History of Stealth

N-204 (1957) reconnaissance project specifically mentions low radar cross section
N-327 (1974) $100,000 USAF Low Observables Concept Study leading to XST
N-335 (1975) Northrop XST
N-345 (1978) TACIT BLUE

Dates are commencement of program rather than first flight, as we are mixing real aircraft with projects.
 
overscan (PaulMM) said:
N-204 (1957) reconnaissance project specifically mentions low radar cross section
N-327 (1974) $100,000 USAF Low Observables Concept Study leading to XST
N-335 (1975) Northrop XST
N-345 (1978) TACIT BLUE

Dates are commencement of program rather than first flight, as we are mixing real aircraft with projects.
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Between XST and TACIT BLUE there was Northrop work on TEAL DAWN, which looked at wing-body-tail configurations for cruise missiles, and heavily influenced TACIT BLUE.

John Cashen interview with Peter Westwick, 15 December 2010

CASHEN: All right. After XST—you asked the question, here it is. It was a DARPA program called Teal Dawn, which was a re-look at the intercontinental cruise missile. Northrop back in the '50s had built and fielded an intercontinental cruise missile, and it was called the Snark. This is basically going back and looking at the Snark as a potential weapon for the United States. This time, however, they had to be stealthy. DARPA created a program—this is a different DARPA now. It was not Perko's DARPA, which was tactical technology; it was a strategic technology office of DARPA. And the project was called Teal Dawn. We got a contract, and Boeing got a contract.
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Anyway, Teal Dawn made us step back and think about what we'd done on XST and create for the very first time a wing-body-tail all-aspect design. What it was based on was the original Mark 12, the Minuteman reentry vehicle, the ice cream cone, had been studied by the Siegel group at Michigan to the extent that they were convinced it was the ideal radar cross section shape for the reentry application, that you could never do any better than the ice cream cone. It was ideal. And I think it's been proven that way over the decades since then. So, what is the ideal airplane? The ice cream cone's axially symmetric. An airplane can't be axially symmetric. An airplane's got to have wings. That by definition makes it planar. Maybe it's a flat plate, an infinitely thin flat plate. That would be the ideal radar cross section shape for an airplane. You can't make an airplane infinitely thin because you have to put a person and engines in it. So what you do is start out with a flat plate, and you grow above and below that plate the volume necessary to make it into a functional system, and minimize as much as possible the increased RCS due to the addition. But you start out with a flat plate.
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CASHEN: They're aligned. Parallel. Parallel planforming we call it. Now, it turns out the design of an airplane historically starts out with a plan view, whether a designer hand draws it or does it on a computer. He starts out with a plan view, and then he starts to grow the third dimension. So the idea of RCS design, Stealth design, of an airplane that starts out with a plan view is consistent with the existing airplane design process. That's the process here at Northrop. It always has been, always will be. Lay out a plan form that you want, because your RCS pattern in azimuth is dominated by the plan form that you've created. And then change it as necessary in creating the real airplane. It's done that way with Tacit Blue—they're all that way. So, we learned that on Teal Dawn, a wing-body-tail cruise missile, and we created our Teal Dawn accordingly.
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First time that I have ever seen anything about Teal Dawn, I take it that there will be no further info, design drawings or even images of the missile?
 
Northrop's Teal Dawn research led to Tacit Blue and TSSAM. I think you can extrapolate the likely basic shape of their Teal Dawn design.


071107-f-1234s-006-jpg.155387


tassm-3-view-jpg.159417
 
FighterJock said:
First time that I have ever seen anything about Teal Dawn, I take it that there will be no further info, design drawings or even images of the missile?
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Northrop design was super pointy.
Boeing design was different, probably a lot like a Boeing supersonic cruise missile posted in other threads.

