Why are the stabilizers on planes like the F-18 and F-22 slanted? The tail configuration is usually referred to as canted vertical tails, since the vertical stabilizers are canted away from being 90° straight up and down. As illustrated in the below photo of the F-18 Hornet, this design has become increasingly common on modern military aircraft. Canted vertical stabilizers on the F-18 Other well-known examples of this trend include the F-22 Raptor, F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The feature traces its roots back to the 1960s when canted tails were incorporated into the SR-71 Blackbird and its predecessors, as shown below. Canted vertical stabilizers on the SR-71 Lockheed designers included these canted tails based on early research into stealth technology. As far back as the 1940s, engineers had realized that perpendicular surfaces, like vertical tails, generated strong radar returns. By canting the tails away from 90°, the radar cross-section (RCS) of ...
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