Indian researchers develop new stealth material
By Bhavya Khullar
New Delhi, March 31 (India Science Wire): Indian scientists have developed a
new material to make warships, aircrafts, and other defense assets invisible to
enemy radars.
The new material can absorb microwave radiation coming from enemy radars
and thus prevent the radiation from getting reflected back to the detectors at the
radar site. Radars work by emitting microwaves through a transmitter. The
waves travel to the enemy aircrafts, submarines and other targets, and get
reflected from their surface. Then, a detector senses the reflected waves and
identifies the targets.
Radars are of five types- L, S, C, X, and K, depending upon the frequency of waves
on which they operate. Modern warfare uses X-band radars as they employ high
frequency microwaves that can detect aircrafts and submarines located
thousands of miles away.
To escape detection by radar, warships are made using two types of materialscarbon fibers and ferrite composites. Both materials absorb microwaves.
Compared to carbon fibers, ferrite composites have several additional
advantages. They are stable at high temperatures, highly flexible, strong, and
resistant to corrosion.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur and Defense
Laboratory, Jodhpur have made a new ferrite composite. Named FMAR80, the
new material is made by binding Nickel zinc ferrite powder in layers of a
specialized rubber called NBR (Acrylo-Nitrile Butadiene Rubber). A simple and
energy-efficient chemical process is used to produce the material in less than 12
hours.
“FMAR80 can be used as a microwave absorber for strategic applications such as
microwave stealth”, scientists have observed in their study published in journal
Scientific Reports. The team members included Lokesh Saini, Manoj Kumar Patra,
Raj Kumar Jani, Goutam Kumar Gupta, Ambesh Dixit and Sampat Raj Vadera.
(India Science Wire)