Since the 1990s, there have been rumors about the use of plasma stealth technology in Russia’s next-generation fighter jets, but it turned out to be false news in the end. Russia may indeed have studied the plasma stealth technology of fighter jets, but it is far from reaching the practical stage.
However, there is indeed a plasma stealth technology in history, which is the predecessor of the SR-71 "Blackbird" strategic reconnaissance aircraft-born in the CIA A- in the 1960s 12 "Bull Cart".
Although the A-12 is designed to fly at high altitudes at a speed of Mach 3, it is still not enough to counter the Soviet Union’s rapidly evolving air defense system, so the aircraft also needs to minimize its radar The cross-sectional area reduces the distance found by the Soviet air defense radar.
As a result, the A-12 became the first military aircraft in history to actually apply radar stealth technology. It had the most advanced stealth shape at the time and was made of composite materials and coated with radar absorbing. The absorbing structure of the coating.
even Lockheed has specially developed a cesium fuel additive for A-12, which can generate plasma in the afterburner after the engine is burned. By virtue of the characteristics of plasma to absorb and attenuate incident electromagnetic waves, it prevents rear-shooting radar waves from entering the engine tail nozzle to produce strong reflections.
But the problem comes again. Cesium fuel additives can only generate plasma behind the tail of the aircraft and cannot cover the fuselage. Therefore, the CIA requested the development of equipment for the A-12 that can be installed in other parts of the airframe to generate plasma.
After some demonstration, it was finally decided to install a series of electron guns on the surface of the A-12 fuselage to emit charged particles to generate plasma. The CIA requires the electron gun to be small enough to fit on the leading edge of the wing to help cover up radar reflections from the shock cone of the engine intake.
A typical electron gun has a hot cathode to generate electron flow. Under the action of the high-voltage electric field between the anode and the cathode, the thermionics accelerate and move towards the anode at high speed, thereby obtaining electrons with high kinetic energy. bundle.
However, the electron beam of the cathode ray tube is generated in the vacuum area, and how to release it into the surrounding environment becomes a challenge. For this reason, Westinghouse designed an exhaust electron gun that allows the electron beam to leave the electron gun through an opening at one end. This strange device has been tested on the A-12 since 1964.
Westinghouse has manufactured at least four electron guns, enough to equip two aircraft, but the project proved unsuccessful in the end. Because the electron gun will produce X-ray radiation in flight and ground testing, and this kind of radiation is fatal to the camera film in the A-12 Q cabin and will cause premature exposure.
Finally, this plasma generator was abandoned by the CIA and was not actually used. However, due to confidentiality, people still have no way of knowing the stealth effect of the device?
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