Photonics plays a role in all areas of military development: Sensing, Detecting the Enemy: Photonics Expands Strategic Vision

R. Winn Hardin

The greatest trick in any battle is seeing the enemy before they see you. Unlike radar and other active detection systems, optical detection is mainly a passive detection system, meaning that the act of detection does not emit a tell-tale sign to alert the enemy. As a result, the military continues to develop new devices in all parts of the optical spectrum. Advances in thermoelectric heat sinks have made infrared systems smaller and more appropriate for ground troops. More recently, the military has added ultraviolet detectors to its imaging arsenal, to better separate random explosions from the plume of incoming missiles…