Radars are gradually moving from the sky to the earth and become one of the factors of success in ground battles. In recent years, quite a few samples of ground-based reconnaissance radar stations have appeared.
For example, "Fara-VR" can detect a tank at a distance of up to 10 km, an infantryman at a distance of up to 4 km, with an error of no more than 0.3 degrees in azimuth. It can be used to guide heavy machine guns or grenade launchers. There is also a unified Credo-1E radar capable of detecting a tank 40 km away, a person 15 km away, and simultaneously track 20 targets. However, unlike the Fara, which weighs 12 kg, the Credo-1E already requires a car for transportation due to its weight of 100 kg. Plus, aviation radars of various types are often used for reconnaissance of ground objects and targets.
In light of this circumstance, the task of developing radar camouflage and protection arises. Unlike airplanes or ships, which can be specially designed taking into account stealth radar, with ground equipment it is much more difficult to do this, and people generally hardly lend themselves to such alteration. And what should be done in this case?
Good old dipole
One of the good solutions for radar camouflage of ground equipment and people can be a dipole reflector, well known to everyone as a passive interference to suppress enemy radars.
In the same capacity, it can be used on the ground, only with some differences. If any ground object has a strong radio contrast and it is impossible to reduce its visibility, then you need to go the other way - add more false objects so that the real ones are lost between them. False objects should be reflected on the radar first, and reflectors are best suited for this. A dipole reflector, which is a strip of foil half the wavelength of the radar (for the above radars operating in the 10-20 GHz range with a wavelength of 1.5-3 cm, the length of the dipole reflector will range from 0.7 to 1.5 cm), or a piece of metallized fiberglass, perfect for creating numerous decoys and interference. It is cheap and technologically advanced in mass production, dipole reflectors can be made in a handicraft way from a suitable foil. A pack of these reflectors can be given to each soldier.
Tactically, the use of dipole reflectors is reduced to two methods. The first is to sketch more of them in general and everywhere, on trees, stones, houses, on any objects, so that with any use of the radar, it is clogged with these false marks. This method is also suitable against aviation radars, including AWACS. If a certain area in which the connection operates is covered with dipole reflectors, then this mess will not be easy to figure out. The second way is to create mock objects that can be put in and out. For example, a panel, a sheet of cardboard or plywood with glued dipole reflectors. If we are talking about a panel for creating false targets, then it can also be factory-made, when the fabric is stitched with a metallized thread so that a dipole reflector for different wavelengths is obtained.
If the first method simply makes it difficult for the enemy to use the radar, then the second method is aimed at deceiving him. As with any disguise, the use of such means requires a carefully designed plan, taking into account all circumstances, otherwise it may be ineffective.
Absorption protection
Another type of radar camouflage is the so-called "black dipole", which is a strip or section of fiber made of radio-absorbing material, also half the wavelength. In the formulation of radar interference, they were often used to enhance the protective effect of stripes and clouds of dipole reflectors. A very simple and cheap tool: hundreds of small pieces of graphite, carbon, or other radio-absorbing filaments. This material does not completely absorb radio radiation and reflects part of it towards the radar, but the absorption is very noticeable, and the reflection is very weak, so that the "black dipole" creates a good shielding effect.
Radar absorbing materials have been developed on the basis of carbon fiber that can absorb radiation with a wavelength of 3 mm to 30 cm. It looks like a very fluffy carpet, in which the fibers are of different lengths.
Camouflage materials can be made on the basis of the "black dipole". This can be, for example, a non-woven fabric of camouflage color, into which sections of carbon fiber of the required length are pressed.
It can also be made using handicraft methods, by quilting the fabric with carbon fiber stitches of the required length.
Such a banner is installed to protect an object from enemy radar reconnaissance. These panels can cover trenches, firing points, equipment, making it difficult to detect it by enemy radar reconnaissance.
Methods can be combined where the "black dipole" reduces the signature of the real technique, and the regular dipole creates false targets elsewhere. The use of these camouflage tools can vary according to the conditions and environment. For example, a real firing point is covered with an absorbing cloth, and several false targets were created around with the help of dipole reflectors.
It seems that on the basis of radio-absorbing materials, such as carbon filaments and fleecy materials from them, it is possible to make a cape that will very effectively reduce the visibility of an infantryman both in the radar and in the thermal range. Carbon fiber has very little heat conduction and should be good at shielding thermal radiation from the human body.
The methods may not be ideally effective, but quite applicable, capable of achieving the desired effect. The most important thing in them is that such camouflage means against radar reconnaissance can be produced easily and simply using a wide variety of materials at hand (a roll of ordinary food aluminum foil can be turned into "tanks", "guns", "airplanes"), and used them in all divisions, up to a single soldier. If radars, especially compact ground-based radar stations, enter the battlefield, then everyone should have anti-radar camouflage. You should prepare for this in advance.
