Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York have utilized a technique based on the quantum properties of photons to develop the possible first “unjammable” aircraft radar detection system. Traditionally, anti-detection methods include drowning radar signals out with noise or launching false signals.
Menhul Malik and his colleagues have developed a system capable of detecting aircraft without “[the aircraft] being capable of countering monitoring” by harnessing the power of quantum imaging.
“In order to jam our imaging system, the object must disturb the delicate quantum state of the imaging photons, thus introducing statistical errors that reveal its activity,” Malik said.
The system utilizes polarized photons to detect and identify objects; when the photons collide with an object, they “bounce back” to form an image. If the object makes an attempt to intercept or alter the information conveyed by the photons, the action creates a disruption that is registered by the radar system. According to the research team, because the process is irreversible, the technique is incapable of being jammed.
The research team tested the theory by bouncing photons off an airplane-shaped target and recording measurements of the polarization error rate in the return signal. When the signal was deliberately altered, the interference was noted.
