Chinese media

State-run Chinese media is claiming that the People’s Liberation Army has been able to track the U.S. Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighters over the East China Sea. While the Chinese report might be easily dismissed as propaganda—it is not beyond the realm of possibility

. In fact—it’s very possible that China can track the Raptor. Stealth is not a cloak of invisibility, after all. Stealth technology simply delays detection and tracking.

First off, if a Raptor is carrying external fuel tanks.

as it often does during “ferry missions”—it is not in a stealth configuration. Moreover, the aircraft is often fitted 

with a Luneburg lens device on its ventral side during peacetime operations that enhances its cross section on radar.