No, it is not.
There will always be situations where BVR engagements are not possible, such as ROE that requires visual IDs of the target(s).
True, but take the infantryman for example.
Did the advent of the rifle, which increase the range of lethality he can deliver, do away with close quarters combat ? Urban situations is where both visual IDs of the target negate the rifle's long reach.
There are three major rules in designing a low radar observable body:
- Control of quantity of radiators
- Control of array of radiators
- Control of modes of radiation
These are not rules that you can break, rather, they are more like guidelines where you have degrees of obedience to them.
Why is the sphere the ideal body for radar calibration ?
The reason the sphere is the ideal 'stealth' body is because the sphere is the most obedient to the three rules.
- Control of quantity of radiators
The sphere have only one radiating body -- itself.
- Control of array of radiators
The sphere have none. It has no protrusions where each structure is a radiator and whose radiation can interact with radiation from other structures.
- Control of modes of radiation
The sphere have only two modes of radiation: specular and surface waves.
http://www.centurymetalspinning.com/radar-calibration-spheres/
There is one in orbit...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Calibration_Sphere_1
When we put all three rules together and apply it to the sphere, there can be a sphere that is visually large but electromagnetically small or 'stealthy'. In other words, you can see the sphere with your own eyes but your radar will not see the sphere with its own EM radiation.
A structure like a fin have at least three modes of radiation: specular, edge diffraction, surface waves.
For example...
This means you want to minimize the
QUANTITY of these structures as much as possible. Unfortunately, today's aircrafts still needs structures like the fin to have controlled flight. So if you must have these structures, you move to rule Two: Control of
ARRAY of radiators.
Since these structures are in proximity to each other, interactions from their radiation are inevitable. Each mode of radiation have different levels of strength and power. Each interaction, aka 'interference', can be destructive ( good ) or constructive ( bad ). Destructive interference cancels each other out. Constructive interference amplifies. This is what rule two means by 'array of radiators'. Whether a fin is vertical or not, depending on your viewing angle, is not the point. What is that fin's physical relationships to nearby structures -- is the point.
The bottom line is that the greater the quantity of radiators, the more difficult it is to predict interference incidents and to compensate for them.
This is why the J-20 is suspect regarding comparison to the F-22 in terms of all aspects RCS. Suspect as in having a higher total RCS.
as for engines upgraded WS-13E with a thrust of 22000+ should fit the bill
exactly, but IMO highly unlikely an "enlarged" one with WS-10X or structurally different to V2 by including four more weapon bays.
