China Claims New Radar Can 'Unstealth' F-22 and F-35 Fighter Planes

What You Need to Know: Amid high U.S.-China tensions, Chinese scientists claim to have developed a radar capable of tracking American F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters, using signals from China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system.

-While the radar’s stealth-detection potential has sparked interest, these capabilities remain unverified. The technology is reportedly mobile, cost-effective, and may operate with other satellite systems if BeiDou is jammed, avoiding signal emissions that could reveal its position.

-However, the radar’s practical application against U.S. stealth jets has yet to be proven, as testing with actual F-22s is currently hypothetical, based on a recent study in a Chinese defense journal.

China’s New Radar Claims: Can It Detect U.S. F-22 and F-35 Stealth Jets?

Has China developed a new radar system that can pick up U.S. F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets?

Yes, according to a recent article.

As tensions between China and the United States remain high over Taiwan and the South China Sea, the two countries continue to invest on their military forces both to be ready for a potential future conflict but to also increase their deterrence and prevent war.

A New Chinese Radar?

To begin with, a brief explanation of stealth is necessary. When an aircraft has stealth capabilities it doesn’t mean that it is invisible to the naked eye. An F-22 or F-35are as visible as a Royal Air Force Spitfire from World War Two. Instead, stealth technology makes an aircraft harder to detect on a radar screen and thus invisible, at least for a while, on sensors. How that works is a combination of aircraft structure, special coats of paint, sensors, and other stealth technology.

Now, China claims to have developed a radar that could overcome the stealth capabilities of the F-22 Raptor and detect it from afar.

According to an article by the South China Morning Post, Chinese scientists have developed new radar technology that can detect and tract F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets. The new radar uses signals from China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system.

According to the report, the new radar is also quite cheap, mobile, and doesn’t emit signals that could reveal its location to electronic warfare assets Also, it can use other satellite frequency banks, like the U.S. GPS. Europe’s Galileo, or Russia’s GLONASS if the BeiDou is jammed.

However, the actual application of the radar is questionable. To begin with, the Chinese scientists behind the new radar haven’t tried to detect an F-22 Raptor—and it’s not like it is easy. Moreover, right now it seems that the new radar’s claimed capabilities against stealth aircraft are hypothetical only and part of a peer-reviewed study published on the Chinese Journal of National University of Defence Technology. And it also seems that the whole discussion about the F-22 Raptor came up because the scientists used an image of an F-22 in their study to illustrate potential targets for the new radar. So, the new Chinese radar might be able to track the F-22 Raptor but that isn’t verified as of now.

The first operational stealth fighter jet in the world, the F-22 Raptor specializes in air superiority missions. In a war with China, the F-22 Raptor would be at the forefront of the fighting, especially during the opening days of the conflict, with the job of clearing the skies from enemy aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force doesn’t just wait and watch these developments. Congress has approved a package worth several billion of dollars to upgrade the existing fleet of F-22 Raptors. The new upgrades are aimed to keep the aircraft competitive for several more years by upgrading its sensors and allowing it to carry newer weapon systems.

About the Author

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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