Stealth technology is a specialized application of physics to create a practical form of active camouflage. A modulated field of high-energy radiation[1] transmits the reflected light from one side of the affected object to the other, effectively making it invisible to untrained eyes.[2][3]
Application
To counter the United States' advantage in firepower, provided by power armor, China focused on developing various forms of active camouflage. The principal and most widely deployed result was the Hei Gui stealth suit, allowing Chinese infiltrators and marksmen to exploit stretched supply lines and vulnerabilities in the frontline.[4]
Forced into a defensive, the Chinese increased their focus on stealth capability. By December, 2075, reports of macro-scale research into the technology began to surface. The most disconcerting were reports of testing submersible vessels equipped with active camouflage: The Ghost Fleet. The U.S. command refused to act on this intelligence, however, as evidence was circumstantial. The Shaanxi province was identified as a center of this research not through direct reports, but analysis of shipping information. The DIA extrapolated the fact of macro-scale stealth research from the amount of complex polymers and synthetic compounds shipped to the province, for example.[4]
This proved to be a mistake. At least one stealth submarine, the Yangtze-31, managed to slip through coastal defenses and deliver a nuclear strike on the Massachusetts area.[5]
Reverse engineering
The underlying principle of bending light was harnessed by the United States from captured Chinese suits in two ways.
- Robert Mayflower of RobCo Industries reverse-engineered captured stealth armor to create the portable, but unstable Stealth Boy 3001 units.[3] The Enclave had originally created a Mark II prototype, intended to become modulated to use less power and thus last longer, but instead resulted in a highly fatal device. By 2080, the Appalachian Enclave would later use the research present at the Fujiniya Intelligence Base to create what would become known as the Stealth Boy Mark III.[6]
- Big MT researchers focused more on the suit itself and its stealth-enhancing properties, taking the Chinese suits apart and then designing a new stealth suit from scratch. This resulted in the creation of two prototypes before the war: the assassin suit and the stealth suit mk II, which surpassed the original in nearly every aspect, apart from the active stealth field.[7]
- ↑ The Courier: "I found a chewed up Stealth Boy in the Nightstalker lair."
Henry: "Hmmm... there's still power, but the casing is cracked. I'm astonished that exposure to the stealth radiation could induce mutations so rapidly. More importantly, this explains why my research into this group of Nightstalkers hasn't come up with a cure for the Nightkin. There's only one avenue left for me - I need to run the Mark II test on Lily. It's the only way."
(VRemDoctorHenry.txt) - ↑ Fallout item description: "{5400}{}{Stealth Boy}"
"{5401}{}{A RobCo Stealth Boy 3001 personal stealth device. Generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other.}"
(PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout)) Note: This is a reverse-engineered Chinese technology and provides information on the underlying mechanics. - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Museum of Technology placard: "This is the RobCo "Stealth Boy" Model 3001 Personal Stealth Device. Developed by Robert Mayflower, the Stealth Boy generates a modulating field that transmits the reflected light from one side of an object to the other making the bearer almost invisible to the untrained eye."
Note: This is a reverse-engineered Chinese technology and provides information on the underlying mechanics. - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Switchboard terminals; Research Terminal, 2075 Dec 17: "OFFICIAL RECORD
"Could you repeat for the general what you just told me?"
> Posit. Chinese stealth technology far outstrips our own capabilities. Posit. The Chinese intelligence apparatus is sufficient to conceal large scale research operations from American operatives. Conclusion. The Chinese have a 91% chance of having conducted large scale experimentation with Stealth Tech.
"Large scale? What do you mean? What are their capabilities?"
> American projects involving this technology (refer to "Stealth Boy") have merely reverse engineered captured Hei Gui suits. The underlying science of this technology is unknown. So the theoretical limits are also unknown. However the so-called "Ghost Fleet" that station A-31 and B-19 reported in November may indicate that testing has already commenced with submersible vessels.
"Dear God. You think they have stealth subs?"
> A second order approximation is inconclusive. Explanation. The logic chain of these assumptions have too much variability. Further data is required.
"So you can't even give me a guess?"
> Machine/human interface aborted.
"Sorry, sir. We're working on some of her glitches. P.A.M... well, she gets real stubborn when she's doing too much guesswork."
"Stubborn? She's a machine."
"Sir. With each new version, well, she's getting quirky."
"There's no way I'm taking this stealth sub nonsense to the Joint Chiefs unless I have proof. It's goddamned ludicrous to think the Chinese have been working on something this big and we've heard nothing."
> Virtually no actionable intelligence has come out of the Shaanxi Province for 3.1 years. However, the province reports a spike in the imports of complex polymers and other key synthetic compounds. The quantity in question is consistent with stealth technology research on the macro scale.
"Until you can give me something concrete, I don't want to hear another goddamned word about this." - ↑ Zao and the Yangtze's presence.
- ↑ The Whitespring bunker terminal entries#RE: Chinese Stealth Tech
- ↑ X-13 testing facility laboratories where the stealth suit was developed contain captured Hei Gui suits.