Nanotechnology for Defence Applications

This book examines the application of nanoscience and nanotechnology in military defence strategies. Both historical and current perspectives on military technologies are discussed. The book provides comprehensive details on current trends in the application of nanotechnology to ground, air, and naval specializations. Furthermore, nanotechnology-enabled high energy explosives and propellants, chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear threats and their detection/protection, and camouflage and stealth for signature management of military targets in multispectral wavelength signals are analyzed. The book also covers nanotechnology-enabled armor and platforms, which may serve as lightweight and high mechanical strength options in contrast to conventional systems. Finally, the book also emphasizes future military applications of nanotechnology and its integration into ‘smart’ materials.

• Provides comprehensive details on trends in the application of nanotechnology to ground, air, and naval defence systems;
• Examines the application of nanoscience and nanotechnology in military defence strategies;
• Offers pathways and research avenues for development of nanotechnology and materials applications in military capacities.

Dr. Narendra Kumar is a former Director and DRDO fellow (Ministry of Defence, Government of India). With his Ph.D. degree in Organometallic Chemistry from Delhi University, he has experience in working on a variety of advanced materials, including organometallics, liquid crystals, conducting polymers, and nanomaterials. He also has experience with  evolving green synthetic routes for the preparation of metal salts by electrochemicals, conducting polymers and nanomaterials in aqueous media, and products based on such materials for defence applications. Dr. Kumar has published 110 research papers, including four review articles, in International journals. He is a co-author of several book chapters, he holds 12 patents and has co-authored three books on nanotechnology. He was a post-doctoral Fellow between 1981 and 1983 at Windsor University in Canada, and also served as a visiting research associate of CSIR from 1992-1995. He is the recipient of the DRDO Technology Award for his pioneering research work on conducting polymers and received the DRDO Scientist of the Year Award from the Prime Minister of India for products based on conducting Polymers and nanomaterials for defence applications. He has also been awarded the national MRSI-ICSC Super Conductivity and Materials Science Annual prize  from the Materials Research Society of India. Dr. Kumar is the member of a number of scientific societies, including the American Chemical Society and Material Research Society.

Dr. Ambesh Dixit received his Ph.D. in 2010 at Wayne State University and is Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology at Jodhpur. He has more than 10 years’ experience in computational and experimental condensed matter physics, with a special emphasis on the design and development of materials for various applications. His research utilizes bulk three, two, one and zero dimensional nanostructured systems to develop unique materials. He is an expert in multifunctionalsystems, and was the first to demonstrate that iron vanadate (FeVO4) is a multiferroic system. He is currently working on the development of materials for strategic military applications, such as microwave absorbing materials for stealth, energy conversion using solar photovoltaic and solar thermal process, and energy storage using electrical and thermal approaches. He has co-edited one book and authored several publications in international journals.