As the terrorist group "Islamic State" (IS, an organization banned in Russia) loses its position in Iraq and Syria, the US Air Force is increasingly concerned about the behavior of Russian fighters in the skies over the conflict zone. This was reported by the American publication Aviation Week.
According to one of the US Air Force squadron commanders (an F-22 Raptor fighter pilot), Russian planes regularly “hang out” near coalition forces for as long as 20–30 minutes. He explains to the publication that American pilots are increasingly observing sudden and potentially dangerous maneuvers of Russian Su-35 and Su-30 fighters. At the same time, the F-22 is deprived of the ability to exchange data through the tactical system.
Russian Aerospace Forces fighters constantly fly within the firing range of coalition ground forces and close to American aircraft, whose pilots can observe them with the naked eye from the cockpit. But due to congestion in the airspace, the process of identifying them is difficult. Another problem the American has is the lack of a helmet-mounted target designation system.
The F-22 Raptor is the world's first and only fifth-generation multi-role stealth fighter in service with the US Air Force and created using stealth technology.
The essence of "invisibility"
Today, the USA, Russia, China and Japan can boast of having combat aviation systems created using visibility reduction technologies. The presence of stealth technologies is one of the mandatory parameters of fifth-generation aircraft.
The essence of stealth technology is to reduce visibility in the radar and infrared ranges. The effect is achieved due to a special coating, the specific shape of the aircraft body, as well as the materials from which its structure is made.
Radar waves emitted, for example, by an anti-aircraft transmitter missile complex, are reflected from the outer surface of the aircraft and are received by the radar station - this is radar signature.
"YouTube/TASS"
It is characterized effective dispersion area (EPR). This is a formal parameter, which is measured in units of area and is a quantitative measure of the property of an object to reflect electromagnetic wave. The smaller this area, the more difficult it is to detect an aircraft and hit it with a missile (at least its detection range decreases).
For older bombers, the ESR can reach 100 square meters; for a typical modern fighter it ranges from 3 to 12 square meters. m, and for stealth aircraft - about 0.3-0.4 sq. m.
The ESR of complex objects cannot be accurately calculated using formulas; it is measured experimentally using special instruments at test sites or in anechoic chambers. Its value strongly depends on the direction from which the aircraft is irradiated, and for the same flying machine is represented by a range: as a rule, the best values for the scattering area are recorded when the aircraft is irradiated in the forward hemisphere. Thus, there cannot be accurate ESR indicators, and experimental values for existing fifth-generation aircraft are classified.
Western analytical resources, as a rule, underestimate EPR data for their stealth aircraft.
B-2: American "spirit"
Heavy, unobtrusive strategic bomber B-2A Spirit is the most expensive aircraft in the US Air Force fleet. As of 1998, the cost of one B-2 was $1.16 billion. The cost of the entire program was estimated at almost $45 billion.
The first public flight of the B-2 took place in 1989. A total of 21 aircraft were built: almost all of them were named after American states.
The B-2 has an unusual appearance and is sometimes compared to an alien ship. At one time, this gave rise to many rumors that the plane was built using technology obtained from studying UFO debris in the so-called Area 51.
The aircraft is capable of carrying 16 atomic bombs or eight laser-guided 907 kg guided bombs, or 80 227 kg bombs and delivering them from Whiteman Air Force Base (Missouri) to almost anywhere in the world. The flight range of the “ghost” is 11 thousand km.
Spirit is fully automated and has a crew of two pilots. The bomber has a significant safety margin and is capable of making a safe landing in a crosswind of 40 m/s. According to foreign publications, the EPR of a bomber is estimated in the range from 0.0014 to 0.1 sq. m. According to other sources, the bomber has more modest indicators - from 0.05 to 0.5 sq. m in frontal projection.
The main disadvantage of the B-2 Spirit is the cost of its maintenance. The aircraft can only be housed in a special hangar with an artificial microclimate - otherwise, ultraviolet radiation will damage the radio-absorbing coating of the aircraft.
The B-2 is invisible to outdated radars, but modern anti-aircraft missile systems Russian production capable of detecting it and effectively hitting it. According to unconfirmed reports, one B-2 was shot down or received serious combat damage from the use of anti-aircraft missile system(SAM) during the NATO military operation in Yugoslavia.
F-117: American "lame goblin"
Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk- American single-seat subsonic tactical stealth strike aircraft from Lockheed Martin. It was intended for covert penetration through enemy air defense systems and attacks on strategically important ground targets.
The first flight took place on June 18, 1981. 64 units were produced, with the last production example delivered to the US Air Force in 1990. The creation and production of the F-117 cost more than $6 billion. In 2008, aircraft of this type were completely withdrawn from service as financial reasons, so due to the adoption of the F-22 Raptor.
The aircraft's EPR, according to foreign publications, ranged from 0.01 to 0.0025 sq. m depending on the angle.
The reduction in visibility for the F-117 was mainly achieved due to the specific angular shape of the hull, built according to the concept of “reflector planes”; composite and radio-absorbing materials and a special coating were also used. As a result, the bomber looked extremely futuristic, and because of this, the F-117's popularity in games and cinema can compete with Hollywood stars of the first magnitude.
However, having achieved a significant reduction in visibility, the designers had to violate all possible laws of aerodynamics, and the aircraft received disgusting flight characteristics. American pilots nicknamed him the “lame goblin” (Wobblin’ Goblin) for this.
