Forum: Technology

My friend came to me with a question regarding the type of stealth technology the air force possesses. He wanted to know if the B-2, F-117, and the F-22 all use the same exact materials to attain stealth. I told him I would think since it is a very expensive way to keep safe and since the first planes that had it were doing so well then it shouldn't be altered.

Of course I could be wrong, but all my friends call me the "Air Force Guy" so I had to give him an opinion, but i'd like to get him the facts, not just an educated guess.

Your two-cents will be well appreciated on this one!!!!

Thanks,

Brice

F-16.net Sponsor

Since nobody officially in the know will touch this question with a 10ft (3m) cattle prod, especially after the "Dozer Witch Trials", I'll take a stab at it.

From open source info I've read throughout the years and just plain common sense, the answer is no, they don't all use the exact same stealth "technology".

As you can see with the naked eye, the shapes have changed significantly since the Have Blue/Tacit blue programs to the F-117, to the B-2, to the F-22, to the F-35. Certain things have carried over since they are considered the simplest solution to problems (jagged edges on panel seams for instance). Materials and coatings have also improved as shown in unclassified briefings on the reduction of man hours required for LO maintenance.

That's about as complete an answer as a civilian can give another person.

Now, who wants to place bets on the USAF's cyber command giving OSI a call and the spooks at the Barksdale office go file hunting and dusting off a very old folder with my name on it? Wink

Lightndattic wrote:

Now, who wants to place bets on the USAF's cyber command giving OSI a call and the spooks at the Barksdale office go file hunting and dusting off a very old folder with my name on it? Wink

No sweat. I'm on it. Two Cents

Oh boy! Ramstein's asking a "Nukuler Weppins" kind of question. We need to get Gums in on this one. Laughing

Don't worry Ramstein, the guy with the rubber glove will try to be gentle. As for the two guys with Miami Vice suits and submachine guns? All I can say, is TRY not to p!$$ em off TOO much. Wink

Yo Ho!

TNX, mad-breath, I was about to make my airline reservations. Whew!

The secret to the change in designs is, well, a secret.

My best theory is USAF figured out how to employ those tiny critters that make nuke-u-lar reactions possible - "gluons". I'm serious. Those suckers are so small that a zillion can fit on the tip of a sharp needle. So it's no big deal for them to absorb all the radar energy and squirrel it away someplace within the inner core of the atoms used to coat those jets.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

Gums ends....

P.S. The local FBI dude I work with on these sensitive matters told me not to sweat it. They are already on the case, heh heh.

Well that's good enough for me. Thumb

maddog2840 wrote:

Lightndattic wrote:

Now, who wants to place bets on the USAF's cyber command giving OSI a call and the spooks at the Barksdale office go file hunting and dusting off a very old folder with my name on it? Wink

No sweat. I'm on it. Two Cents

You may be looking for quite a while, but it should still be there. Cross reference that with my Secret Service dossier.

It's amazing the trouble you get into when sitting on a dumpster on the flightline with a pair of binocs. Especially the day before the vice president visits the base. Good times.

Forum: Technology

Stealth Technology