Thermal Camouflage Part 1: Setting the Stage

Got enemy fighters in sight. They're all armed, maneuvering on your position. We'll be setting up for an engagement. All right. Come on, brother. Give me a Shoot later. Trying Aussie's just Some PID confirmed. Engage. Engage. Be advised friendlies west and ground and south. That's over. We're copies all. We'll be engaging. We'll be running 30 mm. We got four individuals. I got a whole bunch of guys right there maneuvering. We'll be engaging. I'll get back to you on the 30. All right. Just give me a heads-up on where you're in from. Continue to engage. Come Come back to the left. 10-0-2, talk to me. As warfare has developed over the years, humans have found new and fantastical ways of killing each other. Out of all of the weapons that have dealt death over the years, perhaps the most lethal weapon has not been a weapon at all, but rather sensors that allow the carnage to continue, thermal sensors. On the modern battlefield, thermal optics are some of the most difficult sensors to hide from. As nation-states began to field sensors that can detect a person's body heat, and with a little help from Hollywood, the average person has begun to attribute mystical qualities to thermal imagin can detect a person's body heat, and with a little help from Hollywood, the average person has begun to attribute mystical qualities to thermal imaging sensors. This, combined with video games and released combat footage from the real world, has resulted in a lot of people thinking there is no escape from thermal imaging sensors. Interestingly enough, these mystical qualities eventually made their way back around to the global war on terrorism. Every combat unit has stories of locals thinking the American drones overhead could see through walls or read their thoughts from above. Though that war may be over, the events of the past 2 years have reignited the average person's interest in knowing more about the sensors that spy on them daily. So today, let's start to separate myth from fact and examine the gray area in between. Let's go over some things to think about when it comes to concealing yourself from what is currently the most difficult optical intelligence collection sensor to hide from. Right up front, I want to let everyone know that this is not a quick or simple process. And you've got to do a lot of seemingly nonsensical things to even be marginally effective. When talkin ow that this is not a quick or simple process. And you've got to do a lot of seemingly nonsensical things to even be marginally effective. When talking about thermal, we tend to jump right to the end. We want footage from thermal cameras so that we can decide for ourselves what works and what doesn't work. And that's a perfectly reasonable request. So up next will be a completely separate video testing a lot of different options. However, that's just one consideration of many. There's more to it than just the raw footage. And no one can encompass the absolute basics of thermal camouflage into one short and clean soundbite. There are just too many factors to make generalized doctrine that is actually helpful. But we can give it a try. So how do thermal sensors actually work? Are they as mystical as Hollywood and anecdotal evidence suggests? Well, yes and no. Here's why. Thermal sensors, like all other optical sensors, are used to view light. It's just that the light they see is a bit special. For a normal camera or even the human eyeball, light travels from the sun or some illumination source, bounces off of an object, gets reflected, right? And taken in by our eye and processed int ll, light travels from the sun or some illumination source, bounces off of an object, gets reflected, right? And taken in by our eye and processed into an image by the squishy bits up in your brain. We have already learned the process is exactly the same for other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, like the near infrared section. But your eyeball isn't able to process certain kinds of light, light of certain wavelength. This is why your night vision tubes can see your IR strobes, but your eyes cannot. Well, the same idea applies to thermal imaging, sort of. To get to the bottom of that, we have to talk about because light is really interesting. A long time ago, somebody else thought it was really interesting, too. This guy right here, Sir William Herschel. Back in the year 1800, he had an idea. He noticed that there was a relationship between what we know as heat and light. And it was an interesting relationship. For instance, you can stand out in the sunlight and feel the warmth on your skin, but you can also physically feel heat energy in other ways, too, like a clothing iron, which is very hot, but not hot enough to glow red, right? Even in a completely dark room, you can fe energy in other ways, too, like a clothing iron, which is very hot, but not hot enough to glow red, right? Even in a completely dark room, you can feel the heat from that iron even if we can't see any light at all. Well, Herschel made these observations and assumed that something was going on here. Herschel was also an astronomer and frequently made his own telescopes for observing the heavens. One day, while he was trying to use various darkening filters for his lenses so he could look at the sun without blinding himself, he noticed something quite extraordinary. In his own words, he wrote that, "What appeared remarkable was that when I used some of them, I felt a sensation of heat, though I had but little light, while others gave me much light with scarce any sensation of heat." Well, after experimenting a bit more with prisms, he noticed that sunlight, when split by a prism into its component colors, seems to heat objects of a different color to different temperatures and at different speeds. The contraption that he used to measure all of this data, he called a spectrometer, because it measured the spectrum of colors, which today we call the electromagnetic spectrum. But someth e all of this data, he called a spectrometer, because it measured the spectrum of colors, which today we call the electromagnetic spectrum. But something confused him. He noticed that as he got closer to the end of his spectrum, that the thermometer got hotter and hotter and most perplexingly, even hotter just off the spectrum, in the shadows just out of the beam of light that was being split by his prism. A most extraordinary observation that at the time he could not possibly have known the implications of. He assumed that his eyes could not see the light that was causing the mercury to rise in his thermometer. He called this phenomenon invisible light. In possibly one of the biggest foreshadowing lines throughout the field of physics, Herschel wrote, "May not this lead us to surmise that radiant heat consists of particles of light in a certain range of momenta, and which range of momenta may extend a little farther on either side of irrefrangibility than of light." Jumping forward a bit in time, we come to another brilliant fellow by the name of Max Planck. In the late 1800s, Planck expanded on this theory some more and figured out that light is very interesting, particularly thi y the name of Max Planck. In the late 1800s, Planck expanded on this theory some more and figured out that light is very interesting, particularly this invisible light that Herschel discovered. Herschel knew that something was going on when he split sunlight with a prism, and he was right. But since the thermometer was literally a new technology at the time, and he had to borrow one for his experiment, it took many more years for things to work out. Planck, through a lot of mathematical computations, worked out something really cool. Everything, all objects, all matter in the universe, from the largest planet to the tiniest particle, emits electromagnetic radiation as long as it's above absolute zero. Even the ice cubes in your freezer are emitting electromagnetic radiation, thermal radiation, this invisible light. If you are wondering why this physics lesson is in the middle of a video on camouflage, here's why. Again, we come back to Planck. He discovered that all atoms do this, emit this infrared light, this invisible light, these photons on a pretty constant basis. And more importantly, the release of these photons or particles of light is directly related to the atom's tempera photons on a pretty constant basis. And more importantly, the release of these photons or particles of light is directly related to the atom's temperature. He figured out that as temperature increases, the place that that light occupies on the electromagnetic spectrum shifts. It moves. Going way back to that guy, Herschel, hundreds of years ago, as something gets super hot, or in reverse, super cold, its place on the electromagnetic spectrum shifts. And if it gets hot enough, the human eye can actually see it. We notice this in our everyday lives. When the burner on a stove gets really, really hot, it glows red. Same thing with the coals from a fire. Why does this happen? Why do things turn red when they get hot? Well, because that object has a very high temperature, and since Planck discovered that temperature and an object's release of these photons, this infrared energy, right, is related, we know that as something gets super hot, its place on the electromagnetic spectrum shifts into the visible light portion so that we can see it with our eyes. This is why if we turn on a stove burner in a dark room, we can feel the heat, but we can't see it immediately. It's just not hot enoug with our eyes. This is why if we turn on a stove burner in a dark room, we can feel the heat, but we can't see it immediately. It's just not hot