmitters do not have to be purchased and maintained. More accurate and frequent data updates from continuous wave radio transmissions than from conventional radar pulsed transmissions. Three-dimensional trajectories are computed with multi-static illumination. Real-time tracking is possible due to the high power of commercial processors. Passive systems transmit no radio frequency energy, are undetectable, and are environmentally friendly. Excellent illumination of low-flying objects is possible since radio and television stations broadcast close to the ground. Effective all-weather operation since the low frequencies of commercial radio are unaffected by weather. COTS-based architecture enables beneficial cost and performance over time.

    there's the answer to the weather question. But will it work for high flying planes?

  104. Re:China invading the US by Karrots · · Score: 1

    Can we say Pearl Harbor????? The US radar people SAW the PLANES on there radar but did they do anything about it nope. Must be a glitch or birds.

    Ya right. oops there went most of the US naval fleet.

  105. Maybe more important than tracking stealth ... by udin · · Score: 1

    One thing I haven't seen comment on is the importance of its being a passive system. Radar attracts radar-seeking missiles and generally alerts targets to their being tracked. This system could guide interception without attracting attention to itself.

    --
    udin
  106. Current stea;th technology can still live on by Antioxygen · · Score: 1

    Well as cool and usefull as this is it is not the death of stealth technology in it's current form. Using a signal that you don't controll adds a step to identifying a target. For example someone detects what apears to be a stealth aircraft on a bombing run over beijing, The detected change could be the result of some malfunction at the source of the signal that is being tracked. The operator would have to call to see that there is no problem with the tranmission itself, then report the target to someone who can visually confirm the target before any counter attack could be launched. This is a very exploitable weakness... The agressor could limit attacks to coastal areas where he can drop whaterver bombs he needs to and hightail it out of there.

  107. It really is obvious. by cybear · · Score: 1

    A better long term solution? How about constructively searching for peaceful solutions?

    --
    Upon seeing the box was too small, Schrodinger's Elephant breathed a sigh of relief.
    1. Re:It really is obvious. by bcaulf · · Score: 1

      I think we should be practical and go with the missiles.

  108. Australian radar confusion. by TurkishGeek · · Score: 1

    There have been several references to the mysterious Australian radar which can detect Stealth aircraft. I think a clarification is needed on the operating principles of this radar.

    As far as I remember, this specific radar used to be called "JINDALEE" by the Australians, and it's an "over-the-horizon" radar, which works by bouncing the radar signals off the low layers of the atmosphere to see over the horizon. The radar required seperate transmitter and receiver arrays with some distance between them (sometimes called a "bistatic" configuration) and hence could detect stealth aircraft, since the receiver array could pick up radar echoes scattered by the special shape of the body of Stealth aircraft.
    --

    BluetoothCentral.com
    A site for everything Bluetooth. Coming in January 2000.

    --
    Zigbee Central: A Zigbee weblog
  109. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I realize that we allowed that to happen. I think today though, if we saw four or five aircraft carriers steaming torwards Pearl harbor we'd take pretty quick notice. The people in the military are fairly smart individuals contrary to most people's opinion.

  110. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I'm curious how exactly you think that China could invade the US with ground troops?

    Simple! They would just go up through Russia to the North Pole then down through Canada ...

    Oh Shit, I think I've been playing too much Civilization again!

  111. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Half a million of those wacky red chinese ruining your nice suburban morning with rusty knives and lusty shouts of "Sha! Sha! Sha!

    Yes but when they got there they'd have the second amendment to content with!

  112. Re:China invading the US by Perrin-GoldenEyes · · Score: 1

    "3) They could invade Alaska, if they got the Russians to go along with it, by crossing the Bering Straight. Personally, I wouldn't want to travel over a thousand miles of tundra and mountains with no roads. I doubt the Chinese army would either. HUGE logistical problems."

    Not a chance in Hell. The Russians and the Chinese don't like eachother very much. (See my post earlier in this thread.)

    Cheers,
    Perrin.

    --
    -Perrin.
    Now I want you to go in that bag and find my lightsaber. It's the one that says bad mother-fscker on it.
  113. Australia Can Already Track Stealths by Horizon · · Score: 1
    ... and the scuttlebutt has it that the Australian Defense Minister knew about stealth planes before at least one US president.

    Stealth bombers are designed to be 'invisible'. They are a 'hole' in the air. This works well because most radars searching for bombers are on the ground. Air with nothing in it is blank, so a B2 blends right in.

    It's when you scan downwards that things fall apart. In Australia the the CSIRO built the Jindalee over-the-horizon radar. It works by bouncing radar signals off magnetised sections of the far upper atmosphere.

    The short form is: "Hmmm ... what's this in Nevada? It's a batwing-shaped hole moving at 600mph. Now I wonder what that is?"

    Australia. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the south-east pacific...

    be well;

    JC.

    --
    -- The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the fictional entity who may or may not have expressed them
    1. Re:Australia Can Already Track Stealths by twinpot · · Score: 1

      >Australia. Just when you thought it was safe to go >back into the south-east pacific...

      Eeeehhh. Has someone just moved Oz ?? I suppose that's one way to keep people out ;-)

  114. Detection has been possible for quite a while... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I remember doing some research on this a while back. It's been possible to detect stealth aircraft for quite some time now. Although, it's somewhat difficult, because it uses a combination of methods together to get a positive ID. It combines radar, infared, satelite, and I belive 1 or 2 other "common" methods of detection. However, the biggest problem behind it was integration the data coming from the multiple sources.

  115. Re:Chinks! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I somewhat agree. There are over a billion of them in the world now.

    If you are that concerned about world population, perhaps you could do the world a favour and euthanise the other guy, then give Kervorkian a call.

  116. Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Read the first chapter of "Fortress America" for free on CNN.com. The current military spending is higher than in 1980, even if you allow for inflation.

    1. Re:Hmm by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      Not proportionally, it isn't.

      1980: 22.7% of federal budget outlays were Nat'l Defense.

      1998: 16.2%.

      Deal.

      Source: OMB numbers, "Budget of the United States Government". FY 2000 (1999).

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    2. Re:Hmm by Surak · · Score: 2

      Not as a percentage of the national budget, which is the only gauge that counts when we are talking about the federal budget.

      <laugh> Like I'd trust anything the Clinton News Network has to say about politics.

  117. Profoundly Bad Military Analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2
    Wow, there are so many holes to poke in your plan it would take all night, but here goes:

    You then take about two dozen chartered commercial jet airlines, you load them with troops and land them at US airports all friendly like, most likely the east coast. It doesnt take long for 500 or so armed troops to capture an airport, and then fortify their position quickly.500? In most large cities, the police alone would outnumber and outgun them, let alone the national guard.

    Your troops take the LAU's and go like hell towards your assigned targets. Airbases, Army Bases, Naval Bases, Police Stations, Gun Stores.

    By this time a full scale military alert would already have been triggered, and Beijing would be glowing with the aid of a nearby submarine. Added to which, it would be trivial to block access routes and tie off the groups of troops. Your troops would be stranded, hunted, and eventually crushed with ease most likely by state police units alone, who would once again substantially outnumber and outgun your troops on the ground.

    You have one basic flawed premise - the surprise attack. Most likely any hostilities between the two powers would be preceeded by months of posturing, during which time national defenses would be beefed up, airports made more secure, and submarines and bombers would be scouting their targets. Satellites would easily, easily detect any significant movement. Intelligence would likely be able to predict the movement with great accuracy.

    I think you've watched Red Dawn too many times.

    1. Re:Profoundly Bad Military Analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      500? In most large cities, the police alone would outnumber and outgun them, let alone the national guard.

      Well, outnumber maybe, but not outgun...the police are really intended for use against the civil population of our country, and not suited to attacking an enemy with RPG's...think Branch Davidians...the Feds, not the local cops, got their clocks cleaned trying to assault a single structure with their troops, and there were only around 100 inside, including children.

      Beijing would be glowing with the aid of a nearby submarine.

      If I'm not mistaken, the U.S. will only use weapons of mass destruction (chem, bio, nuke) in retaliation for receiving an attack of the same kind.

      You have one basic flawed premise - the surprise attack.

