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Printer FriendlyReprinted with permission from Popular Mechanics, September
1999.
© Copyright The Hearst Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Time for a stealthy checkup
A new 3D radar camera will help ground crews ensure that stealth aircraft can indeed remain invisible to enemy radar. The Holographic Three-Dimensional Radar Camera records images of an aircraft's radar reflection and translates them into a colored image that shows where the radar-absorbing material isn't sufficiently thick.
The camera, which was developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., will allow ground crews to more rapidly identify otherwise invisible defects in the stealth material that could cause planes to stand out like blimps on enemy radar.
The system is being tested with the F-117A, but also can be used with other stealthy craft.
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