de Havilland Mosquito Biomimicry

Radar Jamming

Echolocation and radar signals can be jammed so that sent messages can’t be received.

Some species of bat eat insects but the tiger moth has a clever trick to stop it becoming lunch. When a bat uses echolocation to find food, tiger moths respond by producing their own ultrasonic clicking sounds, 4,500 times per second. The bat can’t tell the difference between echoes from its own call and the clicks from the moth, effectively hiding the moth from detection. Find out more at www.sonarjamming.com

To protect them from attack, aircrews can trick enemy radar systems. Modern aircraft transmit electronic signals, like the clicks from the tiger moth. During the Second World War, RAF bomber aircraft dropped thousands of strips of aluminium foil, known as Window or chaff. Each strip reflected the enemy radar signal, making it almost impossible to find the aircraft amongst all the echoes.