**The Power of Phased Array Technology: Unlocking Stealth and Communication**

The F-35's phased array antenna is one of its most impressive features, and it's not just for stealth. This technology uses the principles of wave interference to create a powerful tool for radar and communication systems. The phased array consists of multiple antennas that work together to form a single unit, allowing the plane to track multiple targets at once while staying in a single position.

The traditional phase array antenna is passive, meaning every antenna in the array is driven by a single transmitter and receiver. This would mean it can only point in one direction, making it vulnerable if enemy planes split up or approach from different angles. In contrast, the F-35's phased array is an active phasing array, meaning each and everyone of these antennas is individually driven transmitter and receiver. This allows the plane to track multiple targets simultaneously with zero moving parts.

The nose cones on the F-35 hiding these antennas need to be transparent to radar waves, which can cause issues with the plane's radar return signature. Traditional mechanical radar dishes had this problem, but the phased array antenna solves it by bouncing incoming radar to space. This is a critical feature for stealth planes like the F-35, as it allows them to avoid detection.

The phased array antenna also acts as the plane's communication antenna, which is crucial for its battle doctrine. The F-35 excels in the battlefield due to its networking abilities, but communication comes with one glaring problem: it announces your presence to anyone listening. This is why stealth planes need secure communication systems. The F-35 uses the latest data link system called MADL (Multi-Functional Advanced Data Link), which improves on the experiences learned from the F-22.

MADL allows the F-35 to quickly share data securely from individual F-35s and ground-based systems. This information is then sorted and presented to the pilot in their heads-up display, right in front of their eyes. Giving them unparalleled situational awareness, no need to communicate with their wingmates if there's an adversary underneath them, the planes can feed that data directly into the helmet, allowing the pilot to look underneath the plane and see the location of the adversary themselves.

The F-35B is one of the most remarkable pieces of military technology ever created. It's a networked hivemind stealth fighter capable of taking off from a ship a fraction of the size of an aircraft carrier, and returning while hovering in the sky like a helicopter. This is made possible by its advanced phased array antenna, which allows it to communicate securely with its allies and track multiple targets simultaneously.

The F-35 has borrowed many lessons learned from planes like the F-117 Nighthawk and B-2, planes that we have not yet explored through documentaries. The F-117's stealth capabilities and the B-2's advanced sensors have all contributed to the development of the F-35's cutting-edge technology. If you liked this article, you will definitely love our other Originals series, including beautifully crafted stories filled with stylish 3D renders.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enThe F-35B is arguably the most advanced planeever made.A jack of all trades.A stealth fighter plane, combining and improvingon the capabilities of the F-16, AV-8B Harrier,and B-2.A highly maneuverable fighter plane capableof attacking both airborne and ground basedtargets.A stealth fighter, taking the lessons learnedfrom Lockheed’s previous ventures into stealth,with the F-22 raptor and F-117 Nighthawk.A plane fitted with the most advanced sensorsand computer systems.Sharing information almost instantly withallies, without compromising stealth, andpresenting the information directly on a headsup display on the pilots helmet visor.Giving unparalleled situational awareness.Allowing a flight of F-35s to effectivelyfight as a hivemind.Perhaps most boldly of all, the F-35B is capableof transitioning from horizontal to verticalflight with a push of a button, using directionalthrust and a massive vertical turbofan engine,hidden within the plane's body.Making it possible to land like a helicopteron the relatively small amphibious assaultships of the US Marines.Fitting all these capabilities into a singleairframe is an extremely difficult task.Designing for stealth demands careful moldingof the exterior of the plane, dictating thedesign of crucial features.Creating unavoidable trade-offs.There are a lot of misconceptions about stealth.The goal isn’t to make an aircraft invisible,it will be detectable, the goal is to delayenemy detection for as long as possible.For bomber aircraft, it shrinks the rangeof the enemy's radar stations, potentiallyopening gaps in radar defenses and allowingthe aircraft to slip through undetected.For fighter aircraft it provides a criticaladvantage, detect your enemy before they detectyou.To gain these advantages, we