Renowned defense analyst Kyle Mizokami writes in Survival in the Sky: The Story of Stealth Technology that “in the 1960s, countries around the world began investing in modern and integrated air defense systems. Radar systems installed on the ground and in the air were linked to central command and control centers, from where instructions could be immediately issued to surface-to-air missile systems and fighter jets ready to take off.”
He writes, “In Vietnam, the Middle East, and Western Europe, these systems were considered so powerful that they had the full capability to destroy any attacking bomber force.”
“This changing situation forced air forces to alter their strategies. New methods were introduced, such as air command and control, electronic warfare, and operations to neutralize air defenses, so that at least a few enemy aircraft could penetrate defensive barriers and reach their targets.”
“However, despite all these strategies, these missions remained extremely dangerous. Dozens of aircraft and their pilots were constantly at risk.”
According to Kyle Mizokami, “All of this forced military planners and aerospace engineers to think: What if an aircraft could enter enemy airspace and remain invisible to radar?
“In such a case, there would be no need for dozens of aircraft to attack a single target together. Just one aircraft, carrying bombs, could silently penetrate the enemy’s complex defense systems, strike its target, and return safely.”
He writes, “If an aircraft’s radar detection range is reduced from 100 miles to just 20 miles, a stealth aircraft could pass silently between enemy radar systems without the enemy ever knowing.”
It should be noted that in the 1960s, a Soviet scientist named Pyotr Ufimtsev developed a model of an aircraft that made it possible to predict the angle and intensity at which electromagnetic waves, such as radar waves, would scatter after striking two-dimensional or three-dimensional surfaces. Although this research was published in the Soviet Union, it did not receive much attention.
Later, the American defense company Lockheed took notice of this research, had Ufimtsev’s work translated into English, and this research became the foundation of modern stealth technology.
Kyle Mizokami writes, “Lockheed fully utilized this research because it proved that a specific aircraft structure could reduce its radar signature. Every major part of the aircraft, such as the front, body, wings, cockpit, flaps, etc., was analyzed and understood in terms of its ‘radar cross-section.’
“Aircraft with large, flat parts, like the B-52 bomber, or those with vertical tails, like the F-111, reflect radar waves more strongly and are easily detectable. Even externally mounted equipment like bombs, missiles, or fuel tanks reflect radar waves.”
The first aircraft designed to evade radar or use stealth technology was the Have Blue. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and was structurally different from all previously built aircraft.
Subsequently, the F-117 aircraft was developed, which was used by the U.S. Air Force in several missions. It is also the only stealth fighter jet that was shot down by a Serbian air defense system during the Yugoslav War in 1999.