Boeing gets stealth aircraft patent

Chicago-based Boeing Co. received a U.S. patent for a system and method of making an aircraft engine less detectable to infrared detection equipment.

Boeing's patent 7,478,525, which was issued Jan. 20, covers a method of cooling part of an aircraft engine and controlling the engine's infrared signature.

The exhaust nozzle of a jet engine can operate in temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This emits "significant" infrared energy, making the engine easily detectable, according to the patent.

The invention covered by the patent involves the use of a heat exchanger to cool air and the exhaust nozzle.

Boeing applied for the patent in November 2005, and was assisted in the application process by Atlanta's Alston & Bird LLP.