Is camouflage necessary in the conditions of technological development: reflections on examples

Recently, I wrote material on modern means of camouflaging military equipment and weapons. Quite unexpectedly, this article provoked a heated discussion. The reason, it seems to me, was the ambiguous perception of the very understanding of modern warfare.

Some readers understood the war, for which the modern army was preparing, as a classic confrontation between large, well-equipped and armed armies. Another part of modern warfare refers to those numerous military conflicts and military operations that in various forms today arise in one or the other part of the world.

The impetus for writing this article, an information occasion, if you like, were discussions about the possibilities of intelligence in connection with the development aviation and space technology. Allegedly, satellites or reconnaissance systems based on aircraft of various types completely discredit the very possibility of deceiving the enemy.

The subject of discussion will be considered in two parts. it Part one.

Disguise as a panacea

First of all, about what situation we will consider. We will reject antiterrorist operations, the destruction of small groups of the enemy in local conflicts. We will consider only what our army is preparing for. We will talk about the confrontation between the two armies, approximately equal in equipment, weapons and combat capabilities. That is, we will consider the "classical war" when the army solves the problem of eliminating an external threat to the state.

I will begin with a statement that may cause some bewilderment among readers. So, a set of measures to camouflage its own units and subunits is capable of briefly misleading the enemy regarding the location, composition and condition of the troops. Also, disguise can hide the nature of the actions and intentions of units, units and formations.

Masking tools can distract part of the means of destruction from real objects, thereby preserving the combat effectiveness of these objects. Agree, Air Defense Division, EW or tank the regiment, which were saved with the help of inflatable mock-ups, will not interfere with any commander. It is simply impossible today to deceive the enemy for a relatively long time.

Military analysts of the leading armies of the world agree that at present such a fraud will be revealed within 10-12 hours in the tactical defense zone and within 16-20 hours in the strategic defense zone.

Why is this happening? The simplest and most correct answer to this question is this: simply because the enemy never uses one type of intelligence. Reconnaissance is carried out by the entire complex, which is available to the commander of the compound or association.

Why camouflage means are short-lived

If by means of camouflage measures you can deceive the enemy only for a short time, is the game worth the candle? Is it possible to increase the time that the enemy will need to reveal our deception?

Is battle possible on its own? Are troops marching and fighting as the enemy arrives? You must admit that such a decision by the commander looks mildly stupid, but quite frankly, criminal. To organize a battle, you must at least know the enemy, his strengths and weaknesses, strength and weapons.

Thus, we have come to the need for constant reconnaissance. Moreover, we will proceed from the fact that the commander of the enemy formation is also not a fool, both sides will conduct reconnaissance. Moreover, the time of reconnaissance groups behind enemy lines is inexorably leaving. Not because it is inefficient. Just the information that is extracted in this way quickly becomes outdated. Today, several other reconnaissance methods are relevant.

If we look at the army of a potential enemy, we will see that today special attention is paid to the creation of automated data collection systems. Systems that are capable of not only collecting information from all sources, but also analyzing it and distributing it between the commanders of various units and subunits.

The commander can use the data delivered by the reconnaissance group only in the estimated time scale, while the data obtained, for example, from UAVs or from automatic tracking devices, are used in real time. Such and such enemy forces are doing this and that. The commander only has to make a decision.

Under conditions of such tough control on the part of enemy intelligence, it becomes clear that the sudden appearance of some weapons or units in the control zone will cause increased interest of the enemy and, therefore, a relatively quick disclosure of deception. So, disguise will stop working.

To be continued ...

Comments

[bandabas]

Excess litter will never hurt.

[YOUR]

Of course you need. Moreover, intelligence is different and masking is accordingly different. Radar reconnaissance - they threw a lot of reflectors, let me think that there are tanks there, and tanks under radio-absorbing cloaks ..
The pipe was stuck in the ground, diesel fuel was poured into it and set on fire. The thermal imaging intelligence detected a diesel exhaust. Shoot dear, we do not mind.
By the way, such a meter was used by the Argentines during the Falkland War.
Well and accordingly visual intelligence. Changed the shape of the object, look for it.

[Alex_You]

Case says.

[bandabas]

- From here, guys, our Motherland dictates its adamant will to the rest of the world community.
- Maybe we gotta go?
- Be sure to bang! And more than once! The whole world is in ruin! ... But then.

[knn54]

Disguise was, is and will be an INTEGRAL component of combat activity.
Moreover, camouflage tools are also developing. Even minutes won through disguise can lead to success.
Nature is wise. It has given many animals mimicry. One for salvation, others for hunting.

[To be or not to be]

And also DZ ... misinformation as an element of operational, strategic and tactical camouflage ..

[Evgeny Suslin]

Proper camouflage and the use of electronic warfare systems make it very difficult to collect accurate information. An example is a robotic microwave emitter in a wasteland during the destruction of Yugoslavia, collected about 40 NATO missiles for the intended locators to illuminate the Yugoslav air defense target.

[Nikolaevich I]

Quote: Evgeny Suslin

An example is a robotic microwave emitter in a wasteland during the destruction of Yugoslavia, collected about 40 NATO missiles for the intended locators to illuminate the Yugoslav air defense target.

I read the commentary ... and remembered an anecdote about a monkey, which an Englishman, Frenchman, Russian must teach to speak "like a human being"! At the end of the anecdote, the monkey grabs his head and exclaims: "Oh, pi ... rejoicing, oh, pi ... rejoicing!" ...

[Nikolaevich I]

PSThe CP-1001B / C THREE Command Launch Computer (CLC) is an electronics subsystem installed on the airframe to interface with the AGM-88 A / B / C HARM Missile. The CLC and associated software package are compatible with all AGM-88 A / B / C missiles. The CLC receives target data from the missile and onboard avionics, processes the data for display to the aircrew to the appropriate display, determines target priority, and collects aircraft data for pre-launch hand-off to the AGM-88 HARM missile. The CLC determines time coincidence between the AGM-88 HARM missile and the RWR directional data and pulse repetition intervals and formats. The identification data is processed by the CLC to perform target identification, prioritization, and display information. The CLC generates targeting commands to the AGM-88 HARM missile for appropriate target and provides Targeting and guidance information for the AGM-88 to Target Of Interest (TOI) on offensive attack missions. "

The processor on the PR-rocket "Harm" analyzes the radiation parameters. He will not "bite", as on a radar, or on a microwave oven, or on walkie-talkies, or on a radiotelephone. It analyzes radiation frequencies, pulse repetition parameters and their format. But all believers in the Great Microwave for some reason are sure that only a "fox catcher's receiver" level locator can be installed on American missiles, and "inadequate" American pilots "easily" let "harms" in the direction of any source of continuous radiation.

[riwas]

OJSC "Defense Systems" and OJSC "Design Bureau" Kuntsevo "have developed simulators-emitters of air defense radars. Each emitter is a mini-transmitter with a power of at least 4 kW per pulse. Its weight is about 80 kg, it operates on powerful batteries in standby mode for 24 hours, for radiation - 3-4 hours. During testing of the protection system, six domestic anti-radar missiles were fired on the operating radar. All of them were removed from the radar by an average of 400 m. The station did not receive a scratch. The product is manufactured in series.

[Nikolaevich I]

I had to read about radar simulators ... Perhaps it was they who were included in the modernized Pechora-M air defense system. But you must agree ... it's one thing specially created radar simulators using knowledge of the principles of operation of the GOS PR-missiles ... and another : "unexpected improvisation" with a microwave oven at hand!

[maksbazhin]

Disguise is not a disguise, and the north wind did not work noticeably, and in Syria the most interesting was unloaded at night under a smoke screen ...

[Alex_You]

I don’t know how in Syria, but the lazy one did not trumpet the north wind.

[maksbazhin]

There were no "photographs" of the deliveries. Already in place, yes, but we are no longer there :)

[Ros 56]

How much nonsense people write is incomprehensible to the mind. Disguise is one of the most important conditions for warfare, and whoever does not understand this is a fool by definition.

