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Su-57 Felon » The Su-57’s stealth capabilities
fall between the advanced fourth-generation
International Roadmap Super Hornet and
the fifth-generation J-20, and it’s ‘closer
to the former than the latter,’ says Tyler
Rogoway, aviation analyst. This calibre
platform would offer a reduced radar cross
section compared to fourth-generation jets
in operation today, and it isn’t comparable to
America’s fifth-generation fighters.
‘Russia considers stealth useful in aircraft
design, but they show no interest in winning
a stealth competition with the US,’ says Steve
Trimble, defence editor for Aviation Week.Yet Trimble concedes that the first-
production Su-57s demonstrate an evident
improvement in body-panel tolerance over
the prototypes.J-20 Mighty Dragon » Experts can only
speculate about the make-up and capability
of the radar-absorbent materials coating
China’s J-20, but a clear influence from
stolen design schematics for America’s F-22
Raptor indicates stealth at least better than
the Su-57’s.
Computer modelling suggests the J-20’s
front canards make it difficult to detect whenapproaching head-on, but the plane’s design
has room for improvement. The J-20’s
fourth-gen engines dump heat out the back
of the aircraft, but a rectangular faceted
nozzle design in those engines would be more
effective at minimising radar returns and
reducing infrared detectability, according
to a study from Michael J Pelosi, PhD,
a professor of Information Technology at the
University of Maryland, and Carlo Kopp,
PhD, associate fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.NGAD » The NGAD will almost certainly
leverage an advanced radar-reflecting
design and a full-body coating of radar-
absorbent materials. Advanced heat
distribution as energy is released from
the aircraft, or a reduction in heat from the
engines, could further lower the aircraft’s
infrared signature. On-board electronics that
can jam enemy radar and communications,
similar to those employed by the EA-18G
Growler, could further harden the NGAD for
a fight behind enemy lines.STEALTH
Stealth’s series of overlapping technologies, production methods,
and combat tactics is about surviving contested airspace, not
becoming invisible. While some fourth-generation fighters leveraged
topical treatments like radar-absorbent coating to delay detection,
the Su-57 and J-20 were designed with stealth in mind from the ground up. The
NGAD aircraft will thus have to lean into new technologies to make it harder to
detect than any fighter before it.1
popularmechanics.co.za MAY / JUNE 2022 43