Innovative Vehicle Camouflage

The use of battlefield camouflage is beyond a doubt an effective countermeasure against human vision and aided vision target acquisition systems. Effective camouflage is such a valuable countermeasure because it is passive and hence continuously effective,within a given environment. However, optimal camouflage effectiveness requires that the camouflage pattern (i.e., color and spatial design) be matched to the local background and the vehicle's geometry within that background. Our team proposes to developan advanced surface barrier protection peel and stick wallpaper (i.e., appliqu¿) system that will be designed to include three dimensional camouflage patterns sublimed directly into the applique coating. The camouflage aspect of the applique will bedesigned with the objective of achieving at least 20% signature reduction when incorporated onto large land vehicles and structures important to the U.S. Marine Corp. Further, this appliqu¿ system will have both inherent and internally built-incapabilities for providing exceptional corrosion protection to all vehicles equipment and structures to which it will be applied. Effective coatings that provide the Marine Corps with: (1) 20% reduction in detection, (2) Easy application,interchangeability, repair and maintenance, and (3) Outstanding resistance to and protection from corrosion will have significant market potential in military applications. We believe a product can be developed which can be applied easily to the surfacesof most Marine and Naval vessels resulting in excellent cost savings via the multi-functional characteristics of this unique coating system.