Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021)
by dosshell on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @10:04AM
(#34611417)
You make it sound as stealth is a boolean value. Stealth is not that easy. It depends on many factors. Stealth from whom, when, systems, where, and how much.
There is a probability (only indirect rumors) that F-35 can already be detected in some situations on some systems (global eye?) and there is definitely no guarantee that F-35 will keep it's stealth ability in the future.
Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021)
by credit_guy on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @10:39AM
(#34612010)
Yes, but whatever improvements in radar will happen in the future, if they can see a stealthy jet twice as far, they can see a non-stealthy jet twice as far too. If the window of vulnerability of a stealthy jet goes from 2 minutes to 4 minutes, the one for non-stealthy could go from 20 minutes to 40 minutes. You still want the stealthy jet.
Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021)
by moremetadata on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @01:26PM
(#34615088)
Its trickle down economics effect is certainly not stealth! Its not stealth from satellites either.
Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021)
by CydeWeys on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @11:50PM
(#34622214)
Ironically, you're the one treating stealthiness as a boolean value here:
> there is definitely no guarantee that F-35 will keep it's stealth ability in the future.
Of course as radar and computer systems improve it's likely that stealthy airplanes will become detectable from farther away, but they're not just gonna lose their stealthy characteristics entirely, in a boolean manner!
Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021)
by dosshell on Sunday February 05, 2023 @03:01PM
(#34668615)
Exactly, sorry if I did not use the right word (not native english speaker). I did not know that "keep" was so binary. With keep stealth ability I meant that it may not keep all it's properties to the same degree as today and some of them can decay. For example as you mention about the distance for detection from a single radar in normal flight.
That makes the Gripen a non-starter for picking a new aircraft to base your air force around in 2023. Stealth is now the single-most important factor, bar none. Non-stealthy aircraft are sitting ducks to a wide variety of threats.
> it does have over the horizon radar, can carry the Meteor air-to-air missile which has a 100km range
Yes see this is the kind of capability that allows stealthy aircraft like the F-35 to completely obliterate a Gripen at long range, with the Gripen never having a chance of even detecting the F-35. And of course the F-35 has long range air-to-air missiles for it too.