EADS to make planes, missiles invisible to the naked eye

Very interesting! I remember a few threads about invisibility/cloaking technology. This is the first time (correct me if I'm wrong) that a defense contractor openly talks about its plans of making aircraft invisible to the naked eye.

Related ATS threads/ATSNN News:

- The Skunk Works New Proposal: FB-22 with Active Visual Stealth!
- Aircraft Cloaking Technology
- SCI/TECH: Scientists Make Strides Toward Real 'Cloaking Device'
- Invisibility!!! Must be working

Originally posted by Zion Mainframe
This is the first time (correct me if I'm wrong) that a defense contractor openly talks about its plans of making aircraft invisible to the naked eye.

Active camouflage, optical or visual stealth, however you want to call it has been quietly worked on by several defense industry companies, Raytheon included. To my knowledge the LED's provide much better camouflage than active plastic coatings unless the background is a solid color with no anomolous imaging (blue sky with no clouds).
Zion, this is also the first time I have seen a company be so specific about this technology...
One could think something is going to be coming out of the black soon if they are talking so freely about it.

What would the algorithms for something like that involve? Photo-receptors on the other side of the... aircraft (?) analyse the colour/light level normal to the surface at that point, and the colour mix of the leds on this side is matched to reproduce the colour/light level??


I have heard rumours of 'lighting the black speck in the sky' so to speak (so it is pretty indistinguishable at 20,000/30,000 ft) - but 800 metres would require so much more, would it not?

They have been talking about Optical stealth for awhile in a number of applications. They have been hinting at a version of this to be used on future soldiers for sometime now.

Work with optical stealth for humans might have even been inspired by the Movie " Predator " If you believe the story told by the creators of the film.

EADS may be the first defense contractor to openly disclose such, other than perhaps for Boeing and its various defense divisions, but personally, this type revelation is nothing new.

Notably, Japan, Russia, the UK, the US, and a number of other countries have and are currently working on like stealth and camouflage technologies for various military applications. So in a sense, it reads to me as if EADS is simply saying, "Hey, count us in, as well."

The key to acquiring this stealth and camouflage technology will be those who first perfect its use enough for successful military implementation or application, as has happened with stealth technology itself.

I ran across an interesting .pdf on this, it may prove an enjoyable read.
Achieving Transparency With Plasmonic Coatings
Associated article:
New Theory: How to Make Objects Invisible

In any event, the technology is real, workable, and a very applicable technology for military application.
It is not a matter of 'if', but a matter of when and on what.





seekerof

[edit on 11-10-2005 by Seekerof]

Here is a see-through coat from Japan. I'm sure that this is same technology they would use on planes.

Link

Na that coat is just a gimmick. To really see how this could be done try and hunt out information on the BBCs Science Shack - Invisiblity episode where then manage to make a very good attempt at an invisible car.

Originally posted by Seekerof

I ran across an interesting .pdf on this, it may prove an enjoyable read.
Achieving Transparency With Plasmonic Coatings
Associated article:
New Theory: How to Make Objects Invisible

In any event, the technology is real, workable, and a very applicable technology for military application.

I think the shorter term techniques will not use those mentioned in the links, they appear to be in very, very preliminary stages.

From what I understood of the paper (which wasn't very much!! give me aerodynamics to that stuff anyday!!) they basically seem to be trying to make objects transparent to electric fields by cancelling out the disturbances generated electrically and magnetically, kind of like bending the field around the object so it continues unaware. However, this was only for specific wavelengths, light has many wavelengths, how this affects things I have no idea! But, I cannot see how a passive device can cope with 2 wavelengths at once (I'm using the anology of passive acoustic liners - dunno if its appliciable or not) which may render the concept a bit of a no go.

I could be, actually, make that I probably am(!), completely wrong - someone please correct me if I am!

Look up the Boeing "Bird of Prey" Technology demonstrator as it has some low observable and optical stealth features although I haven't found an detail on exactly what or how it does it

Didn't BaE systems play with all this on a hawk jet a while back??

BAE has been working on this for many years, but I don't know the details, I know that they have shared what they have with the USA though. BOO! HISS!

