China’s “Stealth” J-31 Visible On Radar

Military experts from mainland China told Want Daily that the Russian Su-35 fighter and U.S. C-17 cargo plane participating in the Zhuhai Air Show last month could detect the J-31 in the air during its performance. The main reason? China can’t make radar-absorbent coatings.

Seems that despite getting samples of the radar-absorbent coatings from the U.S. F-117 downed in Serbia and the stealth Black Hawk used during the Bin Laden raid, the Chinese still can’t manufacture or apply these special materials to the “skin” of their aircraft. Likely the J-20 has the same problem. Maybe Russia’s PAK FA too, something possibly being hidden from the Indian government by Moscow (explains the secrecy and delays New Delhi has been asking about). Stealing secrets is one thing – being able to use them is quite another.

Side note: The U.S. undoubtedly already has real-world radar cross-section data on all Chinese and Russian stealth aircraft. Probably obtained from surveillance aircraft or by other means.

Could the advanced under-belly Boeing-Raytheon AESA radar – the Littoral Surveillance Radar System (LSRS) – have been used to gather RCS data on the J-31 and J-20 during U.S. flights over the East and South China Seas while the Chinese were testing their stealth aircraft? Possibly. An informative report on this radar system written by Tyler Rogoway in Foxtrot Alpha can be read here.

There are any number of ways the U.S. and its allies can obtain RCS data on these aircraft, and by now probably has. E-2s, AWACS, RC-135, EP-3, U-2s, MQ-4C, other. Likewise the Chinese claim to have detected the F-22 Raptor during its recent visit to South Korea. That boast by China? More than likely false. But by gathering data on Chinese radar signatures the U.S. can then test the frequencies and devise appropriate countermeasures. All sides engage in signals intelligence – some unexpectedly well (Iran claims copy of captured RQ-170)!
[via-globalaviationreport]