enough yet. But heat up the burner enough, and its photons, the infrared light it's emitting, will shift into the part of the spectrum that we can see with our eyes. And also, the same thing happens with the human body, albeit on a much smaller scale. You see, the human body, like all other objects with mass that have a temperature above absolute zero, emits these photons, this infrared light. But since a human's temperature is far below the threshold to glow, we cannot see the light being emitted by our bodies. So when we say that thermal cameras can, quote, see heat, that's not technically true. Thermal cameras are specifically designed to take in photons, such as the photons that are given off by the human body, and display them in a format that the human eye can see. This is how thermal sensors work. They observe the infrared light that is being emitted by all objects, and since they are calibrated precisely, we can see things with thermal optics that the human eye is not able to see. And we can display this data on a tiny TV screen in calibrated precisely, we can see things with thermal optics that the human eye is not able to see. And we can display this data on a tiny TV screen inside a thermal camera. So, let's review in the absolute simplest way possible for quantum physics. Herschel discovered that when you split light with a prism, sunlight is made up of all colors, including colors that we cannot see with our eyes. And even though we cannot see it, there is a relationship between an object's temperature and its color or its place on the electromagnetic spectrum. Max Planck figured out that this invisible light is actually infrared radiation. It's actually particles of light that we cannot see, particles called photons. And it's very strongly related to temperature, but it's technically not the same thing. Albert Einstein comes into the picture and proves what physicists as far back as ancient Greece had theorized that light is indeed made up of tiny particles called photons, proving Max Planck correct. And as Planck theorized, the hotter something is, the more infrared radiation, the more invisible light, the more photons it emits. And this invisible light, this infrared radiation, these photons can be de re infrared radiation, the more invisible light, the more photons it emits. And this invisible light, this infrared radiation, these photons can be detected by a sensor, amplified, and displayed visually on a screen inside our thermal cameras. When it comes to thermal sensors themselves, there's actually a lot more science that needs to be understood as well. At their core, thermal sensors take in the photons that are emitted by an object. But how does the sensor process these photons into an actual image that we can see? This process is really complicated, but to boil it down, really what you need to think about is contrast. We will talk more about contrast in a bit, but for right now, just know that contrast is mostly what a thermal sensor is measuring. That contrast is the difference in temperature between an object and its surroundings. If something has a higher or lower temperature than its background, the thermal sensor can detect this and display it on a screen. However, there is a point at which the sensor cannot detect a difference in temperature. For instance, this cup of coffee is an easy one. It is a couple of hundred degrees hotter than its background, so the sensor ca erence in temperature. For instance, this cup of coffee is an easy one. It is a couple of hundred degrees hotter than its background, so the sensor can really easily detect it and display that data on the screen for us to see. But if we let the coffee cool off quite a bit and sort of equalize with its environment, note that we can still see it, even though it's almost exactly the same temperature as its background. However, almost is not is, and this object is still fractions of a degree different than its background. These tiny fractions of a degree factor into what we call the minimum resolvable temperature or MRT. This is the point at which the sensor cannot detect a difference in temperature. Usually, for most good thermal sensors, the MRT is measured in tenths or even hundredths of a degree, which is a really small difference. You might say, "How in the world can I defeat a sensor that can detect a hundredth of a degree temperature difference?" The answer to that is distance. As we increase in distance from the thermal sensor, the MRT gets worse for reasons going back to the physics we learned earlier. A sensor might be able to detect a hundredth of a degree difference at, say e MRT gets worse for reasons going back to the physics we learned earlier. A sensor might be able to detect a hundredth of a degree difference at, say, a couple hundred yards. But increase that distance to a couple of kilometers, and that same sensor might only be able to detect temperature changes of a whole degree or even two. This is a factor for all thermal sensors on or off the planet. If that sensor is far enough away from an object, that object will not be detectable at a certain range. Even a fiery blast furnace would be completely invisible to a thermal sensor that is far enough away. We can visualize this by looking to the skies with a thermal sensor. As we can see, the moon is clearly visible because the moon is really big and it also has a much higher temperature than the depths of space surrounding it. However, notice that we don't see any stars. That's because for this sensor at least, even massive stars, many of which are orders of magnitude larger than our own sun, cannot be detected because they are too far away. For the sake of simplification, a lot of people refer to this phenomenon as resolution. Again, this is not technically right. There's a little bit of a di the sake of simplification, a lot of people refer to this phenomenon as resolution. Again, this is not technically right. There's a little bit of a difference there. But right now, all we need to know is that a sensor that has a higher resolution will be able to detect thermal energy much farther away than a sensor with a lower resolution. As such, this is how many thermal sensors and optics are marketed, even though again, resolution and MRT are not technically the same thing. But they usually do go hand in hand. A sensor with a better resolution usually has a smaller MRT. And likewise, a lower quality sensor with a poor resolution usually has a comparatively large MRT. However, you want to define it, MRT or resolution, or both, these factors are very important for concealing an object from a sensor. More specifically, the range at which an object can be detected, recognized, and identified. Normally, an object is detected first. The eye, or in this case, the sensor, detects that something is there. It detects the difference between something and nothing. Then, the sensor, or more accurately, the person behind the sensor, is able to recognize what an object is. And finally, the se something and nothing. Then, the sensor, or more accurately, the person behind the sensor, is able to recognize what an object is. And finally, the sensor or person behind the sensor can identify what an object is or who it belongs to. All camouflage is intended to reduce a sensor's capability of doing these three things, or at least decrease the range required for each step. For instance, let's say that a thermal sensor can detect this object at 10 km. It can recognize it as being a tank at 5 km, and finally identify it as being an enemy tank at 2 km. Well, if we were to take advantage of camouflage, we might be able to reduce all of these ranges so that the tank can get closer before it's detected, even closer before it's recognized as a tank, and really close before it's identified as an enemy tank. With normal camouflage, we put a lot of emphasis on the first step, detection. We want to avoid being detected in the first place because in terms of normal camouflage, detection happens and is rapidly followed usually by recognition and identification in very short order, sometimes a couple of seconds. We want to avoid being detected in the first place. In warfare, by the time we're d identification in very short order, sometimes a couple of seconds. We want to avoid being detected in the first place. In warfare, by the time we're detected, the jig is up pretty much. With thermal, avoiding detection is much more difficult, but it's still important. However, with thermal, the last two steps, recognition and identification, are much more easy to camouflage. To illustrate this using a real-world example, under thermal optics, telling the difference between a Ukrainian T-72 and a Russian T-72 is really difficult. You can detect the object very easily. You can even recognize it as being a tank even easier, right? But you can't see flags, uniforms, color schemes, invasion markings, or anything like that. So, you really have to rely on how equipment is mounted. So, the detection happens very quickly. Recognition, again, happens very quickly. Identification as being friend or foe, mhm, now that takes a little bit more time to do under thermal. This is one major way that thermal camouflage tactics are different from normal camouflage. We might not be able to completely hide our signature in some situations and areas, we are going to be detected no matter what. There's l camouflage. We might not be able to completely hide our signature in some situations and areas, we are going to be detected no matter what. There's no fooling the sensor in some situations, but maybe we can confuse the operator and make our thermal signature look like something else. And if we can't do that, if we are going to be detected and recognized