Origins of Stealth Aircraft

[Peter]

A Russian Documentary on Stealth Aircraft:Ufimtsev and his Discovery

 

[Peter]

This highly informative video describes quite clearly how the stealth air crafts of today were the brainchild of a soviet-american scientist - Ufimtsev. As the USSR did not fund his research the stealth craft did not see the light in USSR. However he did find takers in US. The US funded his research and the Nighthawk came into being.

@pmaitra @Razor @Mad Indian @Samar Rathi @brahmos @Cadian @jackprince @Kunal Biswas @Ray @p2prada @Pulkit @JBH22 @happy

Everyone interested in stealth aircraft

 

[Peter]

Petr Ufimtsev - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pyotr Yakovlevich Ufimtsev (Russian: Пётр Я́ковлевич Уфи́мцев) (born 1931 in Altai Krai) is a Soviet/Russian physicist and mathematician, considered the seminal force behind modern stealth aircraft technology. In the 1960s he began developing equations for predicting the reflection of electromagnetic waves from simple two-dimensional shapes.[1]

Much of Ufimtsev's work was translated into English, and in the 1970s American Lockheed engineers began to expand upon some of his theories to create the concept of aircraft with reduced radar signatures

 

[Peter]

Stealth technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stealth technology also termed LO technology (low observable technology) is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive electronic countermeasures,[1] which cover a range of techniques used with personnel, aircraft, ships, submarines, missiles and satellites to make them less visible (ideally invisible) to radar, infrared,[2] sonar and other detection methods. It corresponds to camouflage for these parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Development in the United States occurred in 1958,[3][4] where earlier attempts in preventing radar tracking of its U-2 spy planes during the Cold War by the Soviet Union had been unsuccessful.[5] Designers turned to develop a particular shape for planes that tended to reduce detection, by redirecting electromagnetic waves from radars.[6] Radar-absorbent material was also tested and made to reduce or block radar signals that reflect off from the surface of planes. Such changes to shape and surface composition form stealth technology as currently used on the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit "Stealth Bomber".[4] The concept of stealth is to operate or hide without giving enemy forces any indications as to the presence of friendly forces. This concept was first explored through camouflage by blending into the background visual clutter. As the potency of detection and interception technologies (radar, IRST, surface-to-air missiles etc.) have increased over time, so too has the extent to which the design and operation of military personnel and vehicles have been affected in response. Some military uniforms are treated with chemicals to reduce their infrared signature. A modern "stealth" vehicle is designed from the outset to have a chosen spectral signature. The degree of stealth embodied in a particular design is chosen according to the predicted threat capabilities.

 

[Peter]

Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a single-seat, twin-engine stealth ground-attack aircraft formerly operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) developed from the Have Blue technology demonstrator and produced by Lockheed's Skunk Works. It is the first operational aircraft to be designed around stealth technology. The maiden flight of the F-117 happened in 1981 and the aircraft achieved initial operating capability status in October 1983.[1] The Nighthawk spent much of its early service life shrouded in secrecy. It wasn't until November 1988 when it was "acknowledged" and unveiled to the world. [4]

The F-117 was widely publicized for its role in the Persian Gulf War of 1991. It was commonly referred to as the "Stealth Fighter", although it was a strictly ground-attack aircraft. F-117s took part in the conflict in Yugoslavia where one was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM) on 27 March 1999, the only Nighthawk to be lost in combat. The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008,[2] primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor[5] and the impending introduction of the multirole F-35 Lightning II.[6] Sixty-four F-117s were built, 59 of which were production versions with the other five being demonstrators/prototypes.

 

[Peter]

 

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[Peter]

 

[Razor]

This highly informative video describes quite clearly how the stealth air crafts of today were the brainchild of a soviet-american scientist - Ufimtsev. As the USSR did not fund his research the stealth craft did not see the light in USSR. However he did find takers in US. The US funded his research and the Nighthawk came into being.

@pmaitra @Razor @Mad Indian @Samar Rathi @brahmos @Cadian @jackprince @Kunal Biswas @Ray @p2prada @Pulkit @JBH22 @happy

Everyone interested in stealth aircraft

I think I might have seen this docu last year or so.

Anyway, when Ufimtsev first came up with his theories and calculations, the computing power was not effective enough and computations not humanly possible. Later Ufimtsev moved to the US and by the time the Amriks(the American military industrial complex) became aware of Ufimtsev's work, something had changed: the arrival of supercomputers on the scene, which made the highly complex calculations possible.

 

[jouni]

First stealth fighter Horten HO 229, From 1944

Horten Ho 229 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Razor]

First stealth fighter Horten HO 229, From 1944

Horten Ho 229 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My friend and I, were having a discussion one day, about how most of the awesome stuff (like NASA's innnovations) in US military research after WW2 were of German origin (due to American acquisition of Nazi military secrets and American enrollment of Nazi scientists into its payroll).
He told me the Germans were the first to design a stealth aircraft: this is what he was talking about.

 

[jouni]

My friend and I, were having a discussion one day, about how most of the awesome stuff (like NASA's innnovations) in US military research after WW2 were of German origin (due to American acquisition of Nazi military secrets and American enrollment of Nazi scientists into its payroll).
He told me the Germans were the first to design a stealth aircraft: this is what he was talking about.

Yeah, and if you are interested, check Grand prix racing 1936-39 and compare it to current F1. Also check what is the current speed record on public roads...

 

[Peter]

I did not know that there were stealth craft even in 1940`s. Thanks for the pics @jouni
@Razor Yes a large portion of american warcraft after WW II came from the German scientists who fled Europe. Also Germans form the largest ethnic group in America.