Hide and find stars
Chinese researchers claim that they can detect enemy stealth fighter jets using radiation from SpaceX’s Starlink network.
As the South China Morning Post reportsthe team used a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone as a stand-in for such an aircraft for an experiment. Using a ground radar system, the team spotted the small drone thanks to radiation emitted by a Starlink satellite, which was flying over the Philippines at the time.
And yet stealth aircraft are designed to be less visible to radar and to reflect electromagnetic radiation better thanks to their unusual shapes.
The team claims that its new detection method “is not affected by the three-dimensional shape and surface material of the target,” according to the researchers’ paper published last month in the journal Science. Journal of Signal Processingas quoted by the SCMP.
This means the system can “provide significant advantages in detecting small and invisible targets,” which could be a potential advantage for the Chinese military on the battlefield.
Stealth Package
The idea is that when an aircraft flies between a satellite and an antenna on the ground, it can scatter electromagnetic waves from the satellite. These waves can be picked up by radar on the ground to identify targets.
Thanks to the thousands of Starlink satellites SpaceX has launched so far, scientists now hope to use disruptions in high-frequency radio signals to track stealth aircraft.
It’s a surprising new direction of research, especially given Chinese hostility to the Elon Musk-led company’s broadband constellation. In 2022, the South China Morning Post reported that Chinese researchers developed ways to Shooting down Starlink satellites if they ever pose a threat to national security.
So far, the team has only tested their method on a drone flying at relatively low altitudes. It remains to be seen whether the Starlink radiation can reveal larger and harder-to-detect targets, such as stealth aircraft.
Moreover, as the SCMP China already uses anti-stealth radar along its coast to identify and track US fighter jets.
But it’s a smart idea anyway. Instead of shooting down Starlink satellites, the constellation could be used to help the Chinese military.
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