EurAsia Times claims that Chinese scientists have made a major upgrade to weather radars that allow them to detect "tiny" objects in the atmosphere, which, if true, means that Chinese weather radars may be able to detect stealth fighter targets, including the F35.
This incident also stems from an interesting incident, last year, I don't know which country's weather balloon flew to an altitude of about 20,000 meters on the west coast of the United States, the United States did not notice this incident for a while, or netizens saw it and posted a photo The United States only realized it. In order to deal with this high-altitude balloon, the United States sent the F22, but the F22 was very embarrassed, because of the flight altitude and missile range, it took 3 missiles to hit the balloon, so the F22 became the first 5th generation aircraft with a combat record, and it was like to mention the title of "balloon killer".
Weather balloons are relatively small, and they are very slow, drifting slowly in the atmosphere, which is a relatively difficult target for traditional radar to monitor. Therefore, this may pose a certain threat to some countries with underdeveloped radars, because such balloons can be used both for meteorological monitoring and for collecting other information. According to the report, China may be able to deal with such problems more easily in the future.
The media also mentioned that this so-called upgrade is not a military project that costs a lot of money, but a relatively ordinary upgrade, that is, cheap and efficient, just through the upgrade of software and other systems, such a major transformation can be achieved, and there is no need to replace the existing radar facilities with additional equipment. With this technology, we can not only monitor small aerial objects, but also continue to use it for weather monitoring and forecasting, demonstrating our wisdom and innovation.
And the most important problem is that I don't know how many weather radars there are in the country...
How many weather radars does China have?
As of 2023, the China Meteorological Administration has a number of provincial, municipal, and county-level meteorological bureaus. Specifically: 31 provincial-level meteorological bureaus (including provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government), about 330 prefecture-level meteorological bureaus, and 2,700 county-level meteorological bureaus. In order to better serve the Met Office, we currently have more than 200 large and medium-sized Doppler weather radars, as well as several wind profile radars, rainfall radars, and other types of radars, such as dual-polarization radars.
Doppler weather radar can detect precipitation particles in the atmosphere and measure their moving speed, thereby helping meteorologists more accurately predict extreme weather phenomena such as rainfall, storms, tornadoes, etc., mainly covering large and medium-sized cities, important economic regions, and natural disaster-prone areas across the country, and is widely used in weather forecasting, disaster warning, aviation safety, agricultural meteorological services and other fields. The new generation of Doppler weather radar has the characteristics of high resolution, high sensitivity, and fast scanning, which can provide accurate meteorological data in real time.
It is worth mentioning that the meteorological units on the mainland also have a considerable number of anti-aircraft guns, which are used for operations such as artificial rainfall. It is estimated that the meteorological departments at the provincial, municipal and county levels have deployed thousands of anti-aircraft guns for artificial rain enhancement (snowfall). However, the weather anti-aircraft gun has been adapted internally to adapt the ammunition suitable for precipitation, and it is possible to modify it for military use, but it does not match military needs in terms of structure, purpose and type of projectile.
China's meteorological department has considerable strength in the world, with a large number of advanced ground-based weather radars, and also operates a number of meteorological satellites, such as the Fengyun series of satellites, which not only play an important role in the civilian field, but also have potential military uses:
Fengyun-1, the first generation of polar-orbiting meteorological satellites, mainly used for global meteorological monitoring; Fengyun-2: a geostationary meteorological satellite used to monitor weather conditions in China and surrounding areas; Fengyun-3 polar-orbiting meteorological satellite, with higher observation accuracy and multiple observation capabilities; The Fengyun-4 geostationary orbit meteorological satellite can provide meteorological data with high temporal and spatial resolution.
Meteorological satellites are capable of providing a wide range of weather and environmental information, and understanding weather conditions can help develop and adjust operational plans, especially in aviation and maritime operations. Weather conditions have a significant impact on the success of a missile launch, and data from meteorological satellites can help select the best time and path for launch. Some military communications and navigation systems rely on weather information, and data from meteorological satellites can help ensure the stable operation of these systems.
Why is it so difficult to detect balloons, the United States or the people are the first to know when they photograph the military
In January 2023, a large balloon floated off the west coast of the United States, which was photographed by the American people and posted on social media, but the air defense system that the US military is proud of did not find this "huge" balloon at first. The Pentagon said that such targets are difficult for US radars to detect, and there have been incidents of balloons entering US airspace in the past. "We missed observations about such targets, and this is a difference in our consciousness from that of China," Air Force Gen. Glenn van Herck, head of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), said after the balloon was shot down by an F-22 on Feb. 4, 2023.
