THE REASONS WHY AN AIR FORCE NEEDS "STEALTH"

TECHNOLOGY
Air operations have provided many advantages in warfare, resulting in the
extensive use of aircraft to dominate the battlefield. The mission benefits of aircraft
include flexibility, mobility and speed, and have given users rapid, massive, effective and
surprise attack opportunities on remote territories. However if an aircraft does not
employ tactics and technologies that improve its survivability it will be vulnerable to
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counter attack. In general, survivability, which improves with these tactics and
technologies, “depends on a complex mix of design features, performance, mission
planning and tactics [37].”
Stealth aircraft are specifically designed with the aforementioned features and
performance qualities to increase survivability, which means accomplishing the mission
objectives and returning home safely. Thus, stealth capability has a very high importance
in the battlefield. Further, stealth aircraft are able to accomplish and survive missions
where other assets cannot. Their operational flexibility provides users the ability to
penetrate even the most well defended zones with relatively little risk.
In warfare, detection of enemy forces is vital for counter attack and defenders are
made aware of an attacker’s air operations by means of several types of detectors,
especially radars. For instance, in air operations, defenders have more time to deploy
interceptors and other ground forces after early detection by radars. Defensive forces
attempt to defeat an opponent’s attacks by using counter weapon systems. Further,
defenders may have sufficient time to take precautions in the targeted zone to reduce or
eliminate the effectiveness of a campaign. On the other hand, low observable technology
enhances air superiority and the freedom to attack surface targets by means of reducing
an aircraft’s radar detection range and its infrared, visual and acoustic signatures to
degrade the chance and range of detection [37]. Thus, ideal stealth technology assets
enable its users to operate freely and conduct missions securely, even in the most risky
enemy zone.
Though it is not possible to become completely stealthy, either delaying the
detection or lessening an opponent’s ability to track target course after detection provides
a major advantage to low observable users [6]. With stealth technology, defenders might
not be able to respond at all. If a surface-to-air-missile battery defending a target
observes a bomb falling and surmises that there must be stealth aircraft in the vicinity, it
is unable to respond if it cannot get a lock on the aircraft in order to feed guidance
information to its missiles [38]. Thus low observability also decreases the effectiveness
of tracking systems which guide SAMs and interceptors for final fire engagement.
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Another advantage of stealth technology is optimizing the force and ammunition.
Because low observables have greater survivability in deployed airfields and they are
safer to penetrate into deep enemy zones, they can also get closer to high value, but
strongly defended targets. For example, one or two stealth aircraft can accomplish a
mission while repeated sorties with many conventional aircrafts may be required [37].
Moreover stealth aircraft increases the operational success rate of precision bombs by
allowing their deployment closer to the target.
Stealth aircraft can also improve the mission capability of friendly air forces by
providing domination and enhancing air superiority over the target airfield by eradicating
air defense assets during the first stage of an air operation. This also enables the use of
conventional aircrafts that can accomplish their missions in a less risky enemy zone.
“Potential synergy between low observables and electronic counter measures
(ECM) [37]” is another advantage of stealth. While radar capabilities are increased with
technological advances, stealth and ECM can cooperate to defeat them and improve
survivability in air operations. If jamming is required in an operation, the platform with
the smaller RCS will require less power on the enemy radar transmitter to jam.
Moreover, a low observable aircraft may not need to use electronic counter measures
intensively, compared to its counterparts. When the mission dictates, its capabilities of
low signature increase the operational benefits of electronic warfare suites. For example,
it enhances decoy performance which is deployed to disrupt the enemy's air defenses and
dilute their effort to shoot down the mother airframe. Because stealth design already
provides signature reduction, smaller and cheaper (both of which are very important
qualities in aircraft design) decoys may be adequate for low observables to provide
desired results. Low observables also increase their own jammers’ effectiveness or other
friendly electronic warfare aircraft’s jamming capabilities by means of reducing the
distance of burn through range, which is required for enemy radars to break away from
the jammer effect. Thus, friendly jammer aircraft can support low observables from
further distances which increase their own survivability [37], [39].
To summarize, stealth technologies provide flexibility in tactics and mission
planning. They reduce the risks of operations against heavily defended targets in enemy
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territory with their enhancements to survivability. Additionally, stealth aircraft maintain
the sudden attack advantage in the battlefield, and they maintain the ability to escape
from defensive fire before, during and after a mission. Thus an air force needs stealth
technology to neutralize enemy air defenses and to destroy high value, strategic targets
while improving friendly forces’ air superiority. An air force with these capabilities will
control the airfields and operate safely while reaching and penetrating into an enemy’s
deepest territories [37].
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