as being a person no matter what, well, then maybe we can confuse the operator as to who we are. Are we friendly forces or an adversary? The context of the individual battle space is going to dictate how this goes. But one of the biggest reasons for using camouflage is to induce hesitation. And if we can confuse that sensor operator just that might be all the difference in the world. So, if you can only understand one thing about thermal camouflage, if you only pay attention to one thing in this video, it should be this. Thermal camouflage is all about stopping those photons from reaching the thermal sensor. However you do that can vary, but all thermal camouflage does three things. One, it provides a physical barrier that stops infrared light from getting to the sensor. And two, it mimics the infrared radiation of what is around One, it provides a physical barrier that stops infrared light from getting to the sensor. And two, it mimics the infrared radiation of what is around the camouflage so that the camouflage material itself doesn't become a dead giveaway. And finally, by doing both of these things, thermal camouflage reduces the range at which an object can be detected, recognized, and identified. So, to dispel a major rumor right up front, any barrier between you and the sensor will work, but that's only half the battle, remember? A lot of people know about the space blanket trick, or at least they think they do. Mylar blankets should be good candidates for thermal camouflage, right? After all, they do reflect heat, so they're going to either stop those photons from being emitted or they're going to reflect them back to the user, and they are a solid barrier for all intents and purposes. And yes, a Mylar space blanket takes care of the first part of the problem. It will block your heat signature. It will stop the photons your body is emitting from getting to the sensor. The problem is is that the Mylar blanket itself sticks out like a sore thumb and interestingly acts like a mirror, reflecting the in ng to the sensor. The problem is is that the Mylar blanket itself sticks out like a sore thumb and interestingly acts like a mirror, reflecting the infrared radiation of other objects around it. Remember how the minimum resolvable temperature, the MRT of most modern sensors is hundreds of a degree? Well, Mylar is not doing you any favors here because a lot of times Mylar is going to be reflecting either the coldness of space if it's set up over you like, you know, strung up over you like a tarp, or it's going to be reflecting something else in your environment. So, any adversary hunting you is going to know that it's you behind that shiny space blanket. But fear not, we'll get back to specific camouflage tactics in due time. For right now, the fieldwork will have to wait. We have a bit more homework to do. In years past, a lot of people thought that thermal camouflage was a futile effort, meaning that thermal camouflage was so restricting, so taxing on personnel, so uncomfortable that it really wasn't worth implementing in most cases. In the past, the threat posed by thermal devices also wasn't really a huge consideration for at least the United States military. A lone insurgent wi In the past, the threat posed by thermal devices also wasn't really a huge consideration for at least the United States military. A lone insurgent with a thermal weapon optic was about the most you would see of thermal devices on the battlefield. So, as our current doctrine developed throughout the GWOT years, counter-thermal camouflage wasn't a high priority, especially in the Middle East. For decades, the theory was, if you were trying to evade thermal sensors, you have already lost. This is because thermal sensors were comparatively rare on the battlefield. If we consider the strategic allocation of intelligence collection assets, this means that in years past, if your target was important enough to warrant a thermal sensor collecting intelligence on it, it was highly unlikely that that target would escape anyway. In other words, if you were important enough to get a predator to look at you, you weren't getting away in any case, camouflage or no camouflage. This idea is reflected in most large-scale combat operation doctrine as well. In other words, a war with a near peer adversary like Russia or maybe even China. Again, in the past, Russia and China have really weren't concern ll. In other words, a war with a near peer adversary like Russia or maybe even China. Again, in the past, Russia and China have really weren't concerned large numbers of unmanned aerial platforms for many different reasons. But, the end result for American doctrine is that in the event of a near peer war with Russia, evading thermal sensors would probably be a futile effort because, again, if you were important enough for Russia or China to use their really rare sensors to collect on you, there's no way you can practically evade in time anyway. So, that's why most military doctrine says it's not worth it. It's too hard to do correctly. It's pretty rare anyway, so we're just going to hope that it never comes to that. Or so the line of thinking goes. For the individual soldier, the camouflage techniques that would be required have not been feasible in combat. At the most, thermal camouflage doctrine has really been focused on static positions or camouflaging vehicles or equipment. All of these things have contributed to a slow to change defense ideology when it comes to thermal camouflage. Then, the world changed. And a lot of stuff happened really quickly. The Nagorno-Karabakh War k defense ideology when it comes to thermal camouflage. Then, the world changed. And a lot of stuff happened really quickly. The Nagorno-Karabakh War kicked off, and Western observers took note of the widespread use of civilian equipment in the battle space, and just how effective the contents of an Amazon package could be. And more recently, the renewal of the Ukrainian War has proven that thermal imaging at the individual soldier level is now, just like night vision goggles, and now a basic requirement for survival on the modern battlefield. But again, our military doctrine has been slow to keep up. As always, nation-states fight their current wars using the doctrine from the last war. And sometimes, nations pick their next war based on the doctrine that they already have. A lot of times, militaries have to find use for those shiny new toys. Fortunately for us in the civilian arena, we don't have to wait. We might not be at the cutting edge of what is possible. After all, civilian versions of DARPA do not exist. However, we can be much quicker to field a new doctrine and technology than a nation-state level military force can be. So, is thermal camouflage worth it? The answer, if ch quicker to field a new doctrine and technology than a nation-state level military force can be. So, is thermal camouflage worth it? The answer, if you are a civilian living in today's world, is most certainly yes. The main goal of camouflage is deception. Thermal camouflage is no different in that regard. If someone is looking for us, we're trying to deceive and trick them into thinking that we are not there. This applies to all concealment tactics. All camouflage is deception at its core. And because of this, we have to take a brief crash course in the field of psychological operations. When it comes to deception, we have two main categories of operations that apply to thermal imaging, ambiguity increasing operations and ambiguity decreasing operations. The idea is simple enough. Ambiguity increasing operations are intended to make an adversary less sure of something, i.e., increasing ambiguity, increasing the unknowns. The majority of camouflage tactics fall within this category because we're trying to make the enemy less sure of our position. Ambiguity decreasing operations, on the other hand, are much more fun, but also a lot more dangerous if handled incorrectly. These oper our position. Ambiguity decreasing operations, on the other hand, are much more fun, but also a lot more dangerous if handled incorrectly. These operations are intended to make the enemy more sure of something. For this category, think ruses and faints and decoys. Decoys are intended to be seen by the enemy and make the enemy think that they know for sure where we are at. Again, decoys themselves are a fascinating part of warfare, so we will eventually have a video dedicated to their use. But for right now, you need to know two more factors of deception that are directly related to ambiguity increasing or decreasing operations. First up is windfall avoidance. Windfall avoidance is the principle of the likelihood of believing something being inversely proportional to the effort used to obtain it. This can be summed up in a single phrase, it's too good to be true. If a piece of information is too good to be true, then it should be viewed with some skepticism, right? If a task was a bit too easy to complete, something is likely gone very wrong. Likewise, if your enemy is a bit too easy to find, something is up. This is the principle that is the death of decoys. For instance, if you a y wrong. Likewise, if your enemy is a bit too easy to find, something is up. This is the principle that is the death of decoys. For instance, if you are in a war zone in your fighting position looking over at the enemy's position with your fancy thermal optic, and you suddenly see someone sticking their head up right in the middle of an area which is known for snipers, either that guy is the dumbest person alive and they will soon not be alive anymore, or it's a decoy. If an enemy's position is too easy to find, especially if your adversary is well known to use