How visible would a flying super be on radar?

[Unit04]

Originally Posted by Gorkamorka

Side question:
Can the flying super be targeted by a guided missile?

Heat seeking? Probably not but there may be some heat from air friction.
EDIT-Flaming or jetpack type supers excluded, of course.

Radar guided? Probably. That uses a smaller wavelength which is great when you already know where to find your target.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Gorkamorka

Can the flying super be targeted by a guided missile?

A guided missile can target anything, including an empty volume of space, unless there's some restriction on its guidance system.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Anthony

A guided missile can target anything, including an empty volume of space, unless there's some restriction on its guidance system.

If you're assuming "guided" only means fly-by-wire or radio controlled, sure. You can't target a laser-guided missile at an empty volume of space at all - nothing to bounce the laser off of.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Bruno

You can't target a laser-guided missile at an empty volume of space at all - nothing to bounce the laser off of.

That's what I meant by restrictions on the guidance system, though I think this distinction is why it's called semi-active laser guidance. If we assume we're talking about guidance systems in general, not just active guidance systems, there are zero air to air or surface to air missiles actually optimized for shooting at humans but if there's a known demand for shooting at supers it would be perfectly possible to build IR, optical, or radar homing missiles optimized for supers.

[The Colonel]

If you can bounce a radar beam off him, a radar guided missile should be able to hit him - although I'd go with a proximity burster because a hard impact round will probably struggle to activate.

In fact, any guided SAM should be able to target him if you can illuminate him with the guidance system ... and that's the tricky part.

[Proteus]

The consensus seems to be that low, bird-like speeds (in the tens of mph) will be filtered out from most radar systems, but more useful, airplane-like, traveling speeds (in the hundreds of mph) will show up as odd, potentially even like an unauthorized missile launch.

So how widespread is radar coverage around the continental United States? Are fast-flying supers in pretty good shape as long as they stay a few dozen (?) miles away from metropolitan airports, major military bases, and the Mexican border, or is it dangerous to turn on your Enhanced Move (Air) just about anywhere?

(And obviously a super will set off all kinds of alarm bells if she attempts to fly from San Diego to Hawaii for a clandestine vacation weekend.)

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Proteus

So how widespread is radar coverage around the continental United States? Are fast-flying supers in pretty good shape as long as they stay a few dozen (?) miles away from metropolitan airports, major military bases, and the Mexican border, or is it dangerous to turn on your Enhanced Move (Air) just about anywhere?

Define 'dangerous'? The FAA (in the real world) doesn't have rules for flying humans, but as long as you obeyed the rules for appropriate types of aircraft (e.g. ultralights) they probably won't have a whole lot of problems with you.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Define 'dangerous'? The FAA (in the real world) doesn't have rules for flying humans, but as long as you obeyed the rules for appropriate types of aircraft (e.g. ultralights) they probably won't have a whole lot of problems with you.

On the other hand, if you're mis-identified by the Chinese as a missile launch - especially one that seems to be headed roughly China-ward - you may have caused a significant problem. So.

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Define 'dangerous'? The FAA (in the real world) doesn't have rules for flying humans....

I should have specified: the super in question is in a campaign where the general public doesn't know superpowers exist, so the heroes usually try to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

Having F-15s scrambled to your location probably qualifies....

[Proteus]

Originally Posted by Bruno

On the other hand, if you're mis-identified by the Chinese as a missile launch - especially one that seems to be headed roughly China-ward - you may have caused a significant problem. So.

Do the U.S. and China really scan the entire Pacific Ocean surface for cruise missiles, or would you only have a problem on a ballistic trajectory?

(Obviously, we don't really *know* -- or those who do can't *say* -- but I suspect the effort and expense is impractical.)