Posted on 10/24/2025 8:24:50 PM PDT by Red Badger
Chinese researchers claim they have developed a heat-resistant coating for fighter jets to absorb radar waves, and to help the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) catch up with the United States in stealth technology.
According to a paper published October 14 in Advanced Materials, Peking University and Harbin Engineering University scientists have created a lightweight, ultra-thin “metasurface” that combines flexibility, strength, and electromagnetic absorption.
The coating, only 0.1 millimeter thick, can reportedly endure temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) and maintain performance under high-speed airflow, conditions typical of supersonic flight, according to the South China Morning Post.
New smart coating
Led by researchers Cui Guang and Liu Zhongfan of Peking University, along with Wang Huihui of Peking University of Technology and Li Maoyuan of Harbin Engineering University, the study describes how the team used a chemical vapor deposition technique to deposit graphene directly onto a silica fabric substrate.
The result was a graphene-silica fiber membrane (G@SFM), a cloth-like material that is both lightweight and thermally stable.
While the initial version of the material was ineffective at dispersing radar waves, researchers enhanced its electromagnetic properties using a subtractive laser patterning process.
This created a tunable metasurface, a structured layer that manipulates how waves interact with the surface, allowing the coating to absorb radar signals across various frequencies.
The finished material is durable and highly flexible, with adjustable electrical resistance and low surface density.
It also demonstrated stable radar absorption after being heated to 600 degrees Celsius in open air for five minutes and under sustained vacuum heating at 1,000 degrees.
When subjected to airflow at 200 meters per second (0.12 miles per second), the coating lost less than 1 percent of its radar absorption capability.
“Integrating this metasurface directly into an aircraft’s thermal insulation layer can reduce radar reflection to -42 decibels without adding significant weight or altering the aircraft’s structure,” the researchers wrote.
They said the technology could be used on stealth aircraft, satellites, drones, and hypersonic platforms exposed to extreme thermal and electromagnetic conditions.
Giving fighters a radar-cloaking edge
Potential civilian applications include electromagnetic shielding for high-temperature electronics and adaptive stealth systems for space missions.
The research highlights China’s progress in developing advanced radar-absorbing materials, an area long dominated by US aerospace firms.
At the 2025 Changchun Airshow, observers noted that the J-20 stealth fighter’s radar-absorbent surface appeared more durable and easier to maintain than that of US aircraft.
By contrast, American stealth fighters such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II rely on fragile, maintenance-intensive coatings.
F-22’s iron-based absorbent paint is prone to peeling and corrosion, requiring costly upkeep in climate-controlled hangars.
Photos of a corroded F-35C aboard the USS Carl Vinson in July underscored the vulnerability of current US coatings to saltwater and humidity.
A 2023 US Department of Defense report estimated that the F-35A costs $28,500 per flight hour, second only to the F-22A’s $33,500, partly due to high maintenance demands.
China’s new metasurface technology, along with other experimental materials such as a graphene-based MXene film developed in June by Sun Yat-sen University, suggests that the country is steadily advancing toward next-generation stealth coatings that combine radar, infrared, and thermal concealment in a single, resilient layer.
Yeah, but their background came from European schools.
The learning process is global and always has been.
It's how they operate.
https://a-capp.msu.edu/article/a-brief-analysis-of-the-chinese-intellectual-property-regime/
Pretty easy since we exported all of the manufacturing to their country and then put secret stuff on the Internet. Hacking occurs only through Internet connectivity. Why are secrets kept on systems with outside access? Who are the stupid ones?
Many post to imply that the Chinese are not smart enough to innovate. That is what raises my hackles. Of course the CCP steals stuff, that is what nations do when they are in a hurry to achieve parity. We do exactly the same thing whenever possible, as does any other nation in the world.
They're not just cutting corners to save time and money. They're unwilling to adopt standards and adhere to them. They embrace corruption and are indifferent to suffering, including suffering by users of the products they make.
Communal ideology leads to a glaring lack of personal pride. Personal accountability is near-nonexistent.
Yeah but what kind of research have the done in LGBTQR2&^. Our universities are way ahead in that area.
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