Originally posted by Seekerof
I ran across an interesting .pdf on this, it may prove an enjoyable read.
Achieving Transparency With Plasmonic Coatings
Associated article:
New Theory: How to Make Objects Invisible

That's merely a theoretical discussion and only works for objects of a size magnitude that is slightly smaller than the wavelength of light, which is 400-800nm, while a plane is over a million times bigger. Objects that size are already invisible to the human eye anyway and need to be viewed with a microscope.

Simon666, which of the links I provided are you referencing as being "theoretical discussions?

The mention and links I cited where not to indicate that they were being applied to aircraft or missiles, but that they had applicable properties and/or an association with the possible application thereof, Simon666.
Might want to scan over this topic?
Industry Rumor: Hypersonic Stealth funded in 2006?

The above topic mentions:

Industry rumor has it that a hypersonic "x" vehicle tech demonstrator utilizing plasma fields for both heat/shockwave reduction and radar cross section reduction (yes, plasma stealth) could recieve funding in 2006.

Sometimes, I think you read into my comments too much.





seekerof

[edit on 18-10-2005 by Seekerof]

Originally posted by Seekerof

The mention and links I cited where not to indicate that they were being applied to aircraft or missiles, but that they had applicable properties and/or an association with the possible application thereof, Simon666.
seekerof

[edit on 18-10-2005 by Seekerof]

They are very theoretical though seekerof - its extremely doubtful a practical solution will evolve from them. I think 'visual stealth' will come more from traditional natural examples (such as a cuttlefish) than from actually making objects 'dissappear' so to speak.

You are aware that the theory of evolution was very theoretical?
I can also name countless Laws of Physics and Science that were very theoretical, and yet, became Laws and substantiated applicable theories.

Bear in mind what I mentioned [as well as the link provided to Intelgurl's topic]...:

The mention and links I cited where not to indicate that they were being applied to aircraft or missiles, but that they had applicable properties and/or an association with the possible application thereof

seekerof

Originally posted by Seekerof
You are aware that the theory of evolution was very theoretical?
I can also name countless Laws of Physics and Science that were very theoretical, and yet, became Laws and substantiated applicable theories.

Bear in mind what I mentioned [as well as the link provided to Intelgurl's topic]...:

The mention and links I cited where not to indicate that they were being applied to aircraft or missiles, but that they had applicable properties and/or an association with the possible application thereof

seekerof

I can name theories that didn't make it too.

I am not doubting that they are associated to the thread, and have a possible application - its just I think that this technology will probably not mature (if ever) for a long time (easily far side of 2050).

I think it will be more a case of 'blend with the background' camouflage that will be used in the short-medium term.

Originally posted by Seekerof
Simon666, which of the links I provided are you referencing as being "theoretical discussions?

The first one. The second one is a popularized (and hence imprecise) version summarizing some of the findings.

Originally posted by Seekerof
The mention and links I cited where not to indicate that they were being applied to aircraft or missiles, but that they had applicable properties and/or an association with the possible application thereof, Simon666.

I've read the article and a similar one long before it was posted here and I can tell you it doesn't seem like it has any such possible applications due to the fact that these effects only occur when the object has a size in the order of magnitude of the wavelength of the light.

Originally posted by Seekerof
Industry rumor has it that a hypersonic "x" vehicle tech demonstrator utilizing plasma fields for both heat/shockwave reduction and radar cross section reduction (yes, plasma stealth) could recieve funding in 2006.

1. Plasmons and plasma are two different terms which you seem to confuse. Plasma is ionized gas, plasmons is a term for density waves of charge carriers in a conductive medium, this medium can be plasma but can also be a solid, like a metal, or liquid, like mercury.
2. The kind of stealth we are talking about in the second case is radar stealth, not optical stealth. The kind of radar waves involved are in the order of magnitude of centimeters to meters. That's more like the dimensions of an aircraft than

I understand your point(s) or perspective you were/are coming at or conveying now, Simon666.

Good post Simon666, and thanks for the clarification.
And thanks for your commentary, kilcoo316.



seekerof

[edit on 18-10-2005 by Seekerof]