[Knell wardenheart]

For the most part, we have already gone through all this - in the end, such a struggle always comes down not so much to technical perfection or sophistication of "tricks", secrecy of movements or literacy of their setting - in the end, the side that has better analytics and processing of incoming information wins. In modern conditions, this is definitely a way to improve AI systems, increase the capacity of supercomputers, train neural networks, and one can even assume that creating a system of many different neural networks engaged in monitoring and tracking patterns and transferring the products of their work further along the chain (to other neural networks or analysts ).
Any plan is usually a rather harmonious picture, which in the chaos of varying degrees of elaboration is more and more difficult to hide in our time - and the better the plan, the higher the probability of its determination by the amount of information coming from different media.

So in the 21st century, we just got out of the way with inflatable tanks — we need first-class computing power and a well-developed, constantly improving system that gives approximate recommendations on how to most effectively hide our plan from the enemy, so that the picture he observes by the sum of parameters has multiple Interpretation that makes it difficult to respond, making decisions.

[riwas]

False objects are also widely used abroad.
So, the equipment of the false position of the "Hawk" air defense system, consisting of nine layouts of launchers (manufactured by the "Ballonfabrik" company, Germany), by a group of six to eight people takes no more than 1 hour.
A significant number of inflatable models were created and manufactured by the English firm "Airborn Industries". They are supplied both for the armed forces of Great Britain and for the armies of other states. They are made of rubberized material and are similar in shape and appearance to simulated weapons. As a rule, mock-ups are supplied to the troops with deforming coloring to match the background of the surrounding terrain of the area of ​​use. The set of property includes a coating that repeats the shape of a simulated model of military equipment, metal racks and an inflatable frame. To fill the frame with compressed air, a blower driven by an electric generator with a power of 8-10 kW is used. Installation of the layout on the ground is carried out by a team of two people. It takes 10 minutes to transfer it from transport to working position.
Special inclusions are introduced into the materials of inflatable mock-ups, which ensure that they are given the radar and thermal signatures of real objects. For example, the model of the French 155-mm self-propelled howitzer GCT has a heat-emitting ability similar to the standard model at a distance of 0,3-2 km.
The French "Lancelin-Barracuda" and the Italian MVM are also engaged in the production and supply of models for the troops. For example, the latter sold mock-ups of Chieftain tanks made of fiberglass to Iraq and Iran.
The Abrams tank model (weight 22 kg) consists of a metal frame, an awning with a frontal projection of the vehicle and a small-sized engine for heating the characteristic points of the model in order to give it the thermal signature of a real tank.

[riwas]

The second most important use after nets is camouflage foam. The main masking property of chemical foam is that it distorts the typical infrared signature of military vehicles. Foam applied to the hidden object acquires its temperature, as a result of which infrared detectors cannot "recognize" it. According to foreign experts, chemical foam almost completely eliminates the identification of military equipment samples by optical and electronic-optical devices, which ultimately complicates their detection.
Using a set of appropriate modular devices, the foam-forming composition is applied to the surface of an object located in a natural shelter or under a standard camouflage net. The foam formed is well retained on any surface, resistant to adverse weather conditions and can be painted in different colors depending on the environment.

[riwas]

In a number of Western countries, research is underway to create paints and special coatings that attenuate the thermal radiation of various military objects. When they paint ground weapons and military equipment, it becomes much more difficult to detect camouflaged IR objects by enemy reconnaissance means. The British company "BTP Materials Systems" has proposed two new types of material that reduce the likelihood of detecting military equipment by IR and air reconnaissance radar. The first of them, called "Permirrem", provides a reduction in thermal radiation from the object to a level corresponding to the background of the surrounding vegetation. It is a fiberglass-reinforced plastic containing a proprietary pigment. This material can be used to make racks, rods, visors and umbrellas. According to the developers, it provides protection against active and passive IR reconnaissance means.
The second (radio-absorbing) material is created in two versions: "silvers" (used as an integral component in coatings to reduce the radar signature) and "periaram" (can be produced in the form of individual sheets or elements of complex configuration with the inclusion of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic for manufacturing hulls of some types of combat vehicles and weapons carriers).