need to makeit harder for the radar receiver to decipherwhether the return signal is just backgroundnoise or an enemy aircraft.To do that we need to minimize the strengthof the return signal.There are several mechanisms for a radar waveto be reflected.The most significant, and most obvious wayis through specular return, otherwise knownas regular reflection, like a mirror.Where the angle of reflection equals theangle of incidence.We want to avoid large flat surfaces thatcould reflect straight back to the radar receiver.Corner reflectors, where two surfaces setat a 90 degree angle to each other, need tobe avoided at all costs.Tailplanes, consisting of the vertical andhorizontal stabilizer, are the perfect surfacesto create a corner reflector.Allowing radar to bounce off both surfacesand return right back in the direction itcame.The best way to avoid this is to remove thetail completely, like the B-2, but this impactsmaneuverability greatly.Instead we can replace both the horizontaland vertical stabilizer with a v-tail, asseen on the F-117 Nighthawk.The v-tail can act as both a rudder and anelevator, and we can see how by examiningthe resultant force generated when the controlsurfaces are actuated to different positions.We can actuate them in opposite directionsto generate a horizontal resultant force,providing yaw control as a vertical rudderwould.Or we can deflect them in the same directionto provide pitch control, as an horizontalelevator would.This configuration is sometimes used for uniquelooking aircraft like the Cirrus SF50, allowingit to mount a single tiny jet engine on topof the fuselage with its exhaust directedstraight through the v-tail.A private jet so tiny and lightweight thatit can deploy a parachute to rescue itselfin emergencies.Having rudder and elevator controls linkedin a single mechanism like this is not ideal.Fighter jets like the F-35 and the F-22 needsuperior control authority, and that is afunction of control surface area.The larger the elevator the larger the pitchcontrol.If a control surface is working a double role,where rudder and elevator action is neededat the same time, it reduces the control authority.So, both planes also feature large elevators,offset by a distance and angled to preventcorner reflections.We can see many more trade offs in designby comparing the F-117 and F-35 in the questto fulfill both stealth and fighter requirements.Both the F-117 and B-2 have their engine airintakes mounted on the upper surface of theplane, which prevents ground based radar frombouncing around inside the intake and backto the receiver, and helps reduce infraredheat signatures.However, for a plane expected to make highangle of attack maneuvers in life and deathsituations, this isn’t a design you wouldwant to includeWhile performing a maneuver like this theair intake will receive lower pressure air,which will lower performance right when performanceis needed most.Air intakes located underneath the aircraft,like the F-16, will cause too much radar return,so twin intakes located on either side ofthe fuselage are instead chosen.The air intake has some clever aerodynamicfeatures too.This seemingly innocuous bump plays an importantrole.This is aeronautical engineering epitomized,every seemingly insignificant design featurehas a purpose.Mounting engine intakes along the body ofan aircraft comes with some issues that pylonmounted engines avoid.As air travels along the length of the body,air begins to form a layer of slow movingturbulent air called a boundary layer.If this air is allowed to enter the engineit not only lowers performance, it can alsodamage the engine.As the turbine rotates it will pass throughthe slow boundary air on one side and thenfast free stream air on the other.This means the force on the turbine bladechanges for each and every rotation, causingcyclical bending.A recipe for fatigue failure.Planes like the F-16 feature a boundary layerdiverter that separates the inlet from thefuselage with a small gap, but this designincreases radar cross-section and increasesdrag.Later variants of the F-16 tested the DSI,a diverterless supersonic inlet.Essentially a large bump that creates a regionof compression that pushes the boundary layeraway from the inlet, while also scatteringincoming radar and lowering drag.The test flight demonstrated it could meetperformance requirements, ushering its introductionto the F-35.The final product reduces weight by 30% andlowers production and maintenance costs.Moving down the plane we can see other hintsof stealth design.Long sharp edges are the enemy of stealth.Sharp edges cause radar waves to scatter inall directions, radar can even travel alongthe length of a surface in the form of a travelingwave, and then scatter upon reaching the trailingedge.The strength of that return signal can bereduced with a few clever techniques.The strength of the signal will depend onthe length of the edge, so the first techniqueis to reduce the edge length with serration.You can see this technique very clearly onthe