As a result, out of 64 F-117A stealth aircraft built, six aircraft were lost from flight accidents - almost 10% of the total. Only the most experienced pilots were allowed to fly the F-117, but they still crashed regularly.
The aircraft served in five wars: the US invasion of Panama (1989), the Gulf War (1991), Operation Desert Fox (1998), the NATO war against Yugoslavia (1999), and the Iraq War (2003).
At least one aircraft was lost in combat missions in Yugoslavia - the Yugoslav air defense forces shot down an invisible aircraft using an obsolete Soviet S-125 Neva air defense system.
F-22: American "Raptor"
The first and so far only fifth-generation aircraft adopted for service is the American F-22A Raptor.
Production of the aircraft began in 2001. Currently, several F-22s are taking part in the operation of coalition forces in Iraq to strike militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia.
Today it is considered the most expensive fighter aircraft in the world. According to open sources, taking into account the costs of its development and other factors, the cost of each of the aircraft ordered by the American Air Force exceeds $300 million.
Nevertheless, the F-22A has something to boast about: the ability to fly at supersonic speed without turning on the afterburner, powerful avionics (avionics) and, again, low visibility. However, in terms of maneuverability the aircraft is inferior to many Russian fighters even the fourth generation.
The F-22's thrust vector changes only in one plane (up and down), while on the most modern Russian combat aircraft the thrust vector can change in all planes, independently of each other on the right and left engines.
There is no exact data on the EPR of the fighter: the spread of figures given by different sources ranges from 0.3 to 0.0001 sq. m. According to domestic experts, the EPR of the F-22A ranges from 0.5 to 0.1 sq. m. At the same time, the Irbis radar station of the Su-35S fighter is capable of detecting Raptor at a distance of at least 95 km.
Despite its prohibitive cost, the Raptor has a number of operational problems. In particular, the anti-radar coating of the fighter was easily washed off by rain, and although over time this drawback was eliminated, the price of the aircraft increased even more.
Another serious drawback of the F-22 is the pilot's oxygen supply system. In 2010, pilot Jeffrey Haney lost control of his fighter due to suffocation and crashed.
Since 2011, all F-22As were prohibited from rising above 7.6 thousand meters. It was believed that at such an altitude the pilot, when the first signs of suffocation occurred, would be able to descend to 5.4 thousand meters in order to remove the mask and breathe the air in the cockpit. The reason turned out to be a design flaw - carbon dioxide from the engines entered the pilots' breathing system. They tried to solve the problem using additional carbon filters. But the shortcoming has not yet been completely eliminated.
F-35: American "lightning"
F-35 Lightning II("Lightning") was conceived as a universal aircraft for the US armed forces, as well as NATO allies, capable of replacing the F-16 fighter, the A-10 attack aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II vertical take-off and landing attack aircraft and the McDonnell carrier-based fighter-bomber Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.
A huge amount of money was spent on the development of this fifth-generation fighter-bomber (expenses exceeded $56 billion, and the cost of one aircraft was $108 million), but it was never possible to bring the design to fruition.
Su-57(perspective aviation complex front-line aviation, PAK FA) is the Russian response to the American fifth-generation fighter F-22. The aircraft is the quintessence of all the most modern that is in domestic aviation. Little is known about its characteristics, and most is being kept secret for now. Thanks to its modernization potential, it can become a sixth generation fighter.
It is known that PAK FA was the first to use a whole range of new polymer carbon fiber reinforced plastics. They are two times lighter than aluminum of comparable strength and titanium, and four to five times lighter than steel. New materials make up 70% of the material fighter's coating; as a result, it was possible to sharply reduce the structural weight of the aircraft - it weighs four times less than an aircraft assembled from conventional materials.
The Sukhoi design bureau claims an “unprecedentedly low level of radar, optical and infrared signature” of the vehicle, although the EPR of the fighter is assessed by domestic experts rather restrainedly - in the area 0.3–0.4 sq. m. At the same time, some Western analysts express more optimistic assessments regarding our aircraft: for the T-50 they call the EPR three times less - 0.1 sq. m. The true data on the effective dispersion area is classified.
The Su-57 features high on-board intelligence. Radar station fighter with a new active phased array antenna (AFAR) Research Institute named after. Tikhomirov can detect targets at a distance of more than 400 kilometers, simultaneously track up to 60 targets and fire at up to 16. The minimum RCS of tracked targets is 0.01 square meters. m.
The PAK FA engines are spaced away from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft; this solution made it possible to increase the thrust “shoulder” during maneuvering and create a spacious weapons bay capable of accommodating heavy weapons, which are inaccessible due to the size of the F-35 Lightning II.
The PAK FA is distinguished by excellent maneuverability and controllability in vertical and horizontal planes both at supersonic and at low speeds. Currently, the aircraft is equipped with first-stage engines, with which it is capable of maintaining supersonic speed in non-afterburning mode. After receiving the standard engine of the second stage, the tactical and technical characteristics of the fighter will increase significantly.
According to some media reports, the J-20 is equipped with Russian engines AL-31FN, and the Chinese military massively purchased decommissioned engines of these brands.
"TASS/Ruptly"
Most tactical and technical characteristics development remains secret. J-20 has large number similar and completely copied elements from the Russian technology demonstrator MiG 1.44 and American fifth-generation fighters F-22 and F-35.
The aircraft is made according to the canard design: a pair of ventral fins and closely spaced engines (similar to the MiG 1.44), a canopy and a nose section - identical to the same elements on the F-22. The location of the air intakes has a design similar to the F-35. The vertical tail is all-moving and has a geometry similar to that of the F-35 fighter.