camouflage extremely well, then it's probably a fake position. If you are patrolling an area that is well known for heavy enemy presence, and you haven't seen them yet, you are probably walking into an ambush. The same line of logic applies to thermal camouflage. If a person is too easy to find, then you might not be looking at a person, but rather a decoy. The next idea to understand is Magruder's principle, which is that it is easier to confirm a pre-existing belief than it is to deceive an adversary to make them change that belief. This deception principle is a really fun one and highly effective. For example, if an adver s to deceive an adversary to make them change that belief. This deception principle is a really fun one and highly effective. For example, if an adversary thinks that you are at location X, let them keep thinking that while you move to a different location. If an adversary thinks that you lack a certain capability, let them keep thinking that while you observe their behavior and their complacency. The most dangerous sniper in the world is not the one that takes every shot that is available to him, but the one that waits for the right moment of maximum effectiveness. Not only for kinetic targeting purposes, but to confuse every other potential target into not knowing what the sniper can and cannot see. It is quite a sobering thought to become suddenly aware that you and your entire team were under observation when you thought you were concealed. When it comes to camouflage and concealment, sometimes we use camouflage to make an adversary think that we are in a position when we are really located elsewhere. So, keeping these ideas in mind, all camouflage is a game. However, with thermal, it's more of a dance. Camouflaging yourself from thermal sensors is sometimes more about fooling nd, all camouflage is a game. However, with thermal, it's more of a dance. Camouflaging yourself from thermal sensors is sometimes more about fooling the operator than the sensor. In most cases, you cannot beat the sensor, but you can beat the operator. When we are talking about evading detection from thermal sensors, this means that it's less about the actual camouflage patterns and materials, and more about this cat and mouse game with your adversary. And to make this game a bit easier to understand, and to give us some framework to work with, let's use this handy chart to separate out the different aspects of camouflage and how they apply. As we can see, we have tactics that can fool the sensor or fool the operator. And we also have factors that we can control and things we cannot. Decoys, as we have just learned, are a factor that we can control that is used to trick the operator. So, using this chart, let's move forward into the absolute most important factor for evading thermal sensors, and that is the weather. This is why we have devoted so much time to talking about everyone's least favorite topic, weather. Weather conditions can make it impossible for people with helicopte ve devoted so much time to talking about everyone's least favorite topic, weather. Weather conditions can make it impossible for people with helicopters to come get you. Weather can make it impossible for operations to be conducted at certain altitudes, and weather can slow ground troops significantly. Weather can slow or even halt armored vehicles, and can pose a serious threat to troops both on the morale front and with regards to personal health and safety. Look around the world and see which superpowers are having problems with weather, and take notes. Weather is a great equalizer and can make even the most technologically advanced adversary completely useless if the right conditions are met. As we can see, no one can control the weather. However, we can predict it, and we can plan our operations around the weather. This is one of the main reasons that fighting seasons have existed throughout history. In the ancient world, the onset of winter signaled the end of military campaigns. However, in the modern world of insurgency, the arrival of winter signals the arrival of nearly persistent cloud ceilings, and therefore relative safety from prying eyes in the skies above. Adversari rrival of winter signals the arrival of nearly persistent cloud ceilings, and therefore relative safety from prying eyes in the skies above. Adversarial groups from the Viet Cong to the Taliban have figured out that when the weather's bad, helicopters don't like to fly, sealing the term Charlie's weather into our vernacular forever. So, how does weather specifically impact thermal optics and one's ability to be successful with camouflage? How does weather trick the sensor and the operator? Well, for one, precipitation can have a huge impact on your ability to blend into your background. If we remember what we have learned about weather so far, we know that thermal sensors cannot see through clouds and almost never fly in the rain. So, that's good news if it's raining or if there's a low cloud ceiling, it's Charlie's weather and high-level intelligence platforms aren't going to be able to see you or at least it's really unlikely. So, a good rule of thumb is that you don't have to worry about overhead imagery when the weather is bad. Weather really limits what the sensors can see and even the best sensor operator cannot overcome the impacts of weather. However, you do have to worry a ather really limits what the sensors can see and even the best sensor operator cannot overcome the impacts of weather. However, you do have to worry about ground-based collection and the weather can really mess things up for you on that front. Rain in particular can change the temperature of your hide site, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Rain can make the temperature of everything more uniform, decreasing the contrast within your local environment and making that MRT factor of thermal optics a little bit more efficient or at least allow it to allow your sensors to be able to pick up the differences in contrast a little easier. If everything in the environment is roughly the same temperature, your body heat will stand out more easily. This is why most thermal sensors work best at night when the warming effect from sunlight, those infrared photons that make up a portion of sunlight, are not a factor. Take this clip for example. Note that this raw footage is almost blurry looking and it's really hard to see the shapes of objects like trees and foliage. Again, weather is important. This is what it looks like when you have clear skies that follow a rainy day. Clear s of objects like trees and foliage. Again, weather is important. This is what it looks like when you have clear skies that follow a rainy day. Clear skies at the end of the day allow the temperature to drop down close to the dew point and if you've got nice moist and humid ground and a light wind to mix everything up, most of the time you'll end up having clouds forming at ground level, otherwise known as fog. This is how we can trick the operator. Ordinarily, fog would be a pretty good way of obscuring your signature over long distances, but if you are more concerned about ground-based threats, you might not be far enough away for the fog to be thick enough to obscure you completely. However, if these are the conditions when someone is hunting you with head-mounted thermal devices, they might not be inclined to use it as much or they might choose to use their device like a monocular rather than being head-mounted. When the fog is thin enough to visually see through, but you also can't really see much due to the contrast being so low, it's really easy to trip over stuff when walking in the woods. Granted, a lot of thermal sensors have a higher detection threshold than the sensors w it's really easy to trip over stuff when walking in the woods. Granted, a lot of thermal sensors have a higher detection threshold than the sensors we have, but this sensor that we're using is better than most head-mounted sensors currently on the market. But, every sensor has a limit on how sensitive they are and in these conditions, the weak link in the chain is the operator. You can have the best sensor in the world, but if the operator is not even using that sensor because they keep tripping over stuff, you've won. Weather can make it so that the sensor works just fine, but the operator is uncomfortable or unable to see clearly to maneuver. And it is these conditions that can be very useful for evading thermal sensors and their operators. And speaking of tricking the operator, we come to another quite interesting facet of modern intelligence collection and that is the nature of targeted surveillance versus incidental collection. If there is a drone overhead and it is specifically looking for individual humans hiding in the woods, that drone is going to find them in most cases. Doubly so if those people are moving. So, it will be very, very hard to evade targeted surveillance. that drone is going to find them in most cases. Doubly so if those people are moving. So, it will be very, very hard to evade targeted surveillance. I would argue that you could either be combat effective or hidden from thermal sensors, but not both at the same time. If you are hiding underneath a camouflage net because a drone is overhead, you have effectively been suppressed by that adversary. So, when it comes to thermal camouflage, we must remember that our goal is twofold. In the case of targeted surveillance, our goal is to live to fight another day, not necessarily be combat effective. And in the case of incidental collection, our goal is to reduce our signature enough to obscure our position, numbers, capabilities, and mission. So, what do I mean by incidental