      Hm, Poland 1939, Russia 1941, Hawaii 1941, Korea 1949, Afghan istan 1979, are all I can think of right now. Surely, none of these invaded nations had satellites orbiting, but America's recon satellites are totally defenseless and could be swiftly knocked out by any foe with 1970s rocket technology.

    2. Re:Profoundly Bad Military Analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      attacking an enemy with RPG's...think Branch Davidians

      You nitwit, the Branch Dividians didn't have RPG's...

    3. Re:Profoundly Bad Military Analysis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Whos cares if they have RPG's? We've got BFG-9000's

    4. Re:Profoundly Bad Military Analysis by cmarkn · · Score: 2
      the police alone would outnumber and outgun them, let alone the national guard.
      While I agree with most of what you say, this part about the quick reaction of the police as an effective counter to an invading army made me think of the way it took over 4 hours for the Littleton police to react to 2 armed boys at Columbine High School. Extrapolating this (to a silly level, admittedly) to 500 invaders would make one expect them to take 2000 hours to respond, which is almost 3 months. More realistically, the police are not really ready to cope with a pair of gunmen with authentic automatic weapons, much less 500 with not only machine guns, but stingers, LAWs, and RPGs. Sorry, but the police could do nothing more than clear the civilian traffic out of the way of the invaders.

      Meanwhile, it would take days to call up the Guard, unless they had already been put into some sort of ready mode during the buildup of tensions. Same with getting the Army out there, since there are very few troops sitting around ready to fight here, the way they are, or at least were, in Germany. The invaders would very easily be able to take their targets. Holding them for very long might be another story, but that may not be necessary - they just have to impress the people of their vulnerability, and the inability of the government to protect them in order to crush the political will to resist, even if all the invaders are destroyed in the counter-attack. Kind of like the way the Vietcong Tet offensive convinced Americans that war could not be won, even though it was a disaster militarily.

      --
      People should not fear their government. Governments should fear their people.
  118. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh yeah? If they are so smart, what the hell are they doing in the military in the first place?

  119. China invented chopsticks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    holy shit they gonna poke our eyes!

    1. Re:China invented chopsticks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chopstick was found everywhere (on earth), it's just happened that they know how to use it. Same situation here.

  120. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How long did you serve in the military!!!#@!#@ Jesus I swear there are more goobs in the armed forces than any other part of society.

  121. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    There's a huge difference between destroying part of the US Pacific fleet(not the part they wanted, BTW), and invading North America.

    Japan did what the North America? Invade a couple of the Aleutians, and land a few small shells fired by a sub on Vancouver Island? Yay.

  122. Commies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need a president who will stand up to these fucking commies, no the limp loser we have now!!!

  123. You guys are too gullible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    "top military and industry experts have been called to a secret meeting in December to discuss the strategic implications"

    Please. This is the plot for a b-movie, not a real occurrence.

    A few comments on other replies and the article:

    1) Designers of low observability ships, aircraft, and submarines have known for years (more than two decades) that you have to be careful not to make a vehicle _too_ stealthy, lest the enemy detect it by its absense of signature. Nothing new here.

    2) It's pretty unlikely that the chinese have acquired an F-117 for detection testing, much less a B-2 or F-22, so the comment that this "system" could detect these aircraft is pure speculation.

    3) Even IF such a system existed, and worked, and is or would soon be in place in China, it won't affect US policy there much. The US doesn't sneak aircraft into China often, and if an attack was planned, the first wave of strikes would be easily detectable (by RADAR or IR) unmanned missiles. China would know what was coming anyway. This system might help China detect U2s, but that's what satellites are for.

    4) Such a passive system IF it worked might detect aircraft, but detection is only part of the puzzle. I doubt such a system could be used for missile targeting. Since it would hypothetically rely on background RF noise, it could probably only provide a ballpark location for a target. Interception of a target would still require active detection, either SAM RADAR or fighter aircraft onboard systems, and as soon as a transponder went active, a STARM or Phoenix could find and silence it.

    5) Since the hypothetical system relies on background RF energy for tracking, you only need to send out more RF energy to jam it. "But wait" you say - "What if the Chinese system can tell the difference between our jamming and the background RF for purposes of tracking?" Well, if the Chinese had reliable technology to do that, they'd put it on their SAM systems, not in a limited-use passive detection network.

    6) The comment someone made that an F-117 is "only undetectable when flying below 100m" is BS. The aircraft is so unstable that no pilot in his right mind would fly one that low, in the turbulent air close to the ground, and if he did, his acoustic signature (noise) would make him trivial to detect.

    In short, this article is a fantasy or a deliberate attempt at misinformation. Think about it - isn't one possible reaction to this story "Gee, we'd better give some more dollars to defense spending to make better stealth stuff."

    Erik

  124. Curbing american aggression.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A lot of you yanks are whinging about other nations being able to detect your hostile aircraft. Perhaps you would like them to stop doing this, scrap their defense systems, and hell.. why not paint targets on their chests while they're at it? What arrogance! It is better for the world if the US military, and all other militaries, are renderd a little more impotent by purely defensive tech such as this. I cheer for any nation that focuses on defense rather than attack.. if China fights a war, the battlefield will be in China. In the hundreds of wars the US has fought, how many have been defensive? So which is the most evil of the superpowers?

  125. My thoughts on F22, JSF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I have two ideas regarding this that I presume you will not like. The United States should drastically, drastically reduce the size of its conventional military. At least by half. I say this not because I am a pacifist - quite the contrary, I feel that violence has acheived as much as science this century. Added to which, I would like to see half of all federal government emplyees fired. I am not a crazy survivalist - I'm just sick of paying out most of my income for high school dropouts to play with shiny toys. I'd much rather pay to improve the crappy Bay Area roads I have to drive on, or maybe just maybe bring our schools up to second world standards.

    So what to do about a military?

    I would maintain an active stockpile of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons that could be maintained by a smaller force. Use them when needed.

    As for foreign policy, drop it completely. I could care less if Egypt and Israel destroy each other. I could care less about Taiwan. Drop any notion of trying to "democratize" developing nations. If they want to play "Lord of the Flies", let them. It means nothing to me if armed nuts roam the streets of Uganda.

    1. Re:My thoughts on F22, JSF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What was that saying. Something like 'if you something history, you're something to repeat it'? I can't seem to recall - maybe you can help since you've clearly exemplified its conditional.

    2. Re:My thoughts on F22, JSF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, history has shown that when an "empire" overextends itself and neglects its core, its in decay. See: Rome, Germany, Britain, and soon to be the USA. My post is quite mindful of history.

  126. Do you know how many U2's been shot down by China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The number is...umm...around 5

  127. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why not just ship a couple hundred thousand insurgents over with hot little H1-B visas in their hands? The best way to beat a system is to use it against itself. :)

  128. If you want details about passive radar... by jasha · · Score: 1
    A friend of mine here at the UW recently built a system using commercial FM radio broadcasts. While it doesn't detect stealth airplaines, I imagine the underlying passive radar technology is similar to that employed by our friends overseas. He designed it to examing irregularities in the stratosphere, but it has been known to detect aircraft... from the web page
    Aircraft2. jpg
    This is a cross ambiguity showing multiple aircraft as observed by the radar in 10 seconds of data. The processing was done for maximum doppler resolution and the aircraft is travelling at -21.5 +/- 1.5 m/s. The clutter at zero doppler is produced by signal propagating over the cascade mountains and by scatter from Mt. Rainier. We have verified the scatter from Mt. Rainier by varying the antenna pointing.
    1. Re:If you want details about passive radar... by jasha · · Score: 1

      sorry, here's the link to the information.

  129. Broken URL, fella by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    The Member Page You Requested Could Not Be Found.

    And even so, isn't that one of those web pages that makes outrageous claims like dozens of allied aircraft being shot down, landing at Serb airports after taking missile damage, turning around and bombing Aviano airbase because they were morally opposed to the NATO aggression, etc etc etc and other fantasies

    1. Re:Broken URL, fella by EvilBastard · · Score: 1

      Yes, this was Venik's webpage

      Last time I checked, the US had lost 140 aircraft, including a 3 F-117's, a B-2 bomber (Missouri ?) and 3 B-52's

      (Of course, considering how the USSR has to be kept informed of B-52's under START, it's amazing we haven't been told this from other circumstances)

      Favorites :

      An A-10 was hit by something nasty. It lost it's engine cover. Pictures were posted "Look, we shot down an A-10! We destroyed all of it but this cowling, but we'll find some of it tommorow"

      A A-10 was reported landing with major damage to (suprise) the back of the plane.
      "And we badly damaged another one!"

