As the US faces issues with aging radar-absorbent materials, China has turned to historical approaches for its advanced solutions.

As US 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.

Recently, defense industry experts have disclosed information indicating that advanced stealth technologies may 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.

Contemporary stealth airplanes, including the F-22 and F-35 Relies on multi-layered coatings to divert radar waves. However, these materials deteriorate quickly when exposed to stress.

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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 the effectiveness of stealth technology, necessitating repeated applications for upkeep. radar-absorbent materials (RAM) approximately every three weeks at costs surpassing $60,000 per flight hour, as reported by certain US media outlets.

Moreover, in areas such as Florida, humidity intensifies adhesive problems, whereas corrosion at seaside installations additionally undermines effectiveness.

Chinese aerospace engineers have frequently criticized these temporary fixes. Rather, they aimed for a fundamental solution—one integrated into the very fabric of the materials themselves.

As reported in a study released last month in the Chinese scholarly magazine Knitting Industries, the solution is found in a two-layer composite material influenced by Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) Jacquard looms - a weaving technique for silk that dates back to around 200 BC.

Through the incorporation of conductive threads within a "double-layered jacquard" fabric using warp knitting techniques, scientists from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) along with Tianjin University have developed a textile capable of absorbing up to 90.6 percent of radar signals across the frequency range of 8-26 GHz. This breakthrough 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” resembling punched cards to store complex patterns, Jiang and her team integrated stealth-enhancing structures right into the fabric’s structure. The quartz fibers serve as an insulating foundation, whereas stainless-steel threads generate resonating circuits designed to convert electromagnetic waves into thermal energy.

Each conductive thread is carefully positioned to direct and capture signals, similar to how ancient weavers would arrange silk strands to illustrate dragons or clouds, as stated by the researchers .

The 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 of conventional coatings. This enhanced toughness is attributed to the knitted material’s anisotropic architecture, wherein the load-carrying threads are oriented parallel to the direction of force. aircraft's stress vectors, reflecting the axial strength found in Han Dynasty brocades.

The Smith Chart, which is used for electromagnetic analysis, also demonstrated nearly perfect impedance matching in the longitudinal direction, enabling 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 systems to create intricate geometric designs. By the time of the Han period, these devices advanced into complex mechanisms featuring as many as 120 heddle rods—a technological precursor found in the world's earliest known Jacquard weaving apparatus discovered within the Laoguanshan Tombs in Chengdu.

A scholar from Beijing specializing in scientific history mentioned, 'The Han dynasty looms were not solely used for producing luxurious items,'" but wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the technology involved.

They functioned akin to primitive binary computers, encoding weaving instructions into tangible memory. Contemporary military engineers appear to have rediscovered this approach.

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