You never know, drawings could appear in a few months.
 
quellish said:
Bill Bahret provides many insights into the early development of low observables, and mentions at least one previously undisclosed program from the 1960s:

William F. Bahret: The Cold War Aerospace Technology History Project (Interview 1)

William F. Bahret: The Cold War Aerospace Technology History Project (Interview 1)

Squire Brown interviewed William Bahret on August 22, 2006 for the Cold War Aerospace Technologies History Project. In the interview Mr. Bahret discusses his role in the development of military technology during the Cold War.
corescholar.libraries.wright.edu corescholar.libraries.wright.edu

William F. Bahret: The Cold War Aerospace Technology History Project (Interview 2)

William F. Bahret: The Cold War Aerospace Technology History Project (Interview 2)

Squire Brown interviewed William Bahret, an authority on radar signature, on May 27, 2009 for the Cold War Aerospace Technologies History Project. In the interview Mr. Bahret discusses his role in the development of military technology during the Cold War.
corescholar.libraries.wright.edu corescholar.libraries.wright.edu

W.F. Bahret, "The beginnings of stealth technology", 1993
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Very interesting! Just fell down that rabbit-hole myself.... and had a couple of surprises...
 
Whisperstream said:
Nor a complete list, but...

[...]
Model 151 ARES (1990)
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I would not consider the Scaled Composites/Rutan ARES to be a stealth design. It was made to see if a completely composite structure could survive the recoil of the GAU12 25mm cannon.

I am not aware of any mention ever being made about that aircraft being designed with stealth in mind.
 
Scott Kenny said:
I would not consider the Scaled Composites/Rutan ARES to be a stealth design. It was made to see if a completely composite structure could survive the recoil of the GAU12 25mm cannon.

I am not aware of any mention ever being made about that aircraft being designed with stealth in mind.
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ARES is constructed of fiberglass and Kevlar. It is “transparent” to radar, and I have seen radar diagnostic images that illustrate that the internal metal components of ARES are very visible to radar.

Nonetheless it is listed in at least one place as having made significant contributions to low observables. Why it is on this list is still an open question
 
quellish said:
ARES is constructed of fiberglass and Kevlar. It is “transparent” to radar, and I have seen radar diagnostic images that illustrate that the internal metal components of ARES are very visible to radar.

Nonetheless it is listed in at least one place as having made significant contributions to low observables. Why it is on this list is still an open question
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A negative result is still a contribution?

Just kidding. Its hard to see why its on the list indeed. Radar.... Infrared... Visual.... Acoustic.... not really seeing anything.
 
