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By Micah McCartney
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Chinese scientists have developed a new material that could lead to stealthier missiles and combat aircraft.
The technology could potentially compromise the effectiveness of U.S. missile defense systems, including President Donald Trump's much-hyped "Golden Dome."
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon and the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
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Why It Matters
The United States is concerned about the growing intercontinental missile (ICBM) stockpiles of nuclear-armed China and Russia, including faster-than-sound hypersonic missiles. These arsenals are expected to become even more capable in the coming years.
Trump has ordered work to begin on the "Golden Dome," a satellite-based missile shield. Beijing has said it's "gravely concerned" about the project, which draws inspiration from the Strategic Defense Initiative, or "Star Wars," proposed by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s during the Cold War.
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What To Know
Aircraft and missiles emit strong thermal radiation, created by superheated components such as exhaust nozzles, which raises the risk of detection. These temperatures can also degrade and even destroy the structure of standard materials.
A Chinese research team led by Professor Li Qiang of Zhejiang University detailed a possible solution to this problem in a study published in March.
Their new material is designed to evade both microwave and infrared detection technologies widely used in modern military surveillance, even when exposed to extremely high temperatures, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
To test its stealth potential, the team compared the material to a standard blackbody, or a surface that absorbs various types of radiation.
Even when heated to 700 degrees Celsius (1,292 degrees Fahrenheit), the material emitted a far lower radiation temperature—422 degrees Celsius—than the blackbody's 690 degrees.
The breakthrough lies in the material's layered structure, which includes a specialized "metasurface"—a precisely engineered layer patterned to control how radar and infrared waves interact with it.
The top layer shields against moisture, while the bottom ensures it stays fixed to the surface. Laser etching throughout the structure allows radar signals to pass through without compromising its heat-hiding abilities, according to SCMP.
What People Are Saying
Li Qiang, professor at Zhejiang University's College of Optical Science and Engineering, wrote: "Our device achieves a maximum operating temperature and heat dissipation capabilities that surpass the current state of the art for simultaneous high-temperature IR and microwave stealth."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, at a press conference on May 21: "The [Golden Dome] project will heighten the risk of turning the space into a war zone and creating a space arms race, and shake the international security and arms control system."
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in a threat assessment released earlier this month: "Missile threats to the U.S. homeland will expand in scale and sophistication in the coming decade.
"China and Russia are developing an array of novel delivery systems to exploit gaps in current U.S. ballistic missile defenses, but traditional ballistic missiles—which are guided during powered flight and unguided during free flight—will remain the primary threat to the homeland."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether and how soon the new material will be integrated into Chinese weapons platforms.
Trump has said the Golden Dome will be "fully operational" by the end of his second term in 2029. Yet defense analysts have expressed doubts that the system can be completed within that timeline or under its projected $175 billion budget.
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