As U.S. stealth aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor face issues with their radar-absorbent coatings peeling off—a problem compared to “molting cicada wings”—China asserts it has discovered an age-old remedy for this challenge affecting its fifth-generation fighter jets.
New disclosures from defense industry analysts indicate that advanced stealth technology may be less effective than previously thought. technology aboard China's smooth-skinned stealth fighters Its durability might be attributed to a 3,000-year-old textile advancement: the craft of silk jacquard weaving.
Modern stealth airplanes, including the F-22 and F-35 Relies on multi-layered coatings to bounce back radar waves. However, these materials break down quickly when subjected to strain.
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U.S. maintenance records indicate that even small scratches caused by high-speed flights or dust storms in desert environments can significantly reduce stealth effectiveness, necessitating repeated applications of protective coatings. radar-absorbent materials (RAM) approximately every three weeks at a cost surpassing $60,000 per flight hour, as reported by certain US media outlets.
Moreover, in areas such as Florida, humidity worsens adhesive problems, and corrosion at seaside installations additionally diminishes effectiveness.
Chinese aerospace engineers have frequently criticized these makeshift solutions. Rather, they aimed for a fundamental approach—one integrated deep within the structure itself.
As reported in a study released last month in the Chinese academic journal Knitting Industries, the solution stems from a two-layer composite material influenced by Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) Jacquard looms - a silk weaving technique originating from around 200 BC.
Through the incorporation of conductive threads within a warp-knitted “double-layered jacquard” design, scientists from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) along with Tiangong University developed a fabric capable of absorbing up to 90.6 percent of radar waves across the 8-26 GHz range. This surpasses traditional coating methods significantly.
According to Professor Jiang Qian’s research team, this material represents a blend of traditional patterns and contemporary electromagnetism.
Similar to how traditional Jacquard weavers utilized “flower books” with punched cards to store complex patterns, 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 that convert electromagnetic waves into thermal energy.
Each conductive thread is precisely positioned to direct and capture signals, similar to how ancient weavers organized silk strands to illustrate dragons or clouds, as stated in the source. researchers .
Laboratory tests highlighted significant mechanical benefits. It was discovered that the composite can endure up to 93.5 megapascals of longitudinal tensile stress—which exceeds tenfold the resilience offered by conventional coatings. This enhanced toughness originates from the knitted material’s anisotropic architecture, wherein the load-carrying threads are oriented parallel to each other. aircraft's stress vectors, reflecting the axial strength found in Han Dynasty brocades.
The Smith Chart, an electromagnetic analysis, further showed near-perfect impedance matching in the longitudinal direction, allowing 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” techniques for intricate geometric designs. By the time of the Han period, these devices advanced significantly, featuring as many as 120 heddle rods—technology later embodied in the earliest known Jacquard weaving mechanism discovered within Chengdu’s Laoguanshan Tombs.
A scholar from Beijing specializing in history mentioned that those Han looms were not solely used for producing luxurious items," but chose to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the technology involved.
They functioned akin to early binary computers, retaining weaving instructions within their physical storage units. Contemporary military engineers appear to have rediscovered this approach.
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