Innovations & technologies

DARPA tries embedding radar in aircraft skin

DARPA has announced a project that could embed radars into the skin of an aircraft.

The Transformative Design (TRADES) program aims to develop new mathematics and algorithms to exploit recent advances in materials and manufacturing methods.

While new materials are much stronger and lighter, incorporating them into actual designs has lagged.

"As a result, today’s design technologies are simply not able to bring to fruition the enormous level of physical detail and complexity made possible with cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities and materials," according to a DARPA news release.