Seemingly from nowhere, as if to be metaphoric, an announcement was made that researchers have demonstrated a material that can steer microwave energy around an object. In that experiment, a small vertically oriented copper cylinder was surrounded by the material, rendering the cylinder essentially invisible to horizontally projected microwave energy. While a practical radar countermeasure system based on this technology may be several years out, the demonstration also suggests theoretical possibilities that are even more intriguing. If the operating range of this class of material can be extended to the visible spectrum, then it would become possible to render an object invisible.

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Another recently announced demonstration was more sobering. This was the globally announced confirmation that North Korea detonated a nuclear device on Oct. 9. The implications of this event are obvious, given that it has occurred against a backdrop of occasional strategic missile tests. Yet, the specific time frame in which significantly improved versions of these missiles and bombs might materialize into a working nuclear ICBM may also see the operational readiness of an advanced countermeasure specifically designed for this threat — the airborne laser. If made public, a full demonstration of this directed-energy platform would be equally newsworthy.

However, the real shock value of any demonstration may ultimately reside in the fact that the development efforts preceding it can go largely unnoticed by the general public — and possibly entire intelligence agencies — prior to being reported by the mass media. Nevertheless, shock must eventually give way to acceptance and rational analysis, which reveal that a major distinction between a mere demonstration and a mission-ready capability is a protracted siege of research, design and construction. Using this standard, the two recently announced demonstrations are more usefully interpreted as military capabilities that do not exist rather than as advanced capabilities that might exist.

In contrast, this issue of Defense Electronics outlines three systems based on advanced technologies that have been developed into effective capabilities. First, in “Fuel Cell Technology Enhances Military Robotics,” Murali Arikara of Jadoo Power provides designers with an example of how commercially developed PEM fuel cell technology can be effective-ly applied to enhance the effectiveness of battery-based military platforms, citing improvements in a specific robotic platform as an indicator of the potential for gains in performance.

In “Simulation Enables Accurate Military Receiver Documentation,” Paul P. Wollam of WEDAS explains the value of defining electrical specifications for radio receivers based on the high levels of technical awareness enabled by computer simulation technology.

Another technology, superconducting electronics, is more obscure but mature enough to be applied to other challenges in radio design, especially those encountered in the effort to develop software-defined radio (SDR). HYPRES' Wes Littlefield discusses this in “All-digital Transceiver Bridges the Technology Gap for Software-defined Radio.”

The theme of practicality that unites these contributed articles underscores the importance of applying mature technology to meet emerging mission requirements. This practice can also develop a designer's instincts for evaluating and developing newly demonstrated technology. To consider a hypothetical example, first recall that industrial-scale wind turbines were recently evaluated in a controversial study by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to determine whether they could interfere with the operation of radar systems. It has been concluded that the interference would be negligible in most situations. However, this issue could potentially resurface as wind turbines populate America's rural landscapes in a manner that is far more extreme in number and profile than that of the now decommissioned underground ICBM silos from the Cold War. Being mindful of that, it is certainly worth noting that the shape of a turbine's tower is essentially the same shape as the copper cylinder used in the microwave beam-steering material demonstration. Of course, another reality — symbolized by the wind turbine itself — is that even the simplest working design encapsulates a myriad of engineering details.