      Or the legendary Cajun Fear story. "We shot down B-52 # (number) with the nose art "Cajun Fear". A B-52 pilot in rec.aviation.military said "Strange, I flew that one three days later. Looked fine to me". It took over 3 months to convince Venik and Mladen that this plane did in fact still exist. Never removed it from their claims, though.

      Dejanews covers the long and nasty story

  130. Re:China invading the US by Pointman · · Score: 1

    Pointing to yet another major problem. The "lifers" are dropping out like flies. Except for sometime around 1790, I doubt our forces have been so young, green and ill trained.

    The attitude of the current administration and the "political correct" Bravo Sierra that has been forced upon the services in the name of social engineering has taken a huge toll in non-coms and real officers (but not the brass kissing, career building, type that are worthless on a battle field - unfortunately the current environment is great for them - yuk!)

    --
    Smith & Wesson: The original Point-and-Click interface.
  131. Lockheed needs money! Republicans need votes! by Alex+Belits · · Score: 1

    ...so everybody lookie -- our evil Chinese enemies made some incremental progress in radar technology, everybody should be scared shitless, shut up about human rights and social problems in US, forget about rotting education, and start supporting True American Values -- chauvinism, big guns and meaty contracts to large companies.

    --
    Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
  132. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by norton_I · · Score: 1
    The real obstical is that it needs to be distributed. You need many antennae at disparate locations, along with quite a bit of processing power to to crunch though them. A seti@home like system could do it, but probably not in real time (because of the distributed nature, not the available processing power). If you had a thousand people in a city who could build a receiver, run some number crunching software, and all had T1's, I bet you could do it. Not going to happen today, but when the bandwidth is there...

    The 1000 number is pure guesswork. I suspect that 1000 antennae could do a really good job, but I don't have a feel for the number cruncing or bandwith requirements. You might need substantially more computers than that -- but spare cycles are more abundant than people who can build an antenna.

  133. Where is everyone getting such high grade crack? by Mr.+Mikey · · Score: 1

    I like a little paranoia as much as the next person, but going from the detection of Stealth planes to a Chinese invasion of the US is a bit of a stretch, even for the eccentric segment of /. posters. I, for one, go to sleep every night with a high degree of confidence that tomorrow the sun will rise, there will not be black helicopters flying overhead, and those darn communists, socialists, liberals, secular humanists, gun control advocates, athiests or whatever your favorite Boogy Men happen to be won't be marching down Main Street. So, unload your guns and put them away, cancel your subscription to Survivalist Weekly, and have a warm cup of tea. You'll feel better. Really.

    --
    wants to be the first monkey to touch the monolith
  134. Civilian Broadcasters become Military Targets by smart2000 · · Score: 1
    The implementation of this technology will mean that any civilian broadcaster can be viewed as a legitime wartime target, solely due to the passive activity of transmitting.

    --
    To purchase it is not like spending money but rather it is an investment in the future in a blow against the empire
  135. The Computation Problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I bet the computation problem to decode and plot every single sector of sky would be ENORMOUS. While I don't doubt that China has acquired a supercomputer (probably given to them by Clinton...)

    I doubt that China would allocate such a precious resource to this system (there are other problems more worthy) Leaving it with run-of-the-mill workstations for the problem.

    Also, one thing that i've heard from my GPS contacts, is that the atmosphere is a HIGHLY variable beast. So the radio skew between 1 location to another is probably not constant (ie, small cloud goes overhead, air becomes denser as seen by 1 antenna - does that get interpretted as a plane?) I bet the false echoes on this are incredible.

    Furthermore, wouldn't the aircraft have to fly close to the detection net? I'd bet your error would *significantly* increase the farther the plane was from the net. So simply, avoid the radar depot!

    Tom

  136. Close but no cigar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this MIGHT work for detection.. but creating a real-time firing solution for a supersonic missile to close on a supersonic target? i think thats unlikely... it might work with the Malaysian Starburst system (laserguided) for final guidance Also note its vulnerable to even having HEAVY radio traffic.. thats vulnerable too this is a spotter not a shooter

  137. No, we won't let that happen... by dalroth5 · · Score: 1

    No, don't worry folks, China won't get to invade you even though they have a bigger propulation, because the rest of us won't let them, any more than we'd let *you* invade, oh, say, the Divided Kingdom of Small Britain. Thank (insert deity here) for our burgeoning world democracy.
    Put those big sticks down over here please...Everybody!

    --
    "We reject kings, presidents and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code." Dave Clark, IETF
  138. this is true, unless... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...you are a fan of statistics, which show that you are merely throwing up the exception, not the rule.

    overwhelmingly, every study has shown higher education leads to more productivity and a better life.

    or, perhaps you think that an entire generation of Teslas will rise up, all of which dropped out of school, and somehow save humanity at the brink of destruction?

    don't forget, for every telsa a huge number of engineers and technologists are required for the implementation phase...unless you think tesla is still alive somewhere, winding ac motors, and installing them on the power poles in your neighborhood while you sleep.

    1. Re:this is true, unless... by JohnG · · Score: 1
      As I said, I am not saying that a college education wasn't a good thing. I am just saying that just because a given person doesn't have a college education doesn't mean they are stupid.
      Maybe I was giving the exception and not the rule. But as any scientist will tell you, it is important to note that there are exceptions to the rule when there are exceptions to the rule.

  139. Your examples don't stand up to scrutiny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    Hm, Poland 1939, Russia 1941, Hawaii 1941, Korea 1949

    None required a move of a huge force across an ocean. But if you want counterexamples of what happens to superpowers that try to exert influence from thousands of miles away, try Vietnam or the American Revolutionary War.

    In both instances the reigning world power was humilliated by a vastly inferior local force.

  140. Re: A night attack on a weekend... by dalroth5 · · Score: 1

    I beg to differ--one of those holidays which you have but the rest of us don't have would be best, so I guess you just got off again...good!
    Think about it: half of you stuck in too-small airline seats at 37000 feet, stuffed full o'turkey, fast asleep and in an eternal holding pattern over Fort Worth.
    As for those on the ground, why, obviously they'd be there 'cos they're just toooo big for a plane altogether, so we'd just tip them over (you know, like cows). They'd never be able to get up again...no need for violence at all.
    (If in doubt, get somebody to tickle you and you'll display the appropriate reaction.)

    --
    "We reject kings, presidents and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code." Dave Clark, IETF
  141. slashdot moderators by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the People's Republic of China thanks you for moderating this capitalist pig dissident down.

    When you are placed against the wall, we will give you only the finest cigarette, and a well-trained rifleman.

    Slashdot moderators are truly our comrades! We kiss you!

  142. limp? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...is it possible for a man to ejacluate when he is limp? monica's dress had his semen stains on it, so he must be able to ejaculate, and therefore had to have been erect. I seem to recall that an erection actuates some type of valve between the urninary and seminal streams. No matter, tis merely a detail.

    Other than that, I agree. a lot of evidence points to Chinese money flowing heavily through the White House and several of the USAs "Fortune 100" companies.

    The F100 are looking with an eager, jealous eye at China's slave population, yearning for the days when they could treat domestic employees so poorly. The idea of transfering US labor to a slave institution has them chomping at the bit, and the F100 is donating huge sums of money to any politician who will cooperate.

    The saddest part is the opposition to China's expansion into world trade want only a few concessions:
    1) The right to free speech;
    2) The right to organize labor;
    3) Democratization/Free elections.

    Then no one would really have an argument against China's participation in World Trade. Most people in the West can't even imagine what it would be like without these three things.

    Of course, the 5% (or less) of Chinese who are making millions want none of that, the status quo being just fine for them.

    And USA's F100 want none of it either, since the idea of a return to a employee pool who cannot talk back, organize, or vote is their "Field of Dreams".

  143. "Revolution" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you say you want a revolution, well you know...we'd all love to hear the plan...

    ...but if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow...

    ...don't you know it's gonna be...alright...