The cockpit canopy is made according to a common unbound design, which improves visibility for the pilot and reduces the ESR of the vehicle.
X-2: Japanese "soul"
Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin- a prototype of a fifth-generation Japanese fighter with stealth technology. The aircraft was designed at the Technical Design Institute of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, and built by the corporation that produced the famous Zero fighter planes during World War II. The fighter received the poetic name Shinshin - “Soul”.
The ATD-X is close in size to the Swedish multi-role fighter Saab Gripen, and in shape - to the American F-22 Raptor. The dimensions and angle of inclination of the vertical tail, the shape of the influx and air intakes are identical to those of the American fifth-generation fighter. The cost of the aircraft could reach about $324 million.
The first public demonstration of the new Japanese fighter took place at the end of January 2016. Flight testing of the aircraft was supposed to take place in 2015, but the developer company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was unable to meet the delivery deadlines set by the Ministry of Defense.
In addition, Japanese specialists need to refine the fighter engine with controlled thrust vectoring, in particular, test the possibility of restarting it in the event of a possible stop during the flight.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense notes that the aircraft was built exclusively for testing technologies, including ATD-X - “stealth”. However, it could become the basis from which a replacement for the Japanese F-2 fighter-bomber developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin for the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces will be created.
In this case, the ATD-X will have to install three times more powerful engines, and provide enough space in the aircraft body to accommodate ammunition. According to preliminary plans, the first prototype of the F-3 fighter will take off in 2024-2025.
Roman Azanov
Stealth
American stealth aircraft,
invented by a Russian scientist.
"Dead end" branch of aviation.
It has long been known that survivability in battle can be ensured not only by good protection, but also by camouflage. For a long time, too little attention was paid to camouflage in aviation. In fact, it all came down to only a special camouflage coloring: the upper surfaces of the aircraft are painted “camouflage”, and the lower surfaces are painted blue, to match the color of the sky
.
About thirty years ago, while leafing through a popular scientific and technical magazine, American intelligence officers came across an article by Russian physicist Pyotr Ufimtsev, which stated that aircraft"wing" type, made of certain materials, cut and painted in a special way, are practically invisible to radar.
The article was of great interest to American military specialists, and the United States decided to build and test such an aircraft.
There were opportunities for this. Then the Pentagon - the US Department of Defense - was developing a program to create a new generation of aircraft - a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and a high-altitude interceptor, which were intended to be inaccessible to the means of detecting and destroying the enemy.
So in the mid-1970s, the US Air Force received a first-class reconnaissance aircraft SR-71, which was distinguished by an unusual aerodynamic shape and special coloring, made according to Ufimtsev’s “recipes” and reducing the radar visibility of the aircraft.
Inspired by their success, the Americans moved on and began to develop new types of stealth aircraft based on the ideas of the Russian physicist. The project was called "stealth" (from English word“stealth” - secretly, furtively).
Attempts to create a “completely invisible aircraft” were unsuccessful for a long time. Only twenty years ago the United States showed the world a miracle military equipment, similar to a bat or an alien ship. Two modifications of the “stealth” aircraft were manufactured: the F-117 fighter-bomber and the B-2 heavy strategic bomber, which were used in the war against Iraq. A little later, the F-22 stealth fighter entered service.
Externally, the F-117 looks like a flying wing with a span of 13.2 m. But in addition to its specially selected shape, its entire structure was developed with the maximum possible use of radar-absorbing materials.
They reduce the level of reflected signals, which, moreover, are not reflected back, as from ordinary surfaces, but up and down in narrow sectors. With the help of special exhaust nozzles and the supply of ambient air, the intensity of infrared radiation jet engines, that is, the enemy’s “thermal” sensors will also not detect this aircraft.
The “invisible” device even has a special communication system - a laser one, which is almost impossible to find direction. True, the F-117, to put it mildly, does not shine with its flight performance qualities. You can’t do modern aerobatics on it - that’s the price to pay for “invisibility.”
All stealth technology was designed for the enemy to use centimeter-range locators, for which American stealth aircraft actually become inconspicuous.
However, in Russia, and also in the air defense forces of other countries, today there are meter-range locators, for which it does not matter whether it is a stealth aircraft or an ordinary aircraft.
The news of the invisibility of “stealth” devices for only one type of locator caused a real scandal in the US government. After all, billions were spent on the development of stealth aircraft, but it turned out that the effectiveness of new aircraft in combat may be inferior even to older machines.
It turned out that the American technological breakthrough in the production of “stealth” devices was associated with the emigration of Ufimtsev to the United States, who was involved in work on creating invisible devices.
Ufimtsev did the same thing for many years in the USSR. And not only him.
At least two Soviet design bureaus built and tested stealth aircraft different types. The conclusion of the authoritative commissions was as follows:
1) stealth plane, made according to Ufimtsev’s ideas, due to its shape it has low speed and maneuverability- in essence, this is a hang glider, poorly adapted for combat maneuvers and incapable of aerobatics;
2) the aircraft can be detected visually and by special high-frequency radars; in addition, when the bomb bays are opened and in some flight modes, it is visible to conventional radars and after “notching” it can be easily shot down;
3) the cost of the aircraft is prohibitively high.
Conclusion: the construction of such aircraft is impractical; Moreover, this type of aircraft is “a dead-end branch in the development of military aviation.”
