Category Description:

Friendly fire casualties are an increasing peril of modern warfare.Fratricide results from Operation Desert Storm caused the US Army leadership to direct immediate action to save soldiers lives and preserve combat power. Friendly casualties and equipment losses underscored the need for a more effective means of identifying friend from foe on the battlefield. Without some kind of target identification system, the extended ranges of modern weapons make it virtually impossible for a gunner, even under ideal conditions, to visually identify the target at maximum effective ranges. Working closely with the US Army, Night Vision Systems (NVS) developed several combat identification devices that included thermal panels, GloTape IR markers and IR lights. The devices provide a unique signature when viewed through US Army thermal viewers or night vision goggles and ensure that the gunner is capable of identifying friendly soldiers at maximum ranges. The NVS identification devices were tested under all conditions and were approved as the Joint Combat Identification Marking System (JCIMS). The devices that achieved this distinction are the Phoenix and Phoenix Jr.Near Infrared lights, GloTape IFF reflective tape, and thermal cloth panels for air-to-ground and ground-to-ground protection. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also successfully tested these devices and the members agreed to employ the devices in accordance with NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG 2129) for identification of land forces on the battlefield. Because of the demonstrated accomplishments of these anti-fratricide products, the NVS devices were approved to be the Department of Army near-term combat identification solution. These devices not only successfully protected the soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but are also the only approved anti-fratricide devices to fight the war on terrorism.