AviationBanter - View Single Post

Airyx

wrote:
With due respect I don't understand the argument fully in a naval
context. Surely a modern anti-ship missile is much more difficult
target, after all? In general they have small RCS towards target, they
fly very low and very fast. Furthermore their signature can be reduced
even further if design effort is put upon the problem. If we are
talking about small UAV used for anti-ship duties it's either a very
slow and small ASM or it can carry only a very limited payload.

The speed is the key. Most radars are programmed to filter out small
returns that aren't moving very fast, because its probably a bird.

If you get a small return, but its moving at Mach 2, that's a pretty
good indicator that you are not tracking a bird. Also, any inbound ASM
is going to have a visible heat signature as well, especailly the newer
supersonic ones.

Therein lies the problem with a UAV, the radar system ignores it
because its too slow.