Anālakṣhya, India's Defence Game Changer

IIT Kanpur has announced a breakthrough in stealth technology, which would make tanks and fighter aircraft invisible, or near-invisible to enemy radar.

IMAGE: IIT Kanpur launches the Anālakṣhya Metamaterial Surface Cloaking System, a revolutionary technology for defence applications.
This textile-based broadband Metamaterial Microwave Absorber offers near-perfect wave absorption across a broad spectrum, significantly enhancing stealth capabilities against Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging.
The Anālakṣhya MSCS is the brainchild of Professor Anantha Ramakrishna from the department of Physics; Professor Kumar Vaibhav Srivastava from the department of Electrical Engineering; and Professor J Ramkumar from the department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur, developed with their team of talented students: Gagandeep Singh, Dr Kajal Chowdhary and Dr Abhinav Bhardwaj, along with other PhD scholars. Photograph: Kind courtesy @IITKanpur.X

High-technology cooperation between indigenous defence industry and academia has begun yielding results.

On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) announced a breakthrough in stealth technology, which would make combat systems like tanks and fighter aircraft invisible, or near-invisible to enemy radar.

Designated a 'meta-material surface cloaking system' (MSCS), this has been named the Anālakṣhya by its inventors in IIT-K.

It is of major interest to the Defence Research & Development Organisation in its development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) -- a 'stealth fighter' that is being engineered to be near-invisible to the enemy's air defence radar.

The technology has undergone extensive laboratory and field testing between 2019 and 2024, proving its efficacy across diverse conditions.

The system is currently under acquisition by the Indian armed forces, signalling its strategic importance to national security.

According to a statement, 90 per cent of the Anālakṣhya MSCS is sourced indigenously.

In a significant move towards industrial production, the technology has been licensed to a private company Meta Tattva Systems, which will oversee its manufacturing and deployment.

IMAGE: At the unveiling of Anālakṣhya: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command, Indian Air Force and Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson and Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar at the event along with Professor Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT-Kanpur, Professor Tarun Gupta, Dean of Research and Development, IIT-K, Air Vice Marshal Praveen Bhatt, Director, Meta Tattva Systems, Air Commodore Ajay Chaudhari and Brigadier Abhinandan Singh. Photograph: Kind courtesy @IITKanpur.X

Stealth systems avoid detection by enemy radar through two devices.

First, by engineering its external surface with small jagged panels that scatter radar waves, rather than large flat surfaces that reflect back radar waves to be detected by enemy radar antennae.

The second device that renders battlefield systems such as stealth fighters hard to detect is their surface composition.

Flat, metallic surfaces enable detection by reflecting radar waves. In contrast, absorptive surfaces absorb a high percentage of the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) waves.

'This textile-based, broadband, meta-material microwave absorber offers near-perfect wave absorption across a broad spectrum, significantly enhancing stealth capabilities against SAR imaging,' IIT-K said on Tuesday.

Developed by a team of IIT-K researchers, this system sets a new benchmark in multispectral stealth capabilities, offering transformative applications in defence, national security, and specialised industries.

The Anālakṣhya MSCS not only offers wave absorption across a broad spectrum, it also provides effective protection from missiles that use radar guidance.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com