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By: - 13th September 2004 at 15:50 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
was the B-2 Spirit bomber designed to fight the Soviet Union in the cold war? what was the main targets and how would it locate them while remaining stealthy? from what ive read on the airplane it has advanced radars and no infra red which is the opposite of the smaller F-117 Nighthawk. can the radar be located giving the bombers position away? i read in an old edition of Air Force Monthly that some type of UAV would have flown with the B-2 over the Soviet Union looking for targets. i find that hard to believe as the technology for UAVs is only getting mature today for intelligent UAVs.
B-2A has LPI type radar (Low Probability of Intercept) with two separate antennae located in the leading edge of the whole thing. The radar can be located (otherway it would be No Probability of Intercept ;)). The B-2A bomber is no way invisible for radars, as its shape for optimized for the current radar technology at that time. The machine is virtually imune to fighter radars of the earlier generation and traditional SAM defenses, but clearly visible with 3D radars. There also are other possibilities to locate it, as B-2A still emits many signals, such as GPS, TACAN or radio-altimeter. Czechs have a very good anti-stealth location system which works on hyperbolic triangulation principle and is able to detect an emiting B-2A at 250-300 km.
By: - 13th September 2004 at 16:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It works, but the number of emitters in a given area has to be limited.
Still a high rate of false alarms.
To locate a B-2 by this is possible, but of little help, when you need a fire-control radar too.
By: - 13th September 2004 at 16:17 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Every fire control radar is an emitter, shown on the B-2 displays. You keep distance to that or use something other from your EW-suit to defeat it.
If it defends your intented target, you still have some stand-off capability to deal with.
By: - 13th September 2004 at 16:42 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
250-300 km? Are the Czechs aware that the B-2 can manipulate it's radar signature to appear on ATC radars and the like? Also, there have been numerous LO modifications over the past few years, allowing the B-2 to remain a viable LO platform for 20-30 more years.
By: - 13th September 2004 at 17:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
junipergoth
The B-2 was intended to go into the USSR and take out mobile ICBM launchers with the Short Range Attack Missile (nuclear warhead).
The UAV might actually be the rumored TR-3 which was supposed to be a stealth U-2 replacement.
By: - 13th September 2004 at 17:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The system is not an ordinary ATC radar. It works with emitter starts from, as long as a B-2 moves ~ 300-900+ km/h, the sytem will track a rough position.
By: - 13th September 2004 at 17:34 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
....There also are other possibilities to locate it, as B-2A still emits many signals, such as GPS, TACAN or radio-altimeter. .....
To clear up a few things.. GPS is a passive system from the aircraft point of view. TACAN is only used in peacetime and is not considered a method for navigation in wartime scenarios (TACANs are only good for 200nm or so and the ground stations are located in 'friendly' territory). If B-2 is used at medium/high altitudes wouldn't need a Radio Altimeter. If at lower altitudes, the power can be kept very low and the signal is pretty much directional. Don't know if B-2 was/is planned for low altitude attacks... Anyone????
Mark
By: - 13th September 2004 at 18:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
google "hyperbolic system Czech radar"
Even the B-2 is physical and emitts something. Optimized against fire-control radar frequencies.
By: - 13th September 2004 at 23:38 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It sounds strange, when a B-2 flew into a gun equipped fighter just by chance, it is the worst case scenario.
By: - 14th September 2004 at 08:13 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I doubt that Tamara is modern enough to track the LPI emissions from a B-2. Its essentially a Cold-War era system, a passive radio-frequency detection system working by triangulation. The USSR had many similar systems.
By: - 14th September 2004 at 08:19 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I doubt that Tamara is modern enough to track the LPI emissions from a B-2. Its essentially a Cold-War era system, a passive radio-frequency detection system working by triangulation. The USSR had many similar systems.
Tamara is an old system.. It has been rerplaced by more up-to-date variants long ago...
By: - 14th September 2004 at 08:22 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
if the Czechs have the hyperbolic system could China get if for example? seems quite interesting for a small nation to have a capability. is it modern or thought up in the cold war days?
China ordered this system a while ago. The sale was approved by Czech government but the US mixed in and tried to deter the supplies at any cost. I guess Czechs demanded orders from Pentagon as a condition.. But I am sure the system will find its way to China somehow.. Just like Mirage V and Israel or PC-9 and South Korea...
By: - 14th September 2004 at 08:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
It works, but the number of emitters in a given area has to be limited.
Still a high rate of false alarms.
To locate a B-2 by this is possible, but of little help, when you need a fire-control radar too.
Normally the hyperbolic detection system would act as some kind of ground CGI for fighters or interceptors... They could be getting close enough to use IR-guided missiles or even their cannons if nothing else would work..
By: - 14th September 2004 at 15:58 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
i know the B-2 flys at airliner speeds but can it do any type of defensive manoeuvering? ive seen it do steep banks and turns on film footage on tv. would it be really so defenceless? is this something the B-2 designers ignored when they built the plane? seems a big trade off for all the stealth performance.
It can maneuver, but nothing to challenge a fighter-interceptor. If a fighter gets to within visual range of B-2, it's pretty much over...
Mark
By: - 14th September 2004 at 17:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
As far as I know China bought instead of the Czech system (Vera-E) a comparable but less capable Ukrainian (Kolchuga) system.
By: - 14th September 2004 at 17:40 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
there was a radar deal between china and an ex soviet supplier where the US intervened and bought the system instead.
By: Anonymous (not verified) - 13th September 2004 at 15:30
was the B-2 Spirit bomber designed to fight the Soviet Union in the cold war? what was the main targets and how would it locate them while remaining stealthy? from what ive read on the airplane it has advanced radars and no infra red which is the opposite of the smaller F-117 Nighthawk. can the radar be located giving the bombers position away? i read in an old edition of Air Force Monthly that some type of UAV would have flown with the B-2 over the Soviet Union looking for targets. i find that hard to believe as the technology for UAVs is only getting mature today for intelligent UAVs.