Comments by "Valen Ron" (@valenrn8657) on "Thermal scan shows F-35 fighter jet in flight" video.

  1. Omar Iw  Modern stealth is not Star Trek's cloaking device and it's closer to submarine stealth.   Like submarine's stealth (e.g. reducing engine power), IR signature can be reduce by reducing engine thrust. Modern stealth only reduces detection range.  
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  2. Omar Iw Any detection has to factor in the range. Near sea level, the air is denser so when the jet moving through the air it heat up more. For hover abilities, F-35B has empty weight of about 32,300 lbs hence total thrust from lift fan and main engine would be close to F-35B's empty weight + fuel. When flying with aerodynamic lift, engine power can be set lower e.g. 50 percent of 28,000 lbf (pounds of force). My point, heat generated from engines can be lowered.  https://i.imgur.com/qpJf15El.jpg F-18 has nearly zero effort with thermal signature management i.e. lacking F-35's fuel to cool the body of the aircraft. http://defense-update.com/20160812_f35_thermal.html While the video highlights the extremely hot air exhaust during vertical hovering, it also shows the striking low thermal contrast of the skin, canopy and engine bay, against the sky, which testify to the Lightning II’s effective thermal masking. While the aircraft and exhaust are clearly visible against the sky background in the flypast, it is clear that such image is taken with maximum gain, which isn’t likely to be useful for normal operation. In other shots that are tuned to show the exhaust heat, the aircraft itself almost blends with background, as it would be, when seen in a front view that masks most of the jet exhaust. Low contrast objects would be less detectable by thermal imagers, at long range. For aircraft it also improves protection from heat seeking missiles.
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  3. http://defense-update.com/20160812_f35_thermal.html  While the video highlights the extremely hot air exhaust during vertical hovering, it also shows the striking low thermal contrast of the skin, canopy and engine bay, against the sky, which testify to the Lightning II’s effective thermal masking. While the aircraft and exhaust are clearly visible against the sky background in the flypast, it is clear that such image is taken with maximum gain, which isn’t likely to be useful for normal operation. In other shots that are tuned to show the exhaust heat, the aircraft itself almost blends with background, as it would be, when seen in a front view that masks most of the jet exhaust. Low contrast objects would be less detectable by thermal imagers, at long range.
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  4. You haven't factor in the range between IR and aircraft.
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