trailing edges of the B-2.However, it’s less obvious where it’sused for the F-35, until you start lookingat all the access hatches hidden around theaircraft, every single unavoidable surfacegap on the aircraft has a serrated edge.This hatch opens to reveal a telescoping ladderto allow pilots to climb in and out of theaircraft.These open to reveal the landing gear.These are the internal weapons bays, essentialfor keeping the radar reflecting missileshidden from view, and t hese smaller hatchesare flare dispenser doors.Flares are effective decoys for heat seekingmissiles, but they do nothing to prevent radarguided missiles.In the face of radar guided missile proliferationand continued growing sophistication in thetechnology, a new decoy system was developed.This new technology is released from thispanel.When needed this access door opens and a transmitterbegins to reel out to a safe distance behindthe plane.It has 3 levels of countermeasures to protectthe F-35 from attack.First it actively jams missiles while theyattempt to lock onto their target,by emitting jamming signals which the onboardcomputer computes and delivers to the emitterthrough the fiber optic tow line.If the radar manages to obtain a lock, itthen begins to attempt to break the lock.Disrupting the tracking algorithms guidingthe missile towards its target.Finally, if all is lost and the missile isbearing in on the aircraft, the emitter beginsto simulate the aircraft's radar signature,drawing the missile towards it as a decoy.These serrated hatches hid critical componentsof the F-35, but more can be done to reduceedge scattering in these locations.You may notice that the color around theseedges is different to the rest of the plane.This is because the edges are treated witha special radar scattering tape.In the same way traveling waves scatter whenthey meet an edge discontinuity, they willscatter when traveling over a change in conductivity.The F-35 uses this to its advantage to scatterthe waves over a longer distance, reducingthe return signal by spreading it out.The tape has a conductivity gradient, graduallydecreasing its electrical conductivity, causingradar waves to scatter at each interval.Slowly decreasing the intensity of the surfacewave before it reaches the edge where it wouldhave released one large return if the tapewas not present.The surface of the plane itself is composedof specialized radar absorbing material.In 2010 Lockheed Martin filed this patentfor a carbon nanotube infused composite materialthat can absorb radar waves from 0.1 megahertzthrough to the 60 gigahertz.This is an incredibly wide range of frequencies,notably covering the frequencies Russian surfaceto air missiles like the advanced S-400 systemuses.The effect traveling surface waves have onstealth design can be seen elsewhere.You would imagine a cylinder would great wayto scatter radar in all directions, loweringthe strength of the return signal, but ifa radar wave comes in tangentially to a cylinder,and the wavelength is at least 1/10 the cylinderscircumference, the wave can actually travelaround the outside of the cylinder and travelstraight back to the receiver.This is likely why the F-35 features thissharp edge breaking up the circular nose cone.Where the f-16 has a nearly perfect circularnose cone, the F-35 features a ridge.The largest hatch on the plane is strangelynot serrated, and this is for good reason.This hatch hides the powerful lift fan within.The air flow in and out of this lift fan neededcareful consideration.The lift fan is essentially a tiny helicopter,capable of generating 85 kN of vertical thrust,and in doing so it creates a lower pressurezone above the plane, violently sucking airinto the aircraft at a 90 degree angle.This air has to travel over the hood to reachthe inlet, and thus the hood needs to allowair to smoothly pass over it without creatingtoo much turbulent flow, which would lowerthe performance of the lift fan.This is why the inlet door is not serrated,as the sharp edges would cause distortionsin the flow.This hood alone went through several designiterations to optimize the airflow flowingby it.The demonstration X-35 aircraft had two doorsopening towards the side of the aircraft,but this was changed for the final aircraftin favor of a rear hinged door.This helps funnel air into the engine andimproves pressure recovery on short take-offswhere the F-35B does not take off vertically,instead using the lift fan and directionalthrust of the rear nozzle to take off on extremelyshort runways.The way this aircraft transforms to performvertical landing and short takeoffs is astounding.It’s the closest thing to a transformerwe have ever created.When the time comes, a clutch linking theextended driveshaft of the F-35s engine beginsto transfer 29,000 horsepower to the bevel-gearof the lift fan..Spinning the contra-rotating lift fan.Simultaneously gears begin to rotate in therear exhaust nozzle.The mechanics of this nozzle are another wonderto behold.Called the three bearing swivel nozzle.It is