However, Chinese military experts say that if the People’s Liberation Army were able to detect and potentially neutralize American submarines in international waters, the likelihood of American military intervention in China’s surroundings would be greatly reduced. It says that it will be.
US military presence poses risk of conflict in South China Sea, Boao Forum hears
US military presence poses risk of conflict in South China Sea, Boao Forum hears
The researchers, led by magnetic physicist Zhang Yingzi of China’s Beid University, said their design improved performance by an order of magnitude while reducing cost, allowing the detector to be widely installed on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). .
The spacecraft uses superconducting coils that can detect the slightest disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field caused by deep-sea submarines.
The technology was developed by American scientists and first used on military aircraft in 1964, but was ineffective at detecting moving submarines. It took many years of research by German researchers to achieve the first practical application.
China is investing heavily in submarine detection technology. A few years ago, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences made a major breakthrough and reportedly achieved higher sensitivity than the German product.
However, the cost of this technology remains prohibitive, and each instrument contains at least six ultrasensitive superconducting magnetic gradiometers, each equipped with a pair of superconducting coils.
Conventional wisdom holds that multiple sensors are needed to accurately detect a submarine hundreds of meters deep and estimate its position, speed, and other physical characteristics.
Chinese scientists are working on a new ‘sub-killer’ that targets the US as far away as the South China Sea
Chinese scientists are working on a new ‘sub-killer’ that targets the US as far away as the South China Sea
However, the research team challenged this approach and set out to fundamentally address the cost and other issues associated with the device.
The research team noted that magnetic gradiometers are not only expensive, but also prone to mutual interference when packed closely together, which can reduce overall system performance.
A single faulty gradiometer could render the entire system inoperable, posing a challenge for military maintenance personnel, the scientists said.
The team began by digging deep into the physics principles, used mathematical formulas to show that multiple gradiometers were not necessary for submarine detection, and continued to redesign the device’s internal structure.
Chinese scientists discover ‘new solution’ that could track US submarines
Chinese scientists discover ‘new solution’ that could track US submarines
Researchers designed a probe that uses a single superconducting magnetic gradiometer and achieved a “significant” increase in accuracy compared to probes used by anti-submarine forces around the world, according to the paper. It is said that it did.
Zhang’s team increased the number of coils to four and arranged them to do the work of six magnetometers (or 12 superconducting coils).
According to the researchers, the reduction in components significantly minimizes the device’s internal noise, resulting in a cost-effective model that exceeds the sensitivity of its more expensive predecessor.
They said the simplified design would not only significantly reduce costs, but also minimize maintenance requirements and the risk of failure during operation.
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US submarine attacks unknown underwater object in disputed South China Sea
US submarine attacks unknown underwater object in disputed South China Sea
According to the paper, field tests have shown that the instrument is stable in open and complex environments and can detect very weak magnetic anomaly signals.
Zhang’s team has not disclosed specific uses for the research, but her university has close ties to the military, and most of its graduates find employment in the defense industry.
According to its website, Zhang’s key collaborators in the research are from Beijing Milestone Technology, a joint venture between government and private capital that has already developed several magnetic detectors for use in unmanned aerial vehicles and underwater detectors. It is incorporated into.