Sustainable Materials to Reduce Heat Signatures of Base Camps

Base camp heat or infrared (IR) signatures can allow enemy units to easily determine the location of camps, the presence of personnel and electronic equipment within the camp, the type of activities occurring within the camp, and their operational tempo (OPTEMPO). Low-observability or camouflaging by reducing the heat or IR signature can reduce enemy intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaisance of friendly base camps. This can be accomplished by achieving two goals: hiding both heating and cooling of base camp interiors and matching the surface properties (such as emissivity and solar absorptivity ) of the base camp to the surrounding environment. A passive system comprised of two elements can achieve and maintain IR low observability or camouflaging. The first component uses a light-weight, low stowed volume, packageable insulation which hides interior heating and cooling. The second component is customization of the surface material properties of the base camp to match the surrounding environment which LGarde has accomplished in the past for different applications to achieve IR low observability. This system can be integrated into the primary surfaces of the tents or can be retrofitted to existing tents. High strength material will also be incorporated into the system.