Chinese ghost radar created using high-energy microwave radiation

China announces new submarine detection technology.
Chinese scientists have used the Doppler effect to create an innovative submarine detection system. The “ghost radar,” created using high-energy microwave radiation, continuously generates electromagnetic waves that travel at near-light speeds. These low-frequency waves can penetrate underwater and detect submarines at depths of several hundred meters.

Specialists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have managed to reduce the length of the radiating array to just 100 meters, which allows these antennas to be installed on Chinese Navy ships without any problems. The high-frequency electromagnetic waves that these antennas emit create a virtual or “ghost” source of radio emission in the sky. As soon as one spot dissipates, a new one is immediately created, which provides a continuous flow of low-frequency signals.

Signals with a frequency of about 100 Hz can increase the effective scattering area of a nuclear submarine to 88 m². This means that underwater targets can be detected by “conventional magnetic detectors,” the scientists say.
According to the developers, they used the structure of the antenna array to approximate step-by-step the high-speed movement of Doppler signals in space. As a result, they were able to achieve a movement speed close to the speed of light. Thus, it became possible to significantly reduce the signal frequency, as well as increase the pulse width.

The Doppler effect occurs when the frequency of the wave perceived by the observer differs from the frequency of the radiation due to the movement of the source. As the source and the observer get closer, the observed frequency increases, and as they move away, on the contrary, it decreases.

The technology could be used to communicate with surface and underwater vessels at distances of up to 6,000 km, SCMP reports. have already taken place. The next step, according to the developers, will be to reduce the wavelength to 30 meters to increase the range of applications of the “ghost radar”.