What Stealth Technology Involves

Content

1. What is stealth technology?

2. The Messerschmitt BF-109

3. The B2 spirit

4. Stealth technology in the navy

5. Stealth technology in nature

S ince the beginnings of aviation or the navy, one side has tried to hide their machines, while others were looking for them. At first, they did it in a simpler way, since the objective was not to be detected by the enemies. Which brings us to the importance of stealth technology.

In the case of ships, such as the English navy, in the First World War he painted ships with different designs to confuse German submarines when aiming with their torpedoes, which did not turn out very well.

In relation to aviation, German aviation also tried to make its planes invisible to the human eye. Instead of using canvas and wood, they used transparent materials.

But it did not have a good result, because both the engines and the co-pilot were clearly visible and, in addition, the material was highly flammable, A little later, England realized what the Germans were doing and began to build their radar network all along the coast.

The year 1940 was decisive to win. When the German bombers approached its coast, its radar system identified its height, speed and location.

This information was transferred to the coordinated command in real time, and it decided which squad was the most optimal to defend itself from the attack.

What is stealth technology?

It is a technology that is very difficult to detect and is often known as stealth or invisibility technology. It is commonly used on airplanes and ships to avoid detection by radar.

Stealth technology involves several aspects:

1. The shape of the plane.

2. Use non-metallic materials, or failing that, combined, for the plane's hull.

3. Use radar-absorbent paint.

4. Use of other technologies to reduce emission patterns, such as infrared light, noise, etc.

5. Passive sensors.

The Messerschmitt BF-109

It must be taken into account that the German fighters formed mainly by light bulb 190, their mission was to escort the bombers, but they had very low autonomy and on many occasions if they did not fall due to demolition they fell due to lack of fuel.

All this coupled with a competent team well-made up of good personnel and excellent aircraft such as the Spitfire or the Hurricane, this resulted in a defeat to the German side, who lost almost 1,900 aircraft, a tragedy from which they never recovered. On the part of the RAF it was not easy either, since they lost almost 1600 aircraft.

Among many factors, one of the most important to the defeat of the Germans was that they clearly underestimated the great usefulness of English radar.

To solve this, near the end of the war in 1945, they designed the Horten 229, a truly fascinating aircraft. The Horten brothers designed an airplane with a flying wing shape, integrated BMW jet engines and anti-radar coating capable of reaching 1000 km / h.

Its characteristics would have made it almost undetectable by the radars of the time, complicating life for the allied bloc. In any case, the reality was that it did not even enter service and that several of its prototypes had a lot of damage.

Inside the US operation Paper creep or in a more attractive way of saying that we are going to steal before the Soviets do. One of the priorities was the Horten, subsequently handing it over to Northop.

In 1989 the B2 spirit took off, a bomber very similar in many respects to the Horten.

The B2 spirit

This model was an impressive quantum leap when it comes to Stealth technology. First, its design makes radar detection very difficult, since the waves bounce or scatter.

In addition, since it does not have a tail it is much more difficult to detect. Its special paint coating absorbs the waves dissipating them in the form of heat, they are inside the fuselage, and they have little thermal signature.

This, among many other secrets, makes it undetectable to radar, and it walks quietly through enemy airspace.

At first, and seeing the characteristics that the device promised, the US government ordered 132 devices. But when they saw the cost of the unit they recalculated a bit and in the end they were left with only 22.

The B2 is the most expensive aircraft in history at $1.2 billion cost per unit. Under the current exchange rate, you can buy 133,162 regular cars, or you could budget Formula 1 and Mercedes for three years and fire Hamilton.

It is becoming more and more common for airplanes to have stealth technology to a greater or lesser extent, highlighting the American F35 or F22.

If you also look at all the innovations that the B2 has, these fighters do not have any type of weapons or fuel tank in sight, as this helps you better evade the radar. All these things are kept inside and displayed if necessary.

Stealth technology in the navy

But in addition to aviation, stealth technology was also used in the navy to bypass radar as much as possible. In World War II the fight was both by air and by sea.

In the first years of the crisis of Nazi Germany, they projected plan Z, according to this plan they were going to build large ships in the style of the Royal Navy to show that they too had the capacity.

Then they realized that this was not a good idea. On the one hand these vessels were very expensive and slow to produce. On the other hand, they were highly desirable targets and easy to hit.

Therefore, they preferred to build submarines, since they were much cheaper and faster to build and did not require as many crew. That way, they could drown half of England by torpedoing their merchants and everything that moved.

At first the strategy worked, and they sank tons of supplies and merchant ships. But among other important factors such as the US entry into the conflict and the improvement of radar, they also lost the game.

The navy also developed stealth technology for its submarines so that they were not so easily detected by radar sonar. They lined their subs with synthetic rubber in panels.

This novel material apparently made them invisible to radar, but the technology was still recent and had flaws, since on many occasions they were detached from the submarine.

As in the Horten 229 this technology also arrived late and in small quantities to cause any significant effect on the contest.

Nowadays, the different submarines of the different countries also use similar concepts, since they cover the hulls with different materials to be less visible when sonar.

As in the case of the Germans, it also has its problems. Modern submarines like the USS Colorado of American Virginia have also lost their coating on the way, arriving with large gaps at the port and losing their effectiveness.

Stealth technology in nature

This takes us many years ahead of us in this art. There are many animals that perfectly blend into their environment so that others do not see them and do not eat them, such as the leaf toad, the stick bugs or the mime octopus, which is capable of imitating up to 15 animals so as not to end up being eaten by their predators.