Therefore, in the early 1980s, work on the Ufimtsevo “stealth” in the USSR was stopped. The offended designer left for the USA, where he implemented his “senseless” ideas, as time has proven, at the expense of the Americans.
The modern development of combat aviation has taken a different path: development of a new generation of aircraft is underway, characterized by ultra-high speed, flight altitude, maneuverability and stealth (due to these properties) for enemy air defense systems.
| What's happened |
What inventions can the Russian Land be proud of? I will name offhand and very briefly the most famous ones. Steam engine and the world's first two-cylinder steam engine by Ivan Polzunov. Light bulb by Alexander Lodygin. Radio Alexander Popov. The world's first four-engine aircraft “Russian Knight” and “Ilya Muromets” by Igor Sikorsky. Television of Vladimir Zvorykin. Semiconductor heterostructures Nobel Laureate Zhores Alferov. And of course, a Kalashnikov assault rifle. What would it be like without him!?
This is very short. Why did I list all this? And to the fact that the long list of Russian inventions can be replenished with another important item - the technology of radar invisibility, nicknamed by our overseas, so to speak, “partners” STEALTH technology.
The damned American adversaries stole our invention. They didn’t even steal it, they just picked it up. Because it lay very badly. Actually open view lay. And that's how it was.
In the early seventies, in the secret department of a huge American aviation company Lockheed Martin a young man named Denis Overholzer. He worked as a translator. The guy’s work was dust-free: Denis read Russian and translated into English language technical publications obtained in the Soviet Union related to aviation.
The work, of course, was “don’t hit him when he’s down,” but boring. Because all the most interesting and secret things were carefully erased by the vigilant comrades from the Soviet KGB. And then one day, a completely UNSecret opus of a young Moscow engineer came across Denis Overholzer’s desk. Peter Yakovlevich Ufimtsev. It was published in Moscow in a small edition by the Soviet Radio publishing house in 1962. The scientific work was called "Edge wave method in the physical theory of diffraction."
|
From this name - "Edge wave method in the physical theory of diffraction"- flies are dying, students are sleeping in classes, and humanities students are becoming terribly despondent. However, the translator with the characteristic surname Overholzer did have an electrical engineering education. Therefore, Denis swallowed the book whole, and after reading... how can I say this more delicately... he was very surprised and extremely discouraged.
In his scientific work, Pyotr Ufimtsev described a physical and mathematical algorithm own creation, capable of calculating the effective scattering area for an aircraft of absolutely any shape. Skipping numerous technical details, I will summarize - scientific work was dedicated to reducing the visibility of aircraft on radar screens. That is, it was a ready-made guide for creating stealth aircraft.
At first, the American Overholzer decided that this Ufimtsev needed to be urgently recruited. Or even even kidnap from the clutches of the communists. But then he saw that everything required had already been honestly and meticulously described, and all that remained was to construct an invisible plane. Stunned by unexpected happiness, Denis Overholzer wrote a report and ran with it to his boss.
But the bureaucrat did not appreciate the report. You may not believe it, but America also has bureaucrats. The boss can be understood: at that time, Lockheed Martin was developing the F-16 fighter, and also tested the famous Hercules transport aircraft. During those years, the military disaster in Vietnam was gaining momentum.
|
Adult American uncles seriously played war. They had no time for invisible people, ghosts, or flying on a broom. Therefore, translator Denis Overholzer was politely sent.
But he continued to insist. He was sent rudely. Denis stood his ground and tried to explain to the boss all the delights of the edge wave method in the physical theory of diffraction... To which the boss burst into thunder and lightning and pointed young specialist on the door. And when the persistent translator did not want to leave the room at the boss’s invitation, the boss took him by the scruff of the neck, turned him back to him and threw him out of the office with a powerful blow in the ass. And he added: “Mind your own business, Overholser! Do your translations! We have enough designers without you!”
Remember this important point - kick in the ass- it will have an interesting continuation at the very end of the story!
But Denis Overholzer turned out to be a tough nut to crack. He was not just persistent, he was persistent and stubborn. He achieved his goal and handed over the report to the engineers. They studied the work of Pyotr Ufimtsev, appreciated the approach of the Russian physicist and, using his method, began to calculate the possible shapes of the invisible fuselage.
The engineers, designers and other specialists of the Lockheed Martin company worked hard, worked hard, and a few years later the fantastic lump of the F-117 stealth tactical strike aircraft soared into the sky.
|
Years passed. The war in Vietnam has passed. Ended and Cold War. In the Soviet Union, Perestroika first broke out and then died out. Pyotr Yakovlevich Ufimtsev worked in his specialty at the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. And he lived in Fryazino, near Moscow. And so, in 1990, he received a tempting invitation to come to the States to give lectures. Ufimtsev agreed and began working as a “visiting professor” at the University of California.
|
Looking ahead a little, I will inform you that Pyotr Ufimtsev began collaborating with the military-industrial company Northrop Grumman Corporation and even took part in the creation of another futuristic strategic bomber, the B-2.
All this time, the American translator Denis Overholzer did not forget to whom exactly he owes for the rise of his career. He dreamed of meeting his brilliant Russian colleague. And give him some kind of order for unintentionally increasing the military power of a potential enemy. Or for actions that led to the enrichment of the capitalist concern Lockheed Martin.
And finally, this long-awaited meeting took place. Denis asked Ufimtsev: “Peter! Well, why? Why did such an important military secret leak from the most secret country in the world? And why did the Soviet Union never create its own stealth aircraft? After all, there were opportunities!”
