Highlights
- China activates Earth’s largest ground antenna
- Messages can be sent to submarines thousands of km away from this antenna
- China has tested the power of this antenna in collaboration with Russia
China has activated the world’s largest antenna to signal to submarines patrolling thousands of kilometers away. This antenna is also being used to strengthen civilian communications with the military. The exact location of this antenna is not yet known, but it is believed to be located somewhere in the Debei Mountains, a protected natural reserve spread across Hubei, Anhui and Henan provinces. With the activation of this antenna, China’s power in the sea is expected to increase further. The signals sent from this antenna can travel thousands of kilometers on land and in water.
This antenna is spread over a radius of 100 km.
When viewed from space, this antenna looks like a giant cross. This antenna looks like a normal power line made up of a network of cables and poles. The length and width of this antenna is said to be 100 km. The copper nodes at the end of the lines seem to be deeply embedded in the coarse granite. Two powerful underground transmitters have been installed to drive this antenna. In case one is faulty or unusable, another transmitter can be used. These transmitters are capable of generating one megawatt of electrical current.
Can send message 200 meters below sea level
According to a paper published in last month’s Chinese Journal of Ship Research, devices placed 200 meters (700 feet) below sea level can easily pick up signals from a giant antenna 1300 km (800 miles) away. The entire Korean Peninsula, Japan, Taiwan and the South China Sea are covered in a range of 1300 km from this antenna site of China. This means that the Chinese submarine floating 200 meters below the sea can communicate through this antenna in a range of 1300 km.
Designed for communication within a range of 3000 km
Project lead engineer Zha Ming of the Wuhan Maritime Communication Research Institute and his colleagues said the facility was designed to maintain underwater communications over a total range of 3,000 km (1,900 mi). This signal is enough to reach Guam, the largest US military base in the western Pacific Ocean. This extremely low frequency (ELF) antenna can generate electromagnetic waves ranging from 0.1 to 300 Hz. These radio waves can travel great distances both under water and under land.
China conducted test with Russia
China’s biggest challenge is separating man-made signals from naturally occurring low-frequency background noise. China also conducted a joint experiment with Russia to see how far the signal could travel from the ground. During this time a Russian station received a message from 7,000 km away, but due to the increased distance, the communication was one-way and only encrypted test messages could be sent. But Chinese military researchers said submarines and smart devices such as underwater drones can receive unilateral commands or act on command orders to target their targets.
China’s Type 093A class submarine
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