STEALTH technology has always been a dodgy affair. Researchers and enthusiasts have always made claims that spaceships, ground effect vehicles, pizza boxes, and all kinds of other things could be made invisible to sensors (if not eyes) with the application of the right techniques. For centuries, there was no real progress on these claims as various stealthy devices were tested with varying success rates.
An early "invisible" stealth van
Man's quest to pass by others completely unnoticed still remains out of reach. But the ability to make craft less noisy and obvious to other ships has still advanced. For over 20 years, a whole Station remained cloaked in the outer atmosphere of Neptune and hit in plain sight. Looking like an ordinary (if persistent) storm, Neptune Station was presumed destroyed when in fact it had its emissions and structure cloaked from view by passing ships. Only when the supply situation became desperate did a few brave souls raise the Station into a higher orbit, shearing off thousands of tons of what are now known as stealth drives and stealth plating from its outer hull.
Scavenging these items, Free Captains in the recent past have been able to make modest improvements in their ships' ability to sneak up on one another in the inky darkness of interplanetary space. Unfortunately, this adapted station tech is nearly useless when used on a frigate or warship due to incompatibilities. However, a new advance has been made in adapting Neptunian stealth debris for use on spacecraft!
Dr. Yan Eetor, a prominent stealth researcher and ship engineer, says that his team of researchers has perfected a far better adaptation of the stealth technology. His proof of concept is on display now at Neptune Station. He says that technicians will be able to upgrade existing technologies at at rate of 15 to 1. "A combination of 15 Stealth Drive Units and Stealth Platings can be rebuilt as superior Stealth Drive Unit as long as you have at least one of each," said Dr. Eetor's AI assistant, 5-ER-0E7. As proof of his innovation, Dr. Eetor provided this demonstration of an invisible motorized bike unit at a recent conference. Seen here, an iteration of the new technology is being driven by a NuPet:
