Invisibility cloaks used to be the stuff of science fiction.
Now they are a piece of tech that could be crucial to modern warfare – and the US wants their hands on them.
The Marine Corps is looking for a new outer garment to stop their troops from being spotted by thermal-imaging technology.
The problem is that traditional camouflage is no longer cutting it.
The modern battlefield is filled with thermal sensors that can detect humans and vehicles based on their heat alone.
This technology has even been embedded in Ukrainian drones, allowing them to take out Russian targets.
The US appears to have cottoned on to these developments and is trying to get ahead.
The country’s Marines published a new ‘sources sought’ notification on Wednesday, which confirmed they were searching for vendors who could produce a cloak that would reduce the chance of infrared detection.
Calling it a ‘Multispectral Camouflage Overgarment’, the force said it will work by ‘mitigating detection across the visual, near infrared, and short-wave infrared spectrums as well as suppress thermal signatures in the mid-wave infrared and long wave infrared to reduce the likelihood of detection by thermal sensors.’
The announcement also painted a picture of how the new technology might operate.
The Marine Corps said they were seeking ‘a single-piece, generously-sized draped design constructed to provide full-body coverage, including individual gear and equipment’.
The cloak must be capable of being donned within 15 seconds and function in extreme temperatures.
The military unit wants to buy more than 61,000 of the cloaks by 2030.
US Generals have long had their eye on invisibility technology.
Gen. Mark Milley, then the Army’s chief of staff, told lawmakers in 2019: ‘We know that adversary [target] acquisition systems are very, very capable in that, if you can see a target, with precision munitions … you can hit a target.
‘So camouflage systems that break up electronic signatures and break up heat signatures are critical.’
The need to evade thermal sensors has become more urgent as the infrared systems become commonplace on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll admitted last year soldiers ‘cannot move without being seen’ while on the ground.
The US are following in the footsteps of the Ukrainian army, who have been trying to develop invisibility tech to outsmart Russia.
The country’s 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Mariupol Brigade posted video footage last year of their new anti-thermal suits.
The group said: ‘This is not fantasy. It is the reality of modern warfare.
‘Thermal imaging suits are changing the rules of the battlefield, making soldiers invisible to enemy thermal-imaging cameras and drones. Such technologies are critical for assault teams, reconnaissance, snipers, and even evacuation missions. And this is just the beginning.’
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