Battlefield illumination
Battlefield illumination is technology that improves visibility for military forces operating in difficult low-light conditions. The risks and dangers to armies fighting in poor light have been known since Ancient Chinese times.[1] Prior to the advent of the electrical age, fire was used to improve visibility on the battlefield.
Modern armies use a variety of equipment and discharge devices to create artificial light. If natural light is not present
Theory
Ancient military strategists knew that natural light created shadows that can hide form while bright areas would expose a military force's size and number. Ancient armies would always prefer to fight with the sun behind them in order to use the visual glare to partially blind an opposing enemy. Backlight would also obscure movement and numbers making it more difficult for an enemy to react quickly to any tactical assault.
Adverse weather such as fog, rain and snow reduce both visibility and the usefulness of illumination. Enemy action in the form of smoke and shellfire, and the dust and smoke created by battle generally, further limit the effectiveness of illumination. Thermal imaging devices (using infrared) can however to some extent penetrate these obstacles.[5]
History
In 1583, during the
In 1882 the British Royal Navy used searchlights to prevent Egyptian forces from staffing artillery batteries at Alexandria during the Anglo-Egyptian War. Later that same year, the French and British forces landed troops under artificial light created by searchlights.[6]
The
Types
Flares
During the Korean War and the Vietnam War, US ground forces used the M127A1 White Star Signal Flare Parachute to illuminate the jungle in forward positions.
A modern LUU-2B flare at 1,000 feet altitude illuminates the ground at 5 lux in a radius of 1500 feet. Burn time is 4–5 minutes. The flare is 36 inches long, 4.9 inches in diameter, and weighs about 30 pounds. A similar design called LUU-19B can provide covert illumination in the near-infrared (IR) spectrum with virtually no visual signature.
Tripflare
Searchlights
These are usually large portable devices that combine an extremely
Battlefield Illumination Airborne System (BIAS)
The Battlefield Illumination Airborne System (BIAS) was an illumination system consisting of a lamp assembly (consisting of a number of Xenon lamps), a power source, a heat exchanger pod and a control console. The system was intended to be installed on modified cargo aircraft, with the lamp assembly positioned on the rear cargo ramp, the other elements were to be installed in the main cargo area and mounted on the aircraft fuselage.[10]
The
Testing of the BIAS equipped C-123B in support of night strike, search and rescue, and ground operations was carried out eliciting positive feedback from USAF and
References
- ^ Sun Tzu. "IX: The Army on the March". The Art of War.
11: All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark
- ^ "Field Manual 20-60: Battlefield Illumination" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. January 1970. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ Jeff Tyson. "How Night Vision Works". HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate - Fort Belvoir, VA Archived February 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Appendix G. Limited Visibility Operations". Global Security.org. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-85109-732-6.
- ^ "Tank Infantry Mark II A12, Matilda CDL (E1949.353)". Collections. Bovington Tank Museum. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-84415-210-0.
- ISBN 978-1-62892-962-1.
- ^ a b c Pike, John. "Battlefield Illumination Airborne System (BIAS)". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 14 September 2018.