Performance evaluation of a multilayer camouflage system for ground vehicles in the visible and mid-wave infrared spectrum

Abstract

Electro-optical systems and sensors are becoming increasingly advanced, offering multispectral observation capabilities across a wide range of spectral bands. This development places greater demands on camouflage solutions, which must now achieve multispectral effectiveness. Ground vehicles, characterized by large surface areas, complex structures, and primarily metallic materials, pose significant challenges for signature management, particularly due to the considerable thermal emission from their engines during operation. While various camouflage techniques for ground vehicles have been studied and published, two main approaches remain widely applied in practice: camouflage painting and camouflage covers, often used in combination. This paper presents a camouflage solution for ground vehicles using a multilayer camouflage system (MCS) developed by the authors, including its design, prototyping, and performance evaluation. The effectiveness of the proposed MCS is assessed in both the visible (VIS) and mid-wave infrared (MWIR) spectral bands. A comprehensive evaluation framework is applied, combining subjective assessment by human observers with objective metrics, including the Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), histogram intersection, salient degree derived from thermal images, and spectral contrast analysis between the target and background. Results confirm the MCS’s effectiveness in both VIS and MWIR spectral bands.