| KOLKATA: India could soon be the third country in the world, after the US and France, to have a stealth bomber fighter aircraft in its armoury.
The Kolkata-based Indian Association for Cultivation of Science (IACS) has developed a technology to convert ordinary light combat aircraft into stealth jets that would go undetected on radar. The first stage of the experiment, which commenced in 1999, has been successfully concluded. The defence ministry has approved the technology and has given the go-ahead for "full-scale production" to begin. It is expected to start in about six months’ time.
According to IACS scientists associated with the project, the technology uses a special material to construct a shield on the plexi-glass canopies. It is the glass cover of the pit that usually betrays the presence of an aircraft as it reflects the laser beam that is emitted to catch them on the radar. The shield will cover the pit and deflect the laser beam on the shield in all directions.
"This will make sure the aircraft remains undetected on the radar. We are not sure if the same technology is used in France and the US. It has been developed in our own way and using our own techniques. If it works out well, this would be a big step for defence technology in India," said a scientist.
Defence officials said the advanced combat aircraft made in the US and France have a similar shield on the plexi-glass canopies. "This shield gives the canopies a golden tinge. This special layer scatters the laser beams emitted from a radar site either on the ground or in the air (AWACS). We’ve been trying to develop this technology for some time. The shield developed by IACS will boost our indigenisation efforts," an official said.
During the exercises at Kalaikunda where US F-16s took part, IAF officials got a closer look at the gold-tinted canopies. They also got a chance to test the technique by using ground-based radar. Interestingly, the F-16s from Singapore did not have the shield as the technology has not been transferred.
The defence authorities were so impressed with the new technology that they decided to fast-track the process and start full-scale production of the canopy following a test at Jodhpur recently.
"They had the option of going for a pilot project initially but they chose to skip it," said an IACS official. Fighter jets like Jaguars, MiGs, Mirages and Sukhois will now be fitted with this special canopy to enhance their stealth capabilities
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This is the type of technology Pakistan can only dream of |