collection? What does that actually mean? Remember, we're playing a game of cat and mouse. A dangerous game to be sure, but nonetheless a game in which we must play our adversaries. And to do that, we must understand a little bit about the world of intelligence collection. One of the most commonly utilized tactics in the world of intelligence collection and targeting is the NIB or non-interference based collection mi on. One of the most commonly utilized tactics in the world of intelligence collection and targeting is the NIB or non-interference based collection mission. The basic principle behind this seems complicated, but it's actually really simple. During the GWOT years, there were an awful lot of drones flying around in war zones in the Middle East, but despite the skies being full of sensors, everyone was always clamoring for collection. There were always way too many targets and not nearly enough platforms in the air to look at everything. Life as a collection manager, racking and stacking which targets were more important and therefore got coverage, was not a pleasant job. One of the ways that the whole collection process was made more efficient was the implementation of the non-interference based collection mission or NIB. This was a simple mission to get one or two minutes of imagery of a target as a drone was flying from target to target. So, what a pilot and sensor team would get is a list of targets to collect on during a shift. You're going to start at target A, collect on it for a little bit, then move to target B, collect on it for a little bit, and then move on to target C, D, re going to start at target A, collect on it for a little bit, then move to target B, collect on it for a little bit, and then move on to target C, D, and E and so on, right? Well, they would also get a couple of NIBs thrown into this list. So, as the pilot flew from target A to target B, the sensor operator would swing the sensor to look at other targets along the flight route without deviating from the drone's flight path. Remember, a lot of times targets are a long way away from each other, so sometimes you've got many minutes, maybe half an hour, sometimes an hour of flight time between one target and another. Usually, collection managers and other asset management teams try to make the flight route very efficient, so there's not that much transit time between targets, but sometimes it can't be helped. So, as the pilot is bored out of their mind and just flying a straight line from one target to the next, the sensor operator, who also has nothing to do, can swing that sensor to look at other targets along the flight route. So, this was a great way of getting a quick peek or a quite literal passing glance at targets as needed. The NIB request would often be ad hoc, a quick phone s was a great way of getting a quick peek or a quite literal passing glance at targets as needed. The NIB request would often be ad hoc, a quick phone call or even just a DM in a chat room to the sensor operator with a request that said something like, "Hey, would you mind taking a quick look at these coordinates and seeing if there's a vehicle in this compound?" Most of the time, if the targeting analyst was polite or was friends with the crew, this was no problem at all. And let me tell you something, NIBs are really helpful. Imagine you were an analyst trying to develop targets. You've got some intel on a specific spot of wooded area, right? Just all you've got is some coordinates. Maybe you've got a couple of cell phone pings from a high-value target sort of nearby or maybe some satellite imagery detected a heat plume there, you know, once or twice. Right now, you're sitting on a big nothing burger as far as targeting goes, but with enough persistence, you can figure out what's going on there and develop this into a target. What you've got right now isn't enough to get your collection manager down the hall to put this target higher on their collection list. And if you go bug th ou've got right now isn't enough to get your collection manager down the hall to put this target higher on their collection list. And if you go bug them too much, they're just not going to listen to you next time and you know, even so, you might even if they were to put this target on the collection list, you might not want to do that right now because if you get a nice shiny predator to orbit these coordinates for a couple of hours and they see nothing, it's going to be harder to justify getting more collection later on. So, what can you do? At this stage, the NIB is a perfect solution. Usually, a good analyst will know how to find out what drones are flying and where. If nothing else, they can ask around, right? And if you know that a drone's flight path takes it sort of near your target as it's transiting from one target to the next, a NIB is a great tool in the toolbox. It gets you maybe a minute of collection on a target and if they don't see anything, it's no problem. You don't even waste any gas flying around. But, if you do see something, that can be perfect justification to go to your boss and say, "Hey, this NIB last night revealed three T-72s sitting in the tree line." D e something, that can be perfect justification to go to your boss and say, "Hey, this NIB last night revealed three T-72s sitting in the tree line." During the GWOT era, many, many, many targets were developed just like this. Targets that otherwise would have been ignored. A NIB by itself is not enough to strike a target, but it's enough for an analyst to get their target racked and stacked a bit higher on the collection list and maybe get some dedicated collection later on. When it comes to thermal camouflage, the NIB is precisely what we are trying to hide from most of the time. That quick peek, that passing glance by a sensor as a drone flies from one location to the next. If this example sounds a bit specific to overseas combat operations, rest assured that NIB collection is a tactic that is used by a lot of people all the way down to the smallest local levels all over this country. And that's all I'm going to say on that. Again, this goes back to detection, recognition, and identification. You will be hard-pressed to evade a drone that is orbiting your position specifically looking for you. That's just not feasible or even possible to do in most cases. That's why we can't list e that is orbiting your position specifically looking for you. That's just not feasible or even possible to do in most cases. That's why we can't list this as a tactic to avoid the sensor on our chart here. When it comes to NIBs, we cannot control when they will happen. We will never know when an aircraft sensor is looking at us. However, we can most certainly be prepared for it when it does happen and use specific camouflage tactics to make it so that if an analyst wanted to get a NIB of our location, that drone's flight path would have to get really, really close to us, decreasing the range at which we are even detected. If we can reduce our probability of detection just a little bit, that makes it much harder for a NIB to be of any use at all to the analyst hunting you. That's what we are going for with most thermal camouflage. We can't hide completely, but we can reduce our signature and reduce the collection opportunities to make it harder for our adversaries to find us. The next factor is related to your adversary's training and equipment. You must know what kinds of capabilities your adversaries have. Are you living in Ukraine and are concerned about quadcopter spotting arti equipment. You must know what kinds of capabilities your adversaries have. Are you living in Ukraine and are concerned about quadcopter spotting artillery strikes? Or are you living in Kabul worried about your vehicle getting struck with your children inside? Or are you living in the UK and would just like to read a book in a park without being arrested? Knowing what capabilities your adversaries have is critical to understanding what thermal camouflage tactics will be useful. Just like we mentioned in our counter UAS video, the platform that is surveilling you matters a lot, as does your situation. For instance, if your adversaries are known to only use small quadcopters for surveillance, sheltering in place for 20 minutes or so until their battery gets too low to allow them to remain on station, that might be the better move. However, if your adversary has wide-area motion imagery or WAMI capability, you won't be able to move for hours within a square box that can be many miles across. Evading a Gorgon Stare platform is not easy, and this is the exact style of wide-area surveillance that has already been historically used on US soil to track US citizens. The Baltimore aerial sur nd this is the exact style of wide-area surveillance that has already been historically used on US soil to track US citizens. The Baltimore aerial surveillance program was the most famous case of this technology being used to target average everyday citizens. When it comes to ground-based thermal sensors, are you up against vehicle mounted or soldier mounted devices? Vehicle mounted devices have a much higher resolution, a much much lower MRT, right? And therefore a better detection range, but they are restricted by terrain. On the other hand, individual soldier mounted devices are much more common and much more easy to implement on a larger scales, either thermal weapon sights, head mounted devices, or thermal monoculars. These are far more common and easily accessible by everyone on the planet. However, that cat and mouse game comes in again. Weapon mounted or handheld binocular thermal devices are seriously threatening foes to come up against, but fatigue and battery life