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China's Quantum Radar Could Detect Stealth Planes, Missiles (popsci.com)
hackingbear shares a report from Popular Science: China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), China's foremost military electronics company, announced that its groundbreaking quantum radar has achieved capability of tracking high altitude objects, likely by increasing the coherence time entangled photons. CETC envisions that its quantum radar will be used in the stratosphere to track objects in "the upper atmosphere and beyond" (including space). Quantum can identify the position, radar cross section, speed, direction and even "observe" on the composition of the target such as differentiating between an actual nuclear warhead against inflatable decoys. [...] Importantly, attempts to spoof the quantum radar would be easily noticed since any attempt to alter or duplicate the entangled photons would be detected by the radar. The news is an important illustration of a larger trend of Chinese advancement in the new, crucial area of quantum research. Other notable projects in China's quantum technology include the Micius satellite, and advances by Alibaba and the Chinese University of Science and Technology in a world record of entangling 18 photons (a quantum supercomputer would require about 50 entangled photons), such that China arguably leads the world in quantum technologies.
Exactly and this is precisely a Chinese cultural trait that will bite them in the ass.
You never let your enemy know your position. The Americans have war toys out there that haven't seen the light of day. Some generals are super eager to use them on an enemy.
Take the stealth fighters of the late 80s for example. They didn't come out out no of the wood work until an actual battle happened during Desert Storm.
The Chinese are bluffing because of the trade war and trying to spread FUD. They're screwed and they know it.
Irony: when your enemy is screwing up, dont correct him. Keep showing off your military tech while we keep ours locked up and super secret, itching to add another 100 years to their century of shame.
Why would China brag about this new advanced technology, telling the world that a "quantum radar" is indeed possible?
China has no interest in an actual military confrontation. They want deference, so perception of strength is more important than reality, and bragging about new military tech makes sense.
Why would you suspect that? Detection at an extreme early phase (think pre-launch even) allows for an unprecedented strategic window for countermeasures.
If what you're saying is, "who cares if they can detect is at unprecedented distances and time-frames, our JASSM's are unstoppable" you're repeating an oft-made military blunder. Never fall back on your last presumed advantage when all others have been obviously stripped away. It's likely you simply aren't aware that your last advantage has (also) already been eliminated.
If they've cracked quantum detection, don't be so confident about simple kinetic countermeasures -- let alone asymmetric tactics.
Any intelligent state have no interest in "military confrontation" (read: war).
I am a researcher in the quantum communication area. Admittedly I can only judge by the poorly written Pop Science article, but the whole thing triggers my BS detector.
"the coherence time entangled photons", "Quantum can identify..." - bad grammar is already a red flag.
The whole "spoofing can be detected" sounds like someone made some confusion with QKD (quantum key distribution), a completely unrelated application of quantum technology.
Finally, "a quantum supercomputer would require about 50 entangled photons"... Seriously, this is nonsense. I can't even.
Why wouldn't they tell everyone? "Don't try to attack us, we have advanced defence systems that can detect your decoy missiles and track the real ones."
Russia did the same with its announcement that it has hypersonic long range missiles and drone sub nukes that can't be stopped by any existing system. Both China and the US demonstrated their ability to shoot down satellites.
And anyway, it's not like they could keep it a secret for very long. The US is presumably working on the same tech, and has a good idea of what the quantum radar test sites would look like on spy satellite photos.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Quantum entanglement has only been demonstrated in labs or down shielded cables with high frequency EM , ie light. Not with radio waves and not in the outdoor enviroment. It sounds like someone in the chinese Ministry of Propaganda has slung together a load of terminology picked at random from an undergrad physics book to try and impress. Plus as others have said, if it really worked it would be about as top secret as you can get.
I very much doubt the Chinese have quantum radar, however devaluing science in the U.S. is an active administration policy. Science produces facts, anathema Republicans and the Evangelical nutjobs who have sold their souls to him. And science doesn't sit well with many Democrats either.