    Man, I wish I had a link to the lyrics to this Beatles song, it's seems so appropriate to the "China Series" on slashdot.

  144. I'm glad to hear this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally.US will have to send in ground troopers to fight.Something new for their coward tacticts. BTW, US couldn't have had advantage in stealth and jamming technologies forever.........

  145. Star Trek IV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I remember when watching ST4, when they were looking for the whales after they were loosed into the ocean. Long before they were even close, they had a picture of the ocean and whales. They only had a radio beacon, yet they imaged the ocean surface and the whales as they came up to breathe. There was obviously no camera above that spot and unless they hacked a 20th century spy satellite, the image was impossible to get. I thought about it for a while, then explained (in my mind) what seemed to be an impossibility with the following:

    In the 23'd century, they may just have enough savvy to use the interference/diffraction patterns of the radio waves coming off of the tracking collars to produce a computer-generated image. They would have to fiddle with it for a while, to get the water and air temp, salinity, air pressure/density, etc. parameters adjusted, but the computing horsepower they must have could iterate through a lot of variables to lock in on a usable image. I imagined something akin to holography, but using the radio signal instead of light. Now mind you I don't have the details worked out, but it at least provided a way for me to rationalize the tech in the flick.

    I also worked on a NASA project where the researcher had come up with a way to take Schlieren photos of shockwaves off of an aircraft in flight by using the sun's light as a parallel source (by looking at it through a fingernail shaped slit) and using the resulting interference pattern viewed with a line-scan camera to image the variations in air pressure. Previous to his work, this had only been possible in a wind tunnel, because of the need for a collimated light source and some funky lenses.

    This tech which the Chinese have apparently crafted seems to me to be related to both of those tales, one real and one vaguely imagined. hmmm.

  146. Russian S-400 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've read on the russian pages that their new anti-aircraft system,with range(radius) radius of 400 km has a new-generation radar which can detect very small reflection surfaces,such as of stealth planes.Rockets of this system have,I think, speed of 4.8 Km/s (????) So,Russia has anti-stealth technology,and they're trying to make their stealth plane. And I've even heard of their system for jamming anti-radar weapons...............

  147. Bombing of the chinese embassy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do you remember the bombimg of the chinese embassy in Belgrade.
    Do you also remember that a few days before a stealth fighter was shot down???
    How is it possible that the serbs did shot down a stealth fighter??? Here is a roumor that I heard. Maybe US bombed the chinese embassy because the chinese made the technology that your are discussing available to the serbs. With this technologie the serbs were able to shot down a stealth fighter.
    Is there somebody able to confirm this????

    1. Re:Bombing of the chinese embassy by EvilBastard · · Score: 1

      If Serbia had some big secret tool to shoot down a stealth fighter, a question ?

      Why didn't they get more then one ? Hell, why did they shoot down so few planes at all (And if you say they did, please explain the lack of people wanting to know where their sons have gotten to)

      Last I heard, the main factor was that some complete moron had the F-117's going in the same air corridor at the same time attacking similar targets, and one night a EA-6 was orbiting 90 miles off target.

      Wow. They shot down a stealth fighter. Iraq ended up getting 30+ aircraft in a 40 day war. Yugoslavia got 2.

      I know which country would worry me more.

  148. US develop Passive Coherent Location systems by kris · · Score: 2
    US company Lockheed Martin develops Passive Coherent Location systems to detect stealth rainshowers, meteorites and space shuttles. Ah, and incidentally enemy stealth planes, sorry about that.



    Read more: at Lockheed Martin, about Silent Sentry, about a shuttle launch and about information dating back over a year - this all comes very sudden and suprising to the US defense, completely new and previously unknown technology.

    © Copyright 1999 Kristian Köhntopp

  149. not all subs have to move (warning: nitpick) :) by SEAL · · Score: 1
    Subs have to move. Kinda like sharks. Well, they dont have to, but they need to. Why? Three reasons (off the top of my head):

    To prevent broaching. Subs are designed to be a tiny bit boyant. That's why when they move normally at a constant depth the diving planes are at a slight down angle (usually a degree or two). If the sub stops moving, she can no longer totally control her depth. That's a Bad Thing ©

    Actually not true. You can adjust your buoyancy any way you want. This is done with ballast tanks, of course. A missile sub can adjust buoyancy via normal means, as well as missile comp tanks. These are large tanks which fill with water to adjust buoyancy after missiles are launched (i.e. the missiles are more dense than the water which replaces them in the tube). They also sometimes add a small adjustment to these tanks after being out to sea for a couple months (food is used up by the crew, forcing a compensation).

    Some boats can rapidly cycle water within special tanks. The idea here is to keep the sub level, since it is tough to perfectly adjust the different ballast tanks available on the boat.

    Steerage. Almost the same problem as above. Any good skipper will try to go no slower than 2 or 3 knots. That way, the boat will still be responsive to steering input. Why? beacause...

    True...

    Sonar equipment only works in cones or echelons. Problem: you cannot cover the entire 360 degrees around a boat with one passive sonar. Solution: have multiple passive sonars. Most boats have a front array, lateral array, and some (I know the Los Angeles boats do) have towed arrays. For those to work, the boat needs to be able to move the arrays around (purposes of triangulation and all). Not entirely true. I would say a primary motivation for staying mobile is the towed array sonar. It is used quite often (and I would guess that missile subs are even MORE likely to use it). Reason: towed array sonar places a minimum AND maximum on your speed. The line must stay drawn out, but it also can't handle too much stress. This might tie the hands of an attack boat captain. But the missile boats prefer to putt around anyhow, so it's nice to have the extra ears. Now the other reason to move is to clear your baffles. The towed array helps detect noise to the rear, but you do have dead spots to the diagonal rear behind you. That's why you'll often hear about subs moving in a serpent-pattern.

    Therefore: Subs will never not move.

    False. A missile sub will stop when preparing to launch missiles (not that this happens every day ;)) See ballasting notes above.

    Sorry for all the nitpicks - most of your writing has been pretty on target. You're right that subs generally would like to stay mobile. Another reason: navigation / targeting often benefits from motion. In other words, it's easier to get something's position when you know how it relates to your own location over time.

    I'd fill in more, but you know...

    Oh one more thing - as far as I know, all nuclear powered subs have a diesel-electric and/or battery backup. But I really doubt a Typhoon will get 20 knots out of it :) Diesels have all kinds of problems which limit them. For example when running submerged, you get backpressure on your exhaust due to the water it has to push through (via the snorkel). And with the snorkel raised, you once again get speed limited, because you don't want to break off the mast. They're also noisy as hell.

    Battery power is quiet, but not very strong. A boat won't run too long (maybe a couple hours?). You use the diesel to charge the battery.

    Oh yeah, and the diesel gives everything on the boat, especially your clothes, a quite unforgettable odor. :-)

    SEAL

  150. replies to all, well most.... by hagar� · · Score: 1

    Here is a reply to some of the threads below, didnt think the post would generate such interest but here goes, ill try and answer some of your criticisms.

    Firstly, the above plan isnt THE plan for total victory over the US. It is an invasion plan.
    Invasion meaning, 'your troops set foot on enemy soil', not 'you accept the presidents surrender and youre home in time for tea.' Such campaigns dont exist, and never will.

    A war is a set of campaigns, an invasion is just one campaign of a war. So set that straight now.

    An invasion that could possibly happen, but obviously not from China, as i said in my earlier post, china's armed forces are very limited in what they can do, the above was hypothetical, but marginally possible. If the planets are aligned and the wind is blowing just right.

    The strategy does have some holes, no strategy is without them, or wars would last only hours. The best strategy is one that has the fewest holes, and assumes the least about the enemy, and most often the simplest and quickest to execute.
    Also remember, few plans survive the first shot.

    Now i have assumed a few things about the enemy, hitting upon the night of a holiday or weekend, when many US personell are away, getting laid, on shore leave, or getting drunk in the O club. I am assuming he wont be prepared, wont have defensive assets in place, and will be on a low level of alert.

    This is the crux of the surprise attack, if the enemy were prepared, we would attack a different way eh? or not attack at all.

    Now response WILL be slow, for one good reason.
    How many US invasions have you had? Would you recognize one? Would you quickly be on the phone to the local base commander telling him so? Chances are not. And if you were, he probably wouldnt talk to you, cause he is a busy man, and will wait for word from official channels ie the cops.

