1/72 Stealth Airplanes
The very first attempt to make an airplane invisible/unseen was done during WWI, by covering the airplane with a transparent fabric. This attempt backfired as the fabric used was so gloss that instead of making it invisible, made it more visible, as it reflected the light and made it glow.
The called Fifth-generation jet fighters is the most technologically advanced jet fighters. One of the key aspects is the Stealth. Stealth is nothing more than reduce the radar signature of the airplane, which means that an airplane with 22 m wing span will look like a footbal or a golf ball on the radar. This reduced signature is interpreted as noise by the radar and makes almost impossible to identify the aircraft untill it is too close. Other key aspect is the infrared signature: if the airplane becomes too hot due to speed, or if the jet exhaust is too hot, it may also be detected and hit by heat seeking missiles. Their design reduces its signature.
One recent rumor is that the reduced radar signature only works for most common radars, but weather radars or old long wave radars are capable of detecting them, if properlly adjusted/upgraded.
Only the aircraft developed with the aim of being stealth are included, the ones which got reduced signal area as a consequence of the design or as second intention are not included.
Nice ones, and nice collection :-)
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