visual stealth project

If I am correct I saw a program on discovery channel a couple of years ago about visual stealth. There was a story about a tank which they could make invisible for the eye because of the materials used. Only problem was that there was the dust when the drove it. Does any body can recall something about something like this on tv or a militairy project?

Yes I remember that program. They were using the stealth to sneek up on some bad guys.

French have at least tested on Mirage 2000 a flash device that 'blinds' optical AAA and SAM operators / sensors for a short while..

This is a form of optical stealht.. yes?

yeah i saw that program too. The research inculdes possible stealth boats,tanks and special armour for troops. The projects are all "hush hush" and nothing is leaking so far

I do remember seeing something like that. The purpose was to be able to get through radar and a quick search by anobserver. I you think about it, the dust could easily be mistaken for dust thrown up by the wind. The driver would just have to be careful. I don't think this would really work though because when it goes over a bump, won't it appear that the surrounding scenery is also going over the bum?

Cool. One day the thermoptic camoflauge from "Ghost in the Shell" will be an everyday thing for special forces! Imagine whole armies fighting invisible!

EDIT

However, I would rather they not fight at all and have people killed for some stupid purpose that only The Man knows.

[Edited on 21-9-2003 by Lampyridae]

Cool. One day the thermoptic camoflauge from "Ghost in the Shell" will be an everyday thing for special forces! Imagine whole armies fighting invisible!

That would be so confusing. And people would be bumping into eachother like crazy. But when they invent invisible claymores and such, that will be horrible.

Is this something like what you are looking for?

Optical. Aside from what we know about camouflage, the most promising optical stealth technology is that dealing with the elimination of contrast by the use of lighting. In the latter stages of the Vietnam War, serious efforts were made to enhance the combat effectiveness of U.S. tactical aircraft through the medium of optical stealth. The classic example was a ground test conducted at Miramar, California, in which a Phantom II was configured with a series of strategically located white lights. The test showed rather dramatically that when contrast is reduced, so is the optical signature. For a number of reasons, follow-up tests to this initial development effort were never pursued; however, the results of tests conducted a few years ago showed great promise. The drawback of optical stealth is the same proximity problem that faces the magnetic detectors.

www.flightjournal.com...

Yup, the Bird of Prey uses similar technology, but it uses strategically placed white paint to reduce contrast. For humans wearing regular camo, you aim to break up solid patterns (camo uniforams are baggy plus the irregular colouring) and darken any bits that are light. For light-skinned people, this means putting camo point on your noise, chin and cheeks because they stick out and are shiny, but not in a symmetrical pattern.