China Develops Signal-Free Satellite Messaging System For Undetectable Military Communication

Chinese scientists have claimed a major advance in military communications technology—one that could allow tanks, warships, and aircraft to send strategic data without emitting any detectable signals, South China Morning Post reported.

If proven effective, the system could make combat units effectively invisible to enemy electronic surveillance, raising the stakes in modern warfare.

The innovation, led by senior engineer Liu Kaiyu of the Aerospace Information Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was detailed in a paper published on 24 June in the Journal of Radars.

It describes a method of communication that works without transmitting traditional electromagnetic signals—an approach one Chinese researcher likened to “telepathy”.

At the core of the system is a "smart surface" composed of hundreds of programmable metamaterial tiles.

These tiles can encode information into radar echoes from imaging satellites like China’s Gaofen-3 or Ludi Tance-1, by subtly modulating the phase of reflected signals.

Instead of actively sending messages, the system manipulates how radar signals bounce off military platforms to quietly transmit data—essentially hiding in plain sight.

The researchers said the system could potentially achieve data transmission speeds of 127 kilobits per second—matching NATO’s Link 16 network—without emitting detectable signals.

According to the research paper, this allows communication “without releasing any additional energy into the environment,” enabling platforms to blend into the electromagnetic background and avoid detection by electronic warfare systems.

To ensure functionality in complex settings like urban environments or stormy seas, Liu’s team developed adaptive algorithms to boost weak signals and correct distortions caused by movement or electromagnetic interference.

During Gaofen-3 satellite data trials simulating rough sea conditions, the system maintained a low bit error rate of 0.77 per cent and radar imaging resolution loss below 10 per cent, suggesting feasibility in adverse environments.

Though the system has so far only been tested in laboratory simulations, the research team has expressed intentions to pursue field trials with spaceborne radar systems. Their long-term goal is to establish an integrated space-air-ground radar network based on this passive communication principle.

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