To which Pyotr Yakovlevich replied: “It was like this. I wrote an algorithm. I did the calculations. I tried it experimentally. It agreed. I went to the boss. He ordered me to stop doing bullshit and develop the radar more intensively. I insisted. The boss didn’t give in. I continued to stick to my line. The discussion turned to a raised tone. In the end, he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and kicked me in the ass with a kick from a football striker and kicked me out the door. I was offended and wrote a monograph.”
Remember a similar blow from an American boss to the bottom of his subordinate? Look: seemingly identical blows below the back under similar circumstances - but what different consequences!
|
Read 5601 once
« Stealth technology "brought us back to that fundamental principle of war called surprise," said John Welch, vice chief of the Air Force, shortly after the end of Operation Desert Storm. - “If you can achieve surprise, you will have a big advantage.”
The advantage claimed was convincingly demonstrated during six weeks of continuous night bombing of Baghdad stealth aircraft Lockheed F-117A. These “black ghosts” flew freely into the heart of one of the most secure airspaces in the world and, having dropped their deadly cargo, returned unharmed.
WHAT IS STEALTH TECHNOLOGY?
The technology that has enabled such significant progress did not appear suddenly. The Navy has been using the same camouflage techniques on strategic and attack submarines for more than 30 years. The Army has also long used similar technologies to reduce infrared radiation from tanks and other equipment.
The essence of stealth technology is to reduce the visibility of equipment in the radar and infrared radiation spectrum. Typically, equipment reflects radio waves that fall on it, which are picked up by the radar - this is radar signature. It is characterized by the effective scattering area (ESA) - the ability of an object to scatter an electromagnetic wave. For example, the ESR of a B-52 bomber is 100, a heavy bomber is 13-20, a conventional fighter is 3-12, and an invisible aircraft made using stealth technology is only 0.3-0.4 sq.m. Stealth technology is based on two techniques: firstly, maximum absorption of radio radiation by the surface of the aircraft body, and secondly, reflection of radio waves in such a direction that they do not return back to the radar. For this purpose, special coatings and a specific shape of the aircraft body are used.
In aviation, attempts to develop something similar to the F-117A stealth aircraft have been made for a long time. Back in 1962, Lockheed was hard at work developing the stealthy A-12 aircraft. Another aircraft of that time, the SR-71 Blackbird, implemented stealth technology in the form of special coatings and structural materials.
In the early 70s, progress in the field of computer technology and... programming gave impetus to the development of aircraft manufacturing. Software Called ECHO, it allowed Lockheed to simulate various airframe designs on a computer and obtain their expected appearance on a radar screen without building the actual aircraft. As a result, in 1975, she built a full-scale model of the prototype F-117A stealth aircraft, the Have Blue. At the same time, Northrop presented its development, but after testing both models using a real radar, the Lockheed version won. In the winter of 1977, an experimental flight of Have Blue took place, after which the US Air Force immediately ordered 24 F-117A fighters, the first of which was built in June 1981, and in 1983 the aircraft was put into service.
Convinced by the example of the F-117A fighter of the technical validity and feasibility of the stealth aircraft concept, the US Air Force command commissioned Northrop to develop a new strategic bomber with extensive use of stealth technology. Design work on its creation began in 1979, and the official ceremony of presenting the new aircraft, designated B-2 Spirit, to specialists and representatives of the press took place in November 1988.
FEATURES OF THE INVISIBLE AIRCRAFT
After a brief introduction to the history of stealth aircraft, let's look at the basic principles of stealth technology that were used in their creation.
1. A special ferromagnetic coating of the aircraft body is used to absorb radar radiation. Electromagnetic radiation falling on such a coating causes microscopic particles of the magnetic material included in its composition to change their orientation with a high frequency, which is what the radiation energy is spent on. In addition, as much as possible of the aircraft itself is made from radio-absorbing composites such as carbon fiber.
2. Rounded surfaces in the body shape are almost never used. Instead, it consists of many planes that reflect radar radiation not in the opposite direction, but in different directions. For the same purpose, the sweep of the wings is increased.
3. Conventional turbojet engines are designed so that the radar can “see” a compressor with a large reflection area that reflects radiation well. By new technology A special diffuser is installed in front of the compressor, the sharp top of which reflects radiation into the engine housing and thus extinguishes it.
4. The flat-shaped engine creates a jet torch with a wide angle of divergence of hot gases, which dissipates the heat flow and reduces the degree of visibility in the infrared range.
5. Both engines of the stealth aircraft are equipped with noise-reducing casings, as well as a forced cooling system that reduces infrared emissions. Some of the cold air entering through the air intakes is supplied directly to the exhaust area and, mixing with the hot reactive gases, cools them.
6. Even parts of a stealth aircraft that should be roughly vertical, such as the pilot's seat, are corrugated to dissipate radar energy.
7. The aircraft’s V-shaped tail (also called a “butterfly”) replaces two horizontal and one vertical planes of a traditional tail, which also reduces visibility.
Stealth technology also applies to other types of military aircraft. For example, in 1990 it was put into service strategic aviation The US Air Force has received the General Dynamics AGM-129A ASM air-to-surface cruise missile with a low level of unmasking characteristics. It was developed using stealth technology and is intended to arm the B-52N, B-1B and B-2 bombers. The ACM cruise missile is close in size to the Boeing AGM-86B ALCM cruise missile.