    So things are chaotic for awhile. Alot of people are running around, some with guns, some in uniform. The base commander is waiting for field intelligence, if he is awake at all. Eventually the local cops will realise they are against a too well organized enemy, and will call in support from the National Guard, or a Regular Army Base. They arent home though are they? they are out or away on liberty. So it takes time to assemble troops. In that time, a well organised enemy is already knocking down your gates, and troops are fanning across your perimeters ready to turn people into lunch meat.

    Dont overestimate your own response time to an emergency that has never taken place before in recent memory on US soil, atleast not with ground troops.

    As to a retalitory nuclear strike from the US so quickly, id be doubtful of that. FOr various reasons some mentioned by others of the force for force policies of some politicians, it usually depends on the thoughts of the man at the desk at the time. You would have atleast 24 hours before a response would become official from the US regarding a nuclear strike. Information doesnt flow that fast(alot of desk drivers between grunt and president), and neither do tough decisions.

    Also it is hard to block access to armor units, as they are all terrain vehicles plus a bit more. Road blocked? go through a building then through a few hundred backyards. Once the armor is out in the open, even better luck blocking access, tanks were built for ploughing over barbed wire at 40mph.

    Now someone mentioned that superpowers who try to exert pressure from afar usually failed, which is why i mentioned perhaps an allie in south america, or cuba, who could exert diversionary force on another front. Allied missions from afar do sometimes work well, World War 1, World War 2, Korean War, GulfWar, Bosnia, Kosovo. These are all examples where the US has been successfull in influencing an area through alliegences and munitions. And korea did require a huge movement of troops over the ocean, from the US to korea.

    Now the NRA are an element, but unless you have anti tank weapons, you will have difficulties stopping APC's and medium armor once they emerge from the airport. Not even the US is THAT liberal with weapons:) I work with a few people who wish it were otherwise.

    Now Goosekirk had some good criticism's about our 'lil' invasion, and they are noted. You are right, SAC would sure as hell notice the cargo planes, and thats an element that would require some thinking on, perhaps use commercial 747 cargo planes to deliver the vehicles. This would strike out private airfields, cargo planes can stop relatively quickly on a private field, 747's are another matter.

    Now as to re-routing traffic, that could be accomplished one way, send troops before hand unarmed, and send your weapons along with your first wave, arming your already present troops.
    This enables your troops to arrive over say a 12 hour period on a miriad of different flights, with various stop overs in different countries perhaps.

    As to why using air landings at all, why not use everything at hand? The whole idea is to invade an enemy at as many points of entry as possible. Even if the air landed troops dont make it, they provide a great distraction for army groups until the heavy guns arrive.

    Evading the US carriers as i said earlier would be almost impossible, but if the vehicles arrive on standard trade routes, using standard expected vehicles, you dont need to evade much at all.

    Now as to Why China would invade? I dont think they will ever, or even think of it, if they were to invade anyone it would be siberia. I said i doubted they would invade in my previous post.

    The concept behind the first post was to explain that an invasion could take place, not a total victory, that would require on the spot decisions regarding the actions of the US, and noone can say 100% exactly what the US would do in that situation.

    Anyways I hope that answered some of criticisms out there, i expected them anyways, as the post wasnt written as a prophecy:) just a hypothetical

    --
    Insert something insightful here, or I'll insert something painful there.
    1. Re:replies to all, well most.... by OneThreeSeven · · Score: 1
      This is fiction for a number of reasons. There is a better chance of the Montana Millita invading Canada than this ever happening.

      Commercial 747s can't carry heavy armor without significant modification, and they still require special loading and unloading equipment to make it go. Remember a few years ago there was a big brougha about wheather or not to buy 747s or C-17s? The deal was the 747s were cheaper, but they couldn't do what the C-17 does. You make it sound like they just drive those tanks up the ramp and back off again, and it just ain't so.

      The first time a track in a commercial air lane doesn't respond to IFF, they get a visit from the local air forces, which can scramble in about 15 minutes. On deployed carriers, there is a fueled and armed interceptor on deck at all times. It can scramble in 5 minutes, which is why it's called the "Alert 5 aircraft."

      A ship unloading hostile armor at a US port would be on the bottom of the harbor as soon as US aircraft got in the air, if it ever got to dock. Every incoming vessle, including US military ships, gets a visit from the local customs office. If they are denied access to the ship, they can have the Coast Guard available in minutes.

      What you are talking about is "sneaking" a few armored divisions into the US overnight. That is a military impossibilty. The mobilization in China alone would attract the attention of intelligence communities. Armored divisions don't move as quickly as you would like to believe, especialy with missing logistical assets like, say, fuel. And they definitely don't do it quitely

      It's a nice story, and might work in the context of a Tom Clancy novel, but the military requirements are, well, fictional.

      --

      -137

    2. Re:replies to all, well most.... by GooseKirk · · Score: 1

      I think it might be smarter to slowly infiltrate all the hardware over a period of time and stockpile it until you're ready to jump off, rather than trying the airport thing. I don't know how one would go about smuggling an entire light armored division or two, though... them customs boys seem to take their jobs pretty seriously.

      Or hey, how about *assembling* a couple of light armored divisions. Armor up a bunch of regular civilian vehicles and jury-rig everything, and use civilian small arms. Sure, it wouldn't be great, but it would only have to get you past the guards at the military bases where you could, I imagine, hook yourself up with the real thing. This way, the only thing you have to import is several thousand totally unarmed Chinese soldiers disguised as civilians. Y'know, just one big happy tour group on their way to Mount Rushmore... *whistling casually*...

      I think that's somewhat more within the realm of possibility, anyway. I have no clue what sort of security stateside military bases regularly employ, but you're probably right that without any advance warning it'd just be total chaos. Of course, even if you could pull it off, you'd never be able to get your stolen hardware mobilized enough to leave the base in time before all kinds of hellfire rained down on you. Even if you could, you'd still lack the enormous support capabilities you'd need to stay operational.

      But let's say, for the sake of cinematic thrills, that you could... where would you go with it and why? It's a %100 guaranteed suicide mission... what could you possibly do in time that'd be worth it?

      Y'know, I SWEAR we're halfway to the plot of the next James Bond movie here...

    3. Re:replies to all, well most.... by Lord+Kano · · Score: 2

      >>Now the NRA are an element, but unless you have anti tank weapons, you will have difficulties stopping APC's and medium armor once they emerge from the airport. Not even the US is THAT liberal with weapons:) I work with a few people who wish it were otherwise.

      I get the feeling that some of us here have no idea what the NRA is. The NRA is a public policy group like the EFF, they're not a paramilitary organization.

      Second, you don't know too much about armament. A 50 caliber rifle can penetrate light and many medium armored vehicles. I would like to save up the 2k needed to buy one, but several people already own them. I would hate to be in an APC while someone is shooting a 50 caliber at it. One lucky shot would fill the inside of that APC with a shower of fast moving HOT metal.

      Even 5.56mm Nato is a caliber that has decent ballistics for armor penetration. Especially if you're using the green tip Nato AP rounds.

      Even less sohpisticated tanks can be disabled by a 50 caliber round. One shot down the barrel can render a tank's big gun useless. Would you be willing to get out try to use a machinegun against a person whom you can not see who is able to put bullets the size of your thumb into a target the size of an orange?

      Also, all it would take is a little fertillizer and diesel fuel and POOF your million dollar tank is on it's back like a beetle, helpless, waiting to get stomped on.

      Of all the nations on earth te US would be the hardest nut to crack for an invading army, Switzerland would probably be the only other country in the same league.

      Without help from HIGH UP in the US military, such a plan couldn't work. China wouldn't even try. Then again, our current administration helped them get ballistic missile technology, who knows what else is possible.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  151. Civilian radio can be turned off. by Helge+Hafting · · Score: 1

    A detection system based on civilian radio transmission isn't that much harder to stop.
    On your own territiory: Require a military controlled switch installed in all civilian transmitters. Click - and no more civilian-assisted detection during war.
    On enemy territory - bomb the "civilian" transmitters/power supplies along with the military ones. This is done anyway in order to stop the propaganda machine.

