Is Russia's New Stealth Technology a Game-changer?

Russia’s Roselectronics has announced a breakthrough in stealth technology by developing a new material capable of absorbing 95% electromagnetic radiation emitted by radar.

Unlike current stealth technology that uses radar-absorbing paint, the Roselectronics- developed material can be attached to the most prominent surfaces of an aircraft to deflect radiation. The implication of this development is that a Su-57 sized fighter jet will appear the size of a shoulder-launched drone on radar.

Using a glass fiber backing with a metal core, the thin-layer material can be used for the manufacture of aircraft parts. “Creating a structural radar-absorbing material has long been a problem in the modern military aircraft industry. Existing types of aircraft stealth coatings need to be periodically re-painted.

The new fiberglass material with a reduced reflection coefficient does not require maintenance,” Rostec, the parent company of Roselectronics said.

The stealth material was developed by the Moldova-based Central Design Bureau of Special Radio Materials (a subsidiary of Roselectronics) for the manufacture of engine compressor blades - one of the most noticeable parts in the radio range, Rostec said.

“Our prototypes have already successfully passed the required factory tests,” said Aleksey Dymovskikh, General Director of the Central Design Bureau of the Republic of Moldova. Current stealth technology such as that applied on the American F-35 aircraft works by careful shaping of the airframe and the application of radar absorbing iron ball paint. However, the iron ball paint could lead to surface corrosion when exposed to salty water.