11 July 2024

China: ‘Impossible’ radar simulation tracks 10 hypersonic missiles at Mach 20

Christopher McFadden

Chinese scientists claim they have developed a new radar system that can track multiple hypersonic missiles traveling up to Mach 20. A form of microwave photonic radar, the new system has a range of 373 miles (600 km) and can even distinguish real targets from false alarms.

Developed by a team led by Professor Zheng Xiaoping from Tsinghua University’s Department of Electronic Engineering. , the new radar demonstrated impressive accuracy in ground-based simulations. The microwave photonic radar is small and lightweight, making it suitable for loading onto air defense missiles or planes.

Under these tests, the radar estimated a missile’s distance at nearly 22,966 feet per second (7 km per second) with an error margin of just 11 inches (28 cm).

During the tests, the radar also yielded an unprecedented 99.7% accuracy in estimating the missile’s speed.

Next-generation radar

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the team successfully addressed the challenge of creating and analyzing high-precision radar signals by integrating lasers into the radar design. This breakthrough allows information to be transmitted between essential points at the speed of light.

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