New Delhi: India’s first indigenously developed stealth initiative, created by scientists at IIT-Kanpur, marks a significant advancement in stealth technology for defense applications. Experts believe it will enhance the operational capabilities of India’s armed forces and bolster their ability to maintain strategic superiority, thereby strengthening national security.
Launched in November, the Anālakṣhya Metamaterial Surface Cloaking System is a textile-based broadband metamaterial microwave absorber which offers near-perfect wave absorption across a broad spectrum, significantly enhancing stealth capabilities against Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging.
Simply put, this innovation is a camouflage technology that will help the defence forces dodge satellite detection and provide effective protection from missiles that use radar guidance. Once commercially viable, it also promises non-military applications.
ThePrint explains the new technology and its applications:
What it is
Air Vice Marshal Praveen Bhatt—Managing Director and CEO of Meta Tattva Systems Pvt Ltd, the industry partner for this project—said that the Anālakṣhya Metamaterial Surface Cloaking System is a comprehensive multi-spectral camouflage system, which is effective in visual, near-infrared, thermal infrared (IR), and radiofrequency spectrum.
A metamaterial uses small structures to create resonances and interact strongly with radiation.
“This technology uses such properties to create strong absorption over broadbands of frequencies. The biggest challenge was to create the absorption in thin layers compared to the wavelength to ensure microwave stealth,” Bhatt said.
He said that the inclusion of emissivity control structures, and paints yield the desired performance against thermal infrared imaging.
Experts said that this technology—which will eventually be developed into multiple end-use products like cloaks, asset covers, clothing etc—will give a major boost to the Indian defence services.
Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson (retd), former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, said that the biggest threat to military movements was the SAR. He said that developments in stealth technology—like the latest development from IIT-Kanpur—can greatly assist defence applications.
“When we realised in 2019 that the biggest threat to military movements is SAR, it was unbeknownst to us that the teams at IIT-K had already developed this ground-breaking invention,” Mathson said.
But the technology also holds promise for non-military applications.
Bhatt said that this technology will be valuable in environments requiring protection against microwave radiation, effective EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) shielding, and improved electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
Some of the areas where the technology could be useful are wearable medical devices to enhance signal accuracy by shielding against external electromagnetic noise; enhancement of worker safety by developing it as protective cloaks for workers on mobile phone towers and masts to shield against prolonged microwave radiation exposure; and in test labs by providing radiofrequency (RF) shielding in testing environments to protect sensitive equipment during calibration.
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Indian-made stealth technology
While the use of metamaterial for its camouflaging abilities has been experimented with for the first time by IIT-Kanpur, research around this technology has been happening in many countries.
However, scientists claim that despite early initiatives in the field of metamaterials, limited success has been achieved, even by advanced nations, in mitigating the SAR challenge from the military satellites using RF-wide bands.
Researchers from IIT-Kanpur said that Anālakṣhya offers near-perfect wave absorption across a broad spectrum, significantly enhancing the ability to counter SAR imaging. It also provides protection from missiles that use radar as guidance.
“Tailored for modern warfare, this cutting-edge innovation strengthens operational capabilities, providing India’s armed forces with advanced tools to maintain strategic superiority and ensure national security,” a senior scientist at IIT-Kanpur said, requesting anonymity.
In a statement, IIT-Kanpur said that the design is tailored for “operational imperatives, making it a crucial asset in modern warfare and surveillance.”
“The technology underwent extensive laboratory and field testing between 2019 and 2024, proving its efficacy across diverse conditions,” the institute said in the statement.
How does SAR foil military operations?
SAR satellites are powerful military tools that help locate enemies and decide engagement strategies. The SAR satellites are designed to penetrate conditions like thick clouds and the night sky to provide clear images of military assets in any part of the world.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) documents explain that unlike optical imagery, which is a passive data collection technique based on emitted energy, SAR imagery is created from the reaction of an emitted pulse of energy with physical structures (like mountains, forests, and sea ice) and conditions like soil moisture.
The SAR technology is extensively used to study Antarctic icebergs, track oil spills, and map wetlands. However, as this technology is gaining popularity, it is also making it increasingly difficult for armed forces to conceal assets and avoid military movement detections.
Bhatt said that India’s innovation comes at a time when the relevance of SAR-enabled ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems) is evident in global conflicts.
“For instance, in the Ukraine-Russia war, despite being an inferior force, Ukraine has effectively leveraged SAR-based intelligence from the western systems to target and disrupt Russian operations. This has underscored the immense power of ISR and the urgent need for effective countermeasures,” he said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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