Prototype of adaptive, multispectral camouflage for the soldier

Within the EU funded project, “Adaptive camouflage for the soldier” (ACAMSII), led by Totalforsvarets forskningsinstitut - FOI (Sweden) with six other participants from five countries, namely, CITEVE and DAMEL (Portugal), IOSB (Germany), FTMC (Lithuania), TNO (The Netherlands) and SAFRAN (France), a future soldier system is being developed for adaptive camouflage against all relevant sensor threats, ranging from visible to thermal and radar. Considering the huge challenge of achieving a solution for adaptive camouflage, expected to meet several requirements of soldier concealment in different wavelength, some architectures were envisaged. The most promising architectures were materialized in a design concept where possible concealment technologies can be integrated. The overall design concept comprises a multilayer clothing system, combining active and passive adaptation mechanisms, improving camouflage efficiency in either woodland or urban environments. A tri-layer system was conceived comprising an inner layer (underwear), a middle layer (combat uniform) and an outer layer (adaptive camouflage system). Information concerning scenario, soldier signature, design, ergonomics, weight, power consumption, usability and operational functionality requirements were considered, and two research lines ensued, resulting in two architectures: a) Light emitting diodes (LEDs) technology based and b) Thermochromics pigments technology based. In parallel, research on several formulations including thermochromic pigments, metal oxides, conductive polymers, and carbon for thermal infrared (TIR) reduction was performed.