Editing Plasma stealth (section)

==First claims==
In 1956, Arnold Eldredge, of General Electric, filed a patent application for an "Object Camouflage Method and Apparatus," which proposed using a particle accelerator in an aircraft to create a cloud of ionization that would "...refract or absorb incident radar beams."  It is unclear who funded this work or whether it was prototyped and tested.  U.S. Patent 3,127,608 was granted in 1964.<ref name="patent3127608">{{Cite patent
 | inventor-last =Eldredge
 | inventor-first =Arnold
 | publication-date =Aug. 6, 1956
 | issue-date =Mar. 31, 1964
 | title =Object Camouflage Method and Apparatus
 | country-code =US
 | patent-number =3127608
 | postscript =<!--None-->
}}</ref>

During Project OXCART, the operation of the [[Lockheed A-12]] reconnaissance aircraft, the CIA funded an attempt to reduce the RCS of the A-12's [[inlet cone]]s.  Known as Project KEMPSTER, this used an electron beam generator to create a cloud of ionization in front of each inlet.  The system was flight tested but was never deployed on operational A-12s or [[SR-71 Blackbird|SR-71s]].<ref>[http://www.blackbirds.net/sr71/oxcart/successortou2.html ''The U-2's Intended Successor: Project Oxcart 1956-1968'', approved for release by the CIA in October 1994. Retrieved: 26 January 2007].</ref> The A-12 also had the capability to use a [[cesium]]-based fuel additive called "A-50" to ionize the exhaust gases, thus blocking radar waves from reflecting off the aft quadrant and engine exhaust pipes. Cesium was used because it was easily ionized by the hot exhaust gases. Radar physicist Ed Lovick Jr. claimed this additive saved the A-12 program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29787/the-sr-71-blackbirds-predecessor-created-plasma-stealth-by-burning-cesium-laced-fuel|author=Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway|date=September 12, 2019|title=The SR-71 Blackbird's Predecessor Created "Plasma Stealth" By Burning Cesium-Laced Fuel|publisher=The Drive}}</ref>

In 1992, Hughes Research Laboratory conducted a research project to study electromagnetic wave propagation in unmagnetized plasma. A series of high voltage spark gaps were used to generate UV radiation, which creates plasma via photoionization in a waveguide. Plasma filled missile radomes were tested in an anechoic chamber for attenuation of reflection.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gregoire|first1=D. J.|last2=Santoro|first2=J.|last3=Schumacher|first3=R. W.|title=Electromagnetic-Wave Propagation in Unmagnetized Plasmas|date=1992|publisher=Air Force Office of Scientific Research|url=https://www.ntis.gov/Search/Home/titleDetail/?abbr=ADA250710|access-date=2015-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000440/https://www.ntis.gov/Search/Home/titleDetail/?abbr=ADA250710|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> At about the same time, R. J. Vidmar studied the use of atmospheric pressure plasma as electromagnetic reflectors and absorbers.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vidmar|first1=Robert J.|title=On the Use of Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas as Electromagnetic Reflectors and Absorbers|journal=IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science|date=August 1990|volume=18|issue=4|pages=733–741|bibcode=1990ITPS...18..733V|doi=10.1109/27.57528}}</ref> Other investigators also studied the case of a non-uniform magnetized plasma slab.<ref>Laroussi, M. and Roth, J. R “Numerical calculation of the reflection, absorption, and transmission of microwaves by a non-uniform plasma slab”, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 21, 366 (1993)</ref>

Despite the apparent technical difficulty of designing a plasma stealth device for combat aircraft, there are claims that a system was offered for export by [[Russia]] in 1999. In January 1999, the Russian [[ITAR-TASS]] news agency published an interview with Doctor [[Anatoliy Koroteyev]], the director of the Keldysh Research Center (FKA Scientific Research Institute for Thermal Processes), who talked about the plasma stealth device developed by his organization. The claim was particularly interesting in light of the solid scientific reputation of Dr. Koroteyev and the Institute for Thermal Processes,{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} which is one of the top scientific research organizations in the world in the field of fundamental physics.<ref>Nikolay Novichkov.''Russian scientists created revolutionary technologies for reducing radar visibility of aircraft''. "ITAR-TASS", January 20, 1999.</ref>

The ''[[Journal of Electronic Defense]]'' reported that "plasma-cloud-generation technology for stealth applications" developed in Russia reduces an aircraft's RCS by a factor of 100 (20&nbsp;dB). According to this June 2002 article, the Russian plasma stealth device has been tested aboard a [[Sukhoi Su-27]]IB fighter-bomber. The Journal also reported that similar research into applications of plasma for RCS reduction is being carried out by [[Accurate Automation Corporation]] ([[Chattanooga, Tennessee]]) and [[Old Dominion University]] (Norfolk, Virginia) in the U.S.; and by [[Dassault Aviation]] (Saint-Cloud, France) and [[Thales Group|Thales]] (Paris, France).<ref>Fiszer, Michal and Jerzy Gruszczynski. "Russia Working on Stealth Plasma". ''[[Journal of Electronic Defense]]'', June 2002.</ref>