The armed forces have differing needs. That fact is playing out right now as the Air Force and Navy are arguing about the importance of stealth technology in the next generation of fighter aircraft.
That's according to The Air Force Times, which cites Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, who earlier this month said stealth could be "overrated," arguing that there's only so much that can be done to prevent detection.
"You can only go so fast, and you know that stealth may be overrated. Let's face it, if something moves fast through the air, disrupts molecules and puts out heat – I don't care how cool the engine can be, it's going to be detectable," Adm. Greenert said, AFT reports.
The Air Force's head of Air Combat Command, Gen. Hawk Carlisle offered a perhaps more insightful position, arguing that stealth is still "hugely important," but that it's a smaller part of a larger formula.
"Stealth is wonderful, but you have to have more than stealth," Gen. Carlisle told audiences at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium, AFT reports. "You have to have fusion, you have to have different capabilities across the spectrum. It won't be the only key attribute, and it isn't today."
Meanwhile, the folks actually building the aircraft, like the head of Lockheed Martin's elusive Skunk Works, Rob Weiss, aren't nearly done with stealth.
"I can assure you all future aircraft will continue to be grounded in stealth capability for survivability purposes," Weiss told The Air Force Times. "When we look out at threat projections, and recognizing the capability we are developing today, we are going to continue to build stealth aircraft for the foreseeable future."
That's according to The Air Force Times, which cites Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, who earlier this month said stealth could be "overrated," arguing that there's only so much that can be done to prevent detection.
"You can only go so fast, and you know that stealth may be overrated. Let's face it, if something moves fast through the air, disrupts molecules and puts out heat – I don't care how cool the engine can be, it's going to be detectable," Adm. Greenert said, AFT reports.
The Air Force's head of Air Combat Command, Gen. Hawk Carlisle offered a perhaps more insightful position, arguing that stealth is still "hugely important," but that it's a smaller part of a larger formula.
"Stealth is wonderful, but you have to have more than stealth," Gen. Carlisle told audiences at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium, AFT reports. "You have to have fusion, you have to have different capabilities across the spectrum. It won't be the only key attribute, and it isn't today."
Meanwhile, the folks actually building the aircraft, like the head of Lockheed Martin's elusive Skunk Works, Rob Weiss, aren't nearly done with stealth.
"I can assure you all future aircraft will continue to be grounded in stealth capability for survivability purposes," Weiss told The Air Force Times. "When we look out at threat projections, and recognizing the capability we are developing today, we are going to continue to build stealth aircraft for the foreseeable future."
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue