Israeli Electronic Weapons: Invisible Cloak

Strategic Frontier Technology

July 11, 2021: In mid-2021, an Israeli company (Polaris) launched Kit 300, which is a new MCS (Multispectral Camouflage System) cloth that counters the detection of thermal, infrared or radar equipment More practical and effective. The Polaris team said that the Israel Defense Forces (Israel Defense Forces) have conducted tests in operations and found it to be effective enough. Polaris is one of those defense companies that hired former Israeli Defense Forces special forces to join the team that developed Kit 300 and ensure that new products meet actual needs. In this case, since Lebanon started the war with Hezbollah in 2006, Israeli companies have been trying to develop an MCS material for vehicles and ground forces to neutralize heat detectors like Hezbollah’s 2006 use. For more than a decade, Islamic terrorists have been using night vision equipment obtained from the black market, which shows that the West needs something similar to MCS.

The heat detector is an infantry night vision device that has existed since the 1960s. These portable devices were first equipped with American soldiers in the 1960s, allowing troops to see more clearly than the enemy in moonlight or starlight. In the following decades, these devices became smaller, lighter, and more powerful.

In the ten years after 2001, progress has been faster and more revolutionary. By 2012, lightweight (infantry) night vision equipment uses digital optical amplification technology. The previous optical amplification was analog. But as a digital device, you will get more magnification (up to 300 times). Through the software, you can see a blurred image or quickly adjust the magnification of the device, and you can enter a lighted room from the dark without temporarily blindness. Digital images can be easily transmitted wirelessly. By 2014, the digital goggles weighed 680 gr (24 ounces) and were successfully used by SOCOM troops. The new digital light enhancement technology works well with the existing thermal (thermal) imaging technology. It can quickly mix the data of the two and use helmet-mounted night vision equipment to generate more accurate images for soldiers.

In 2009 and 2011, the US Army began to accept helmet-mounted ENVG (enhanced night vision goggles). This is another major improvement: SENVG (spiral enhanced night vision goggles) appeared. The main improvement of SENVG is clearer, more true color images. The troops who tested them didn't want to abandon them. SENVG is more expensive, and the initial order is less than one thousand yuan. Since then, this has more than tripled, but SENVG has been allocated to the units that need them most.

Russia and China can use this technology, so the development of MCS materials that will hide vehicles and troops from detection by digital thermal sensors is now a priority. This is because thermal equipment looks for differences in heat. It has always been difficult to hide this, and Kit 300 MCS cloth does a better job than any earlier material. Improved MCS materials usually first appear on vehicles and are too heavy to be used by ground forces. It didn't take long for MCS manufacturers to develop a lighter version for the infantry.

For example, in 2017, the U.S. Army tested a new type of Swedish (Saab) MSC camouflage material that provided vehicles with unprecedented concealment. This is because SAAV MCS camouflage nets can be installed on specific types of vehicles, such as second skins, and provide protection when moving, even in combat. The United States and many other countries are looking for an MCS that provides this protection. Saab has sold $8 million worth of MCS to Canada, which has encouraged Americans to take a look.

In the 2017 test, Saab provided four sets of these nets for the Stryker wheeled armored vehicle at their expense, and the United States also followed them to conduct field tests in Europe. If the US military places a large enough order, Saab is willing to build an MCS manufacturing plant in the United States. The test found that Saab MCS is effective, but it is sufficient to justify the large order. Saab has already made some sales to Western countries, and more people are interested in trying it out.

This new generation of camouflage materials has evolved over decades to protect vehicles and mobile bases from the increasing use of infrared (thermal/thermal) sensors for aerial reconnaissance. The latest generation of MCS materials began to appear 15 years ago. After 2006, the United States purchased a large number of such materials. The new MCS net can shield infrared, thermal and radar sensors to a certain extent. Some new materials are used in vehicle soft tops, which have been found to provide a certain degree of protection. The combat uniform contains treated cloth to make it more difficult for thermal sensors to quickly spot soldiers in the dark.

Saab and Polaris went a step further and developed MCS cloth, which makes the effect of air or ground thermal sensors much lower. This may be a major advantage in combat, because getting the first accurate shot may be decisive. Saab MCS has a variety of camouflage patterns and colors, so vehicles can quickly "change their skin" to cope with the new climate or season. Israel Kit 300 is a step beyond this and provides invisible thermal, infrared and radar sensors. In addition, Israel and other MCS developers are working on new materials that will make troops and vehicles invisible to the naked eye, as well as multispectral sensors.

After 2006, people worry that because the basic invisible network is relatively cheap, it may be welcomed by Islamic terrorists and drug-trafficking groups in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. The result will be that the enemy’s position will be more difficult to detect by airborne or satellite sensors. As we all know, the enemy's irregulars will obtain high-tech equipment, such as night vision or encrypted radio, and use them for their own benefit. Of course, if terrorists with commercial infrared sensors scan the hills one night, they will find that their equipment is less effective. They will not be able to spot the special forces team and hide under their new MSC camouflage net. This has not become a major issue in counter-terrorism operations. But the effectiveness of the new network is real.