(EurAsiaTimes) Reports in leading scientific and security journals reveal the level of research and funding going into quantum technology for military applications. Beijing and Washington have been in the middle of a quantum arms race over the past few years, drawing parallels to the Cold War.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint US-Canadian command, aims to leverage quantum radars for its Arctic stations. The onus of this project is on Professor Jonathon Baugh from the University of Waterloo in Canada. In 2018, he was working on a system, which could potentially bypass conventional radar systems by appearing benign whilst carrying out its own detection. However, the Canadian researcher highlighted that there were various engineering challenges to this project.
China on the other hand claims to have broken through such barriers. However, it cannot be ascertained whether the CETC has truly managed to overcome limitations.
In November 2018, a prototype unveiled by the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), which is the country’s leading defense electronics company, claimed that it could identify stealth aircraft in-flight. This technology claimed to leverage quantum physics to reveal the location of stealth aircraft, rendering low observable technology near obsolete. This development, if proven, could be a game-changer against US stealth dominance.
Researchers at China’s Tsinghua University intend to develop a full-sized prototype and are scouting for an industrial partner to help bring the project to fruition.
Referencing open-source intelligence, such a technology would likely work by generating an electromagnetic (EMW) storm which would serve to acquire the location of incoming stealth aircraft.
Chinese scientists have attempted to address the seemingly impossible behavior with the law of quantum physics. They explained that these high-energy particles would be able to acquire targets traditionally invisible to radar. It was further claimed that this detection would be possible from long-distance even in arduous climatic conditions. The Chinese researchers believe that this confirms a prediction by quantum theory.
China One Step Closer To ‘Hunt Down’ US’ F-35, F-22 Stealth Fighter Jets With Quantum Radar Technology