  152. Re:China invading the US by shogun · · Score: 1

    Actually Germany DID know that there was an invasion imminent, theres no way to hide that kind of massive military buildup and training from regular spys. The problem was they had know idea where on the French coast they would be landing and the Allies has a whole big disinformation campain going to confuse the Germans on that particular fact.

  153. what it would take to make this possible by chaos4u · · Score: 1

    Well you mentioned that this would be highly unlikely but lets start the what if.

    what if China really dose invade Taiwan and the USA has a president who is committed to protecting Taiwan. so therefore military intervention is taken against China. to expel their forces from Taiwan . would be it not be expected to see some come of retaliation against the USA from China ?
    or would it be a localized war just in Taiwan.

    one thing is for sure if this was to happen memory prices will go sky high ... and you thought the earth quake was bad .

    music the paint
    dancefloor the canvas

    --
    Music the Paint dancefloor the canvas your body the brush
  154. MAKE LOVE, NOT THE WAR :) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, this is the old US force propaganda to have more money from the US govt. My suggestions are: - stop to hate the others - begin to have cultural relationships with the others. Let them to came here and you to go there, with respect to the other cultures. - Throw away all nuclear weapons. They can only destroy the world, not defend you...

  155. Re:Two Words by cmarkn · · Score: 2

    Power Projection.
    Perhaps the Chinese do not have the experience, but the invasion of Taiwan would be a matter of reaching ~80 miles for them, not really a projection, versus reaching ~7000 miles for the US. The Chinese would be able to use ground-based planes and helicopters to cross the strait, and small craft to sail it in a couple of hourse, while the US forces would be limited to carrier-based planes and heavy ships that would take about a week to arrive from San Diego.

    --
    People should not fear their government. Governments should fear their people.
  156. I'm a pacifista, and I agree with you! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Welcome in Europe =) Just not sell weapons to poor lands and you have cutted down to half the number of wars in the world

  157. Stealth detection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I heard about some systems able to detect stealths being produced in Czech Republic (during Cold war, I'm not sure about recent development). It was called Tamara, and about 10 such systems were exported abroad (Russia and some other countries). It works as a passive system, using data from multiple detectors (detector has size of one large car). I heard, that if you put 3 those systems in the corners of Czechia (300km distance), you could trace airplanes in the whole Europe (partly because a very suitable terrain).

  158. Weapon? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    begin off-topic
    Most people focus on Military. But the most interest point is: Why would an American stealthy go bombing the Chinese? The American have a weapon million time bigger than the stealthy, i.e. WTO.

    Japanese tried to bomb China and use bacteria weapon, they didn't win. U.S. bombed the vietnam and they didn't win either. Thirty years after the pearl harbour, Japanese go buy land in Hawaii and live happily ever after, and Americans start investing the vietnam, say Coca cola and something else.
    end off-topic

    The stealthy is just too big a object in the air to fly un-noticed. If the Chinese can figure out something like this, sooner or later, Russian and cubans can have the same findings too. So the U.S. government should improve their stealthy technology before they put their young pilot to combat and hoping that they ARE invisible.

  159. stealth counter stealth BAH! by chaos4u · · Score: 1

    why all this fuss about stealth technology ?
    we should just forget about it all and start making more planes like the A-10

    this is truly a remarkable aircraft and should be a refrence for all engineers.
    it has to be one of the hardest planes to knock out of the sky since all sytems are redudant and it can fly home on one engine . the cockpit area that the pilot sits in is protected by titanium armor.
    the sheer amount of weapons the thing can be equipped with is totally devastating and we cant forget about the prize possesion of the A-10

    the GAU 8 AVENGER near 8000 rpm minute of depleted uranium shells the size of coke bottles .
    this gun is not only good for anti tank but anti helicopter and antipersonal and anti any thing that just so happens to remain in its sight for a moment to long .

    yep all planes and tanks should be equipped with the GAU 8 .

    i wished i had been in the area where that A 10 crashed at i would have been the first on the scene with a cutting torch and tool box .

    A-10 pilot : "help me i think i have several broken bones."

    ME:" heres some hot chocolate buddy .. ill let them know your where you are at. just as soon as i get this damn gun unmounted from this plane . oh buy the way where is the ammo stored for this sucker ???"





    music the paint
    dancefloor the canvas

    --
    Music the Paint dancefloor the canvas your body the brush
  160. Hostile? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe you should think before you write yourself!
    You guys really think that every country, except the U.S., is a hostile enemy. You are not _the_ goodguy. Every country has done good and bad things. Remember the American atrocities in Korea, where the U.S. soldiers massacred defenseless innocent women and children under a bridge? Maybe it IS a good thing to shoot down your planes, it depends on the situation. Please reset your brainwashed grey mass.

  161. Falklands by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Invasion form afar is exceedingly difficult. The argentinian armed forces were not that hard to overwhelm, but to get men and materials down that far was a major headache. Also with out lack of strategic aircraft carriers and only having smaller tactical ones with harriers compounded the problem. Air superiority was ciritcal and a few exocet missile did wreak havoc on our ships. Brad

  162. No not Cold war, Hot war! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You capitalist pig dogs you will all suffer. Our new weapons will take us to world domination so you can all eat noodles and practice ti chi! Hung Lo Bum Suk

  163. I know who you are! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lemme guess, you're pink, right?

  164. Question: by StarFace · · Score: 1

    You don't happen to be Tom Clancy incognito?



    sorry couldn't resist :)

    --
    V
  165. Now that Slashdot is Testoserone-saturated... by deaddeng · · Score: 1

    Great, we've all read the same lousy Tom Clancy novels and other warp0rn. And there are about three posters in this entire thread that actually know something about PCL/Bistatic Radar (and I am not one of them).

    This is old, old stuff--researchers in the UK tracked commercial aircraft over Britain in the 1970s using ambient radiation from TV and radio broadcasts. The problem then (and now) is processing--they collected data for a few days, and then spent months separating signal from noise, so it was not quite suited for acquiring a targeting solution 8-p.

    Processing power has come a long way--a good-sized van full of computers would probably suffice. But for a PCL-based system to actually provide a targeting solution on a stealthy aircraft (with an RCS well below one foot--real experts would be talking about dB), you probably will need dedicated emitters. They can be remoted, and they can be numerous and redundant and therefore relatively impervious to jamming and antiradiation missiles, but it won't be cheap, and it is not going to happen in China anytime in the next 10 years.

    When you read these kind of stories, you should be leery of assertions that a theoretical capability=a weapon=combat capability. China has always done well with pure science, and incredibly poorly at applied military science, and poorer still at turing a technology into a military capability.

    Anyway, it's always more interesting to look less at what such pieces assert, and more at why it was leaked now--my guess is that some funding decisions are going to be made soon so they are pumping up the China threat again. You don't have to like China, but trying to paint them as a new USSR is laughable--the dog just doesn't hunt. And we are winning--just visit the place and you will see how much peaceful evolution is working.

    --
    --- .085 as cool; proving that a little knowledge is dangerous
  166. Re:China invading the US by um...+Lucas · · Score: 2

    Not being a Geography-buff, I don't know the countries... But there's that 7 mile gap between Russia and Alaska... Something "straights". So long as they secured that corridor, they'ed have a very efficient way of moving troops to this side of the Pacific.

    Of course, they'ed have to go through Canada prior to getting at us... ;)

  167. Re:Commercial Broadcasts = No Expensive Transmitte by Tau+Zero · · Score: 1
    ... spare cycles are more abundant than people who can build an antenna.
    You over-estimate the complexity of the antennas you need. Can you drill a hole in a chunk of plexiglas, bend a piece of welding rod around a broomstick and solder a piece of 300 ohm twin-lead to the ends with a propane torch? That's about the expertise required. Most any idiot could get it right in a couple attempts.

    The real difficult point is the receivers themselves, and with just about everything getting a DSP in it these days it is rapidly becoming a software issue instead of a hardware issue. We all know what that means...
    --
    Advertisers: If you attach cookies to your banner ads,

    --
    Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
  168. get real by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While this technology may 'detect the presence' of a plane or stealth plane, it is NOT going to give a precise location. The computer in the F-22 guides the pilot by giving him a path to fly that shows the enemy his smallest RCS (radar cross section). China most likely knows where its tracking systems are weakest and install these 'detectors' in those spots. Knowing a plane is 'out there' and hitting that plane are two completely seperate issues. good luck using this new tech to actually 'take down' an F-22. FYI, ever hear of 'phase cancellation'? the F-22 has a trick up its sleeve that few discuss if any. Try locking on with radar when your signal is getting phase cancellation.....

