China Builds Most Dangerous Infrared RADAR

What has happened?

• Defence industry engineers in southwestern China have built a small infrared search-and-track system,
• That can pick up the heat signature of a fast-moving aircraft from an unusually long distance, the team says.
• The medium-wave infrared system has detected and tracked civil aircraft from a distance of 285km (177 miles), according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed Chinese journal Infrared and Laser Engineeringon Friday.

About the infrared radar

• It detects heat energy in the infrared spectrum (infrared energy is invisible to the human eye).
• It displays objects based on the temperature of the object.
• Warm temperatures appear in dark shades. Cold temperatures appear in light shades.
• The chief advantage of IR imagery is that it’s not dependent on sunlight.

Why this is most powerful?

• Most infrared cameras cannot see beyond a range of 20km because the relatively long infrared waves – physically equivalent to low-energy light – are easily absorbed by the atmosphere.
• The heat-seeking radar can also emit a powerful laser beam to illuminate the target aircraft to gather more information, such as the number of windows on the plane, according to the researchers.
• Because of its small size, the device can be mounted on a car, aircraft or even satellite for a wide range of applications, including “surveillance, early warning and [missile] guidance.
• Long-distance infrared radar technology plays an important role in anti-stealth warfare.
• Even as a military aircraft equipped with stealth technology can dodge traditional radar, its body and engines emit heat.

Tested in different modes

• In distant target-searching mode, the radar can scan the entire sky in just a few seconds, faster than most existing heat seekers, according to the researchers.
• Liu’s team said it had tested the device in challenging environments, with temperatures varying from minus 40 degrees to 60 degrees Celsius (minus 40-160 degrees Fahrenheit), and its performance remained stable.
• According to the researchers, the enemy would have difficulty locating the radar because it did not emit a signal while in passive mode.
• The device would also have a higher chance of survival in electronic warfare because it was difficult to jam infrared signals with existing technology.

Worry for US & India?

• Countries, including China and the United States, are racing to develop next-generation infrared technology that could affect the outcome of a war.
• These projects include hypersonic heat seeking missiles that can identify and strike a moving target as small as a car,
• And a global early warning system based on low-orbit satellites and airships that can detect the heat produced by a hypersonic weapon from thousands of kilometres away.

Q) Which radiations are used in the treatment of muscle ache?

1. Infrared
2. Ultraviolet
3. Microwave
4. X-rays

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