MakeModelCirca
***PLACE HOLDER FOR LUFT'46 CONCEPTS THAT SEEM TO PREDICT FUTURE***1940
ConvairGEBO II concepts (early B-58 Hustlers)1949
LockheedU-2 "B-2" ( U-2 re-design based on RAINBOW lessons learned)1957
LockheedGUSTO I1957
ConvairFISH1958
LockheedARROW1958
LockheedGUSTO II1959
LockheedArchangel concepts1959
ConvairKingFISH1959
ConvairVarious "Beyond KingFISH" concepts1959
LockheedA-12 Blackbird1962
BoeingQuiet Bird1962
LockheedSR-71 Blackbird1964
LockheedD-21 TAGBOARD1964
Ryan4246-C (
https://flic.kr/p/TkK5De
View: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/33697614023/in/photostream/
)		1966
RyanModel 244 (SANDY HOOK???):Tier II+???? (https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...ledyne-ryan-drones-rpvs-and-uavs.14318/page-2)1967
RyanAQM-91 Compass Arrow1968
DouglasAQUILINE1968
RyanLow Altitude Penetrator RPV Config 4 Model 147S-21971
RyanUnknown Low RCS UAV test vehicle in 1971 hearing1971
RyanModel 246 (PINE RIDGE???)1971
Rockwell"Surprise Fighter" 4-11972
North American"Silent Night Attack Aircraft"1973
North American"Flying Banana"1973
RyanModel 237 Low RCS Vehicle1974
LockheedHarvey1975
LockheedHopeless Diamond v11975
LockheedHopeless Diamond with wings single tail1975
RyanModel 262 'Manta Ray' STAR ("Mini-RPV"???)1976
General DynamicsCOLD PIGEON1976
General DynamicsATS / ASTEI / Sneaky Pete / HAVE KEY1976
RyanModel 268 XST; CASPR-D???1977
NorthropXST (N-327?)1977
LockheedHAVE BLUE1977
McDonnell DouglasHi-Altitude Mach 1.8 Penetrator 252-303A1977
General DynamicsSneaky Pete1977
LockheedSENIOR PROM1978
BoeingATB / ASPA1978
NorthropHigh Altitude Penetrator (pre B-2 DARPA study)1979
NorthropLow Altitude Penetrator (pre B-2 DARPA study)1979
Other early B-2s; single chevron after inward canted tails were removed1980
General DynamicsModel 1001980
LockheedF-1171981
MBBLampyridae1981
General DynamicsHAVE KEY1981
NorthropTACIT BLUE1982
VoughtLOAVES1982
TestorsF-191986
DornierLa-20001986
RyanModel 324 Scarab1987
RyanModel 350 Peregrine (BQM-145)1988
Long Range Conventional Strike Weapon (LRCSM)1992
DenelFlowchart 2 UAV1994
DenelSeraph high-speed, mission adaptive UAV1995
McDonnell DouglasBird of Prey1996
LockheedRQ-3 Darkstar1996
McDonnell DouglasX-361997
DASA/EADS/MBBTDEFS1997
LockheedX-44A2001
BoeingX-452002
NorthropX-47A2003
LockheedPolecat2005
Northrop GrummanAdvanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator2008
NorthropX-47B2011
BoeingPhantom Ray2011
Scaled Composites4012017
Scaled Composites4372024
McDonnell Douglas"Quiet Attack" Model 226
Blitz Fighter
FATE
ICE
PHAE
Sensor Craft
QUARTZ
B-2 program competition designs
Pre-ATF designs
ATF designs
Pre-LWF designs
LWF designs
ATA
VFAX
VFX
Sneaky Pete/Sneeky Pete?
HiMAT?
TSSAM
AGM-129
GrummanAdvanced Stealthy Penetrator
Mystery Chinese RCS models (https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/chinese-fighter-rcs-pylon-model.20847/)
ASTOVL concepts
JAST concepts
JSF concepts
DassaultFACE
DassaultAVE
Northrop GrummanSTAVE
MRF concepts
Lockheed"TACIT BLUE" competitor BSAX (https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/th...aircraft-by-peter-westwick.32241/#post-373761)
VoughtATLAS
GrummanModel 773
General DynamicsATF-SLO
My in-work list so far

Well originally I started this list thinking I would make models of things....a few complications:
1) As I stalked some of you authors it became apparent some aircraft companies are a bit protective of historical configs....
2) This list is already FAR longer than I had anticipated! Might be a good thing, but I will have to re-think my approach and what I want to accomplish.

PS
Should we turn this into sort of a 'table of contents' at the top of the thread with links to relevant threads and topics of discussions for each concept? Sort of create a 1-stop-shop list for all SPF stealth related aircraft?
 
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Can anyone advise where I can obtain a 3-view drawing of Replica? I've trawled the Net but am struggling to find anything.
 
Is it known how effective was RCS reduction on the Buccaneers? And did this involve only paint or airframe geometry as well?
 
Could this tech be behind the recent Iranian strike of F-35? Asteroid tracking tech.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SECourses/comments/1muqn13/stealth_fighters_can_be_tracked_with_cheap
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/SECourses/comments/1muqn13/stealth_fighters_can_be_tracked_with_cheap/

If so, perhaps this is stealth 's final chapter

Planes can now return to being aerodynamic.

The universe has an odd sense of humor....an administration that spent more on the military and cut space spending may have lost an expensive military asset due to cheap space-related optics...the same administration hostile to green power has ironically caused more oil infrastructure to be shuttered than Al Gore.

Odd how all that works.
 
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The supposed footage of the F-35 getting shot at by Iran.
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quellish said:
Huh? If they’re close enough to see it’s already over.
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This implies that the observer has been identified/spotted. Which is never a given. A modern aircraft and modern ISR tools, be it space based or air based, are not granting omnipresence. Especially when directly operating over hostile territory, chances are combatants and non-combatants alike will notice your entrance and egress in a given area, be it with cameras, with drones, with binoculars, with satellites, with radar or the good old Eyeball Mark 1
 
EmoBirb said:
This implies that the observer has been identified/spotted. Which is never a given. A modern aircraft and modern ISR tools, be it space based or air based, are not granting omnipresence. Especially when directly operating over hostile territory, chances are combatants and non-combatants alike will notice your entrance and egress in a given area, be it with cameras, with drones, with binoculars, with satellites, with radar or the good old Eyeball Mark 1
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It means it’s all over for the target.
 
quellish said:
ARES is constructed of fiberglass and Kevlar. It is “transparent” to radar, and I have seen radar diagnostic images that illustrate that the internal metal components of ARES are very visible to radar.

