Stealth Tactics And Utilisation

It is unlikely that stealth fighters will replace fourth generation fighters in the future. More likely, stealth and fourth generation fighters will team up to present the adversary a formidable challenge, using technologies and tactics that are still evolving

- Vijainder K Thakur

Fifth generation fighters have the abil-ity to penetrate and operate in heavily defended hostile airspace because adversary radars cannot effectively track and engage the stealth fighters. Some early warning radars can detect the presence of the stealth fighters but they cannot track them with the precision required to engage them with air defence missiles.

Paradoxically, the ability of stealth fighters to evade enemy radars makes them less versatile than fourth generation fighters such as F-16, F-15, Su-27/30, Rafale and Eurofighter! Stealth fighters cannot effectivly perform roles that fourth generation fighters routinely perform. The reasons:

In stealth fighters, the emphasis is on

1. LO (Low Observability) to penetrate heavily defended airspace

2. Sensor fusion to detect and identify threats

3. Weapons accuracy to compensate for the limited payload mandated by internal storage.

As so often happens in the real world, a weakness stems from a strength. The lower versatility of a fifth generation fighter stems from his low observability! Internal carriage of weapons, mandated by LO, limits weapon load. The high cost of the aircraft, mandated by LO and sensor fusion, limits their usefulness for traditional roles such as CAS and interdiction.

Stealth fighters are capable of carrying weapons on external hardpoints but doing so compromises their LO, exposing the very expensive fighter to enemy ground and airborne defences. External carriage of weapons would make sense only after achieving total air superiority.