Can China’s new stealth tech challenge Trump’s Golden Dome?

Chinese scientists have unveiled a new material that could undermine the effectiveness of the new US missile defence system – known as the Golden Dome – proposed by President Donald Trump. The material may be used as a stealth material that is effective against both infrared and microwave detection and could prove suitable for high-speed aircraft and missiles. Modern battlefield surveillance relies heavily on infrared and microwave detection. Infrared systems detect thermal radiation emitted by objects, while microwave systems use radars that emit and receive reflected microwave signals to locate targets. As detection technologies evolve, stealth materials have also advanced, with many now designed for multispectral stealth – covering everything from visible light to microwaves. However, key military assets often operate in high-temperature environments. These temperatures stem from external heat sources such as aerodynamic heating or internal ones such as exhaust nozzles, causing intense thermal radiation across the infrared spectrum. Moreover, elevated temperatures can degrade the stealth performance of conventional materials or even cause structural failure. As a result, there is an urgent need for materials that not only provide multispectral stealth but also enable effective thermal regulation. Led by Professor Li Qiang at Zhejiang University, a research team has developed a high-performance stealth material that achieves stealth in the short-wave infrared (SWIR), mid-wave infrared (MWIR), long-wave infrared (LWIR), and microwave ranges – even at temperatures as high as 700 degree Celsius (1,292 degrees Fahrenheit). The findings were published on March 24 in the journal Nano-Micro Letters. To demonstrate the material’s stealth performance, the team compared it with a standard blackbody, a term used for something that absorbs electromagnetic radiation. When heated to 700 Celsius, the material exhibited a radiation temperature of around 422 Celsius to 268 Celsius lower than that of the blackbody. In terms of radiation intensity, it was 63.6 and 37.2 per cent lower than the blackbody in the MWIR and SWIR bands, respectively. The key innovation lies in the material’s composite structure, integrating multilayer films and a microwave metasurface. Its top layer serves as a protective barrier against moisture, while the bottom layer helps it adhere to the underlying surface. This multilayer film is also precision laser-etched to allow microwave transmission without compromising infrared performance. “Our device achieves a maximum operating temperature and heat dissipation capabilities that surpass the current state of the art for simultaneous high-temperature IR and microwave stealth,” Li said in his paper. On May 20, Trump announced the government will build the “Golden Dome” missile defence system – an American counterpart to Israel’s “Iron Dome”, in the next few years. The proposed system aims to counter ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, and cruise missiles, and will reportedly include space-based tracking sensors. L3Harris, a defence contractor that previously collaborated with the US Missile Defence Agency to launch a satellite for tracking hypersonic ballistic weapons, plays a key role in this effort. In an interview with The Washington Times, Ed Zoiss, President of Space and Airborne Systems at L3Harris, said the company’s satellite constellation uses infrared technology to track missiles from space. “[The satellite] sees heat signatures all over the Earth,” Zoiss explained. “There may be fires burning somewhere in California. All kinds of different heat signatures. “And the goal of this satellite is to find that dim heat signature of a hypersonic weapon and track it. We’ve proven over the last 13 months that this can be done from space.” He added that L3Harris satellites provide critical tracking data to missile interceptors aiming to destroy hypersonic threats. If infrared tracking proves to be the primary method for the Golden Dome system to detect and intercept hypersonic weapons, materials that offer combined infrared and microwave stealth – like the one developed by Li’s team – could significantly reduce the chance of detection. Beyond its ability to avoid detection, the material also does a great job releasing heat. When heated to 700 Celsius, it gave off heat much more effectively than typical metals. In conditions similar to flying at over twice the speed of sound, its surface stayed 72.4 Celsius cooler than that of standard materials like molybdenum. This helps keep equipment more stable and less likely to overheat under aerodynamic heating. “The fabrication process of this device involves simple techniques such as deposition and laser etching,” Li said. “This makes it scalable and easy to implement in large-area applications. “This work paves the way for advanced thermal emission control, multispectral information processing and robust thermal management in extreme environments – offering great promise for both military and civilian technologies,” he added.

Can China’s new stealth tech challenge Trump’s Golden Dome?

Chinese scientists develop new material which could prevent a proposed US missile defence system using infrared and microwave detection