A computer simulation by Chinese researchers has examined whether a missile equipped with a new single-photon light detection and ranging, or lidar, system could detect and track an F-35 stealth fighter from as far as 61.5 km (38 miles) at night, as per an SCMP report.
The research could potentially affect the assumptions around how difficult an F-35 would be to detect in an air-combat scenario, although the study does not demonstrate that such a system has been built, tested in flight or incorporated into an operational missile, as reported by SCMP.
