Could Russia Detect F-35 Fighter Jet Go to War In Syria
Today, Russia has built impressive arrays of very high frequency, or VHF, and other integrated radars that can spot even the US's most advanced and stealthy jets like the F-22 and the F-35 under the right circumstances.
While many have rushed to declare stealth a fruitless and expensive path for the US Air Force to walk, retired Marine Maj. Dan Flatley told Business Insider why pilots of America's most expensive weapons system weren't afraid of Russian or Chinese counterstealth.
"Adversaries have to build a kill chain," said Flatley, a former F-35 pilot. Just because a radar can find an object - and Russian VHF radars can spot F-35s - doesn't mean it can fix, track, target, and consummate that kill chain with a missile hit, he said.
"We're not trying to prevent every aspect of that chain, just snap one of those links," Flatley said.
So while an infrared search and tracking system could spot an F-35 and give enemy pilots an idea of where it is, it couldn't track it or target it with a missile. This means that the systems Russia has spent millions developing provide only a tiny glimpse of the F-35 - systems that may be sunk costs in the grand scheme of things.
"I don't need to stop everything all the time," Flatley said of the kill chain. "I just need to make you unable to finish what you've already invested tons of time and money and effort in trying to shoot me down."
"That's the thing people don't understand," Flatley said. "They think we're saying we're invisible to everyone all the time, at all bandwidths and energy levels. ... That's not what we're saying."
Flatley says F-35 pilots joke that only Wonder Woman has an invisible jet. The reality is that the F-35 is a huge piece of flying metal and alloy - a radar pointed at the right place at the right time will definitely spot it, but good luck shooting it down.
Meanwhile, as the enemy systems scour the skies for any trace of the F-35, the F-35 sees all of those radar emissions and can pinpoint the air defenses and enemy planes.
Read more : https://goo.gl/AqhufB
Read more : https://goo.gl/wtDfwA
----------------------
Indigo Military Description
***************************
Indigo Military is a youtube channel who give you news about military industry, hot issues, military technology, army, navy, marine, air force, military news, politic international, and world war.
Find Us on Social Media
***********************
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/IndigoMilitary/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/indigomilitary
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/indigomilitary/
G+ : https://goo.gl/LxjFfx