As US stealth aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor struggle with peeling radar-absorbent materials—a issue compared to "molting cicada wings"—China asserts it has discovered a traditional remedy for this problem affecting its fifth-generation fighter jets.
New disclosures from defense sector experts indicate that advanced stealth technologies may technology aboard China's smooth-skinned stealth fighters Its durability might be attributed to a 3,000-year-old textile advancement: the technique of silk jacquard weaving.
Modern stealth airplanes, including the F-22 and F-35 Relies on multi-layered coatings to divert radar waves. However, these materials deteriorate quickly when exposed to stress.
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US maintenance logs reveal that even minor abrasions from high-speed flight or desert sandstorms can slash stealth efficacy, forcing crews to reapply radar-absorbent materials (RAM) approximately every three weeks, with expenses surpassing $60,000 per flight hour, as reported by certain US media outlets.
Moreover, in areas such as Florida, humidity intensifies adhesive problems, whereas corrosion close to seaside installations additionally undermines effectiveness.
Chinese aerospace engineers have frequently criticized these makeshift solutions. Rather, they aimed for a fundamental approach — an innovation embedded within the very fabric of the materials themselves.
As reported in a study released last month in the Chinese scholarly magazine Knitting Industries, the solution hinges on a two-tier combined material modeled after Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) Jacquard looms - a silk weaving method originating from around 200 BC.
By incorporating conductive threads into a warp-knit “double-layered jacquard” design, scientists from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) along with Tiangong University developed a fabric that can absorb up to 90.6 percent of radar waves within the 8-26 GHz range, surpassing traditional coating methods.
According to Professor Jiang Qian’s research team, this material represents a “fusion of traditional patterns with contemporary electromagnetism.”
Similar to how traditional Jacquard weavers utilized “flower books” with patterns akin to perforated cards to store complex designs, Jiang and her team incorporated radar-evading structures right into the fabric’s structure. The quartz fibers serve as an insulating foundation layer, whereas stainless-steel threads generate resonating circuits designed to convert electromagnetic waves into thermal energy.
Each conductive thread is positioned precisely to direct and capture signals, much like how ancient weavers would arrange silk threads to portray dragons or clouds, as stated by the researchers .
The laboratory tests highlighted significant mechanical benefits. It was discovered that the composite can endure up to 93.5 megapascals of longitudinal tensile stress—which surpasses the strength of conventional coatings by over tenfold. This enhanced resilience is due to the knitted material’s anisotropic design, wherein the load-carrying threads are oriented parallel to each other. aircraft's stress vectors, reflecting the axial strength found in Han Dynasty textiles.
The Smith Chart, used for electromagnetic analysis, demonstrated nearly perfect impedance matching in the longitudinal direction, enabling radar waves to delve into rather than mirror, as per the study.
Archaeologists link Jacquard’s roots back to the looms of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), where craftsmen used manual “multi-heddle” mechanisms to create intricate geometric designs. These devices advanced significantly during the Han period, featuring as many as 120 heddle rods, evolving into highly refined machinery. This technological progression culminated in what was essentially an early form of the Jacquard weaving system, evidenced by the discovery of such a device among the artifacts found in Chengdu's Laoguanshan Tombs, marking it as the world’s earliest known example.
A scholar from Beijing specializing in scientific history mentioned that those Han dynasty looms were not solely used for producing luxurious items," but wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the technology involved.
Just as early binary computers stored weaving codes in physical memory, today’s military engineers appear to have rediscovered this approach.
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