Stealth is just an adjunct to electronic warfare? - Europe's view

Bill Sweetman wrote in the latest issue of Jane's that Europe and Russia regard stealth as "an adjunct to electronic warfare, rather than a stand-alone technology."

For instance EADS of Germany is one advocate of this, claiming that "the combination of reduced RCS with stand-off jamming can provide excellent protection." RCS reduction is supposed to delay detection by enemy radar and from the point you are detected, jamming comes into play. This is the theory behind EADS thinking.

In fact European countries are not investing much into studying manned very low observable (VLO) combat aircraft. Neither a manned VLO technology demonstrator nor a full-size RCS test mock-up exists, which even the Japanese have (see http://www.jda-trdi.go.jp/topics.html). It is either because they think it's not worth the effort or simply because they have no money. Or both, perhaps.

Japanese full-scale RCS test model

By the way an old concept put into practice by the US Navy more than 40 years ago is still being pursued by the French. The French Rafale is the only 'new' combat aircraft still designed for automatic terrain masking by low-level flight at night in mind. EADS claims this feature can cost 60 times as much as RCS reduction measures. Interestingly the French air force did not employ its Mirage 2000D bombers as designed - fully automatic terrain-following flight at low level - in Kosovo in 1999. They always ingressed at high altitudes.

The question is if RCS reduction coupled with stand-off jamming, plus terrain masking by low-level flight at night in the French case, would really work against a modern IADS. We'll see how the RAF, Luftwaffe and Armée de l'Air view RCS reduction with jamming against double-digit SAMs when they send their shiny new Typhoons and Rafales to an actual war or a Red Flag at least.