Chinese scientists build world’s first deep sea radar that detects high-flying aircraft

Researchers in China have developed a radar that sits on the seabed and can detect and track aircraft flying high above

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A newly developed deep sea radar could turn China’s submarine fleet from prey to predator as it locates and tracks aircraft that the submarines can then target. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 26 Jan 2025Updated: 4:44pm, 26 Jan 2025

China’s intelligence gathering network has achieved a significant technological breakthrough that could reshape the future of sea battles.

In a secret location, an acoustic sensor array deployed on the seabed at a depth of 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) has successfully detected and tracked a fixed-wing aircraft flying at an altitude of 5,000 metres, according to scientists involved in the project.

This groundbreaking deep sea radar has the potential to turn China’s submarines from prey to predator in the game of anti-submarine warfare.

If an aircraft is equipped with cutting-edge sensors, it can detect submarines without their knowledge and torpedo them. But if submarines can receive warnings from undersea radars and obtain approximate coordinates of the aircraft above, they can launch missiles from under the water to destroy it.

Until now, no other country has possessed this advanced detection technology. Most sound waves generated by aircraft are reflected back into the sky by the sea surface, with only a small fraction penetrating the water.

These sound waves then become heavily distorted as they pass through various layers of seawater with differing temperatures, densities and salinities, as well as ocean currents and eddies.