Stealth: The Secret Contest to Invent Invisible Aircraft [Hardcover]

InStealth: The Secret Race to Invent an Invisible AircraftPeter Westwick reveals the process by which the U.S. military was able to produce this undetectable machine, first in the form of the F-117A, then the B-2 bomber, one sharply angular and the other smooth and round. Taking into account the role of technology, as well as the contemporary understanding of physics and engineering, Westwick offers a unique narrative, one which immerses readers in the race to produce a weapon that might save the world from nuclear Apocalypse. Stealth is a nuanced and engaging narrative about engineering ingenuity and provides a fresh view of the Cold War period.On a moonless night in January 1991, a dozen U.S. aircraft appeared in the skies over Baghdad. To the Iraqi air defenses, the planes seemed to come from nowhere. Their angular shape, making them look like flying origami, rendered them virtually undetectable. Each aircraft was more than 60 feet in length and with a wingspan of 40 feet, yet its radar footprint was the size of a ball bearing. Here was the first extensive combat application of Stealth technology. And it was devastating.Peter Westwick's new book illuminates the story behind these aircraft, the F-117A, also known as the Stealth Fighter, and their close cousin the B-2, also known as the Stealth Bomber. The development of Stealth unfolded over decades. Radar has been in use since the 1930s and was essential to the Allies in World War Two, when American investment in radar exceeded that in the Manhattan Project. The atom bomb ended the war, conventional wisdom has it, but radar won it. That experience also raised a question: could a plane be developed that was invisible to radar? That question, and the seemingly impossible feat of physics and engineering behind it, took on increasing urgency during the Cold War, when the United States searched for a way both to defend its airspace and send a plane through Soviet skies undetected. Thus started the race for StlƒD