by a Thinker, Sailor, Blogger, Irreverent Guy from Madras

India's Stealth fighter MAYA - very very stealthy!


We Indians have the propensity to invent ideas and science even before existing technology can explain or sustain such.  It was no accident that we gave both the idea of ‘zero’ and ‘infinity’ to the mathematics world.  Offhand, one such breakthrough, that comes to mind, is the much vaunted indigenous ‘AWACS’ program.  Since we did not want or could not buy either the Hawkeye or Sentry or Mainstay or even the Phalcon, we went out on our own.

Only that the AWACS program, termed AEW (Airborne Early Warning) proved much more capable.

While the test aircraft took off on its last (ill fated) sortie in 1999, it crashed on take-off, killing everyone on board.  The loss of scientists was a great shock and setback and since India cherishes its scientists more than others (except for her politicians), the program was terminated and decision was later taken to go in for Israeli Phalcon.  If scientists have to die, better non-Indians than our own.

While the causes of the crash are still classified, the mad.madrasi has this speculative take - the AEW system proved to be too good.  Instead of just an Early Warning System, it started to project really EARLY on the system screens.  Thus when the aircraft took off, the AEW system actually started to project that the aircraft was in fact landing - the resultant confusing decisions, whether the plane was taking off or touching down, ended up in a stall and a crash.
;-P

In the same vein, a humorous (and imaginary) write up from a few years back in Orkut, on India’s Stealth fighter.  It is not a copy/paste, but a rewrite from memory - and no (c) problems, as the original was mine.
India develops ‘stealth’ fighter aircraft - named MAYA (Illusion)

To the many Indians who wonder and are feeling jealous of the US stealth fighter F-22A Raptor, here is the good and top secret news - no need for envy anymore.  India’s own Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) have already developed a stealth aircraft, much more superior to the Raptor in its evasive techniques - so superior, it is being termed as the 6th generation aircraft.

The MAYA which means Illusion in Sanskrit is an apt name for such an aircraft, though it is murmured with a wink and a smile that it is a coincidence. 

The MAYA is an acronym : Medium, Air-superiority, stealthY, Aircraft. 

The fighter was intended and designed to be completely invisible in the 5 aircraft detection techniques namely,
  • Radio
  • Radar
  • Infrared
  • Acoustic &
  • Visual
The design parameters also called for MAYA to be equipped with Thrust Vectoring Controls, Canards and Supercruise ability.  Reports say that these 3 were not insurmountable issues and were fixed very quickly with the experience from building the Sukhoi-30MKI and operating/servicing the Sea Harrier.

The stealth part has been reported to have given much more problems.  However, with the technology and experience gained in designing the LCA Tejas, the carbon fiber composite (CFC) was put to greater use - almost 99% of the air frame is rumoured to be of composites.  Special techniques and tools were created to achieve an almost total coating of the air frame.

The technique has been patented with the name VASTRA which means 'Cloth’ in Sanskrit. 

Again, VASTRA is an acronym: Vitriolic Application of Special composiTes for Radiation Absorption.

With assistance from the DRDO labs,  a revolutionary new technique was invented to integrate an active electromagnetic field along with and around the composite material, enveloping the full air frame.  When excited with low intensity electrons (like a mild electric current), a field was observed (to everyone’s surprise) to make the composite tiles (and the whole air frame) almost transparent.

While exact technology has been classified as top secret, with rumours that not even the Prime Minister can access the files, scientists explain that it is something of cross between Romulan Cloaking device and Plasma Stealth.  They have given a new name for it too.

It is another acronym SRUTI:  Stellar inteRaction with Unexpected True Invisibility.  (While the Sanskrit word Sruti means ‘listening’, leaks suggest that the acronym was adopted for its character - ‘Sruti’ is supposed to be of ‘divine origin’ - not to be questioned (and beyond explanation).

While SRUTI effectively made the aircraft Optically transparent and impervious to detection by Radar, the composite coating VASTRA itself was instrumental in eliminating the Infrared signature, making MAYA totally missile proof.

By using the knowledge gained on acoustic masking while building the nuclear submarine Arihant, we understand that a special noise cancellation system has also been invented.

While scientists were totally mum on VASTRA and SRUTI, they were more forthcoming on the noise cancellation system, stating that it is similar to the Bose noise cancelling Head Phones.  The system has been given, what else but, an acronym, NISHABT, meaning ‘no sound’ in Sanskrit.

NISHABT: Noise eliminatIng acousticS Housing Applying Bose Technique

Here is the only available, released photo of the MAYA

Indian_stealth_Maya

Reports say that the aircraft is never found without the tarp cover on.  At first it was thought that it was to protect its secrecy.  But slowly the news has leaked that repeated tests with SRUTI has made the composite body to measurably retain the transparency ability.

Repeatedly energizing the SRUTI field seems to have sparked the composite to maintain its invisibility even when the system has been powered down.  The effect was not noticeable during earlier stages, but as tests progressed, reached an alarming stage where if the tarp is removed, the aircraft cannot be seen anymore.

Sounds like magic, isn't it?

At first no one could make anything out of it, but studies by ISRO and BARC have confirmed that the SRUTI system has transformed into something else.

They have termed it SUSRUTI (sacred object) - SUstainable SRUTI. 

Thus it was that India became the first country to possess a totally invisible aircraft.

And the first to lose one.

WTF?

Yeah, the stealth fighter MAYA, the one and the only prototype ever built cannot be found.  No one is sure of what exactly happened, but it seems SUSRUTI became entirely self sustaining at a given point in time - like an uncontrolled nuclear reaction.

To make matters worse, during the monsoon the tarp cover was not secured properly and in a very windy storm, simply blew off, leaving the stealthy MAYA uncovered.  Those involved speculate that the tarp while being whipped away, took away the wheel chocks too.  

And the stealthy MAYA was rolled off by the unusually heavy wind onto another part of the sprawling airbase.  Extensive search has been carried out and are still being carried out, but a wistful scientist involved in VASTRA speculates that the Aircraft has just faded away!

As he termed it, ‘It is all Maya!  Everything is Maya! Nothing else!’

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