The British Defense Ministry and BAE Systems are quietly developing a range of visual and infrared signature reduction technologies for aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) applications in an effort that has included flying demonstrators. In response to questions from Aviation Week & Space Technology, the Defense Ministry is at least partially lifting the veil of secrecy from these efforts. A centerpiece of the activity is a project referred to as Chameleon. It examined reduction of an aircraft's visual signature and explored several infrared (IR) signature control efforts. BAE wants to apply that know-how to large commercial aircraft to reduce vulnerability to man-portable surface-to-air missiles.
展开▼
