Plessey Overseas Limited

Kevin J Lodge

Jack Brettle

William G Howell

Nicholas J Loggie

Simon M Hughes

Small lengths of conductors, cut to the appropriate size are used as radar 'chaff' or passive reflectors to give spurious returns on an enemy radar and thereby act as an electronic countermeasure. Currently used chaff includes chopped aluminum foil, aluminum coated glass fibres and silver coated nylon monofilaments. Current radars operate in the 10.sup.10 Hz region and current chaff dipoles are of centimetric size, but future radar systems are likely to operate at higher frequencies requiring shorter dipoles lengths to achieve an increased packing density the dipoles also need to be thinner. Carbon fibres have advantages over existing chaff materials as they are fine, light and much stiffer than existing chaff materials. The electrical resistance is about 1000.times.higher than that of aluminum however and this invention therefore proposes the use of carbon fibres coated with a much more conductive coating. Typical coating materials can be copper, silver aluminium applied by a number of different methods.

Radar wave dipole of copper coated carbon fibers

A conductive gasket for use in electro magnetic interference protection of electrical apparatus comprises an elastomeric material in which high aspect ratio conductive fibres are embedded to provide the conductive paths across the gasket. Preferably the fibres are carbon fibres.

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Synsham, Nr Brackley, United Kingdom

Kevin J Lodge