Stealth technology, be it stealth platforms or stealth weapons, is the future in warfare. India is on course but there is much to be achieved in stealth technology, pointed out experts at a two-day national-level workshop on ‘Emerging stealth technology and application of nano materials’ organised by the Centre for Nanotechnology, Andhra University, here recently.
According to the experts India is on par with the other developed nations when it comes to developing naval platforms.
Andhra University Vice-Chancellor G.S.N. Raju said that stealth technology basically was about the art concealing the platforms and evading detection by the adversaries.
According to him, the technology essentially hinges upon design of the body. “We may design a body with a material that has the capacity to absorb the electromagnetic waves transmitted by a radar or design in such a way that scatters the waves and does not reflect back to the radar,” he said.
An expert in the subject of electromagnetic waves, Prof. Raju said: “We are working on designing a body which neither absorb nor scatter the waves or rays, but rather allow the waves or rays to pass through.”
Elaborating, he said, “detection is done by radars after the waves or rays reflect back to the source after coming in contact with a metal surface, be it a ship, submarine or an aircraft. If we can design a material that will be an alloy but have insulating properties, which would allow the waves to pass through, detection will become very difficult.”
Quoting examples of several stealth platforms such as F-117A fighter aircraft, B-2 bombers and Visby class and the Indian make Shivalik class warships, P.V.S. Ganesh Kumar, Scientist, Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), said that stealth features need to be balanced.
“It is all about minimising the signatures rather than total black out,” he said. According to him India is on par with others when it comes to shape and radar absorption paint but is lacking in concealing projected deck structures.