is the death of them. Even head mounted devices like the FLIR Breach and the E-COTI suffer from this to some extent, being fatiguing to use for many hours consecutively. And the E-COTI, which isn't that fatigui R Breach and the E-COTI suffer from this to some extent, being fatiguing to use for many hours consecutively. And the E-COTI, which isn't that fatiguing, suffers from comparatively lower resolution. So, understanding your adversary is very important. A significant portion of your thermal camouflage efforts might be gambling on a soldier being too lazy to scan their sector with their higher resolution optics, or being too tired or out of batteries to focus on their own mission to stop every 50 yards and scan with a thermal monocular. With standard camouflage practices, we never gamble this much, but in the field of thermal camouflage, sometimes we really don't have any choice. This is why knowing what sensors are used in your area, or even just knowing what your local authorities have, is very important if you value your privacy. Because the more sophisticated and widespread it is, the more draconian tactics you must use to evade it. Now, to continue building our chart here, we have to switch gears a little bit and start talking about the factors of recognition as they apply to thermal camouflage tactics. If you crack open a handbook or two, you might find the eight factors of recog the factors of recognition as they apply to thermal camouflage tactics. If you crack open a handbook or two, you might find the eight factors of recognition, which are position, shape, shadow, texture, color, tone, movement, and shine. Depending on which military service branch you go with, there could be additions to this list, including sound, smell, silhouette, spacing, and electronic signature. Now, we have already talked about all of these factors in separate videos, so if you want to check those out, please do so. When it comes to camouflaging yourself from thermal sensors, some of these factors of recognition don't really apply, and the ones that do apply, we have to apply them differently. But we'll get to that in a moment. The biggest takeaway from the factors of recognition is what I mentioned at the beginning, and is actually an often overlooked subset of color, which is contrast. Contrast usually gets lumped in with color, tone, and texture as a way of reminding everyone to reduce the contrast between yourself and your environment. When it comes to conventional camouflage, this is important, but contrast is one of the main considerations for thermal camouflage. So, as w ironment. When it comes to conventional camouflage, this is important, but contrast is one of the main considerations for thermal camouflage. So, as we go along, always keep contrast in the back of your mind, because the goal of most thermal camouflage is to reduce this factor of recognition. First up is position. If we take a look at our handy chart, position is a factor that we can control that can fool both the sensor and the operator if applied correctly. Choosing the best position for concealment is important for regular camouflage tactics to work, but it is even more important for evading thermal sensors. Picking a position that has little thermal variation is going to be hard to hide in. Here's what I mean by that. The more variation in the background, the easier it is to hide in it. You might find that if you are trying to hide in a field of grass, it's really hard to conceal yourself from thermal sensors. That's because all of that grass is roughly the same temperature, or at least within a few degrees, right? Which makes it really easy for a sensor to pick you out from the background. This is why you need to pick an area that has a lot of thermal variation. Dirt, grass, w really easy for a sensor to pick you out from the background. This is why you need to pick an area that has a lot of thermal variation. Dirt, grass, weeds, rocks, different species of trees, water sources, patches of moss, all of these natural materials are going to absorb sunlight and therefore heat at different rate. And these objects are going to emit those photons back out into their environment at different rates. So, your thermal camouflage will work drastically better in these types of environments. By far, the absolute hardest environment to detect a person in is a rock garden or extremely rocky terrain. At least that's what my own personal experience has been. See, in rocky terrain, rocks will heat up and get really hot in the sun, and the areas down between the rocks in the shade will stay really cool. So, you've got some really serious thermal variation. You could have your rocks in the sun being 100° Fahrenheit, and the shadows beneath the rocks, beside you know, between the rocks can be, you know, sometimes 50°. So, you know, dozens of degrees of temperature variation within the field of view of a thermal sensor can make a lot of difference. This plays havoc with the c now, dozens of degrees of temperature variation within the field of view of a thermal sensor can make a lot of difference. This plays havoc with the calibration of a lot of sensors. It messes with that MRT factor, right? Making it really difficult to detect minute temperature differences, since the differences in temperature are so large. This makes it really difficult to pick out a human from amongst rocks. I cannot tell you how many times I've been following a guy into the rocks only for him to completely disappear, usually into a cave or between the rocks or something. Uh this little trick is very select, very specific, and probably will not be that much more helpful in the future as sensors get much better. But this has been my own personal experience in the professional world, so it might be a nice little trick to add to your toolkit. Coming back to our handy chart here, we can use our position to trick the sensor by either not allowing the sensor to see us at all, such as positioning ourselves underground or in extremely thick foliage, or whatever works. We can also fool the sensor by choosing an area with a lot of thermal variation, so that the sensor has a hard time with th oliage, or whatever works. We can also fool the sensor by choosing an area with a lot of thermal variation, so that the sensor has a hard time with the extreme thermal contrast. Again, this kind of blends tricking the sensor and tricking the operator into one kind of idea. With a lot of temperature variation in a in a sensor's field of view, the sensor is going to have a hard time, maybe not picking that information up, but displaying that data to the operator. So, the operator sees a blob on their screen, and that blob may be a person or it may be a rock, because it's the same color, because the sensor is going to display using the gray scale scheme that it has, you know, built into its software, right? For a lot of military sensors, you're not going to be able to find any terrain on the planet that is variable enough to hide in totally, right? So, don't get too caught up with trying to find terrain that you're going to be invisible in. That's not the goal here. The goal is to think about position in terms of understanding that hiding in the ocean is going to be a lot harder than it is to hide down in the deep depths of a rocky canyon. It's going to be a lot harder to hide in a co g in the ocean is going to be a lot harder than it is to hide down in the deep depths of a rocky canyon. It's going to be a lot harder to hide in a cornfield than it is in the Grand Canyon. Up next is shape. In the world of thermal, shapes get people killed. In some parts of the world, even holding a stick in your hand is enough to meet the pillars of targeting under various rules of engagement. That's because even the simple stick, otherwise known in the Middle East as the average farming implement, is classified as what we call a long cylindrical object or LCO to the sensor operator observing from afar. And in war zones, rifles and RPGs are also LCOs. Many a dude in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan has been smoked simply for holding a stick in the wrong place at the wrong time. The shape of the human body can also get you killed pretty effectively, too, as it's one of the most recognizable features in the world. This goes back to the very primal origins of man. Humans are apex predators, and we know the shape of other apex predators. It's really hard to describe, and all the science in the world cannot explain the somewhat mystical and supernatural ways that humans can sense other hu 's really hard to describe, and all the science in the world cannot explain the somewhat mystical and supernatural ways that humans can sense other humans. So, concealing the human shape is very important. And if we cannot conceal the human shape entirely, maybe we can break it up a little and reduce the mystical impacts that instincts have on visually spotting the human silhouette. So, what can we do? Well, we might not be able to seal off our body heat from being detected by a thermal sensor, but we can reduce the intensity of that temperature difference. Again, think contrast. The problem with concealing the human shape is that this one other factor keeps popping up and is really kind of the death of thermal camouflage. And that factor is comfort. Typically, any solid barrier between you and the sensor will completely conceal you from that sensor. This is why a lot of people have sung the praises of things like wool blankets, tarps, or really any piece of fabric, even Mylar blankets like I mentioned. All of these work to some degree, but they all unfortunately suffer from the same thing. They are usually very hot, very uncomfortable, and usually