Interceptor
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STEALTH SHIPS, SUBMARINES AND AIRCRAFT
by G. V. Joshi
Stealth technology makes ships, boats, vehicles, aircraft or missiles nearly invisible to enemy radar or other electronic detection.
U. S. Navy scientists are developing stealth submarines that have artificial muscles in place of propellers.
The Indian Navy is likely to induct two ‘stealth’ ships in the next three to four months. At present, the ships are undergoing extensive sea trials in Russia. Around 500 Indian officers and sailors have been in Russia for the last several months training on the two ships. On being inducted, the two Talwar class frigate ships, INS Talwar and INS Trishul, will add more punch to the Navy’s capabilities. They will be the first Indian warships to avoid easy detection by enemy forces, equipped with sophisticated weapon systems, including eight vertical missile launch cells.
Russia is building three Talwar class multi-purpose 4,000-tonne frigates for India. The third, INS Tabar, was launched at St. Petersburg in May 2001 and is expected to be ready for induction by 2004. The three frigates, equipped with surface-to-air missile launchers and rocket-cum-artillery guns, have been specially designed for the Indian Navy to tackle the threat in the Arabian Sea. The frigates will be "more than capable of handling" the Agousta submarines acquired by our westerly neighbour. Basically meant for anti-submarine warfare and air defence of other warships, these frigates are also designed to carry and operate helicopters. India is also according priority to its own project to construct stealth warships, with some help from Russia and France, at the Mazagaon Docks in Mumbai. According to Mazagaon Docks’ authorities, preliminary work on the construction of India’s first stealth warship began in December 2000.
These stealth warships will have an unusual design with a reduced noise level. Defence analysts say they will be armed to carry out offensive as well as defensive missions against enemy ships, submarines and aircraft. The first of these warships is expected to join the Indian Navy between 2006 and 2007.
Stealth technology makes ships, boats, vehicles, aircraft or missiles nearly invisible to enemy radar or other electronic detection. Research in stealth technology began soon after radar was invented. During World War II, the Germans coated the snorkels of their submarines with radar-absorbent material. In the post-war era, researchers sought to discover the nature of "radar echoes," trying to determine what factors contribute to the echoes, or beams of electromagnetic radiation (notably at radio wavelengths), that are bounced off objects of various shapes, sizes, surfaces, and composition. Saving aircraft from detection became a special concern, and by the 1980s the U. S. A. had developed a prototype stealth bomber. Although details concerning stealth technology are secret, some general information is known. For example, surface materials and coatings of stealth aircraft and ships can absorb radar transmissions, reducing reflections to a radar receiver. Reflections are also reduced with the use of smooth, rounded shapes instead of sharp edges and points. If missiles and other weapons can be recessed into the aircraft structure, its drag will be reduced as well. The engine exhaust is the main contributor to an aircraft’s infrared signature, and shielding it may make detection more difficult.
However, the use of stealth technology is cost-intensive. Rounded shapes are often not the best of designs. Absorbent materials make an aircraft heavier and reduce its range or payload. Minimising doors and other openings in the fuselage makes surfaces smoother, but it makes aircraft maintenance more difficult.
U. S. Navy scientists are developing stealth submarines that have artificial muscles in place of propellers. This would let them slip silently through the water like a fish, without creating a wake, which enables an aircraft to detect it. The initial focus is on unmanned underwater vehicles and a metre-long prototype has already been tested. It uses shape memory alloys (SMA) as muscles, which bend and flex the hull, like a fish, to push it forward. An SMA alloy is made of nickel and titanium. It is called nitinol. Nitinol was discovered by U. S. Navy researchers in the early 1960s. The name combines the abbreviations for nickel and titanium with the acronym for the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, where this alloy was first researched. The unusual property of shrinking when heated and expanding when cooled makes SMA ideal for artificial muscles. Nitinol is used in making bathroom showers that automatically shut off the flow of water before it becomes hot enough to burn a person’s body. The shape memory effect occurs in response to heat, which can be generated through electricity or any other energy source.
http://www.dayafterindia.com/dec1/defence.html
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Nice read about Indian stealth capability I do believe the Indians are capable of achieving the capability. I will explain this afterwards of the the Indian stealth design it is very interesting.
by G. V. Joshi
Stealth technology makes ships, boats, vehicles, aircraft or missiles nearly invisible to enemy radar or other electronic detection.
