Conquer the Sky - (2) Two Technologies That Will Dominate Future Battlefields

[Agency for Defense Development] The stealth aircraft F-117, which first appeared in the 1990 Gulf War, demonstrated highly effective mission performance by penetrating Iraq's air defense network and completing its missions without a single loss. Additionally, the F-22, currently known as a 5th-generation fighter, overwhelmingly won simulated battles against the F-15, F-16, and other 4th-generation fighters, highlighting the increasing importance of stealth technology on future battlefields. Stealth technology, which allows covert infiltration into enemy territory to effectively gather intelligence, secures battlefield superiority by neutralizing enemy air defense systems and protecting friendly forces, enabling preemptive strikes and survival.

▲ Stealth Technology= Stealth technology broadly refers to techniques that evade or reduce signals such as sound, electromagnetic waves, infrared, and optical signals. These include noise shielding generated by aircraft engines, reducing radar cross-section exposed to radar, decreasing infrared emissions caused by temperature differences between the aircraft and surrounding atmosphere, and painting the aircraft exterior in colors similar to the surrounding environment depending on the mission conditions.

Among these, the most well-known is electromagnetic stealth technology, which controls electromagnetic waves emitted by radar. Radar-emitted electromagnetic waves collide with the aircraft surface and reflect back, and radar detects and images the aircraft by receiving these reflected waves. The strength of the aircraft signal detected by radar is influenced by the Radar Cross Section (RCS), which represents the area of the target reflecting electromagnetic waves. RCS varies depending on the aircraft's size, shape, material, azimuth, elevation angle, wavelength, and other factors. Therefore, by using stealth technologies such as stealth shaping, radar-absorbent coatings, and radar-absorbent structures to reduce the radar cross-section, the aircraft signal detected by radar can be diminished.

As an example of stealth shaping, the F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin in 1983 has a very angular exterior. This design reflects emitted electromagnetic waves in different directions, preventing radar from receiving the waves and thus making the aircraft undetectable. However, aerodynamic performance cannot be overlooked in aircraft design. Therefore, stealth shaping has limitations because the aircraft must be designed considering both stealth and aerodynamics. To overcome this limitation, special radar-absorbent paint is applied to the aircraft, converting and absorbing incident electromagnetic wave energy into heat energy, and radar-absorbent structures are used to weaken or absorb the incident electromagnetic waves, thereby reducing the radar cross-section.

Stealth technology began with the development of stealth aircraft in the late 1950s and is now being developed for all mobile weapon systems including maritime and ground platforms. For example, stealth technology is applied to aircraft and missiles in the air, ships and submarines at sea, and tanks on land. The F-22, considered the most advanced fighter currently in service, is known to have a radar cross-section roughly the size of a baseball, demonstrating excellent stealth capabilities.

For ships and submarines, which operate at slower speeds, stealth at sea is directly linked to the survival of friendly forces. Due to their large size, the effect of reducing radar cross-section through stealth shaping is limited. Therefore, radar-absorbent coatings and radar-absorbent structures are applied to reduce radar cross-section, and stealth technology also includes noise reduction designs such as low-noise propellers. The Polish tank PL-01 is known to apply infrared signal reduction technology and radar-absorbent coatings to remain concealed from radar and thermal imaging cameras.

▲ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles= Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology is also gaining attention as a core element of future battlefields alongside stealth technology. UAVs or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) refer to aircraft or aircraft systems that operate without a pilot onboard, controlled remotely from the ground, pre-programmed, or autonomously flying by recognizing and judging the surrounding environment, possessing some or all of these capabilities.

UAVs are spotlighted because they can be operated without risking human lives. The term "Unmanned Aircraft System" was first mentioned in the U.S. Department of Defense's “UAS Roadmap 2005-2030” published in the mid-2000s. UAVs consist of the unmanned aerial vehicle itself, ground control stations, data link communication equipment, mission payloads, and support equipment. They are designed and manufactured to carry various types of mission payloads suitable for performing assigned missions over a certain period. UAVs can be operated via remote control, semi-automatic, automatic, or a combination of these control methods, and are classified into five groups based on maximum take-off weight, operating altitude, and airspeed.

Recently, the term "drone" has been widely used by the public and media as a general term for unmanned aircraft systems. Under international regulatory frameworks, it mainly refers to reusable unmanned aircraft. On land, drones are used for surveillance reconnaissance, close combat support, deep precision strikes, and communication relay; at sea, for maritime surveillance and anti-ship purposes; and in the air, for wide-area video and signal intelligence collection, air defense deception, and ground and air attack missions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.