by Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News
China claims to have modified a low-cost, hand-held commercially available device so that it can detect US stealth aircraft which – if true – would be a major breakthrough.
Scientists at the 38th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation reportedly used $68,000 spectrum analyzers that are typically used in the telecommunications industry locate emissions from what is known as low-probability-of-intercept radar (LPIR).
LPIR is a core component of US stealth technology. The systems have minimal signatures, allowing them to avoid detection by enemy passive radar devices. LPIR is standard technology on the F-35 and F-22 stealth fighters as well as the B-2 bomber. Plus, they can be used in drones submarines and missile defense systems.
Interesting Engineering explained LPIR’s advantage as “whispering across a crowded room using a secret language, randomly changing times and tones while everyone else shouts. You can hear other people clearly, but they can’t realize you’re talking.”
LPIR uses frequency hopping and noise-like wave-forms that are hard to detect, allowing the US to detect enemy systems while staying undetected – in theory. It’s believed LPIR can be detected by high-resolution wideband receivers and advanced signal analysis algorithms.
But those countermeasures are expensive. If the report from China is accurate, what scientists have done is significantly cut the cost for sophisticated detection. The device they tested, known as the TFN RMT744A, is considered telecom equipment that has proven to meet military standards in field tests.
Reportedly, the device has been able to detect the source of radar emissions within a half inch. It’s believed that the device uses advanced signal processing and machine learning to overcome LPIR’s techniques, such as rapid frequency hopping.
China has been pouring money and effort into finding ways to combat American superiority in stealth technology.
Last fall, Chinese simulations aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the country’s defenses against stealth aircraft reportedly found vulnerabilities in both the F-35 and the F-22.
The simulation involved an attack on Shanghai by planes based in Japan. According to the South China Morning Post, a newspaper in Hong Kong, American-built stealth fighters could be detected from 112 miles away by radars in China.
That would compromise the stealth planes ability to conduct precision ground attacks.
The newspaper said Chinese researchers used an algorithm to turn radar data into detection ranges and warning times. And because of the limited number of radars that were used in the simulation, it’s possible that the results might be conservative – in other words, the Chinese radars may even be more effective.
*** Jim Morris is a former executive and senior producer from ABC News and Bloomberg TV