U. S. Navy scientists are developing stealth submarines that have artificial muscles in place of propellers.
The Indian Navy is likely to induct two ‘stealth’ ships in the next three to four months. At present, the ships are undergoing extensive sea trials in Russia. Around 500 Indian officers and sailors have been in Russia for the last several months training on the two ships. On being inducted, the two Talwar class frigate ships, INS Talwar and INS Trishul, will add more punch to the Navy’s capabilities. They will be the first Indian warships to avoid easy detection by enemy forces, equipped with sophisticated weapon systems, including eight vertical missile launch cells.
Russia is building three Talwar class multi-purpose 4,000-tonne frigates for India. The third, INS Tabar, was launched at St. Petersburg in May 2001 and is expected to be ready for induction by 2004. The three frigates, equipped with surface-to-air missile launchers and rocket-cum-artillery guns, have been specially designed for the Indian Navy to tackle the threat in the Arabian Sea. The frigates will be "more than capable of handling" the Agousta submarines acquired by our westerly neighbour. Basically meant for anti-submarine warfare and air defence of other warships, these frigates are also designed to carry and operate helicopters. India is also according priority to its own project to construct stealth warships, with some help from Russia and France, at the Mazagaon Docks in Mumbai. According to Mazagaon Docks’ authorities, preliminary work on the construction of India’s first stealth warship began in December 2000.
These stealth warships will have an unusual design with a reduced noise level. Defence analysts say they will be armed to carry out offensive as well as defensive missions against enemy ships, submarines and aircraft. The first of these warships is expected to join the Indian Navy between 2006 and 2007.
Stealth technology makes ships, boats, vehicles, aircraft or missiles nearly invisible to enemy radar or other electronic detection. Research in stealth technology began soon after radar was invented. During World War II, the Germans coated the snorkels of their submarines with radar-absorbent material. In the post-war era, researchers sought to discover the nature of "radar echoes," trying to determine what factors contribute to the echoes, or beams of electromagnetic radiation (notably at radio wavelengths), that are bounced off objects of various shapes, sizes, surfaces, and composition. Saving aircraft from detection became a special concern, and by the 1980s the U. S. A. had developed a prototype stealth bomber. Although details concerning stealth technology are secret, some general information is known. For example, surface materials and coatings of stealth aircraft and ships can absorb radar transmissions, reducing reflections to a radar receiver. Reflections are also reduced with the use of smooth, rounded shapes instead of sharp edges and points. If missiles and other weapons can be recessed into the aircraft structure, its drag will be reduced as well. The engine exhaust is the main contributor to an aircraft’s infrared signature, and shielding it may make detection more difficult.
However, the use of stealth technology is cost-intensive. Rounded shapes are often not the best of designs. Absorbent materials make an aircraft heavier and reduce its range or payload. Minimising doors and other openings in the fuselage makes surfaces smoother, but it makes aircraft maintenance more difficult.
U. S. Navy scientists are developing stealth submarines that have artificial muscles in place of propellers. This would let them slip silently through the water like a fish, without creating a wake, which enables an aircraft to detect it. The initial focus is on unmanned underwater vehicles and a metre-long prototype has already been tested. It uses shape memory alloys (SMA) as muscles, which bend and flex the hull, like a fish, to push it forward. An SMA alloy is made of nickel and titanium. It is called nitinol. Nitinol was discovered by U. S. Navy researchers in the early 1960s. The name combines the abbreviations for nickel and titanium with the acronym for the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, where this alloy was first researched. The unusual property of shrinking when heated and expanding when cooled makes SMA ideal for artificial muscles. Nitinol is used in making bathroom showers that automatically shut off the flow of water before it becomes hot enough to burn a person’s body. The shape memory effect occurs in response to heat, which can be generated through electricity or any other energy source.
http://www.dayafterindia.com/dec1/defence.html
-----------------------------------------------------
Nice read about Indian stealth capability I do believe the Indians are capable of achieving the capability. I will explain this afterwards of the the Indian stealth design it is very interesting.