  169. Invasion Scenario 2 by Subotai · · Score: 1

    Subotai says, here is the way to do it.

    Dec 1, 2000

    China announces that as a result of the right wing US congress failing to approve WTO entry provisions, China is opening its borders and providing ships to anybody in China who wishes to emigrate to the US.

    Two weeks prior to this, record numbers of Chinese freighters dock in Western Mexico (baja) ports.

    Dec 8, 2000

    A flotilla of 150 freighters and similar size ships leave China towards the US supposedly carrying immigrants.

    US detects the flotilla and dispatches all available Navy and Coast Guard ships to intercept the ships.

    Dec 12, 2000

    Chinese flotilla passes Hawaii. Several minisubs detach from underneath the freighters. As they pass SOSUS arrays near Hawaii several ships catch fire and sink. Timed bombs are dropped into the water near SOSUS arrays.

    December 14, 2000

    US forces intercept the Chinese flotilla. They discover that some ships are empty except for a crew. When US forces board, the ships detonate damaging the boarding ship. Other ships are full of Chinese marines who kill the boarders and then capture the boarding ships. Several ships appear to be just carrying immigrants. However, soon after stopping these ships the boarding ship explodes after having limpet mines attached to it by divers.

    The bombs at the SOSUS arrays are detonated wiping out a large area of coverage.

    At airports on the west coast, in LA, San Diego, San Francisco and Phoenix, regularly scheduled Chinese airlines crash, taking out runways and control towers. In San Diego, the airline misses the civilian airport and crashes at the Naval Air Station.

    As the ruccus on the surface starts, approximately 30 Chinese subs race from underneath the freighters. Some subs attack the larger surface vessels while others race to the East.

    Chinese minisubs detonate themselves in the mouth of Pearl underneath incoming ships, blocking the harbor mouth.

    In Mexico, the Chinese freighters crews arm themselves and set up a perimeter around the docks. The freighters start to disgorge fighters, helicopters, tanks and infantry. This is the Eighth Route Army of the PLA. The Mexican government is letting this take place in exchange for a gift to be received in a few days. The PLA begins to move out.

    In the US, Chinese, instigated by infiltrators begins to riot against US aggression against peaceful immigrants.

    In California, several large media outlets are taken over by rioters.

    December 15, 2000

    Chinese forces reach the border in Arizona, New Mexico and California. The border outposts are destroyed. In the border towns, announcements of this are quickly sent out, resulting in a crush of immigration at the border.

    Chinese subs reach San Diego and detonate torpedos at the sub entry tunnels. Several carriers and the Airbase are hit with sea launched cruise missiles. Chinese subs do the same at Bremerhaven, Washington.

    Between the port attacks and freighter decoys, half of the US Navy is out of action.

    December 16, 2000

    Broadcasts in Spanish and English tell the people in the US that they will only be harmed if they resist. They encourage all who wish to take up arms against the racist WAP dominated US government.

    A division of the Eighth Route army seizes Los Alamos and White Sands and turns west. Tucson, Santa Fe and Phoenix declare themselves open cities.

    Hidden Chinese units in LA, San Franciso and San Diego begin seizing critical facilities.

    The main body of the Eight Route Army reaches San Diego where fighting with Navy stragglers begins.

    Seeing the way things are going, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina Russia, declare themselves to be Chinese Allies. 2 mexican army divisions occupy Phoenix and Santa Fe. A third division heads to San Diego.

    China capture San Diego and LA quickly falls.

    December 18, 2000

    China captures San Francisco.

    December 25, 2000

    China announces that California, Arizona and New Mexico have been pacified and are now part of the new SouthWestern Special Administrative Region. Other states who wish, may also join. No one will be persecuted for beliefs or opinion, however opposition to the Chinese government will be dealt with strongly. The border with Mexico is reestablished, however China sets an agreement to allow Mexicans and other Latin Nationals to work in the US.

    With Silicon Valley gone, the US returns to being a largely agrarian nation. The new Southwest becomes extemely profitable and other states soon begin to join.

    --
    "The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into the tiger's den."
    1. Re:Invasion Scenario 2 by jafac · · Score: 1

      So this means I won't have to pay California state income tax anymore?

      ALL RIGHT! Where do I sign up?

      (ps. to Echelon people; this is a JOKE! okay? I'll be stacking up sandbags in my front yard against the Red Menace. . . )

      I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    2. Re:Invasion Scenario 2 by JadeSky · · Score: 1

      Your statement:

      "At airports on the west coast, in LA, San Diego, San Francisco and Phoenix, regularly scheduled Chinese airlines crash, taking out runways and control towers. In San Diego, the airline misses the civilian airport and crashes at the Naval Air Station."

      Definitely made me laugh; sure, it's "plausible" that someone can "miss" Lindburgh Field in San Diego, but there's still a fair distance between the civvie airport and Mirimar Marine Corps Air Station (the navy moved out a couple years ago).

      Additionally, it would be an interesting crash to take out all the runways at once...

      --
      I used to think printing on on Unix sucked. Then I figured it out. Printing on Unix *does* suck. Like a Kirby.
    3. Re:Invasion Scenario 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's always the North Island station...

  170. Pass EM thru something and observe changes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Passing EM thru something and watching what changes happen to that EM yields more information than most would ever dream of. Of course you don't always have to generate the EM from your own reference source, you can always use what's already there and do it passively. The science of turning these changes into useful information is what will be the end of the last vestiges of privacy for all mankind and that science has already progressed to a horrific state of perfection. Folks, don't bother waking up now, you've already slept way too long and it's over.

  171. Re:Two Words by stevew · · Score: 1

    Indeed - that is why the Indian navy is buying up an old Soviet Aircraft carrier.

    They also were at a loss for satellite imagery during the recent border skirmish with Pakistan and are going to work at orbiting their own imaging satellites.

    China has it's own capabilities - usually underestimated in my opinion. China is not our friend - they are competition in many venues.

    That is the REAL world - being the bigest badest guy on the block(read planet) has it's advantages.
    I'd rather be in that position personally. I KNOW the US isn't perfect, and is often a bully.(All you have to do is travel a little around the world to discover that.) You'll also discover that you have it better here than most places!

    --
    Have you compiled your kernel today??
  172. So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was in the military for a while and although I can't say what I know about our capabilities, I can tell you this...

    1. Anything you see hyped as our "latest technology" like the F117s are already outdated and we already have weapons to counter that technology. Stealth has been in the works for over 20 yrs. The technologies hyped by the media are just PR to intimidate someone.

    2. Often smaller less hyped technological advances are part of a much grander scheme which has much more military potential than most of the hyped ideas, I wish I could elaborate on this more.

    3. The U.S. military although it has done some incredibly stupid things has also done some amazingly clever ploys. Imagine the U.S. has layed stealth out there and touted it as the best thing it has. Now China has a counter for it and is confident that can handle the best the U.S. has to offer, but suprise here come new technology in war time. Did you notice that the U.S. pulled out a few things in Desert Storm which had not been seen before? Since we were clearly dominating the war do you think we pulled out everything we could have?

  173. Re:China invading the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Allies sent every plane they had to clear the sky. If bombers had managed to get through it would have been difficult/imposible.

    (recognition to the US troops who got stuck under heavy fire)

  174. There is probably something better already flying by bigbigbison · · Score: 1

    Weren't the stealth planes first developed in the mid 80's? That was more than a decade ago. Undoubtably the Skunkworks has developed something better than what we know about. Just because someone has the ability to detect stealth does not mean that they will detect it. It would take a fairly large undertaking to canvas the entire country of China to detect the few stealth aircraft. I think China has bigger problems to worry about than the US.

    --
    http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
  175. one problem by kaisyain · · Score: 1

    I think it would take something like a month for your invasion fleet to cross the Pacific (after all the Chinese are going to have to commandeer a lot of civilian transports to move their invasion force and you probably want most of your troops landing at around the same time). Assuming they somehow evaded all those subs and surface ships we have out there, do you really think your initial wave of a few thousand Chinese with little in the way of heavy weaponry are still going to be alive and holding out? Even if our response is slow it ain't going to be that slow.

