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SR-71

I read that it had the radar signature of a bird & that it wasn't a true location, it appeared in different locations (within a few 100 metres) of where it actually was. This is due to the design of the blended wing/fuselage, inward canted tail fins, engine mounts & blended cockpit. The reflected radar energy that wasn't absorbed by the RAM didn't return in the direction it was transmitted from causing the erroneous fixes.
 
Wiki said:
There were a number of features in the SR-71 that were designed to reduce its radar signature. The first studies in radar stealth technology seemed to indicate that a shape with flattened, tapering sides would reflect most radar away from the place where the radar beams originated. To this end, the radar engineers suggested adding chines (see below) to the design and canting the vertical control surfaces inward. The plane also used special radar-absorbing materials which were incorporated into sawtooth shaped sections of the skin of the aircraft, as well as cesium-based fuel additives to reduce the exhaust plumes' visibility on radar.

The overall effectiveness of these designs is still debated; Ben Rich's team could show that the radar return was, in fact, reduced, but Kelly Johnson later conceded that Russian radar technology was advancing faster than the "anti-radar" technology Lockheed was using to counter it.[22] The SR-71 made its debut years before Pyotr Ya. Ufimtsev's ground-breaking research made possible today's stealth technologies, and, despite Lockheed's best efforts, the SR-71 was still easy to track by radar and had a huge infrared signature when cruising at Mach 3.2 or more. It was visible on air traffic control radar for hundreds of miles, even when not using its transponder.[23] SR-71s were evidently detected by radar, as missiles were often fired at them. The flight characteristics of the SR-71 made it almost invulnerable during its service life; not one was shot down, despite over 4,000 attempts to do so.
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I don't know who put that on to Wiki but it conflicts with what I've read & what I witnessed.
If it was visible for "hundreds of miles" it would have been a doddle to have launched a missile to intercept it as they would have had ample time even at a mile+/second velocity & it wouldn't have had a 100% survival rate. At the Fairford Airshow some years back the airspace was controlled from Brize Norton approx 20 miles away. They broadcast the Tower over the sound system @ Fairford & you could here frequent requests for the SR71 to verify it's transponder & heading as they couldn't see it on radar. A nice wind up by them or it contradicts Wiki if true.
 
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The fact that they tried to shoot it down over 4000 times kinda proves wasn't very stealthy.

The levels of stealth you're talking about are even more than the f-117 had, and are supieror to the F-22's (as it's only the size of a segul on radar and is much smaller than an SR-71)
 
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