In this paper, a new proposed radar-absorbing honeycomb sandwich composite with nickel-coated glass fabric, implemented via electroless plating, was applied to the leading edge of a NACA 0012 wing airfoil model to reduce the echo radar cross-section (RCS) level. The composite was designed and fabricated without dispersing conductive nanoparticles or metal magnetic micropowders in polymer materials. The proposed composite exhibited −10 dB microwave absorption in the frequency range of 5.8–16.3 GHz, with a resonance peak of −38.1 dB at 8.2 GHz under TM mode, and an RCS reduction of 10 dB for VV polarization and 8 dB for HH polarization in the frequency range of 6.0–17.8 GHz. When the proposed absorber was applied to the leading edge of NACA 0012, the simulated echo RCS level was reduced by 10 dB from C-band to Ku-band under both horizontal and vertical polarizations. A flatwise compressive test was conducted to evaluate mechanical performance of the composite. The proposed composite can be potentially applied to the radar-absorbing structure of stealth aircrafts.

在本文中，将新提议的雷达吸收式蜂窝状夹层复合材料与镍镀膜的玻璃纤维布，通过化学镀实现，应用于NACA 0012机翼翼型模型的前缘，以减小回波雷达横截面（RCS）的水平。设计和制造复合材料时，无需在聚合物材料中分散导电纳米颗粒或金属磁性微粉。拟议的复合材料在5.8-16.3 GHz的频率范围内表现出-10 dB的微波吸收，在TM模式下在8.2 GHz时的共振峰为-38.1 dB，VV极化的RCS降低10 dB，HH极化的RCS降低8 dB。在6.0-17.8 GHz的频率范围内。当建议的吸收器应用于NACA 0012的前端时，在水平极化和垂直极化下，从C频段到Ku频段，模拟的回声RCS电平均降低了10 dB。进行了水平压缩试验以评估复合材料的机械性能。所提出的复合材料可以潜在地应用于隐形飞机的雷达吸收结构。