High-altitude balloons are usually made of lightweight materials, such as polyethylene or other plastics, and their large surface area but the material's ability to reflect radar waves is weak, resulting in a very small radar reflecting area and usually flying at higher altitudes (usually between 20-40 km), which is beyond the primary monitoring range of most conventional radar systems and is difficult to detect by radar systems. And radar systems are not perfect, there may be blind spots, especially at very high altitudes, and in order to reduce false alarms, radar systems often filter out some low-speed, small-sized or non-threatening targets, which can lead to high-altitude balloons being ignored.
High-altitude balloons also have weak visual and infrared signatures, making them difficult to detect by photoelectric and infrared sensors. Whereas, air defense systems focus primarily on fast-moving, potentially threatening targets, such as fighter jets, drones, and missiles, rather than slow-moving high-altitude balloons. Some high-altitude balloons may carry reflective signal suppression devices or use low-reflective materials, making them virtually invisible on radar screens, which may be the reason why the United States did not detect high-altitude balloons in the first place.
The most explicit mention of this news is that China has improved its detection capabilities for such targets. And this detection capability can be used for more than just high-altitude balloons. Stealth fighters also rely on various methods to reduce the radar reflection area, which is consistent with the low detectability of high-altitude balloons. Being able to detect high-altitude balloons means that China's air defense system may be able to detect the F35, which is not very good news for neighboring countries that have introduced F35 fighters, and the same can detect the F35, which may also threaten the F22.
How strong is China's detection capability
The ability to detect targets with small radar reflection areas has been significantly enhanced by improvements in radar technology, including high-altitude balloons and stealth aircraft such as the F-35, reflecting significant advances in radar detection technology. Low-frequency radar has a unique advantage in detecting stealth targets, because the design of stealth aircraft is mainly aimed at the reflection of high-frequency radar, and the quantum radar technology under development uses the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, which has the potential to greatly improve the detection ability of stealth targets and break through the limitations of traditional radar. Through distributed multi-point reception, multi-angle target information can be formed, and the detection accuracy and resolution of stealth targets can be improved.
Comprehensive use of radar, optical and infrared sensor data, the fusion and utilization of a variety of sensors, can achieve more comprehensive airspace monitoring; The advanced data processing algorithm can fuse the data of different sensors to improve the recognition rate and accuracy of small targets. Deploy high-density radar networks in key areas to form a multi-level and multi-angle airspace monitoring system; Respond quickly and cover unexpected targets with a mobile radar system to achieve flexible response.
The improvement of China's radar detection capability not only provides more accurate weather forecasts and natural disaster warnings in the civilian field, but also significantly enhances the country's air defense capability in the military field. It may be possible to detect stealth aircraft such as the F-35 to improve airspace security and air defense combat capabilities; It can effectively monitor and track low-altitude and slow-speed UAVs, improve the monitoring capability of low-orbit satellites, and ensure space security and strategic advantages.
Thanks to our advances in materials science (rare earth materials), we have significantly reduced the cost of many radar equipment productions, allowing us to use as little equipment as possible. Radar antennas can be arranged everywhere in the sea, land, air and sky, and the effect they can play is far beyond imagination. The Chang'e project is also related to the detection capability. The details are as follows:
As part of China's lunar exploration program, the Queqiao-2 satellite is not only used to relay data from the Chang'e-4 probe, but also works with ground antennas to form a huge antenna array. This array can perform functions similar to those of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), i.e., through interferometry, which greatly improves resolution and detection capabilities. Through multiple antenna arrays in space and on the ground, they can work together to improve the detection ability of long-distance targets, and can achieve high-sensitivity, high-resolution detection and communication.
We have also deployed a large number of ground-based antennas throughout the country for communications, navigation and reconnaissance. For example, the Type 815 electronic reconnaissance ship (such as the "Uranus") is equipped with advanced electronic reconnaissance equipment and is capable of collecting and analyzing various electronic signals, including radar signals and communication signals. There are also a lot of mobile radar vehicles on land, etc. These radar facilities are likely to work together to capture and analyze electronic signals from foreign warships, aircraft, and other targets, provide electronic warfare support, and monitor movements in the surrounding waters in real time.
At present, our detection capabilities have made the United States dare not get too close. In addition to antennas, our fighters are also improving, and when encountering foreign fighters, they are no longer only defensive. In recent years, there have been many incidents of close contact in the skies over the South China Sea, and our fighters have taken more daring measures to directly drive away foreign planes.