"STEALTH TECHNOLOGY": "FOR" AND "AGAINST"
Stealth technology has long been ambiguously perceived by many military experts. One of the disadvantages of using this technology is high price"stealth aircraft". The B-2 bomber is the most expensive aircraft in aviation history - $1.157 billion per unit. In addition, although American aircraft made using stealth technology are called “invisible” in the press, this is an exaggeration. They can, in principle, be detected by modern radar equipment. A radar with a powerful emitter will still detect an “invisible aircraft,” albeit from a shorter distance. For example, the S-300 complex could “see” the F-117A from a distance of 50-60 km. In addition, short-range air defense systems equipped with television-optical sighting equipment can generally capture a target via a visual channel, in which the “invisible aircraft” is just as clearly visible as any other material object.
At the same time, excessive emphasis on radar stealth leads to a decrease in the aircraft's flight qualities: it loses greatly in speed, maneuverability and flight safety. The fact is that an aircraft with such geometry and aerodynamics as the F-117A cannot stay in the air on its own and its flight requires every second adjustment using the controls. This function is performed by the computer. At least one F-117A stealth aircraft was lost due to misconfiguration of the flight control system.
A significant advantage of stealth technology, however, is that homing missiles and other automated air defense systems cannot lock on such an aircraft as a target with sufficient accuracy and, as a rule, miss.
The combat career of the “stealth aircraft” F-117A also turned out to be not entirely clear-cut. On the one hand, this aircraft quite successfully participated in five wars: the US invasion of Panama (1989), (1998), the NATO war against Yugoslavia (1999), and the Iraqi war (2003). At the same time, only one aircraft was lost in combat missions (in Yugoslavia). On the other hand, during operation, out of 64 F-117A “stealth aircraft” built, six were lost due to flight accidents - almost 10% of the total, which, of course, is a lot. Only the most experienced pilots were put on the F-117A, but still the “stealth planes” regularly crashed. But the F-117A were withdrawn from service in 2008 not even because of this, but because of a banal lack of money for their maintenance. The freed up funds were used to purchase new F-22 multirole fighters.
Nevertheless, stealth technology continues to be used in the American aircraft industry. American fifth-generation fighters Lockheed/Boeing F-22 Raptor and Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II are stealthy, although their appearance is not as exotic as that of the F-117A. These aircraft are also extremely expensive, and even a country like the United States cannot afford to build them in large numbers. A total of 184 F-22 Raptors were built before production ceased.
Russian experts have long viewed stealth technology with skepticism, although certain methods of reducing the visibility of aircraft have, of course, been introduced. However, in the latest aviation developments, visibility reduction technologies occupy an important place. New Russian aircraft: the Su-34 fighter-bomber, the MiG-35 light front-line fighter and the Su-35S heavy fighter have reduced visibility. Promising Russian aircraft: the PAK FA heavy multirole fighter and the PAK DA long-range strategic bomber are being developed as “stealth aircraft.”
In March 2016, Japan plans to complete tests of the new generation Advanced Technology Demonstrator X aircraft, created using stealth technologies. Country rising sun will become the fourth in the world to be armed with stealth aircraft.
Previously, only Russia, China and the United States could boast of having combat aircraft systems created using visibility reduction technologies. The presence of stealth technologies is one of the mandatory parameters of fifth-generation aircraft.
The essence of stealth technology is to reduce visibility in the radar and infrared ranges. The effect is achieved due to a special coating, the specific shape of the aircraft body, as well as the materials from which its structure is made.
Radar waves, emitted, for example, by the transmitter of an anti-aircraft missile system, are reflected from the outer surface of the aircraft and received by the radar station - this is radar signature.
It is characterized by the effective dispersion area (ESR). This is a formal parameter, which is measured in units of area and is a quantitative measure of the property of an object to reflect an electromagnetic wave. The smaller this area, the more difficult it is to detect an aircraft and hit it with a missile (at least its detection range decreases).
For older bombers, the ESR can reach 100 square meters; for a typical modern fighter it ranges from 3 to 12 square meters. m, and for stealth aircraft - about 0.3-0.4 sq. m.
The ESR of complex objects cannot be accurately calculated using formulas; it is measured experimentally using special instruments at test sites or in anechoic chambers. Its value strongly depends on the direction from which the aircraft is irradiated, and for the same flying machine is represented by a range - as a rule, the best values for the scattering area are recorded when the aircraft is irradiated in the forward hemisphere. Thus, there cannot be accurate ESR indicators, and experimental values for existing fifth-generation aircraft are classified.
Western analytical resources, as a rule, underestimate the EPR data for their “stealth” aircraft.
THE MOST FAMOUS MODERN INVISIBLE AIRCRAFT IN THE WORLD:
B-2: American "spirit"
F-22: American Raptor
F-35: American "lightning"
T-50: Russian invisible woman J-20: Chinese "mighty dragon"
X-2: Japanese “soul”
B-2: American "spirit"
The B-2A Spirit heavy stealth strategic bomber is the most expensive aircraft in the US Air Force fleet. As of 1998, the cost of one B-2 was $1.16 billion. The cost of the entire program was estimated at almost $45 billion.
The first public flight of the B-2 took place in 1989. A total of 21 aircraft were built: almost all of them were named after American states.
The B-2 has an unusual appearance and is sometimes compared to an alien ship. At one time, this gave rise to many rumors that the plane was built using technology obtained from studying UFO debris in the so-called Area 51.