composed of three airtight segmentscut at angles relative to one another.We can change the shape of the nozzleby rotating these angled pieces separately.These 3 pieces rotate together to smoothlytransition thrust downwards, but it’s slightlyeasier to understand how it works by seeingwhat happens when we rotate segments individually.Rotating the central piece can take the nozzlefrom a zero degree turn to 45 degrees.This position is used for short take-offssplitting the engines power between thrustand lift.This mode is just as impressive as verticaltake offs.Allowing the plane to operate from shorteramphibious assault ships like the USS MakinIsland, a ship just 258 meters long.Its minimum take-off distance decreases evenfurther with the aid of a ski-jump.A ramp that has been added to smaller amphibiousassault ships.Watching the F-35 take off over such shortdistances is incredible.In this clip we can see the rear nozzle quicklyadjusting its angle of thrust, in sync withthe rear elevators, to adjust the pitch ofthe plane to ensure a safe take-off.For a vertical landing the final nozzle segmentcan rotate to provide the full 90 degree turn.The first nozzle segment can rotate to movethe nozzle side to side, but here it’s neededto ensure that the thrust doesn’t move sidewaysas the nozzle transitions.As we saw when we rotate the segments individuallythey move in an arc that would cause the F-35to spin out of control.This mechanism also allows the F-35 to smoothlytransition from cruise to vertical flightand from vertical flight to cruise when needed.There are additional control mechanisms toensure this precarious balancing act doesnot go wrong.Bleed air from the main engine bypass is siphonedto two roll nozzles located on each wing.Providing thrust far away from the plane'scenter of pressure to control roll.There are also guide vanes located underneaththe lift fan.This can adjust the outlet area to adjustthe performance of the liftvan, but also controlthe thrust of the lift fan from 5 degreesforward to 42 degrees backward.With computer assisted control of these controlmechanisms the F-35 is remarkably stable comparedto its predecessor the AV-8B Harrier.Allowing the single engine of the F-35 tohover on two columns of air.To do this the F-35s engine, the F-135, developedfrom the F-119 engine of the F-22 raptor,had to be incredibly powerful.The F-22 raptor is a twin engined fighter.Giving it plenty of excess power to pull offincredible maneuvers.The F-35 only has one engine, and needs tosqueeze out all the power it can get to performa vertical landing.Where the F-22’s engine can generate 156kilonewtons of thrust, the F-35s can generate191.The F-35's engine has a much larger fan andbypass ducting, giving it twice the bypassratio of its F-22 counterpart.Providing the F-35 with a more efficient enginefor cruise, but also a much higher mass flowrate for higher thrust.However this does come with some drawbacks.Air that travels around the engine core completelyavoids the combustion chamber, and thus missesout on the acceleration generated here.Reducing the exhaust velocity.This reduces the top speed of the plane.The max speed of the F-35 is 1.6 mach, andwhile it’s the first plane capable of verticalflight and supersonic flight, the F-22 canfly at 2.2 mach.The F-35 was optimized for loiter time, notspeed.However, all that extra weight needed forvertical take off seriously hampers that ideology.The liftfan module weighs 1.2 tonnes, weightthat does nothing in normal flight and requiresmore fuel to carry, and to make matters worsethat space is used for an internal fuel tankfor its variants.Making the lift fan as light as possible waspertinent to making the F-35B viable in thebattlefield.The fact it only weighs 1.2 tonnes is astounding.It contains two counter-rotating titaniumblisks.Blisk meaning the blades and disk are allone single piece, instead of the traditionalalternative of creating a disk and attachingblades through dovetail connections.This improves efficiency and eliminates apotential site of failure in the connection.This is an astounding feat of manufacturing,and the first stage fan takes it even further.The first stage blades are hollow to saveweight.Where the F-35B truly comes into its own however,is in it’s modern suite of sensors and computers,all feeding into this.The heads up display incorporated into thepilots helmet.Traditional heads up displays, like thoseof the F-16, are incorporated into a panelin the cockpit.A panel which the pilot cannot see when scanningtheir environment.Situational awareness is everything in theheat of combat, and this helmet does everythingit can to keep the pilot informed.Even giving them x-ray vision and night vision.Information from a suite of sensors aroundthe plane feed into a central computer, whereit is processed and displayed through a projectorinside the helmet.Inside this transparent faceted box underneaththe aircraft is a suite of sensors.Those are not your typical windows.These windows are made from a notoriouslyexpensive gemstone, sapphire.One of the few materials that is both hardand durable, but also transparent to a broadrange of electromagnetic wavelengths.From the ultraviolet to infrared.However, the radar antenna hidden inside thenose of the F-35 is the most important partof this electronics system.This is a scanned array radar that works verydifferently to traditional mechanical radar.Phased array antennas have hundreds of tinyantennas.We can see metal plates set in rows in theF-35 phase array antenna.The metal plates have slots cut into them,and each and every one of these slots is anantenna. 