Integrated review of stealth technology and its role in airpower

Abstract

This paper discusses the evolution of airpower and the ever-increasing component of stealth technology in dictating warfare, based on the need felt in the literature to integrate and place them in the right perspective. Hence, the role of stealth aircraft and the dominance of all aspects of stealth technology, especially in recent conflicts, are reviewed. The integration of the fundamental aspects of stealth technology, through its classification, types of aircraft signatures: especially radar, infrared, and visual signatures, their sources of origin, modelling techniques, and methods of signature reduction are discussed. Due to the increasing importance of infrared signatures relative to radar signatures, infrared signatures are also closely examined and analysed. Hence, the lock-on and surveillance ranges of infrared detectors are compared. Future projections in stealth technology, especially based on the role of anti-stealth technologies, are also elaborated.