The aircraft is capable of carrying 16 atomic bombs, or eight guided bombs weighing 907 kg with laser guidance, or 80 bombs of 227 kg caliber and delivering them from Whiteman Air Force Base (Missouri) to almost anywhere in the world - the “ghost” flight range is 11 thousand. km.
Spirit is fully automated and has a crew of two pilots. The bomber has a significant safety margin and is capable of making a safe landing in a crosswind of 40 m/s. According to foreign publications, the EPR of a bomber is estimated in the range from 0.0014 to 0.1 square meters. m. According to other sources, the bomber has more modest indicators - from 0.05 to 0.5 square meters. m in frontal projection.
The main disadvantage of the B-2 Spirit is the cost of its maintenance. The aircraft can only be housed in a special hangar with an artificial microclimate - otherwise, ultraviolet radiation will damage the radio-absorbing coating of the aircraft.
The B-2 is invisible to outdated radars, but modern Russian-made anti-aircraft missile systems are able to detect and effectively destroy it. According to unconfirmed reports, one B-2 was shot down or received serious combat damage from the use of an anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) during the NATO military operation in Yugoslavia.
F-117: American "lame goblin"
The Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk is an American single-seat subsonic tactical stealth strike aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin. It was intended for covert penetration through enemy air defense systems and attacks on strategically important ground targets.
The first flight took place on June 18, 1981. 64 units were produced, with the last production example delivered to the US Air Force in 1990. The creation and production of the F-117 cost more than $6 billion. In 2008, aircraft of this type were completely withdrawn from service both for financial reasons and due to the adoption of the F-22 Raptor.
The aircraft's ESR, according to foreign publications, ranged from 0.01 to 0.0025 square meters. m depending on the angle.
The reduction in visibility for the F-117 was mainly achieved due to the specific angular shape of the hull, built according to the concept of “reflector planes”; composite and radio-absorbing materials and a special coating were also used. As a result, the bomber looked extremely futuristic and because of this, the F-117’s popularity in games and cinema can compete with Hollywood stars of the first magnitude.
However, having achieved a significant reduction in visibility, the designers had to violate all possible laws of aerodynamics, and the aircraft received disgusting flight characteristics. American pilots nicknamed him “the lame goblin” (Wobblin’ Goblin) for this.
As a result, out of 64 F-117A stealth aircraft built, six aircraft were lost from flight accidents - almost 10% of the total. Only the most experienced pilots were put on the F-117, but they still crashed regularly.
The aircraft served in five wars: the US invasion of Panama (1989), the Gulf War (1991), Operation Desert Fox (1998), the NATO war against Yugoslavia (1999), and the Iraq War (2003).
At least one aircraft was lost in combat missions in Yugoslavia - an invisible aircraft was shot down by the Yugoslav air defense forces using an obsolete Soviet S-125 Neva air defense system.
F-22: American Raptor
The first and so far only fifth-generation aircraft adopted for service is the American F-22A Raptor.
Production of the aircraft began in 2001. Currently, several F-22s are taking part in the operation of coalition forces in Iraq to strike militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia.
Today, the Raptor is considered the most expensive fighter in the world. According to open sources, taking into account the costs of its development and other factors, the cost of each of the aircraft ordered by the American Air Force exceeds $300 million.
Nevertheless, the F-22A has something to boast about: the ability to fly at supersonic speed without turning on the afterburner, powerful avionics (avionics) and, again, low visibility. However, in terms of maneuverability, the aircraft is inferior to many Russian fighters, even of the fourth generation.
The F-22's thrust vector changes only in one plane (up and down), while on the most modern Russian combat aircraft the thrust vector can change in all planes, independently of each other on the right and left engines.
There is no exact data on the EPR of the fighter: the spread of figures given by different sources ranges from 0.3 to 0.0001 square meters. m. According to domestic experts, the EPR of the F-22A ranges from 0.5 to 0.1 square meters. m. At the same time, the Irbis radar station of the Su-35S fighter is capable of detecting the Raptor at a distance of at least 95 km.
Despite its prohibitive cost, the Raptor has a number of operational problems. In particular, the anti-radar coating of the fighter was easily washed off by rain, and although over time this drawback was eliminated, the price of the aircraft increased even more.
Another serious drawback of the F-22 is the pilot's oxygen supply system. In 2010, pilot Jeffrey Haney lost control of his fighter due to suffocation and crashed.
Since 2011, all F-22As were prohibited from rising above 7.6 thousand meters. It was believed that at such an altitude the pilot, when the first signs of suffocation occurred, would be able to descend to 5.4 thousand meters in order to remove the mask and breathe the air in the cockpit. The reason turned out to be a design flaw - carbon dioxide from the engines entered the pilots' breathing system. They tried to solve the problem using additional carbon filters. But the shortcoming has not yet been completely eliminated.
F-35: American "lightning"
The F-35 Lightning II ("Lightning") was conceived as a universal aircraft for the US armed forces, as well as NATO allies, capable of replacing the F-16 fighter, the A-10 attack aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II vertical take-off and landing attack aircraft and carrier-based fighter-bomber McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.
A huge amount of money was spent on the development of this fifth-generation fighter-bomber (expenses exceeded $56 billion, and the cost of one aircraft was $108 million), but it was never possible to bring the design to fruition.
Analysts note that the enemy radar suppression systems installed on the F-35 cannot fully complete their mission. As a result, this may require the development of a separate aircraft designed to suppress enemy radar to ensure the stealth of these fighters. Experts, therefore, question the feasibility of the Pentagon's multibillion-dollar expenditures on the creation of the F-35 aircraft.
