Invisible Warriors: How the NGAD's Thermal Cloak Redefines Stealth

Prepare to have your mind aloft with the latest innovations in stealth technology that are shaping the future of aerial combat. I'm your guide on this high-flying journey, where we'll uncover the elusive potential of the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter and its groundbreaking thermal cloaking capabilities. Imagine a world where aircraft vanish from both radar and infrared - a seismic shift in the aerial warfare landscape. We'll trace the lineage of stealth, from the tactical engine designs of the A-10 to the advanced exhaust cooling techniques of the F-117 Nighthawk, showcasing how history paves the runway for tomorrow's near-invisible fighters.

Then, join the conversation as we celebrate the official naming of a fighter jet, a tradition-rich moment that resonates deeply within military aviation circles. As your host, I extend a heartfelt thank you for flying with the Pilot Photog Podcast on this journey through the clouds of innovation and history. By subscribing and leaving a review, you're not just a listener, but a valued co-pilot in our exploration of the endless skies. Remember to keep your gaze high and your curiosity higher, and together we'll continue to unlock the awe-inspiring stories behind military aircraft and their epic journeys.

Chapters

• 0:00 Advancements in Stealth Technology
• 12:21 Official Fighter Name Revealed

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome aviation and history enthusiasts to the Pilot Photog podcast. I'm Tog, your host, private pilot, professional photographer, youtube content creator and your guide through the thrilling world of military aircraft. Whether you're a diehard aviation fan or just love a good story from the skies, you've landed in the right place. Each episode, we take flight into the fascinating tales of military aircraft, the heroes who flew them and the incredible technology that keeps pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the skies. We'll explore historic battles, modern advancements and the little-known stories that shaped aviation history. And that's not all. As a scale model aircraft enthusiast and a creator of stunning computer animations, I'll bring these stories to life, giving you a unique perspective on the aircraft we discuss. Every airplane has a story. It's not just a podcast, it's an experience, don't forget. You can find us on all podcasting platforms. But before we take off, here's a quick pre-flight checklist for you, our amazing listeners. If you enjoy our journey through aviation history, please take a moment to leave a review. Your feedback helps us climb higher and reach more aviation enthusiasts like you. So whether you're prepping for takeoff on a long cross-country flight or just relaxing at home, make sure to subscribe to the Pilot Photog podcast for your regular fix of aviation history and stories. All right, strap in and adjust your aviator glasses because we're about to embark on another high-flying adventure. Welcome aboard the Pilot Photog Podcast PilotPhotogcom.

Speaker 1: 1:53

We still don't know what the final next generation air dominance, or NGAD, fighter will look like Yet it probably will be so stealthy that it will be a long time before one gets tracked by the enemy. On this channel, I've used various concept models to try and predict what the final design will be. And here's the thing the NGAD is shaping up not only to be invisible to radar, but also to heat or thermal sensors. This would make the NGAD virtually undetectable, and while thermal cloaking sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, it could become a reality for the NGAD program. This could happen by using a special coating that doesn't heat up, regardless of how fast the airplane flies. Imagine the jump from old propeller planes to the first jet fighters. It was a huge leap forward. The NGAD's thermal invisibility cloak could end up being just as big of a leap. This would not just be an improvement, it would be a whole new way of staying hidden in the sky. Today, we're going to take a look and see if this thermal cloaking material already exists, how this can become such a game changer for pilots and the future of air battles, and what does it mean for the world when a plane, or even drone, can slip through the sky unseen both from radar and thermal sensors? Join us as we explore the incredible journey of the NGAD fighter from the dreams of the engineers to the hands of the pilots, who might soon have the ultimate stealth at their fingertips. This is a tale of innovation, the thrill of the new, and how one fighter's invisible shield could redefine the skies.

Speaker 1: 3:40

Making yourself invisible or at least harder to detect has been a goal of aircraft designers for decades, and while most people know that stealth aircraft are harder to detect with radar, a new era in aerial warfare has emerged heat tracking. What might surprise you, however, is that anti-heat tracking has been slowly progressing since about the 1970s, but not in the way you might think. Since about the 1970s, but not in the way you might think. For example, in the case of the A-10, the exhaust from the engines is partially shielded from the ground by the position of the engines and the wings. When seen from below, and especially when flying away, the horizontal portion of the tail covers the exhaust. Even the Warthog's vertical twin tails cover the exhaust from the sides somewhat. This makes it harder for ground-based heat-seeking missiles, especially manpads, to see the exhaust and get a lock.

Speaker 1: 4:32

Things were taken a step further in the case of the F-117 Nighthawk, the world's first production stealth fighter, made famous by the 1991 Gulf War. The Nighthawk used exhaust ducts that were thin and horizontal, which allowed the engine's exhaust to travel inside the aircraft and cool off before they exited the airplane. To help cool the gases further, heat reflecting tiles were also used. Building on the Nighthawk's success was the V-2 Spirit. This stealthy flying wing uses bypass air around the exhaust to cool that hot thrust as it travels along a shelf. This shelf is also covered with low emission tiles. Maybe these tiles are the same tech that was used in the space shuttle. Comment, if you know below the B-2's exhaust shelf also shielded the engine's emissions from ground view. However, as brilliant as these solutions were, they all have essentially the same idea to hide the exhaust plume from sensors, usually ones that are on the ground. You can think of this tech as physical design solutions to shield the exhaust, but it doesn't really cloak it, and while in the beginning shielding exhaust was seen as a good enough measure.

