3 ms·

Surface to air missiles are never the real problem, its the radar system. You cannot shoot what you cannot see, and you cannot open your eyes (turn on the radar

• ketralnis 13y ago
  If someone else is running a reasonably powered radar from more than one known location at a known frequency (both the broadcast frequency and, say, a pulse every 0.5 seconds), is there a technical reason that you couldn't use the echos from their radar without broadcasting your own?
  • lutusp 13y ago
    > is there a technical reason that you couldn't use the echos from their radar without broadcasting your own? Yes, there is. The only way to exploit someone else's radar for your own target detection would be to reflect so much of the original signal out into space that your craft would be assured of detection. It contradicts the idea of stealth. All you can do with someone else's radar is locate the radar. Anything else would jeopardize stealth, which is a big issue in modern times. > ... both the broadcast frequency and, say, a pulse every 0.5 seconds Military radars don't broadcast continuously, to avoid making it too easy to track the source. Also, modern radars use frequency-hopping and irregular pulse intervals to avoid predictable patterns. Phased-array radars even go so far as to randomize their search patterns in three dimensions, to further confuse the enemy about the nature of the signal and its source.