how does RCS work. I saw that the F22 has RCS similar to a bumblebee so how does that work. Does it mean that it is as hard as finding a bumblebee
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Radar cross section and a lot of the headlines/infographics about it are a bit overly simplified.
It’s essentially how much energy is returned to the radar receiver.
Radar works like an invisible flashlight that can only be seen at a receiver.
It sends out electromagnetic waves, and has them bounce back to a receiver.
Going to use an analogy of a person trying to avoid a spot light.
Stealth works to counter this with radar absorbing coatings that absorb the waves and convert it to a small amount of heat instead of being returned.
The visual analogy would be like dressing in all matte black and making sure nothing shiny or reflective is on.
The other way is with unique geometry does it’s best to make sure there are as little areas pointing directly at the radar as possible. So that when beams hit they get bounced back into a useless direction.
So when the light shines a person turns to the side, or lays on the ground so that they have a smaller profile to the light, but it’s a plane so it just has different angles designed in.
Of course there’s a point where even a stealth aircraft can be detected when it’s so close that even wearing black and laying down doesn’t hide it.
The RCS statements are more about “in ideal conditions, the aircraft will bounce as much energy back to a receiver, as a bumblebee.”
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