ANALOGS OF STEALTH - SUBMARINES AND AIRCRAFT

“Analogues of Stealth “ questions whether stealth technologies (measures designed to reduce the observable signature of a weapons platform) now being applied to aircraft will prove as successful as low-observable technologies and tactics employed by the submarine. To address that question, the article briefly explores the history of antisubmarine warfare, notes the failures of various technologies designed to counter the submarine, and suggests analogues between stealthy platforms in the sea and in the air. When these analogies are drawn, many of the same reasons the submarine has proved so difficult to detect, track, fix, and kill also appear to apply to stealthy aircraft. The friction of combat, the ability of aviators to modify their tactics, the technology of denying more than fleeting radar contracts, and the problem of looking for small things in large volumes all apply. If the submarine is an indicator, the strategic advantages inherent in low-observable aircraft may determine air superiority over future battlefields. © 1991 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.