bulky and heavy to boot. Not many e, but they all unfortunately suffer from the same thing. They are usually very hot, very uncomfortable, and usually bulky and heavy to boot. Not many people want to carry an 8-lb wool blanket into the woods to sleep under in summertime. Other options like a simple tarp intended for shedding water also work as well to some degree, but not nearly as well as more natural insulative materials. Remember, we don't want these photons that are being emitted by our body to be caught and trapped by the actual structure we're trying to hide inside, right? Because that structure will heat up. So, some tarps might be just as obvious to a thermal sensor after you've been laying underneath them for a while. And again, solid fabrics are very uncomfortable. They reduce airflow and are generally miserable to sleep under, uh especially if you have them low to the ground. Soldiers around the world have spent much of their careers sleeping under a poncho. But that poncho shelter half or small tarp is usually never completely flush with the ground. There's always an air gap to breathe. That air gap is a huge vulnerability that sensors can take advantage of. And even if you embrace the suck and bring yo s always an air gap to breathe. That air gap is a huge vulnerability that sensors can take advantage of. And even if you embrace the suck and bring your poncho all the way down to the ground and cutting off your airflow, that poncho is again still going to trap your body heat. It's going to trap those photons that are being emitted and make the whole structure very visible to thermal sensors. Do you now see why militaries basically said, "Screw it. It's not worth it to make soldiers do this. They're not going to do it anyway." So right now, conventional wisdom is to use a mesh-based system. Some kinds of mesh or ultra-lightweight breathable fabrics are halfway decent at blurring your body heat to the point that a sensor can't really tell what it is. Again, changing your shape while also letting your body heat dissipate. In other words, mesh fabric options can turn a big blob of red into a little blob of red, or even better, a blob of nothing. Certainly nothing that's recognizable as a human shape. This is how we can use shape to trick the operator more than the sensor. In most cases, again, the sensor will detect the photons we're emitting by our body. But if the operator mistakes the operator more than the sensor. In most cases, again, the sensor will detect the photons we're emitting by our body. But if the operator mistakes this signature for something else, or doesn't instinctively notice the human shape, we have effectively tricked the operator. Up next is movement. Movement is the tricky one, and it's the factor of recognition that everybody wants to defeat. And I hate to burst everyone's bubble, but right now, you are going to be really hard pressed to find a thermal camouflage solution that works when you are moving. Even those super Gucci suits that are only available to governments are not going to be as effective when you are moving. There are some options that can sort of work, and right now we're developing some solutions in-house to combat this huge problem. Conventional wisdom would indicate using something like a poncho. The air gap that a poncho leaves around your midsection and upper legs is all right for mitigating your thermal signature. However, your head, shoulders, and upper torso, statistically the hottest parts of the human body, they're still going to be left out in the open, or just as worse, convect that heat right through the ma stically the hottest parts of the human body, they're still going to be left out in the open, or just as worse, convect that heat right through the material, making it kind of irrelevant. So at the risk of spoiling the outcome of this series, when it comes to movement, we're really hosed right now. There currently isn't anything available to citizens that is feasible to use while moving just yet. The options that sort of work are super hot to wear and offer only marginal gains anyway. But again, there are a few companies working on products to help with this, specifically for the civilian sector. So all in all, the factor that people want to combat the most, movement, is kind of a letdown. We can use our movement, or rather the lack of movement, to trick the operator, but as soon as we start moving, the sensor, but most especially the operator, is going to pick us up. It's not really feasible to conduct any movement and at the same time be hidden from thermal sensors. With movement, we really have to fall back on the old standby of a good offense being the best defense. Being able to see and engage the other guy before he sees you is pretty much how you maneuver in an environment f good offense being the best defense. Being able to see and engage the other guy before he sees you is pretty much how you maneuver in an environment full of sensors. Of course, this is easier said than done, and not exactly feasible for a more domestic civilian environment. But like everything else in the field of thermal camouflage, not all solutions are complete, and sometimes there just aren't really any good solutions just yet. And finally, we must also not forget that if our goal is to conceal ourselves, there are other parts of the spectrum to worry about. You might find an awesome thermal camouflage, which works really, really well, but the dye used to make that product isn't IRR or NIR compliant. So you can hide from the dude that's got the thermal device, but not from his battle buddy who's got standard night vision goggles. In that situation, you're toast, and you would have spent a lot of money on counter-thermal solutions only to ignore the other visual spectrums, which are the most common threats anyway. Then there's also the MWIR and SWIR, or sweer, parts of the spectrum that are concerns nowadays, too. But that's a whole other animal and a topic for another day. Just the MWIR and SWIR, or sweer, parts of the spectrum that are concerns nowadays, too. But that's a whole other animal and a topic for another day. Just make sure to keep these things in mind when you are buying commercially available counter-thermal products. I know that this has been a lot of information, and not all of it particularly helpful. That's the thing you start realizing about thermal camouflage. There really are no satisfying answers to be found, and you really have to think outside and significantly alter your operational style if you are trying to avoid thermal devices. We might not be able to completely remove the contrast between our body heat and our environment, but we can reduce it quite a bit, and sometimes that's all the difference in the world. We always have to remember that with camouflage, there is no real way to measure success, and the ways that have been developed to gauge camouflage success in a scientific way haven't really been super effective. You can have the best camouflage in the world and still be found by the dumbest sensor operator. Likewise, you can also be the dumbest person and hide pretty effectively from the best sensor operator. Maybe the und by the dumbest sensor operator. Likewise, you can also be the dumbest person and hide pretty effectively from the best sensor operator. Maybe the sensor operator is having troubles at home, or isn't really focused, or maybe the sensor operator had an extra cup of coffee that shift and is more alert than usual. Maybe they are really familiar with the terrain you're hiding in, or maybe they're not. These extremes mean that there's no real way for us to survive an incident and say, "All right, yeah, our camouflage worked." In reality, we will never know if it was our actions that kept us hidden, or if it was the negligence of the entity hunting us. But through our own operational choices, we might be able to induce a bit of operator error. Operating far from supply lines, in demoralizing weather, at high altitudes, or rugged or otherwise unpleasant terrain, all of these things can bring an extremely well-equipped superior adversary down down to your level. Make it so that if someone wants to come get you, they have to do so by hiking miles on foot in hellish terrain. Even if an adversary is that motivated to get you, they are now miles from their own supply lines, probably a long miles on foot in hellish terrain. Even if an adversary is that motivated to get you, they are now miles from their own supply lines, probably a long way from a potential medevac HLZ, in the heart of your terrain, and they are tired and out of their element. Considering all of these things, that thermal optic on their weapon will work just fine, but that operator's tired eyes might not. That thermal monocular they've got in their pack will work perfectly, but after hiking all day, their rigid tactic of stopping every 50 yards to scan might start to slip. This is a major reason that insurgent groups from the Taliban to the Viet Cong actually ended up winning their respective conflicts, albeit at great cost to themselves. Only gear front, we might have to spend hundreds of dollars on products that work, but only in really specific situations. With the interest in individual thermal camouflage being so new, DIY options are really what most people seem to be leaning on that are interested in thermal camouflage. And finally, an unpleasant but very necessary word of warning. As much as we want to focus on the purely military aspects of camouflage, we also have to mention and be aware of but very necessary word of warning. As much as we want to focus on the purely military aspects of camouflage, we also have to mention and be aware of certain social aspects. Chances