China Reveals Prototype Configuration Of Jam Resistant And Counter-Stealth 'Quantum Radar
ΣΧΟΛΙΟ ΙΣΤΟΛΟΓΙΟΥ : Είναι μια πάρα πολύ σοβαρή είδηση, διότι έτσι οι Δυτικοί χάνουν το αβαντάζ-πλεονέκτημα της " αορατότητας" και του αιφνιδιασμού έναντι των Κινέζων. Άλλωστε το έχουμε ξαναπεί.... κάθε stealth τεχνολογία, είναι σαν μια καινούρια
κλειδαριά. Λίγες μέρες μετά την κυκλοφορία της, όλα τα κλεφτρόνια της
γειτονιάς, έχουν στα χέρια τους αντικλείδια.Τους Σίνες τους ενδιαφέρει περισσότερο η αποκάλυψη των στελθ και όχι η χρήση τους. Η τεχνολογία αποκάλυψής των stealth υπάρχει, μένει να μπει σε εφαρμογή.
China claims to have revealed a prototype of an advanced quantum radar that is resistant to jamming and may be able to detect stealth aircraft.
The system’s operation is rooted in proven science and could be
game-changing, but the Chinese still face significant development
challenges in turning it into an operational capability.
The state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) brought a mockup of their quantum radar,
which might have also been only a smaller scale model, to the biennial
Zhuhai Airshow, which opened its doors on Nov. 6, 2018, and has a wide
array of military technology on display. CETC says that its 14th
Research Institute has been working on the system for years and first
tested it in 2015.
The
new type of radar “is expected to solve the traditional bottleneck [of]
detection of low observable target detection, survival under electronic
warfare conditions, platform load limitations, etc.,” according to a
CETC brochure, which a reporter for Aviation Week
obtained at Zhuhai. That same journalist attempted to attend a press
conference about the system, but was asked to leave after officials
informed them it was for Chinese media only.
The basic principle behind a quantum radar
isn’t overly complex in of itself. A traditional radar emits a beam of
electromagnetic energy, which then reflects off objects in the distance,
allowing the entire system to register their return signiture and
position with varying degrees of specificity.
A quantum radar does essentially the same thing, but using photons that are “entangled”
together after a single beam of light is split in half. One of the two
new beams passes through a converter that sends the particles traveling
onward at a microwave frequency to bounce off objects like a normal
radar. The full system would convert the particles back into the visible
frequency as they returned to the radar’s receiver.
The second
beam doesn’t do much actively, but serves an immensely important
purpose. A phenomenon called quantum entanglement means that the pairs
of photons that appear at the point a beam of light is split otherwise
have a tendency to operate identically regardless of how far they are
apart.
What this means is that the quantum radar should be able to
register the paired photons in both streams and record only the signals
it gets back from particles that have a partner. This would make the
system more accurate since it would be able to quickly eliminate signals
from other sources, such as ground clutter when tracking targets at low
altitude or operating in a maritime role. In the video below, a researcher at the Dutch research institute TNO explains the basic principles behind a quantum radar.
In principle, this would also
give a quantum radar the ability to immediately disregard outside radio
frequency “noise,” make it far less vulnerable to traditional jamming,
which often involves flooding the receiver with so many signals, or
sending out false or misleading signals, that it is impossible to
distinguish targets of interest. In the inverse, the photons may not
necessarily trigger existing radar warning receivers on hostile
aircraft, leaving their crew unaware that someone has detected and is
tracking them.
On top of these benefits, the quantum radar should be able to identify stealth planes, missiles, and ships.
Existing radar absorbent materials are not specifically designed to
absorb or defuse these particles. Stealthy shapes might still deflect
the photons and cause them to lose energy to some degree, but the
system’s ability to isolate only the activities of the entangled photons
theoretically means that it should be able to detect even a very weak
signal by cutting out all of the background noise.
These same
basic principles of quantum entanglement, if scientists can truly
harness them, may have other military applications, as well. China is
also reportedly developing satellites carrying “ghost imaging”
cameras, which might be able to take pictures of stealth aircraft from
space, even at night. You can read more about that proposed system here.
US Army
An image US Army scientists produced using a ghost imaging camera during a test.
A
network of quantum radars could provide an important defense against
China’s potential opponents, chiefly the United States. The U.S.
military is investing significant resources into stealth aircraft, such
as the U.S. Air Force’s future B-21 Raider and existing B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and the tri-service F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The U.S. military is also waking up to the need to improve its
electronic warfare capabilities, with various systems, such as the U.S.
Navy’s Next Generation Jammer, now in development.
CETC claims that it has demonstrated its quantum radar and detected targets out to 60 miles
during tests on China’s Northwestern Plateau. The firm has not given
any details about the test targets or the exact parameters of the
experiment, such what other natural or man-made obstacles might have
been present, or images or video showing the full system in operation.
These
are important factors for judging the true performance of CETC’s
prototype. While photons experience quantum entanglement, they also
suffer from a related phenomenon known as quantum decoherence.
At extended ranges, the link between the particles becomes less
pronounced and they may break free entirely, eliminating any potential
benefits from recording the movements of the shared streams.
USAF
A B-2 stealth bomber, one of the aircraft a practical quantum radar might be able to readily detect.
At
that point, the quantum radar is essentially just a normal radar using a
different type of energy beam. Scientists have posited that the process
of converting the one stream of photons to a microwave frequency would
help prevent decoherence.
Still, an operational quantum radar
might need to be relatively large and have a significant power source in
order to generate a beam of particles that is powerful enough to detect
targets at extended distances. We have no way of knowing how large
CETC's experimental prototype actually is.
This, in turn, would
make them prime targets for an opponent in the opening phases of a
conflict. Size and power requirements also present challenges for
low-frequency anti-stealth radars that China, Russia, and others have been exploring, as well. Those arrays are large and generally immobile.
Their
detection capabilities are also limited to identifying the presence of a
stealth aircraft in a broad area and under certain conditions. Pairing
them with quantum radars could produce a valuable layered sensor network
in the future. Linked together, a low-frequency radar would cue the
quantum radar to search a specific vector for a more accurate bead on a
stealthy target.
Imaginechina via AP
A Chinese JY-27A low-frequency anti-stealth radar.
Despite
its obvious optimism about quantum radar, CETC was still careful in how
it described the actual state of its prototype, too. The work, so far,
has “laid an important theoretical and experimental basis for further
research,” the brochure Aviation Week obtained noted.
While
the benefits of quantum radar are clearly enough for China to continue
investing in the concept, but it remains to be seen when, if ever,
they’ll be able to move it out of the laboratory and onto the
battlefield. The technology is likely still years away from reaching a
practical state.
China claims to have revealed a prototype of an advanced quantum radar that is resistant to jamming and may be able to detect stealth aircraft.
The system’s operation is rooted in proven science and could be
game-changing, but the Chinese still face significant development
challenges in turning it into an operational capability.
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