Quantum Radar Could Make Stealth Technology Obsolete

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but it is very interesting non the less. Didn't know they were doing this in a lab setting

That's why Canadian scientists want to up their country's spy-spotting game in the arctic by replacing their traditional radar stations with powerful "quantum radars," powered by one of the enduring puzzles of quantum physics. [Supersonic! The 11 Fastest Military Planes] 00:06 01:11 The phenomenon known as "quantum entanglement," which involves creating pairs or groups of particles whose fates are forever tied, might hold to key to seeing through stealth aircraft's radio-repelling shields. But a functional quantum radar has never been tested outside of the lab. This week, researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada announced that they're taking a big step forward in doing just that.

Quantum Radar Could Make Stealth Technology Obsolete

a reply to: bigx001

Holly crap. Who wrote this article?

First he gets quantum entanglement wrong (as usual for a non scientific publication). But then he also gets confused by photons and thinks that the quantum radar uses light and not radio.

Btw even for a quantum radar the target still has to reflect something back. So no, it wont make stealth obsolete.

originally posted by: moebius
a reply to: bigx001

Holly crap. Who wrote this article?

First he gets quantum entanglement wrong (as usual for a non scientific publication). But then he also gets confused by photons and thinks that the quantum radar uses light and not radio.

Btw even for a quantum radar the target still has to reflect something back. So no, it wont make stealth obsolete.

Yes, but if you put quantum in the name of something it is instantly 5000% better.

Actual scientific fact.

And my usual response. Oh look. Stealth is obsolete. Again.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
And my usual response. Oh look. Stealth is obsolete. Again.

They need quantum stealth.

Yet most countries are still developing stealth tech.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Makes me laugh when people say it tbh. That's why most countries are trying for stealth aircraft or low observable at the very least.

a reply to: Woody510

My second favorite is the comment that stealth doesn't work, because one F-117 was shot down.

That is stupid of coarse it works to a degree .
Yo still get a immage but it can jump around or even look like a flock of birds .
all the stealth does is have the angles that scatter the radar making so very little reflects back to the source .
May have taken a wile to learn but not so hard once you know the tricks .

Wasn't there an article recently that went over how the chinese were working on quantum radar as well?

Stealth was dead in that article as well.

My first thought was will this "quantum radar" have the ability to see those pesky UFO's? If so we'll probably never hear about it.

a reply to: grey580

While conventional radars transmit radio waves to reflect off of targets, a quantum radar instead uses entangled photons, via fiber couplers, quantum dots or other methods. The entangled photons bounce off of the targeted object back to the quantum radar, which can extrapolate the position, radar cross section, speed, direction and other properties of the targeted object from the return time of the photons. Also, attempts to spoof the quantum radar would be immediately noticed, since any attempt to alter or duplicate the entangled photons would be detected by the radar.

popsci.com, 2016 - China Says It Has Quantum Radar: What Does That Mean?

Not only working on but have one working! But then again, the original story comes from state sponsored media.

Light still has to "bounce off" a target. The easiest way around that is never let it bounce back! A double negative reflective index metamaterial should do the trick.

The report of stealth's death are greatly exaggerated!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

The maximum range of their radar is 60 miles. Which is well within release range of weapons. It might get them more time to target incoming LO weapons, but that still won't be much time.

a reply to: moebius

By Brandon Specktor, Senior Writer

This guy did. He's supposedly a senior writer at a science magazine...

Neat.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

It's easily defeated by layered metamaterials:

OSA Flexible Metamaterials for Stealth Applications at THz frequencies

Then there are less exotic materials like vantablack which absorb the vast majority of light(98 to 99% in this case), which may provide protection.

Quantum does not mean infallible and this article is hyped enough to make people believe it is.

a reply to: Zaphod58

The wiki entry says there is a "bright microwave cloud" to target the QR on.

The obvious thing to avoid quantum radar is to NOT fly into that cloud!

Like projectvxn says, there are ways to avoid a quantum conundrum without deploying exotic tech.

Quantum illumination is basically a scheme that you could (in theory) adapt to most sorts of radar systems to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. So it may help in some ways against some sorts of stealth, but by no means is it a "stealth killer"

People are getting caught up on photons equal "light" in this thread...

Also, this would be more useful as an offensive LPI-like radar than a defensive one given the inherent range difficulties...

a reply to: moebius

you misread it, the author is not confusing the two, i think you are. what you seem to be missing is that the "quantum radar" will indeed be working with photons, which is indeed not alike standard radar...

the only way to not be detected by such would be something that allows photons to pass through it completely unhindered. good luck with that one...

One photon in a pair would be contained at the radar station, while the second would be transmitted into the sky. When that second photon strikes something in the sky — say, a stealth bomber — it would bounce off and be deflected, and its return time would reveal the bomber's position and speed. Stealth planes try to hide from radio waves, so light-based methods would be much more effective against them. And any attempt to scramble or alter the photon that hits the bomber would instantly be reflected in the state of the stationary photon, because the two are entangled

a reply to: NobodiesNormal

Photons are light or any form of electromagnetic radiation, such as microwaves, which radar does use.

A photon is a type of elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic field including electromagnetic radiation such as light, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force (even when static via virtual particles). The photon has zero rest mass and always moves at the speed of light within a vacuum.

en.wikipedia.org...

From the bit you quoted:

One photon in a pair would be contained at the radar station, while the second would be transmitted into the sky. When that second photon strikes something in the sky — say, a stealth bomber — it would bounce off and be deflected, and its return time would reveal the bomber's position and speed.

Apart from the quantum entanglement bit, that is literally exactly how radar works.

Stealth planes try to hide from radio waves, so light-based methods would be much more effective against them. And any attempt to scramble or alter the photon that hits the bomber would instantly be reflected in the state of the stationary photon, because the two are entangled

Radiowaves are light, just not visual light, so I don't know what the author is getting at here. Does he mean visual light? Cause using visual light has its own issues and if it were used then it wouldn't be radar, it would be ladar, and there's a reason ladar isn't used over radar. It's affected by the weather and atmospheric haze for example.

Secondly, it wouldn't be instantaneous, since information cannot be sent at greater than the speed of light. The bit I quoted before the one above states that a photon needs to be reflected back, in the next sentence it states instantaneous!? In reality it still needs to be reflected back, just like a normal radar.

Thirdly stealth aircraft typically do not "scramble" or "alter" the photon. They absorb it or reflect it back away from the transmitter. Quantum radar as described in the article would make jamming much more difficult, since any radiowaves sent back to interfere with the receiver wouldn't be entangled with the photons kept there. Maybe updated jammers could do this. Anyway, this would increase the usefulness of stealth shaping and negate the usefulness of electronic warfare.

What I suspect here is that "Quantum Radar Could Make Stealth Technology Obsolete" is going to generate a lot more clicks (and mislead a lot of people) compared to say "Quantum Radar Could Make Radar Jamming Less Effective". Click. Bait.

My understanding (and this is mainly from listening to people who seem to know what they are talking about since I don't understand quantum physics) is that quantum radar increases the SNR of a radar, which increases detection and tracking ranges, and makes it more difficult to jam.