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Would the F-35 actually show up on SAR or does the radar absorbent material distort the image somehow?
by shitlord 2y ago
Would the F-35 actually show up on SAR or does the radar absorbent material distort the image somehow?
- KeplerBoy 2y agoIt would certainly show up. Maybe not as a recognizable plane, but at the very least you could make out the plane-shaped shadow (or more accurately lack of reflection).
- m2fkxy 2y agoYes, radar shadow is how you would find it. But your sensor must be performing well enough for it to be able to distinguish a shadow from the surface backscatter (ie. radar signature) the aircraft is sitting on. This is usually not a problem for rough surfaces (eg. grass or dirt, or some types of pavement), but it can be more problematic for surfaces with more specular scattering.
- KeplerBoy 2y agoFor those less obsessed with SAR images: calm water surfaces are good examples of surfaces with specular scattering, they are basically black/extremely low magnitude areas in SAR images. Example: https://x.com/umbraspace/status/1831111648498810967 https://x.com/umbraspace/status/1831111648498810967 I wonder if the tarmac/runways used for stealth planes take this into account and are somehow especially smooth or otherwise special. Also how would such an image look like, I guess one would still see some multi-bounces between aircraft and tarmac making it's way back to the SAR antenna.
- m2fkxy 2y agoFor those less obsessed with SAR images Touché! Also good point regarding multibounces and multipath. I would expect eg. landing gear returns to be standing out in those cases (cockpit too, although probably the canopy is coated to prevent radar penetrating).