By Dr. Peter Collins, AFIT/ENG

Say the word “stealth” to anyone familiar with the famous “Star Trek” television series and one is most likely to conjure up images of a Romulan war bird melting into transparency against a starry background. Those of a younger generation may think of the famous bespectacled, lightning bolt-branded teenager brandishing a magic wand under a “cloak of invisibility.” Even the anonymous internet touchup artist displayed his susceptibility to a common “stealth” misconception in his somewhat whimsical stab at military stealth technology development. The common theme in each of these cases is the association of “stealth” technology with invisibility. While this thought has its obvious attractions from a military standpoint, it is in general an incorrect view of the science and engineering of observables reduction or “Low Observables” (LO) technology. In the following paragraphs, we hope to dispel some misconceptions and give a brief snapshot of AFIT’s involvement in this exciting research area.

If LO isn’t making things invisible, what is it? At its core, observables reduction is a multi-disciplinary research area whose goal is, as the name implies, to reduce observables. An observable is anything an enemy can observe ranging from how an aircraft scatters radar or emits infrared energy to the familiar thwacking sound made by a helicopter’s blades as the tips exceed the sound barrier. Each of these observables can be used to help locate, track, identify, and destroy our military weapon systems and thus impede our ability to project military power. From this perspective, low observable technology attempts to increase system survivability by breaking each link in the threat “kill chain.” Complete invisibility is rarely required to break these links. In fact, since reduced signature often comes at the expense of mission performance, the optimal reduction is just enough to defeat the enemy’s detection systems.

The enemy, however, is not complacent. He is constantly improving his detection systems in order to defeat our attempts to defeat him. This cat and mouse game of LO and counter-LO technology is on-going and deadly serious. As stated by our Chief of Staff in his recent strategic vision white paper, “We cannot assume that the next military revolution will originate in the West. ...We must anticipate innovative combinations of traditional and new concepts, doctrines, weapons systems, and disruptive technologies.” His call to arms cites “increasingly lethal, integrated air defense systems (IADS) that threaten both our Airman and aircraft, and could negate weapons used to suppress or destroy these systems.” The AFIT LO program is dead-centered on the Chief’s exhortation to provide the means for “cross-domain dominance” through advancements in “electromagnetic spectrum physics” and “super-stealth.”

Instituted in parallel with the public emergence of stealth technology, AFIT continually modifies its LO curriculum to stay relevant to emerging threats and technologies, yet maintains rigor in the foundational educational disciplines. The two core Radio Frequency and Electro-Optic sequences provide our resident students the tools to perform leading edge research touching the entire LO life-cycle from cradle to grave. A sampling of recent research efforts includes topics like Advanced Meta-material Observable Reduction Technologies, LO Radome Design and Integration, Multi-function Aircraft Antenna Optimization, Aircraft Flight Deformation Signature Impacts, Emerging Bistatic Threat Characterization, Radar Absorbing Material Defect Analysis, and Flight-line Diagnostic Tool Development. In each of these areas, AFIT works closely with sponsors from across the LO community to identify relevant fundamental technology development problems with broad application to many DoD systems. This research represents a combined AFIT/sponsor investment of well over $1M in just the last two years. The value returned on this type of investment is evidenced by consistent sponsorship over the last 20+ years.

Yet, the research is only half the story. AFIT sponsors from organizations as diverse as the Air Force Research Laboratory, Aeronautical Systems Center, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Material Command, Air Force Operation Test Center, Air Combat Command, and United States Strategic Command repeatedly emphasize that one of AFIT’s greatest contributions is its unique DoD-specific applied educational experience. The close ties between the AFIT faculty and the LO user community create a singular learning environment for its graduates that allows them to “hit the ground running” as they move on to their follow-on assignments. AFIT’s 20 year contribution legacy includes more than 100 masters and PhD students actively serving our great nation in all aspects LO technology development and its employment. In the words of our CSAF, “Victory – whether on the front lines of today’s Long War or in the air, space and cyberspace surrounding tomorrow’s foes – will be determined in large part by the expertise of our Airmen.”