Nonetheless it is listed in at least one place as having made significant contributions to low observables. Why it is on this list is still an open question
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The layer underneath such material can be made/shaped to be stealthy but not necessarily aerodynamic or IR friendly (air friction) or resilient had it been on the outer surface. I'd imagine these are used sporadically in very specific locations where reflection starts to behave weirdly and targeting specific range of frequencies
 
donnage99 said:
The layer underneath such material can be made/shaped to be stealthy but not necessarily aerodynamic or IR friendly (air friction) or resilient had it been on the outer surface. I'd imagine these are used sporadically in very specific locations where reflection starts to behave weirdly and targeting specific range of frequencies
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Yes, and I know of one are on (VERY CONTROVERSIAL AIRPLANE) they do that, using a "single" material that is made so that parts of the part are permissive and others reflective, more or less as you describe. Doing this on a larger scale seems to have a lot of issues though, like if you're making a reflective "endoskeleton" with a permissive "exoskeleton", you more often than not end up wondering what this bought you over just having a reflective... everything.

Anyway, you can see the SAR/ISAR RCS diagnostic image of ARES here:

 
publiusr said:
Could this tech be behind the recent Iranian strike of F-35? Asteroid tracking tech.

If so, perhaps this is stealth 's final chapter

Planes can now return to being aerodynamic.

The universe has an odd sense of humor....an administration that spent more on the military and cut space spending may have lost an expensive military asset due to cheap space-related optics...the same administration hostile to green power has ironically caused more oil infrastructure to be shuttered than Al Gore.

Odd how all that works.
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All this on just one data point and using voodoo science for support.
But as usual it lacks facts and contains misinformation.

"The FY 2026 U.S. Space Force budget is $39.9B ($26.1B in discretionary and $13.8B in mandatory), an increase of $11.3B from the FY 2025 enacted budget."

 
publiusr said:
A budget nowhere near USAF spending.
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That would wrong. Not the USAF's fault. Space Force has taken over programs, operations and budgets from Army and Navy and other government agencies. That is one of the reasons it is higher. Also an administration and congress willing to fund military space.

publiusr said:
I doubt Iran could reach any orbital weapon platforms, which would not need a week to sail into a theater.
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What orbital platforms?
 
All new technologies have a certain useful life until countermeasures manage to nullify them.

What Publiusr says makes a lot of sense: the precision techniques developed for the detection of asteroids are based on the discrimination of almost invisible dark objects moving against the black background of space at distances millions of times greater than the distance of four hundred kilometers between a satellite and a stealth aircraft.

From what I understand of this technique, the system is based on detecting motion with respect to other fixed objects such as distant stars and it would be relatively easy to reprogram it to detect the motion of an airplane with respect to the details of the terrain below it.

If this technology is combined with that of infrared detectors capable of detecting objects a hundred light-years away, it would be possible to obtain enough data for automatic interception.

And if it is possible to do so, it is hardly credible that it has not already been done.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_Terrestrial-impact_Last_Alert_System

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEO_Surveyor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_astronomy

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/science-overview/science-explainers/infrared-astronomy/

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Herschel/The_infrared_explorers
 

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Justo Miranda said:
In my opinion this thread is dedicated exclusively to stealth techniques developed from the sixties. Invisibility techniques in the visible and infrared optical spectrum and radar-absorbing materials developed by the Germans during the two World Wars have no place here.
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So Persian tactics in 53 BC are not relevant ?
 
topspeed3 said:
Reynolds used stealth tactics when attacking Brenner Pass in between Italy and Germany during WW2.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAihecVpVFI
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Disclaimer: These stories are narrative retellings. While based on real events, elements are dramatized for storytelling and are not guaranteed to be historically accurate.For strictly academic verification, please consult professional historians and primary sources.
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Dubious sources are dubious. Its just "content" for clicks, probably assembled by AI.
 

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