Most adaptable electronic camouflage system

BAE Systems (UK) has developed an electronic camouflage system, termed “Adaptiv”. This system can disguise the appearance of a tank, aircraft or ship to make it look like another type of vehicle, or “merge” it with its background so that it becomes invisible to enemy thermal imaging sensors. The sides of the vehicle are covered with an array of hand-sized hexagonal tiles, powered by the vehicle itself, the temperature of which can be altered quickly. Effectively, this turns the vehicle’s exterior into a large thermal infra-red “television screen” – each tile representing a pixel using the infra-red frequency spectrum. This advanced technology makes it possible for vehicles to blend in with natural objects or other vehicles in the area, enabling them to avoid detection, even by infra-red technology. The system can integrate a barcode into the camouflage picture, as well as encoded information, to allow recognition by friendly forces.