Camouflage. Is it still needed?

[Susimi]

I was having a think about this late last night and I thought I would get others opinions on it.

With modern radar & weapons technology, aircraft can now lock a target and fire on it from several miles away with the enemy not even knowing what's happening until they get hit. So my question is this; is camouflage really needed these days with the latest fighting aircraft capable of over the horizon combat?

Obviously for the previous generation it is still needed and with helicopters yes, but I can't help but feel that with modern tech, we have rendered camouflage as obsolete.

What are your opinions on this?

 

[Corzhens]

I am not a soldier and I didn't have a military training except in school. With camouflage, I guess that is still needed because even if the weapons are hi-tech and modern, even if there are nuclear bombs, snipers and ground platoons will still be there. And those soldiers on the ground will be needing camouflage to hide themselves from the open fire of enemies.

 

[Susimi]

Yes for ground forces I agree that camouflage is still needed, but I'm taking about the latest combat aircraft. I mean with their stand off, fire and forget technology, is there still a need for them to have camouflage at all?

 

[bennewcombe]

"I am not a soldier and I didn't have a military training except in school. With camouflage, I guess that is still neededbecause even if the weapons are hi-tech and modern, even if there are nuclear bombs, snipers and ground platoons will still bethere. And those soldiers on the ground will be needing camouflage to hide themselvesfrom the open fire of enemies."

I agree mate ^^

 

[Lieutenant]

What to Wear in Total Surveillance | World Defense

@BLACKEAGLE

 

[missbishi]

There's definitely still a need for camouflage. Have a look at this article if you have a few minutes to spare. Admittedly not from the most reliable source of news but the pictures themselves are amazing. Were you able to spot the snipers?

Can you spot the sniper? Photographer's amazing images of elite troops' camouflage techniques (Hint: They look a lot like a rock) | Daily Mail Online

 

[DancingLady]

I think it is stil needed because you may be facing all sorts of enemies using all manner of weapons, equipment and tactics. Our soldiers should be prepared for everything. Camouflage is a very valuable tool for remaining unseen.

 

[Psyche]

The great majority of actual weapons fire combat is still done under conditions of eyeball-based targeting. The combatants are embedded in cities, in suburbs and in the populated countryside. If you depend on machines to make judgments you end up bombing UN schools (Israel) or passenger airplanes (Rus... persons unknown).

So yea camo clothing, netting, ground vehicles and air vehicles is still very important to prevent yourself from being visually identified as an enemy combatant--which is still the main way people and the vehicles they are in are actually being shot, be it by small arms or missiles.

Which in a way is good news because when shooting someone stops being the active decision of a specific actual person I think we will all be pretty screwed.

 

[missbishi]

...when shooting someone stops being the active decision of a specific actual person I think we will all be pretty screwed.

We certainly will. Regardless of how capable a machine is, there are some things in life which should be left to humans.

 

[Redheart]

Camouflage gives you an advantage. I wonder though . . . with supersonic aircraft, do they really need camouflage? Wouldn't working on making them invisible to radars be the better option? Radars can, after all, detect enemy planes while they are still hundreds of miles away . . .

That I believe is the reason why the U.S, Russia and China are very much into cloaking tech. Should any of them figure out how to make objects "invisible" then it would give them an edge over everyone else.

‘Invisible’ airplanes: Chinese, US race for cloaking tech | Fox News

New stealth technology makes airplanes invisible not only to radar, it renders them hidden to the human eye as well – just like an invisibility cloak in a Hollywood sci-fi thriller.

News reports from China last week touted the country’s work on a “cloaking” technology that uses a hexagonal array of glass-like panels to bend light around an object, obscuring it from view as though hidden by an invisibility cloak. Experts say the technology is legit – and not unlike American and European projects from the past few years.

“The general public … might not hear about how far the U.S. has really come, because it is and should remain classified,” firearms expert Chris Sajnog, a former Navy SEAL, told FoxNews.com. “Other countries are still playing catch-up -- but they're closing the gap.”

Some projects use materials that shuttle light away from an object; alternatives create electromagnetic fields that bend it away -- truly high-tech camouflage.

 

[Kessen]

Aside from the practical points in limiting an enemy's ability to see, camouflage also acts as a uniform. Having a uniform is part of being a cohesive force and is important in and of itself.

 

[Susimi]

Camouflage gives you an advantage. I wonder though . . . with supersonic aircraft, do they really need camouflage? Wouldn't working on making them invisible to radars be the better option? Radars can, after all, detect enemy planes while they are still hundreds of miles away . . .

That I believe is the reason why the U.S, Russia and China are very much into cloaking tech. Should any of them figure out how to make objects "invisible" then it would give them an edge over everyone else.

‘Invisible’ airplanes: Chinese, US race for cloaking tech | Fox News

New stealth technology makes airplanes invisible not only to radar, it renders them hidden to the human eye as well – just like an invisibility cloak in a Hollywood sci-fi thriller.

News reports from China last week touted the country’s work on a “cloaking” technology that uses a hexagonal array of glass-like panels to bend light around an object, obscuring it from view as though hidden by an invisibility cloak. Experts say the technology is legit – and not unlike American and European projects from the past few years.

“The general public … might not hear about how far the U.S. has really come, because it is and should remain classified,” firearms expert Chris Sajnog, a former Navy SEAL, told FoxNews.com. “Other countries are still playing catch-up -- but they're closing the gap.”

Some projects use materials that shuttle light away from an object; alternatives create electromagnetic fields that bend it away -- truly high-tech camouflage.

Maybe camouflage as we know it is evolving into cloaking technology in an effort to hide from radars? It certainly seems to be heading that way.

Aside from the practical points in limiting an enemy's ability to see, camouflage also acts as a uniform. Having a uniform is part of being a cohesive force and is important in and of itself.

I overlooked the uniform aspect of camouflage. When I ask if camouflage is needed I'm not saying military planes should be painted in clown colours or anything like that, I was asking if there is a need for it, much like in the latter half of WW2 when USAF aircraft didn't use camouflage at all on their planes.

 

[LilAnn]

I think its more for uniformity than anything else. It's more comfortable than the regular uniform, and there hasn't been any reason to change it.

 

[Redheart]

Maybe camouflage as we know it is evolving into cloaking technology in an effort to hide from radars? It certainly seems to be heading that way.

There'd be no point in having air defenses if you can't see the enemy.

But apparently cloaking tech will be used by everyone in the military. In 2012 there were rumors that a tech company had made an "invisibility cloak" which would make soldiers invisible. Though this would be good for the soldiers there are many ways this technology could be abused. Spying on people would be a whole lot easier.

 

[Susimi]

There'd be no point in having air defenses if you can't see the enemy.

But apparently cloaking tech will be used by everyone in the military. In 2012 there were rumors that a tech company had made an "invisibility cloak" which would make soldiers invisible. Though this would be good for the soldiers there are many ways this technology could be abused. Spying on people would be a whole lot easier.

I think even if cloaking tech became a regularly used thing, there would still be a need for air defence. The enemy would work out a way to get around the cloaking tech so they can target the intruding planes, which will result in better cloaking tech and better air defence tech. You get the idea

I think I read about that invisibility cloak thing. I think they also tried it in a tank at some point.