are, if you have made it this far into the video, you probably have noticed there's a lot of stuff going on in the world. Stuff that isn't super great. Stuff that makes you want to understand more about thermal camouflage that might be helpful for those living in westernized countries. It's a sad but pertinent fact that many people, ourselves included, believe that one day this information might be a lot more useful than we think. And it is these thoughts that enter into the world of thermal camouflage from a commercial standpoint. If you haven't determined by now, it is really easy for companies to screw you over and skew test results of their thermal camouflage products. There are a lot of ways to scam customers, and though none of the companies shown today have done this, the writing is on the wall. Thermal camouflage is what's next, and a lot of companies are going to pop up to take your money and get you killed in the process. So please keep this in mind as more and more companies start offering up ies are going to pop up to take your money and get you killed in the process. So please keep this in mind as more and more companies start offering up products, especially since defense companies are the ones developing most of these products, and most of these companies are happy to take your tax dollars to develop a product, and then ban US citizens from owning that product. It's a tale as old as the military-industrial complex, and why we have not showcased any products that only influencers and big names can buy. Most of the big defense companies we have contacted have had the attitude of, "How dare a US citizen want to buy the product that was only developed because of their tax dollars?" Remember, we're not social media influencers, nor do we want to be. And in internet land, this is a frequently forgotten aspect of testing specific gear, the access to actually purchase something. The tactical community has had a huge problem with the influencer mindset over the years. And as much as you all don't want to hear it, this is a huge problem for the entire field of thermal camouflage and what commercial products are actually available to purchase by average citizens. If we cannot problem for the entire field of thermal camouflage and what commercial products are actually available to purchase by average citizens. If we cannot easily buy it as an ordinary citizen, we really want to avoid it as much as we can. Chances are you are going to be just like us and not able to afford a $50,000 thermal sensor to test your gear with. Or you are not going to have the access to buy gear that has been tested with those expensive military sensors. So you are always going to be trusting that someone else has done that testing for you. And in the tactical gear world, trust is hard won and easily lost. And if that trust is misplaced, you could end up buying hundreds of dollars of gear that will get you killed instantly. We here will do what we can to help with this. That's part of the reason this series exists. But even if we focused solely on thermal camouflage testing, our own data would still be inadequate. With all camouflage, we stand on the shoulders of giants. And rarely are those giants on Instagram, Reddit, or YouTube. This doesn't mean that you can't get good information from those sources, but you have to realize that comments on the internet sometimes aren't the . This doesn't mean that you can't get good information from those sources, but you have to realize that comments on the internet sometimes aren't the best source of life or death information. When you are laying in the mud with a tarp draped over you, hoping the drone overhead doesn't see you, it's hard to imagine that the science protecting you goes back to the works of scientists from hundreds of years ago. But it's true. So please be careful and test your gear with the best sensors that you have access to. Use your own common sense and what you know about thermal camouflage to influence your decisions. Yes, it is true that right now the average consumer has to rely on a lot of backyard science or fud lore in order to implement thermal camouflage. Most of this stuff is trial and error and an awful lot of people have opinions on thermal camouflage who have never known the fear of waiting and hoping a hellfire doesn't strike their position. But at the end of the day, all we can do is the best we can. Sometimes that isn't good enough. Sometimes the homemade cheaper gear option is not just as good. But sometimes it is. Remember these topics may be all fun and games to us from a West Sometimes the homemade cheaper gear option is not just as good. But sometimes it is. Remember these topics may be all fun and games to us from a Western perspective, but throughout the Middle East and the rest of the Third World, generations of people have grown up in a world where they have to worry about thermal sensors. And generations more have not grown old because of this technology. So don't forget this when you're trying to just read a book in a park or practicing airsoft skills on a rooftop or trying to get to work in the snow so you can feed your family. When we say that thermal is what's next, that doesn't mean it's new. It means that it's new here at home. Thermal sensors have been around a long time, but their implementation and widespread use is what's here to stay, even at the smallest, most unimportant local level. And though we don't want to think about it, we have to prepare for our children to live in a world in which these things are a part of daily life and not just something cool you can do when out training with friends. Thermal camouflage may seem to be just like every other form of camouflage, but it's unique. After all, talking about lifestyle choices and h friends. Thermal camouflage may seem to be just like every other form of camouflage, but it's unique. After all, talking about lifestyle choices and political issues, domestic actions, tyrannical companies, or social media influencer culture is this is completely unexpected for a video about camouflage. I'm sure that many of you wanted me to just shut up and talk about the gear or show the raw thermal footage. But only doing that is a disservice that will get you killed. You have to talk about this other stuff because thermal camouflage is so much a game of cat and mouse. Right now, thermal camouflage is a new and hot topic in the tactical world. Right now, everybody is all about thermal because it's made its run through the social media influencer circles. But any here, I guarantee interest is going to simmer down from the masses at least because of how difficult thermal camouflage really is. Eventually, people are going to realize that thermal camouflage is more about lifestyle and operational decisions than it is about buying a particular product. At the end of the day, when the sponsorship deals end and all the gear is sold, there are still going to be a lot of people trying articular product. At the end of the day, when the sponsorship deals end and all the gear is sold, there are still going to be a lot of people trying to learn the same lessons that the Taliban had to learn 20 years ago. And Western societies are fighting an uphill battle on that. Really any attempt at thermal camouflage is an exercise in fifth generation warfare or the Cold War 2.0 or whatever it is the world is going through right now. All of this stuff is connected and there's so much more to consider than just the gear itself. Personally, this alone gives me a headache. I myself just want to talk about the camouflage and leave the problems of the world out of it. But it's just not possible to separate these ideas, especially if we are trying to come at things from the perspective of the prepared and responsible citizen. Military doctrine is one thing, but applying that doctrine to a civilian lifestyle so that we can be ready for anything sometimes means that we have to talk about things that we would rather not. And that's perhaps not such a bad thing. We can only move forward if we try things. And sometimes trying things means re-examining the nature of what we are trying to do not such a bad thing. We can only move forward if we try things. And sometimes trying things means re-examining the nature of what we are trying to do. That's not so easy sometimes because in the world of thermal camouflage, we have really specific solutions to really specific problems. So it's really hard to generalize doctrine and it's even harder to write doctrine that is actually helpful for the average users in the real world and not in some DARPA testing lab. And that requires doing some testing of our own. So that's what we're going to do. But for right now, all of the information we have covered today is a start. We know how thermal sensors work and the physics behind them. We know the detection and recognition factors that influence a thermal sensor's ability to work as well as some basic deception factors that influence the sensor operator. And we now have a good foundation of understanding from which we can work the problem and start working through some solutions for thermal camouflage. So that's what we're going to do next. We have been testing a lot of different options for a while now and I think we've got some interesting solutions. So next we will be taking a look t. We have been testing a lot of different options for a while now and I think we've got some interesting solutions. So next we will be taking a look at the data, seeing what the sensors we have access to are capable of, and testing what works and what doesn't. And maybe we can find a way to quite literally fight in the shade. Sit back and relax, no worry. The world can wait. No need to hurry.