- Star-Navi, a Shenzhen-based company, now sells access to stealth drone technology that typically has a multimillion-dollar barrier to entry as a standard package containing a spray gun.
- Basically, the technology makes the cross-section of a drone’s radar smaller and harder to track on modern radars.
- The coatings are marketed as the XRAM-C series, and three different variants are offered that address different threat radar frequencies.
While modern drone technology has evolved considerably from the rudimentary designs we first saw over a decade ago, it is becoming an increasingly important industry for militaries of most countries to utilize and counteract alike.
Two recent modern conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war as well as the US-Iran war, have demonstrated that drones are effective and often inexpensive ways to wage unconventional conflict that can often cause significant damage to a conventionally stronger adversary.
A Shenzhen-based Chinese company, Star-Navi, may have further enhanced the capabilities of multi-use and single-use drones by offering radar-absorbing coatings, normally guarded by the world’s strongest militaries, and is selling them by the container to interested parties.
A growing problem against drones
As modern drones have advanced, both commercially and militarily, the technology to stop or jam them has also become increasingly sophisticated.
Counter-drone measures, also known as Counter-UAS (C-UAS) technology, leverage a variety of technologies to detect, track, and jam or eliminate surveillance or hostile attack drones.
The US Navy, for example, has invested in lasers to eliminate swarms of drones, a capability that also has terrestrial applications.
Despite this, the most important part of neutralizing a drone is detecting it, and while RF sensors and cameras are useful, most conventional approaches rely on radar to obtain a threat signature.
Smaller drones are already notoriously difficult to track, given their tiny cross-sections, and Star Navi’s offerings will further exacerbate the situation, potentially allowing smaller militias and armies access to what is normally considered a multibillion-dollar trade secret by some of the world’s most powerful war machines.
Star-Navi’s X-RAM-C series coating comes in 3 different variants, targeting different frequencies:
XRAM‑C105: Optimized for X and Ku bands, intended to reduce the effectiveness of counter-drone systems.
XRAM‑C112: Optimized for S and C bands, intended to counter detection by surveillance radars.
XRAM‑C113B: Broadband coverage in C and X bands, offering a broader solution to detection problems.
The company says the coating is tested for heat resistance at 250 degrees Celsius for 100 hours without degradation and is sold in 1kg, 5kg and 10kg containers as a general-purpose offering. The relative ease of access to what was once a closely guarded national secret by many traditional actors raises concerns about proliferation, especially given the potential for abuse.
Star-Navi is not the only player in a market that is also attracting interest from researchers in Turkey, as well as more traditional US-based suppliers, including CFI Solutions and Intermat Defense; the latter supplies US military contractors including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
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