Stealthier Tigers?

DefenceWire has received startling information on the possibility of LTTE acquiring stealth technology from North Korea. Earlier we highlighted the possibility of LTTE acquiring Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) submarine manufacturing technology from the same country. The Japanese Sankei Shimbun newspaper highlighted in September this year how a North Korean vessel was seized in the Indian Ocean while transporting weapons to the LTTE.

Our South Korean Defence Experts claim that North Korea obtained a basic type of Radar Absorbent Material (RAM) technology before the 1980s from an unknown source. Given the current economic crisis and North Korea's history of selling weapons to third-parties, there is a high likelihood of technology transfer to the Tigers from North Korea.

Radar Absorbent Materials come in many forms and can vary depending on the type of frequency absorbed. This process is not fool-proof and depends on the Radar Cross Section (RCS) or the ability of the object to reflect the Electro-magnetic Waves being directed at it by RADAR.

The LTTE uses crudely shaped fiber glass boats for suicide operations which are not the ideal geometric cross sections allowing better reflection and redirection of EmWs. Although the shape of a stealth boat is much more important than the material with which it is constructed, our sources indicate that a stealth submarine could be built without such shaping concerns using stealth paint. It has long been known that for midget size boats made with FRP, Iron Ball Painting can reduce RADAR visibility. There is no information to suggest that North Korea obtained a perfect Iron ball technology used by the United States on SR-71 Blackbird or F-177 stealth bombers. However, our South Korean defence expert has indicated that North Korea and China have procured a primitive type of stealth material technology using a mixture of Carbonyl Iron and Ferrite embedded in rubber materials.

The LTTE may have also acquire from Chinese suppliers Night Vision Goggles and GPS navigation, which are available for around 80USD, for their Zlin Z-143s. More sophisticated Night Vision and Navigation Systems like LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) used by the USAF F-16 Flying Falcon will be out of their reach. However, thanks to Google Earth, even civilians who have an internet connection can find a military base with the exact GPS coordinants, which used to be top secret.