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Chinese scientists create a plasma stealth device to take military aircraft off the radar
- Scientists and engineers have created a new plasma stealth device that focuses on shielding key areas instead of an entire aircraft
- It could be a game-changer for military aircraft that now rely on radar-absorbent coatings and geometric designs for stealth
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Stephen Chenin Beijing
A new-generation plasma stealth device that can make almost any military aircraft vanish from a radar screen is claimed to have been developed by a team of scientists and engineers from western China.
Unlike its predecessors, which generate a cloud of plasma draped over a plane, this innovation can be tailored to fit a sensitive section of a military aircraft – areas like the radar dome, cockpit or other spots that are most prone to enemy radar detection.
This “closed electron beam plasma stealth device”, which focuses on protecting key areas instead of the entire aircraft, can be switched on at a moment’s notice to fool radar operators.
It has many advantages such as “simple structure, wide power adjustable range and high plasma density,” Tan Chang, a scientist involved in the project, wrote in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese Journal of Radio Science in December.
This novel technical solution could soon find its way onto various military aircraft to meet China’s rapidly growing demand for superior military capabilities, said Tan and his colleagues from the Plasma Technology Centre of the Xian Aerospace Propulsion Institute under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the nation’s biggest aerospace defence contractor.
Plasma, composed of electrically charged particles, interacts with electromagnetic waves in a unique way. When electromagnetic waves – such as those emitted by radar – interact with plasma, they cause the particles to move rapidly and collide, dissipating the waves’ energy and reducing the strength of the reflected signal.
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