Super hydrophobic surfaces with contact angles (CA)>150o and sliding angles (SA) <10o have been the subject of numerous basic and applied studies and can be obtained by tailoring the chemistry and the roughness of the surface in the nano/micro range using silica particles. Testing indicates that the silica particles are easily removed under low shear stresses due to weak bonding. Thus, micro/nano silica containing composite coatings cannot be used for long service times. A novel system, comprising Ultra Violet (UV) reactive silica nanoparticles (NPs) based on the photo sensitive benzophenone(BP), was studied with the objective to synthesize durable super hydrophobic coatings. Experimental results indicated the resulting covalent bond formation by UV radiation chemistry is very effective in obtaining strong bonding between the silica NPs and the polymer. In the present study thermally cured epoxy and radiation cured urethane acrylate were used as the coating polymers. Roughness was achieved by incorporating silica NPs in BPs followed by UV irradiation. It is postulated that upon UV irradiation reactive (excited nπ* triplet) BP species are formed and they further react through hydrogen abstraction to form ketyl radical that in turn interact with radicals generated in the polymer matrix to yield covalent bonding. The adhesion strength between the silica and the polymer was evaluated by applying shear stresses using an AFM tip. This nano shear tests verified that the nano silica particles could not be immobilized and removed from the host matrices. Furthermore, evaluation of the durability of the nanocomposite coating was carried out by exposing the super hydrophobic coating to drag stresses using high velocity air. It has been concluded that the proposed radiation chemistry provides an effective route for the preparation of super hydrophobic nanocomposite coatings having a CA>150o and SA<10o that in addition demonstrate improved durability for long service times.