China says it has developed a new radar system that can spot US stealth fighters at incredible dista

[Eugene]

Source: Business Insider

China says it has developed a new radar system that can spot US stealth fighters at incredible distances

Ryan Pickrell Jun. 11, 2019, 6:46 PM

China has reportedly developed an over-the-horizon maritime early warning radar system that its creator claims can detect stealth aircraft far beyond visual range, an advanced capability that could threaten US fifth-generation fighters operating in the area.

Liu Yongtan, the team leader for the radar project, told Chinese media his high-frequency surface wave radar emits "high frequency electromagnetic waves with long wavelengths and wide beams" that travel along the surface of the sea, the Global Times reported Monday, citing a recent interview with Naval and Merchant Ships magazine.

The radar system, part of China's ongoing efforts to prevent a sneak attack by enemy stealth assets, can purportedly detect enemy air and naval threats hundreds of kilometers away in any weather condition.

The 83-year-old creator says the radar is also "immune" to anti-radiation missiles, which track the point of origin for electromagnetic waves.

Liu's radar system, which won him the country's highest scientific award, has been named China's "first line of defense."

-snip-

Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/china-says-new-radar-can-spot-stealth-fighters-at-range-2019-6

[EarnestPutz]

1. There's probably more to this that I understand, but...

....I'm pretty sure that "high frequency" and "long wavelengths" are contradictory.

[House of Roberts]

2. Something that travels along the surface of the sea

isn't likely to spot a plane at fifty thousand feet either.

[Beakybird]

3. I'm sure that with just $500 billion

we can develop a new generation of stealth fighters.

[EarnestPutz]

4. You can almost hear Dwight Eisenhower rolling over in his grave.

Always going to need new weapons. Always going to need new wars. Lots of money in that racket.

[krispos42]

5. I thought we had reached the point...

...where radar could detect the shockwave of air that a high-speed fighter displaces as it moves?

Yeah, the radar beam hitting the skin may be absorbed or deflected, but the air it's shoving and compressing as it flies?

We have weather radar that can peek inside tornadoes, which have air movement significantly slower than fighter jets.