    P.S. AFAIK the Chinese don't have a carrier so it would a bit difficult to use one to support the troops. The Chinese admit that they aren't going to be capable of anything but regional naval power until around 2050.

    In my totally uninformed opinion Chinese invasion is pure fiction. Coincidentally, Larry Bond has a new book coming out called "Invasion" about this very topic.

  176. Nice Try, but No Go by pete+mc · · Score: 1

    This kind of sneak attack might work for a day or two, but then it would be crushed. You can land enough troops to take an airfield, but not enough to assault the neighboring military bases. More importantly, you cannot resupply them. Once surprise is lost you won't get any airplanes through. Light infantry don't require a great deal of supplies, true, but then again they would be carrying the same sorts of weapons as the police / national guard / hastily organized militias / etc.

    They won't have tanks because they're too darned heavy. Even a 747 can only carry one or two main battle tanks. Remember the multi-month buildup to Operation Desert Storm? That was because they had to move the tanks by ship.

    Sea transport will also be cut off pretty quickly once surprise is lost. Mr. Hagar did mention "you might even nuke pearl/guam in the first 24 hours of your attack." That IS what it would take - you'd have to knock out the U.S. Navy altogether. The reason we pay mongo $$$ for a huge navy is to prevent this sort of invasion. The problem with nuking the fleet in harbor: it's more or less been tried already:

    "In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success."

    Admiral Yamamoto in an interview with Shigeharu Matsumoto, a member of the Japanese Cabinet, 1940

    The Japanese at the time had the world's third largest navy. They were at least an even match for the U.S. Pacific fleet. Currently the Chinese have pretty close to squat for a navy.

  177. More Importantly by pete+mc · · Score: 1

    Hm, Poland 1939, Russia 1941, Hawaii 1941, Korea 1949

    More importantly, three of these examples were military failures. Only the invasion of Poland was ultimately successful. The U.S. is much bigger; the Russian example is probably the best parallel.

  178. here we go again by hagar� · · Score: 1

    I never said heavy armor on Commercial 747's, i said transportation of some light armored units in commercial 747 cargo planes. Hell you could even pull IFF transponders from 747's fit them to military cargo planes if you want to.

    I didnt say for the aircraft not to use IFF transponders, but to make full use of them, travelling along standard routes for air traffic.
    Hence its a surprise attack, not a surprise suicide.

    Second, transporting armor in a car carrier is not going to be sunk if as far as everyone knows it has a legitimate manifest and is due to dock legally.

    Yes the US would know that China would be massing vehicles at ports and airports by satellite data, but how many times has China had excercises near taiwan? Quite often. Especially involving army/navy amphibious deployments. Satellites are great for taking photos, but they dont tell you what the enemy intends or thinks 90% of the time.

    Lastly, read the previous postings, and get the drift that i have all along said this is highly unlikely, highly difficult, that the plan has operational holes in it as all plans do, that its only a broad hypothetical concept.

    I dont believe you have read the document and all the related posts that have added to the entire plan thoroughly. I have said a couple of times, the addition of a chemical or biological or nuclear element into the mix, would make events quite different, also added a diversionary force from a bordering country adding pressure as ive mentioned twice also.
    So feel free to read the threads fully, instead of getting the gist, grunting, and clicking reply.

    If you believe the US has absolutely no vulnerabilities at all on any border, I would politely suggest, you are deluded.

    If you can think of a better operational concept, post it here, and then maybe we can pick holes in your plan.

    --
    Insert something insightful here, or I'll insert something painful there.
    1. Re:here we go again by OneThreeSeven · · Score: 1
      I never said heavy armor on Commercial 747's, i said transportation of some light armored units in commercial 747 cargo planes.

      It wouldn't matter if it were trucks and motorcycles. You can't "quickly" unload large cargo from a 747. Let's say it does get to land. Then what? Do you think this "light" armor just jumps out the back, fires up the engine, and starts shooting? That cargo has to be unloaded. Even assuming that the crew comes in on the airplane, and is able to find and operate the equipment necessary to unload the gear, how much time do you suppose that will take? Enough time to actualy take down an airport? You might want to compare your method to the method used by guys that actualy do take down airports, Army Rangers, and see where the differences lie.

      And where do you suppose all this "light" armor is going to load? In Hong Kong? A direct flight from China is going to be inspected with a closer eye than one from Fairbanks, don't you think?

      Second, transporting armor in a car carrier is not going to be sunk if as far as everyone knows it has a legitimate manifest and is due to dock legally.

      Oh, I see. The customs official that goes out and boards the boat and checks the manifest, then checks the cargo, doesn't know the difference between a Huyndai and a Howitzer? "Gee Capn', is that the new model SUV? It sure is big!" And, again, lets assume that the customs official is a complete moron, and our ship is allowed to dock. Do you suppose all that armor will just jump right out of the cargo hold, fire up the engines and start shooting? How long before that boat is on the bottom? I'd give it about 30 minutes to get it holed and roling by the boys at the local military air station.

      Yes the US would know that China would be massing vehicles at ports and airports by satellite data, but how many times has China had excercises near taiwan? Quite often. Especially involving army/navy amphibious deployments. Satellites are great for taking photos, but they dont tell you what the enemy intends or thinks 90% of the time.

      Actualy, you're quite wrong there. If we observed China loading up for "excercises against Taiwan" by loading heavy armor into commercial car carriers (China has a booming auto export trade, I'm sure) and infantry into commercial 747's, the most raw analyst right out of school could tell you it's unusual, and warrant's closer observation. It is because China often has these "excercises" that we know what they look like, and more importantly, what they don't look like.

      I dont believe you have read the document and all the related posts that have added to the entire plan thoroughly.

      Actualy, I have, and it is clear to me that most of the comments are from people who get their ideas about military tactics and operations through Tom Clancy novels, and Soldier of Fortune magazine. I would wager there are few, if any with formal military training, or experience with military intelligence beyond "Red Storm Rising."

      If you believe the US has absolutely no vulnerabilities at all on any border, I would politely suggest, you are deluded.

      I don't believe I said that. Only that the concept you proposed is not "highly unlikely" but militarily impossibile. Fiction. It would make a great Steven Segal movie, but would never accomplish anything but annoy the locals, and give us all something about which to shake our heads.

      --

      -137

  179. No need to jam it, it's won't work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Such a system won't work in practice. Why? Because the first thing US air attacks do is blow up anything transmitting a communications signal. That's standard operating procedure. B2's fly too high for this system to work well, and the F117s simply aren't necessary for the first wave of Tomahawk attacks.

  180. Re:China invading the US by porkchop_d_clown · · Score: 1

    Do you know what the casualty rates were for D-Day? And that was for a force that didn't have to worry about spy sats giving the other guys 3 days notice you were coming.


    --
  181. Turbulence=F-117 not B-2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    It's attack of the "aerospace engineers" on /. again.

    Have any of you all ever actually seen a picture of the B-2, can you say streamlined and aerodynamic. You keep talking about how much turbulence the F-117 produces, well no shit look at it, but the B-2, produces almost no turbulence. Besided the fact that if we were going to nuke the shit out of a country, we would use the B-2's not the the F-117's (can you say greater payload=more nukes, 16 W-80's I think.)

    And the fact that it doesn't matter if they can track the planes when they get over the country, by the time the B-2's get over the country its too late for that country, they just got ripped a few dozen new ones.

    I really wish you all would stop commenting on shit you have absolutely no clue about.

    A Bugg

  182. Old news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stealth technology as it is currently deployed is optimized to hide from widely deployed military radars. Nobody ever said there's no way to detect the planes. Aviation Week reported within the last year that some government contractor near D.C. had built a 100% passive system (a bunch of antennas hooked up to a computer) that was tracking flights taking off from BWI and National using radiation in the air and location and power data on civilian FM and TV transmitters. The article mentioned that this technology could track current stealth planes too. Actually, WWII radars can track stealth planes. Low power radar = reflected High power radar = absorbed It's all in the reciever. In other words, don't look for it in the field anytime soon.