1600 in total.This allows the phase array antenna to steerits radar using constructive and destructiveinterference.If two antennas release two radar waves atthe exact same time, with their peaks andtroughs line up, it will result in constructiveinterference, increasing the amplitude ofthe radio wave.However if the radio waves are set 180 degreesout of phase, matching the peak to troughsit will result in complete destructive interference,canceling out the wave completely.This is how noise canceling earphones work.They listen to the background noise and thenrelease a canceling sound wave to create silence.The phased array antenna uses this phenomenonto steer the radio waves, preventing the radarfrom becoming a giant beacon leading enemiesstraight to it.Traditional phase array antennas are passive.Meaning every antenna in the array is drivenby a single transmitter and receiver.This would mean it can only point in one direction,and if it encountered two enemy planes flyingside by side, and they split up, the passivephase array antenna would no longer be ableto track both of them.However the F-35’s phase antenna is an activephased array, meaning each and everyone ofthese antennas is an individually driven transmitterand receiver.Meaning the F-35 can track multiple targetsat once with zero moving parts.The nose cones hiding these antennas needto be transparent to radar waves, and areusually made from glass fiber composites asa result.This transparency causes issues for the plane'sradar return signature, as an antenna likethis will reflect signals.This was a much bigger issue for mechanicalradar dishes that needed to point at the enemyto keep track of them.The phased array can point towards multipletargets while staying in a single position,and this is why it is pointed skywards.To bounce incoming radar to space.The phased array antenna also acts as theplanes communication antenna, and this iscritical to the F-35s battle doctrine.The F-35 excels in the battlefield becauseof its networking abilities.Relaying information between it’s squadronThis is a huge amount of data to transferbetween aircraft and allies on the surface,and requires a high data transfer speed.However, communication comes with one glaringproblem.It announces your presence to anyone listening.It is vital that stealth planes can communicatewith each other securely, and the active phasearray antenna facilitates this.The F-35 uses the latest data link systemcalled MADL, improving on the experienceslearned with the F-22.Allowing the F-35 to quickly share data securelyfrom individual F-35s and ground based systems.This information is then sorted and presentedto the pilot in their heads up display rightin front of their eyes.Giving them unparalleled situational awareness.No need to communicate with their wingmatesif there is an adversary underneath them,the planes communicate and feed that dataright into the helmet allowing the pilot tolook underneath the plane and see the locationof the adversary themselves.This is the true strength of the F-35B.It is a networked hivemind stealth fightercapable of taking off from a ship a fractionof the size of an aircraft carrier, and returningwhile hovering in the sky like a helicopter.It’s one of the most remarkable pieces ofmilitary technology ever created.The F-35 has borrowed many lessons learnedfrom planes like the F-117 Nighthawk and B-2,planes that we have not made documentariesabout yet, but our friends over at Mustardhave, their B-2 documentary is 20 minutesof beautifully crafted story filled with stylish3D renders.If you liked this video, you will definitelylove these OriginalsYou can get access to them by signing up withthe Real Engineering link in the description.You can sign up directly to Nebula for just4 dollars a month or 40 dollars a year.An incredibly good price to help us buildthe best creator owned streaming platformin the world.Or, you can use the incredible cost savingh ack of signing up to the Nebula and CuriosityStreambundle and get both streaming services forjust 14.79 a year.Getting access to all of CuriosityStreamsaward winning documentaries and Nebula's amazingand ever growing catalog.Nebula is a game changing platform.We gathered all our favorite YouTube creatorsin one place to give us the power of a collective.Funding our best ideas for documentaries likeour Battle of Britain and Logistics of D-Dayseries, Real 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