Re:Nuclear war is unlikely to cause human extinction?
by sudosysgen on Friday November 13, 2020 @01:24AM
(#25079525)
Stealth ICBMs are not a thing. Re-entry prevents complete stealth, as the plasma generates a distinctive radar signature. You could use plasma stealth to make re-entry targets impossible to lock on, but they would be detected.
Also, the existence of stealth fighters was not a secret to the Soviets. They came up with the idea of a stealth fighter and figured out how to minimize the advantage they would give before the US did either, but decided not to pursue it. They were certainly aware of the US stealth program quite early on, and even before the US program started they knew it was possible. However, because of the problematic bureaucracy of the USSR from the 70s onwards this wasn't pursued for quite a while, and by the time the program reached maturity the collapse of the USSR was well on it's way.
That is to say, you can't really hide the existence of such big technologies and paradigms to near peer opponents - they probably thought of it before you've finalized your prototype.
Also, the existence of stealth fighters was not a secret to the Soviets. They came up with the idea of a stealth fighter and figured out how to minimize the advantage they would give before the US did either, but decided not to pursue it. They were certainly aware of the US stealth program quite early on, and even before the US program started they knew it was possible. However, because of the problematic bureaucracy of the USSR from the 70s onwards this wasn't pursued for quite a while, and by the time the program reached maturity the collapse of the USSR was well on it's way.
That is to say, you can't really hide the existence of such big technologies and paradigms to near peer opponents - they probably thought of it before you've finalized your prototype.