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PRINCIPLE OF STEALTH
BOMBER
Term paper

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

BURHAN MAHMOOD
12001106008

Table of Content:
Abstract

Introduction

Materials

Radar cross section

Reducing RCS

Conclusion

Reference

Abstract:
One of the most significant considerations
of stealth technology is the technique used to
reduce the probability of detection of an aircraft by
radar. The technology was first used in aviation
around the time of World War II by the Nazi
Germany. The Horton Ho 229 flying wing fighter
bomber had a wooden skin which was bonded
together using carbonimpregnated plywood resins designed with the
purported intention of absorbing radar waves
With the help of a mathematician Denys Overholser in 1970s, Stealth Technology took a
major turn towards improvement. His idea of a Hopeless Diamond made it easy for an aircraft
to remain undetectable by a radar.

Introduction:
Stealth technology is also known as low observable technology. The main purpose of this
technology is to make the object or signal undetectable. The uses of Stealth Technology are vast.
It can play an important role in military sector and as well as in passive electronic
countermeasures. In military it is used in air crafts, ships, submarines and missiles to make them
less and less visible to the enemy and it can also be used to trick detection systems such as radar
and sonar.

DESIGN
Due to its special purpose of low observable or less visibility, designing process is a very
crucial and important. The main purpose of stealth is to hide object from infrared rays and radar.
Therefore, the wings of the aircraft must be sharp and should be able to absorb heat through air
resistance.
During the design process, the materials that are to be used to be considered very
carefully. Since the purpose of LO technology is to remain undetectable. Smooth surface with
seamless points is good for radar reflection. For this purpose, the aircraft should have sharp
edges. Without jagged surface or edges, the reflection of electromagnetic waves is greatly
reduced.
Another method of un-detection is
utilization of thermal concept. The surface
material should be able to absorb signal and
convert them into heat energy instead of
reflection. Such Radar Absorbent Materials
(RAM) absorbs the electromagnetic waves,
converts them to heat energy which is then
transferred to the aircraft and dissipated. It
must be noted that in a stealth bomber aircraft,
the engine must be kept cooled down so as to
remain unaffected by heat of the aircraft.
Along with these, the stealth aircraft travel at a very high altitude, so as to remain
undetectable from low frequencies and are coated with dark or black paint. This gives them
advantage as light waves are completely absorbed by black paint which makes them a higher
advantage at night.

RADAR CROSS SECTION:

Radar cross section is defined
as the project area of an equivalent
perfect reflector with uniform
properties in all directions. In other
words it is the objects ability to
reflect radar signal in the direction of
radar receiver. It is summarized into a
single term known as the radar cross
section which has a unit of meter
square. A typical bomber aircraft has
a RCS of about 10-1000 square
meters.
If incident radar energy is reflected
equally in all directions than the
radar cross section will be equal to
the object cross section area.

Reducing RCS
It might seem incredible to be able to reduce the radar signature of similar aircraft by so
much. There are some treatments such as radar-absorbing paint and materials that can help to
reduce RCS in normal aircraft, but the huge reductions in RCS are gained in changing the way
we design airframes.
Since the size and weight of the aircraft are not primary factors in RCS, the designer has
some latitude in the way the aircraft is laid out. However some assumptions must be made up
front.
One assumption is that RCS from all angles cannot be reducedthere must be tradeoffs.
If the main area of concern is the RCS when seen from the front and side, the RCS from top or
bottom might not be so good. But that's a good assumption since few radars can look straight up
or down.
Another assumption is that if this aircraft is going to depend on not being seen as a
defense, it will not need to be as maneuverable as one that must hide in the terrain. This, too,
gives the designer room to work.
With these items in mind, we must be able to reduce broad, flat surfaces that would
reflect back to the source. This eliminate as many right angles as possible. These right angles
cause radar waves to be reflected from one surface to the other and then right back to the
receiver, greatly increasing RCS.
It should also be considered that as a Bomber aircraft, weapons that are stored will
have as high an RCS as an entire airplane. Therefore, the weapons must be carried internally
until they're needed. This also goes for fuel. Since most fighters carry about 30 percent of their
fuel in external tanks, these must be internalized as well.
Another method of reducing the RCS is the use of RAM, or Radar Absorbing Materials.
As mentioned above, these compounds have the ability to take the energy from a radar wave and
convert it to heat. This heat is then easily dissipated by the aircraft. When these compounds are
combined with non-reflective resin epoxies, they produce a material that's stronger than steel and
30-percent lighter than aluminum. This material can then be used as the skin of the aircraft or in
the internal support structure.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, with the development of IO technology, the modern era has taken a leap
into the future by making the previous technology obsolete. In order to cope with new type of
threats, older systems should be upgraded, modified accordingly and interconnected.

Reference:
a) C, Tom. Fighter Wing. London: HarperCollins, 1995. ISBN 0-00-255527-1.
b) M, David (July 2009). "Northrop Tests Hitler's 'Stealth' Fighter". Aviation History 19 (6): 11.

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c) "Centennial of Flight". centennialofflight.net. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
d) See Rich and Janos, Skunk Works; Little Brown & Co., 1994 passim chapters 1 and 2.
e) D. Howe, Introduction to the Basic Technology of Stealth Aircraft: Part 2Illumination by the Enemy
(Active Considerations), 1991
f) K. Zikidis, A. Skondras, C. Tokas, Low Observable Principles, Stealth Aircraft and Anti-Stealth
Technologies, Journal of Computations & Modelling, vol.4, no.1, 2014, 129-165