In addition to reducing radar return, stealth aircraft depend heavily on their RADAR ABSORBING/ IR REFLECTIVE coatings. These coatings are far more sophisticated and play a considerably larger role in cloaking the aircraft than most are lead to believe. In fact, these coatings are the military's most closely gaurded secret in the area of stealth technology.
These coatings are the primary reason why the F-22 doesn't look like a 2-week old bar of soap. The physical design of the aircraft has little to do with it's ability to avoid radar. Though this was not the case when the B-2 or the F-117 were designed... aircraft can now be much more liberal in their design.
These people say they can detect a stealth aircraft with a low signature response. Though this may be true... they are neglecting to take into account the hi-tech coatings employed to absorb the radar signal. THEY SIMPLY CANNOT DO IT!
As mentioned before, these coatings also are responsible for refleting infra-red as well. These coatings achieve this while at the same time virtually eliminating visual reflectivity.
Slashdot Mirror
In addition to reducing radar return, stealth aircraft depend heavily on their RADAR ABSORBING/ IR REFLECTIVE coatings. These coatings are far more sophisticated and play a considerably larger role in cloaking the aircraft than most are lead to believe. In fact, these coatings are the military's most closely gaurded secret in the area of stealth technology. These coatings are the primary reason why the F-22 doesn't look like a 2-week old bar of soap. The physical design of the aircraft has little to do with it's ability to avoid radar. Though this was not the case when the B-2 or the F-117 were designed... aircraft can now be much more liberal in their design. These people say they can detect a stealth aircraft with a low signature response. Though this may be true... they are neglecting to take into account the hi-tech coatings employed to absorb the radar signal. THEY SIMPLY CANNOT DO IT! As mentioned before, these coatings also are responsible for refleting infra-red as well. These coatings achieve this while at the same time virtually eliminating visual reflectivity.