Some American media also note that the F-35 largely does not meet the requirements for fifth-generation aircraft: the Molniya has low thrust-to-weight ratio, survivability and maneuverability, and cannot fly at supersonic speeds without afterburner,
In addition, the fighter is easily detected by radars operating at ultra-high frequencies, and its ESR turned out to be greater than stated in the characteristics. However, foreign publications, according to existing tradition, estimate the effective dispersion area of the F-35 aircraft depending on the angle at 0.001 square meters. m. According to many experts, including Western experts, the F-35's EPR is significantly worse than the F-22.
T-50: Russian stealth
Russian specialists have used certain elements of stealth technology on aircraft such as the Su-34 fighter-bomber, the MiG-35 light front-line fighter and the Su-35S heavy fighter. However, the PAK FA T-50 heavy multirole fighter and the PAK DA long-range strategic bomber will become full-fledged stealth aircraft.
T-50 (advanced front-line aviation complex, PAK FA) is the Russian answer to the American fifth-generation fighter F-22. The aircraft is the quintessence of everything that is modern in domestic aviation. Little is known about its characteristics, and most of it is still kept secret.
It is known that PAK FA was the first to use a whole range of new polymer carbon fiber reinforced plastics. They are two times lighter than aluminum of comparable strength and titanium, and four to five times lighter than steel. New materials make up 70% of the material fighter's coating; as a result, it was possible to sharply reduce the structural weight of the aircraft - it weighs four times less than an aircraft assembled from conventional materials.
TV channel "Star"/YouTube
The Sukhoi design bureau declares an “unprecedented low level of radar, optical and infrared signature” of the machine,” although the ESR of the fighter is assessed by domestic experts rather restrainedly - in the region of 0.3-0.4 square meters. m. At the same time, some Western analysts express more optimistic assessments regarding our aircraft: for the T-50 they call the ESR three times less - 0.1 square meters. m. The true data on the effective dispersion area for the PAK FA is classified.
The T-50 features high onboard intelligence. Fighter radar with a new active phased antenna array (AFAR) Research Institute named after. Tikhomirov can detect targets at a distance of more than 400 kilometers, simultaneously track up to 60 targets and fire at up to 16. The minimum RCS of tracked targets is 0.01 square meters. m.
PAK FA: combat wings of the future The PAK FA engines are spaced apart from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, this solution made it possible to increase the thrust “shoulder” during maneuvering and create a spacious weapons compartment capable of accommodating heavy weapons, which is inaccessible due to its size for the F-35 Lightning II. The PAK FA is distinguished by excellent maneuverability and controllability in the vertical and horizontal planes, both at supersonic and at low speeds.
Currently, the T-50 is equipped with stage 1 engines, with which it is capable of maintaining supersonic speed in non-afterburning mode. After receiving the standard engine of the second stage, the tactical and technical characteristics of the fighter will increase significantly.
The aircraft made its first flight on January 29, 2010. Serial deliveries of the PAK FA to the troops are expected to begin in 2017; in total, the military should receive 55 fifth-generation fighters by 2020.
J-20: Chinese "mighty dragon"
Chengdu J-20 is a Chinese fighter of the fourth (according to Chinese nomenclature) or fifth generation (according to Western nomenclature). In 2011, it made its first test flight. The fighter is expected to enter service in 2017-2019.
According to some media reports, the J-20 is equipped with Russian AL-31FN engines, and the Chinese military has massively purchased decommissioned engines of these brands.
Most of the tactical and technical characteristics of the development remain secret. The J-20 has a large number of similar and completely copied elements from the Russian technology demonstrator MiG 1.44 and the American fifth-generation fighters F-22 and F-35.
The aircraft is made according to a canard design: a pair of ventral fins and closely spaced engines (similar to the MiG 1.44), a canopy and a nose section - identical to the same elements on the F-22. The location of the air intakes has a design similar to the F-35. The vertical tail is all-moving and has a geometry similar to that of the F-35 fighter.
X-2: Japanese “soul”
Mitsubishi ATD-X Shinshin is a prototype of a fifth-generation Japanese fighter with stealth technology. The aircraft was designed at the Technical Design Institute of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, and built by the corporation that produced the famous Zero fighter aircraft during World War II. The fighter received the poetic name Shinshin - “Soul”.
The ATD-X is close in size to the Swedish multirole fighter Saab Gripen, and in shape to the American F-22 Raptor. The dimensions and angle of inclination of the vertical tail, the shape of the influx and air intakes are identical to those of the American fifth-generation fighter. The cost of the aircraft could reach about $324 million.
The first public demonstration of the new Japanese fighter took place at the end of January 2016. Flight testing of the aircraft was supposed to take place in 2015, but the developer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was unable to meet delivery deadlines set by the Ministry of Defense.
In addition, Japanese specialists need to refine the fighter engine with controlled thrust vectoring, in particular, test the possibility of restarting it in the event of a possible stop during the flight.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense notes that the aircraft was built exclusively for testing technologies, including ATD-X - “stealth”. However, it could become the basis from which a replacement for the Japanese F-2 fighter-bomber developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin for the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces will be created.
In this case, the ATD-X will have to install three times more powerful engines, and enough space will be allocated in the aircraft body to accommodate ammunition.
According to preliminary plans, development work on the creation of the new F-3 will begin in 2016-2017, and the first prototype of the fighter will take off in 2024-2025.
Loading...
