Comments on: The SR 71, designed in the 1950′s used radar absorbing materials. https://habitablezone.com/2022/05/13/the-sr-71-designed-in-the-1950s-used-radar-absorbing-materials/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:41:18 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: RobVG https://habitablezone.com/2022/05/13/the-sr-71-designed-in-the-1950s-used-radar-absorbing-materials/#comment-49768 RobVG Wed, 18 May 2022 18:10:41 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=94242#comment-49768 Lots of interesting tidbits in the book. They abandoned the "tooth" design after flying the prototype. During testing they had to scale the radar wavelengths to the scale models. The exhaust had a significant radar signature so Lovick came up with the idea of ionizing the exhaust by way of a cesium fuel additive. I was pleased that the story carried on through the development of the F117 Steal Fighter, recon satellites and the Navy's Sea Shadow. Unfortunately it stopped there. There was no discussion of how they moved from facets to the curved surfaces of the B-2 and Raptor. Lots of interesting tidbits in the book.
They abandoned the “tooth” design after flying the prototype. During testing they had to scale the radar wavelengths to the scale models. The exhaust had a significant radar signature so Lovick came up with the idea of ionizing the exhaust by way of a cesium fuel additive. I was pleased that the story carried on through the development of the F117 Steal Fighter, recon satellites and the Navy’s Sea Shadow. Unfortunately it stopped there. There was no discussion of how they moved from facets to the curved surfaces of the B-2 and Raptor.

]]> By: RobVG https://habitablezone.com/2022/05/13/the-sr-71-designed-in-the-1950s-used-radar-absorbing-materials/#comment-49730 RobVG Sat, 14 May 2022 22:31:15 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=94242#comment-49730 I just bought the Kindle version of "Radar Man" by Edward Lovick. He was the physicist who Kelly Johnson hired to work on the U2 and right after that, the A12. I've enjoyed reading just the Intro and the acknowledgements so far. I just bought the Kindle version of “Radar Man” by Edward Lovick. He was the physicist who Kelly Johnson hired to work on the U2 and right after that, the A12. I’ve enjoyed reading just the Intro and the acknowledgements so far.

]]> By: RobVG https://habitablezone.com/2022/05/13/the-sr-71-designed-in-the-1950s-used-radar-absorbing-materials/#comment-49726 RobVG Sat, 14 May 2022 19:37:20 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=94242#comment-49726 I was surprised to learn it was built into the structure of the plane. <blockquote> During the late 1950's the focus shifted to the problem of anechoic chambering implementations. </blockquote> The first flight of the Blackbird was late December1964. I was surprised to learn it was built into the structure of the plane.

During the late 1950′s the focus shifted to the problem of anechoic chambering implementations.

The first flight of the Blackbird was late December1964.

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2022/05/13/the-sr-71-designed-in-the-1950s-used-radar-absorbing-materials/#comment-49720 ER Sat, 14 May 2022 12:32:21 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=94242#comment-49720 So we've known about stealth tech since the 1950s... So we’ve known about stealth tech since the 1950s…

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