How visible would a flying super be on radar?

Proteus · 11-18-2011, 02:33 AM

Just how visible would a flying human being be on typical radar systems, in a campaign that mixes cinematic supers with reasonable realism? I understand the answer may be different for aviation, weather, and military systems.

Note that I'm talking about a Supers-style unsupported human being using paranormal powers to fly in mid-air, not the Oregon man who lofted his lawn chair with an assortment of weather balloons. So far as my very limited knowledge goes, weather balloons are made to be radar-reflective, but regular human flesh may well absorb or be mostly transparent to some radar frequencies. (That said, we are made of water, which weather radar detects....)

So how worried should my Supers character be when she takes off near a small private airport, or a major municipal one, or a U.S. military base? Will she remain largely invisible to radar, or be written off as an ambiguous but unlikely bit of noise in the system, or cause scrambling of police and/or Air Force assets to investigate (depending on speed) an unauthorized drone aircraft / unknown missile?

Does it help much against radar if she flies low down ("nap-of-the-earth mode"?) instead of hundreds or thousands of feet in the air? Are there any realistic tricks involving special fabric for a costume, etc. which would help avoid detection?

11-18-2011, 02:33 AM	#1
Proteus Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Houston, TX	How visible would a flying super be on radar? Just how visible would a flying human being be on typical radar systems, in a campaign that mixes cinematic supers with reasonable realism? I understand the answer may be different for aviation, weather, and military systems. Note that I'm talking about a Supers-style unsupported human being using paranormal powers to fly in mid-air, not the Oregon man who lofted his lawn chair with an assortment of weather balloons. So far as my very limited knowledge goes, weather balloons are made to be radar-reflective, but regular human flesh may well absorb or be mostly transparent to some radar frequencies. (That said, we are made of water, which weather radar detects....) So how worried should my Supers character be when she takes off near a small private airport, or a major municipal one, or a U.S. military base? Will she remain largely invisible to radar, or be written off as an ambiguous but unlikely bit of noise in the system, or cause scrambling of police and/or Air Force assets to investigate (depending on speed) an unauthorized drone aircraft / unknown missile? Does it help much against radar if she flies low down ("nap-of-the-earth mode"?) instead of hundreds or thousands of feet in the air? Are there any realistic tricks involving special fabric for a costume, etc. which would help avoid detection?