Lightweight Camouflage Screen System
 

Posted Friday, October 7, 2005

The LCSS is a modular system consisting of a hexagon screen, a diamond-shaped screen, a support system, and a repair kit. You can join any number of screens to cover a designated target or area. Use the image below to determine the number of modules needed for camouflaging a given area. Measure the vehicle or use the table below to determine the vehicle's dimensions.

The LCSS protects targets in four different ways. It—

1. Casts patterned shadows that break up the characteristic outlines of a target.
2. Scatters radar returns (except when radar-transparent nets are used).
3. Traps target heat and allows it to disperse.
4. Simulates color and shadow patterns that are commonly found in a particular region.

Erecting Procedures:

To erect camouflage nets effectively—

• Keep the net structure as small as possible.
• Maintain the net a minimum of 2 feet from the camouflaged target's surface. This prevents the net from assuming the same shape and thermal signature as the target it is meant to conceal.
• Ensure that the lines between support poles are gently sloped so that the net blends into its background. Sloping the net over the target also minimizes sharp edges, which are more easily detectable to the human eye.
• Extend the net completely to the ground to prevent creating unnatural shadows that are easily detected. This ensures that the net effectively disrupts the target's shape and actually absorbs and scatters radar energy.
• Extend the net all the way around the target to ensure complete protection from enemy sensors.

Camouflage nets are often employed in conjunction with supplemental camouflage because nets alone do not make a target invisible to a threat's multispectral sensors. Use other CCD techniques to achieve effective concealment. Cover or remove all of the target's reflective surfaces (mirrors, windshields, lights). Also ensure that the target's shadow is disrupted or disguised. Use native vegetation, because placing a target in dense foliage provides natural concealment and a smoother transition between the edges of the camouflage net and the target's background. Cover exposed edges of the net with dirt or cut vegetation to enhance the transition.