Is it the end of stealth aircraft that low visibility on radar?

In recent years, many news and statements have been made in the press that the stealth capability of stealth-capable aircraft with low visibility to 5th Generation radars is gradually decreasing. In an article published on September 29, 2019 by Defense News writer Sebastian Sprenger, an expert on aviation issues, it was explained that the F-35 JSF aircraft of the US Air Force was tracked with the Twinvis-Passive radar produced by the German HENSOLDT company. In the article, after the airshow, the dual F-35 arm of the dual F-35 arm, which departed from Luke Air Base in Arizona, USA, to participate in the air show held at Berlin / Schoenefeld airport in April 2018, arrived at Berlin Schonefeld airport by an 11-hour direct flight by refueling in the air, without landing at the intermediate airports. It is stated that on the return route, 150 kilometers were followed with the Twinvis radar. The Twinvis radar is photographed below.

The folding antenna of the Twinvis radar device, which is placed on the small commercial vehicle of HENSOLDT company, is lifted up from the inside of the vehicle when needed for a special mission, and the radar can be operated with the power obtained from the vehicle's engine, and the detection and tracking of the vehicles in the air can be made under its scope. When compared with the gigantic radars placed on high mountain tops and seen from kilometers away in the past, this Twinvis radar in terms of its small size and operational characteristics, it can be easily understood how much progress has been made in electronics and radar technology.

In fact, a statement that the F-35 aircraft's stealth ability to look low to the radar is gradually decreasing was previously made by the US Navy Commander, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, who is one of the largest users of the aircraft. In the article titled "THE MOST EXPENSIVE WEAPON EVER BUILT" about the F-35 JSF aircraft in the February 25, 2013 issue of TIME magazine, US Navy Commander Admiral Greenert said that in parallel with the emergence of developing sensors, the stealth feature is losing its value day by day. After a while, the Commander of the US Air Combat Command, General Herbert Carlisle, announced in a statement that other countries were developing new surface-to-air missiles that could detect and track US stealth-capable aircraft.

Since the F-35 aircraft did not fly at the Berlin Airshow, the manufacturers of the Twinvis radar, which could not find the opportunity to show it on their radar, planned to follow the F-35 on its return route after taking off from the airport. They took the radar carried in the small commercial vehicle to a horse farm right near the airport, where they lurked like a hunter waiting for its prey and began to wait for the departure time of the plane. When they heard the news that the F-35 plane started to roll for take-off from the Schonefeld flight tower and took off, they started to follow the plane from the radar in the horse farm. A representative of the HENSHOLDT company, the manufacturer of the radar, announced at a press conference held on the same day that they followed the double F-35 branch, which departed from Schonefeld airport, for 150 kilometers along the return route.

Immediately after the German company announced that it was following the F-35 aircraft on its radar, the relevant authority of the issue was directly informed by the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) that the radar reflector of the F-35 was turned on for the safety of civil air traffic in this flight of F-35 aircraft to participate in the air shows. It was explained that the aircraft was kept and only in this way could the aircraft be followed by Air Traffic Control. The photo of the control mechanism placed on the wing tip of the Luneberg Lens radar reflector of the F-35 aircraft was also published by the Pentagon. The officials of the radar manufacturer, HENSHOLDT, immediately responded to this statement of the Pentagon and technically explained that they follow the aircraft with passive-radar technology whether the radar reflector of the F-35 is on or not. In the explanation made, it was stated that a different method was used in detecting the target of passive-radar, in this method, the physical structure of the aircraft is seen on the screen in miniature form suitable for its dimensions, and it has nothing to do with whether the radar reflector is on or not.

The English version of the company's explanation is as follows: “Passive-radar detection works in a different spectrum, making the presence (or absence) of reflectors irrelevant. In Layman's terms, passive radar tracks the entire phisical shape of airplanes versus being triggered by smaller, angular features on the body of a jet”. When asked about HENSHOLDT's statement that they were tracking the F-35 on their radar, Pentagon Vice President of Procurement and Maintenance Ellen M. Lord did not comment on the aircraft's passive-radar visibility. On the other hand, starting from the first months of 2019, the German Ministry of Defense started procurement procedures to equip the country's radar cover with HENSHOLDT passive-radar systems. it started. The then-German Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Karl Muellner, who wanted Germany to participate in the F-35 program and was known to support it to a large extent, was retired in May 2018 by a decision taken by the government.

Let's make a reminder here. Britain, one of the founding partners of the F-35 JSF program and supplying both the Hv.Kv. type “A” model of the F-35s and the STOWL F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing model, last year during the Farnborough Airshow on 16 July 2018. announced that they had started the new 6th generation twin-engine fighter jet project, which they named TEMPEST, and the mock-up of the aircraft was opened with a ceremony by the Minister of Defense and shown to the visitors. Sweden joined the TEMPEST program on 7 July 2019. Italy, which is one of the founding partners of the F-35 aircraft like England, also announced that it participated in the TEMPEST program on September 10, 2019, with a surprise decision, despite supplying F-35A and F-35B aircraft. Britain initially participated in the program with 138 F-35s. However, with a surprise decision taken on March 8, 2021, he announced that he canceled the purchase of 90 aircraft and that he would purchase 48 F-35Bs.

A surprise statement similar to the UK's announcement of the new generation TEMPEST aircraft program at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow was made by France and Germany at the 2019 Paris Airshow. The two countries announced in January 2019 that they decided to manufacture the next generation combat aircraft NGWS (Next Generation Weapon Systems). At the Paris Le Bourget Air Show, on June 17, 2019, Dassault and Airbus Military opened the cover of the NGWS aircraft mock-up, which will be produced jointly by Dassault and Airbus Military. At the ceremony, it was announced that Spain also participated in the program. Meanwhile, in an article in Defense News magazine about the future of stealth aircraft in the world, engineering studies will be carried out in which stealth features will be re-evaluated and aircraft systems will be re-evaluated in the Franco-German-Spanish joint Future Combat Air System program, which will be Europe's next generation fighter aircraft. explained.

As it is known, one of the main applications that gives an aircraft stealth feature is covering the fuselage, tail and wing of the aircraft with RAM (Radar Absorbent Material) material that absorbs radar waves, the other is the transportation of the entire fuel and ammunition load inside the fuselage, and the other is the radar reaching the aircraft with the appropriate aerodynamic shape to be given to the aircraft. It is to minimize the radar cross section (RCS-Radar Cross Section) by scattering the waves. In addition, the thermal heat capability of the aircraft engine, that is, the ability to cool without giving out the heat, is among the features that provide stealth capability.

CONCLUSION:

During the Berlin / Schoenefeld Airshow, the announcement that the F-35 aircraft was followed for 150 kilometers with the Twinvis radar produced by the German HENSHOLDT company will create the need to reevaluate the usage concepts of the countries that plan to use this aircraft in an offensive role with stealth feature in the war environment.