03-22-2013, 04:16 PM
Ted-
I'm not sure. A stealth bomber is NOT completely invisible. It merely has a miniscule effective radar cross section because it absorbs most of the radar signals that are sent at it. B2's can be detected by:
1- Tossing enough megawatts up there to get a return. Of course all birdies in the sky will get roasted. Iranian kittehs will rejoice. Some land based and naval radars put out enough power to do it, but state of the art sensors are required. Iran has lots of state of the art gear (thanks. Russia and France).
2- Using a complex network of frequency agile transmitters and sensitive receivers to create a rolling 'picture'. One test showed that a city full of interconnected cellular telephones and towers could be used to create a stealth-defeating 'radar' system. Really. It was cool.
3- The bomber radiates Infrared --- pointed mostly upwards, and it's masked by the engine exhaust baffles. But it produces a 'warm air trail'. Going into the desert at night produces IR lines that point right at the bomber with sensitive IR detection equipment.
Conventional munitions would 'bunker buster' weapons which are penetrating smart bombs. FAE explosives can also be used to 'crack' the ground above the bunker, and then follow up with a penetrator. Tactics and approaches vary.. you can bet there's a few copies that have been built over the year in bombing ranges in various parts of the world for testing. Unfortunately, bunker busters and FAE's are damn big weapons... FAE's cannot be carried by B-2's... they are carried by C130 Combat Talon II aircraft (at least they were when they were used in Desert Storm... I spoke to one of the pilots). The B2 can carry a few bunker buster bombs.
However... tactical doctrine says if you're going to send in a manned strike, you suppress the hell out of the anti aircraft belt before you do. Only unmanned (drones, cruise missiles) attacks go in 'clean' without AA supression prep. The model works like this:
1- You send in drones and cruise missiles and plow a set of air lanes by destroying all AA sites, and well as decapitate the command and control of the enemy's military.
2- You send in stealth aircraft for the harder targets, again in the AA and C&C.
3- Once you can fly with impunity, you send in the heavies like B52's and C130-CTII's to drop the heavy iron on the targets.
4- Then the Marines drive in with white paint and paint lines on the nicely flattened new 'roads'.
Ed: spelling.
I'm not sure. A stealth bomber is NOT completely invisible. It merely has a miniscule effective radar cross section because it absorbs most of the radar signals that are sent at it. B2's can be detected by:
1- Tossing enough megawatts up there to get a return. Of course all birdies in the sky will get roasted. Iranian kittehs will rejoice. Some land based and naval radars put out enough power to do it, but state of the art sensors are required. Iran has lots of state of the art gear (thanks. Russia and France).
2- Using a complex network of frequency agile transmitters and sensitive receivers to create a rolling 'picture'. One test showed that a city full of interconnected cellular telephones and towers could be used to create a stealth-defeating 'radar' system. Really. It was cool.
3- The bomber radiates Infrared --- pointed mostly upwards, and it's masked by the engine exhaust baffles. But it produces a 'warm air trail'. Going into the desert at night produces IR lines that point right at the bomber with sensitive IR detection equipment.
Conventional munitions would 'bunker buster' weapons which are penetrating smart bombs. FAE explosives can also be used to 'crack' the ground above the bunker, and then follow up with a penetrator. Tactics and approaches vary.. you can bet there's a few copies that have been built over the year in bombing ranges in various parts of the world for testing. Unfortunately, bunker busters and FAE's are damn big weapons... FAE's cannot be carried by B-2's... they are carried by C130 Combat Talon II aircraft (at least they were when they were used in Desert Storm... I spoke to one of the pilots). The B2 can carry a few bunker buster bombs.
However... tactical doctrine says if you're going to send in a manned strike, you suppress the hell out of the anti aircraft belt before you do. Only unmanned (drones, cruise missiles) attacks go in 'clean' without AA supression prep. The model works like this:
1- You send in drones and cruise missiles and plow a set of air lanes by destroying all AA sites, and well as decapitate the command and control of the enemy's military.
2- You send in stealth aircraft for the harder targets, again in the AA and C&C.
3- Once you can fly with impunity, you send in the heavies like B52's and C130-CTII's to drop the heavy iron on the targets.
4- Then the Marines drive in with white paint and paint lines on the nicely flattened new 'roads'.
Ed: spelling.