Speaker 1: 5:41

As time went on, thermal stealth became more important, and now it's become critical. So how did we get here? As the Cold War progressed, radars became more important in air defense, especially powerful ground-based ones. By the 1980s, the stealth evolution was all about shaping aircraft to deflect or bounce away radar waves. This made it so that ground stations couldn't detect an aircraft until it was too late. When you look at the F-117 head-on, you can see how the jagged edges would scatter a radio signal in random directions. One of the reasons the Nighthawk is so blocky in its appearance is that it was a limitation of the technology of its time. During the 1980s, computers were just starting to hit their stride. The very next stealth fighters to emerge after the Nighthawk were the YF-23 Black Widow and the YF-22 Raptor. You can see the advancements in stealth and computer tech by noting that both aircraft are much more curved as compared to the Nighthawk.

Speaker 1: 6:43

Yet as good as the F-22 Raptor and the later developed F-35 Lightning are when it comes to stealth, warfare is a never-evolving game of chess or cat and mouse. Every new invention or move is soon followed by a counter move, and in the case of stealth fighters, air defense radars have become better at detecting smaller radar signatures. Lighters, air defense radars have become better at detecting smaller radar signatures, and so what is old is new again. In the early days of air warfare, the best way for ground defenders to spot an enemy aircraft was through telescopes or binoculars. Now we've come full circle.

Speaker 1: 7:17

The latest and one of the best ways to detect stealth aircraft is now with telescopes. While you may not be able to see an aircraft on radar, you can see its heat signature. As any aircraft flies through the air, its skin will heat up the faster it goes. This heat can be detected by advanced sensors and when you pair that with essentially a high-powered infrared telescope, you can see them from far away. And the bonus for the Defender is that, unlike radar, which gives off signals letting the stealth fighter know you are searching for them, these infrared systems are passive, meaning they don't let the target aircraft know they are being searched for or tracked. Today we call this family of thermal passive detecting systems infrared search and track or IRST systems.

Speaker 1: 8:03

Now, to be fair, irst does have limitations. It doesn't work as great if it's cloudy or there are other atmospheric phenomena going on, but it has become an effective counter for stealth. The evidence for this is seen on all sorts of 4th generation fighters like the Su-27, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and even on 5th generation fighters like the F-35, which have made IRST sensors part of their airframes. Other aircraft can take pods that have IRST sensors on board. So how does a modern stealth fighter become even sneakier and avoid being caught by these advanced heat-seeking sensors?

Speaker 1: 8:39

It turns out there's two innovative strategies. The first tactic is all about playing a clever game with the heat you emit. Modern IRST systems are tuned to have their eyes on a specific band of thermal energy. There's the mid-wave infrared, or MWIR range, which track wavelengths between 3 to 5 microns, and then there's the long-wave infrared or LWIR range, which spanned from 8 to 14 microns. Most of today's fighter jets are tuned to spot heat signatures in the LWIR band, although some like the sensors on the F-35, focus on the MWIR band. If the fighter could somehow adjust its heat emissions to fall into the 6 to 7 microns range, this would have it slip between the MWIR and LWIR bands. It could effectively become a ghost to current IRST systems. However, this once again turns into a high-tech game of cat and mouse. If you develop a sensor capable of detecting this mid-range. Then, suddenly, these innovative coatings are back in the spotlight, likely providing only a brief advantage.

Speaker 1: 9:50

The second strategy, while more effective, is also more complicated, involves a material that keeps its thermal signature steady regardless of whether the plane speeds up or slows down. This would basically mean that the skin of the aircraft would remain at the same temperature regardless of the airplane's speed. It might sound like something from science fiction, but in 2019, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison made it a reality. They introduced a material that they dubbed a zero-differential emitter, which is made from samarium nickel oxide. This remarkable substance maintained a constant level of thermal emission across a wide temperature range from 77 degrees to 284 degrees Fahrenheit. Their experiments show that this material could effectively cloak an object that was heating up, which offers a tantalizing glimpse into the future of thermal stealth. Now, while these groundbreaking thermal shielding techniques have been showcased in the lab, the specifics of the NGAD program are wrapped in layers of secrecy. However, it is reasonable to speculate that achieving thermal cloaking is a key ambition of the project, and it's highly likely that such technologies are already under rigorous testing.

Speaker 1: 11:03

The quest for invisibility in the sky is a priority for the NGAD, aiming to outsmart the most advanced detection systems currently in play. The NGAD is an embodiment of the quest for ultimate stealth, and we are standing on the brink of a new frontier in military aviation. It truly is an exciting time. These developments we've discussed today are not just incremental improvements. They represent potential leaps in technology that could redefine air combat. The ANGAD, with its veil of supremacy, promises to introduce capabilities we've only begun to imagine, making the fighter of the future a true phantom of the skies. And speaking of phantom, here's my vote for that to become the official name of the fighter. It describes what it does and it also pays tribute to arguably one of the greatest fighters of all time the F-4 Phantom. As we look forward, one thing is clear the evolution of stealth technology continues to push the boundaries of what's possible, ensuring that the next generation of fighters will be as mysterious as they are formidable. The sky, vast and unforgiving, may soon become a realm where the unseen reigns supreme, forever changing the dynamics of aerial warfare. The NGAD will be a game changer, and it's likely already flying.

Speaker 1: 12:21

Comment below what you think the official name for the fighter should be Keep your eyes in the skies. And now you know the official name for the fighter should be. Keep your eyes on the skies. And now you know. Thanks for listening to the Pilot Photog Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and the YouTube channel as well. I will leave links in the description slash show notes below. Now you know.