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The most powerful radar in the world? Meet LARID, the incredible machine that revealed an ancient secret hidden in the Pyramids of Egypt!
A few months ago, we mentioned that China was developing a new technology that could allow it to “camouflage” its fighter fleet. The key material was plasma, which is back in the spotlight this week. Conventional radars normally have difficulty detecting objects below the horizon due to the curvature of the Earth. However, China now has a new device that changes everything: a super radar called LARID, which was tested on an island, resulting in a surprising discovery.
Plasma bubbles in a pyramid
On August 27, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared fascinating results. They detected the largest plasma bubbles ever recorded. Specifically, Chinese scientists detected these plasma bubbles over the Egyptian pyramids and the Midway Islands, thanks to the LARID radar, located in Hainan Island.
What are equatorial plasma bubbles?
These bubbles are unusual weather phenomena in low-latitude areas caused by a sudden loss of charged particles in the ionosphere, an upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere. These bubbles can grow to hundreds of kilometers wide and interfere with satellite communications and GPS signaling.
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LARID: China's revolutionary new device
LARID is a long-range, low-latitude ionospheric radar that was built by China last year. With this announcement, China becomes the first country to detect plasma bubbles with a radar. LARID, located in Hainan, on the southern tip of the Chinese mainland, has a detection range of 9.600 km. While conventional radars have difficulty detecting targets below the horizon, LARID can emit high-power electromagnetic waves that bounce between the ionosphere and the ground, allowing it to cover large distances.
How does China's super radar, LARID, detect plasma bubbles?
When the emitted waves encounter plasma bubbles, part of the signal is reflected and picked up by LARID’s antenna array. The radar operates in the 8-22 MHz frequency range and has two subsystems, one facing east and one facing west, with 24 transmitting and receiving antennas on each side. In addition, LARID uses a fully digital phased array system, allowing real-time adjustments to the radar’s frequency, range, scan area and configuration as needed.
Detection at the Pyramids of Giza
Plasma bubbles caused by a solar storm were clearly visible on radar between November 4 and 6 last year. The most distant signals detected came from North Africa and the central Pacific. By analyzing these readings, scientists observed the detailed formation of the bubbles and tracked their movements in real time, identifying them over the pyramids of Egypt.
China's super radar range increases
Initially, LARID’s detection range was 3.000 kilometers. However, with new signal encoding and geophysical simulation models, its performance has rapidly improved. In just six months, the detection range has tripled. Now, Chinese researchers are proposing to build three to four additional LARID-like radars in low-latitude regions around the world. The goal is to create a network for continuous, real-time monitoring of equatorial plasma bubbles.
Does LARID have military applications?
Despite all the technological advances, LARID has a low resolution and is not suitable for detecting military targets such as aircraft or warships. However, Chinese media have noted that the country's military has already widely deployed over-the-horizon radars with similar technologies, devices that have successfully detected, for example, F-22 stealth fighters.
