Tinito_16 wrote:
hmmmmmm.... I think the radar cross section of an F-117 is competitive with that of a Raptor. Unfortunately the downing of one in Serbia has placed this assumption in doubt, and the Air Force has reinforced this (because they want new jets like the F-22 and I can't blame them). I believe the downing was a one-off, because of operational mistakes (the planes were using the exact same routes in and out of Serbia). I agree with Master-of-Disaster, the F-117 is still a usefull plane, but when the AF had to choose between the F-117 and the F-22, it chose the Raptor - with good reason.
The Serbian incident proves nothing other than the fact that if you fly the same flight path day after day and bomb the same two targets in a row, it doesn't take much for the enemy to set up a radar between the two target locations, use a stop watch to time estimate roughly when you will be overhead and ambush you with by turning the radar on within a couple of kms with no prior warning.
Stealth doesn't make you undetectable. It makes the enemy's detection range much much shorter. If you can reduce the range of the SAM radar(s) from 150km to 20km the air defense network becomes completely ineffective. But it won't prevent you from getting killed if someone jumps you are a radar from 5km out.
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