What a wonderful Friday night and you chose to spend your time reading this article. Thank you! Today we talk about our third thermal camo test of the Phantom Defence ghillie. We pit the Phantom Ghillie vs drone, specifically a thermal drone. How did it do? Well, you need to read to find out.

Thermal Camo @ TFB:

• Friday Night Lights: Does Thermal Camo Work?
• Friday Night Lights: Thermal Camo 2.0 – Testing Resumed
• Friday Night Lights: Phantom Defense Phantom Ghillie. Part 1 of 3 – Thermal Camo 3.0

Phantom Ghillie Testing Continues . . .

The previous tests of the Phantom Ghillie were stagnant observations with a direct line of sight to the thermal camo. This was too easy of a test. If the user hid behind vegetation, he would disappear but that is more to do with the vegetation and skill of the user to hide than the thermal camo. Given the new challenges we have seen in the Ukranian conflict, thermal drones have become a serious problem. So I decided to pit the Phantom Ghillie vs drone and see if the thermal camo could work when observed from the air.

I engaged the help of my friend Aaron and his roommate. Both are former Marines and were very eager to help test the Phantom Ghillie vs drone. Aaron has the same drone as I do, a Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced, so worst case he could help fly his drone if needed. Aaron’s roommate Victor was our volunteer test subject.

Behind their house is a dry river bed that is probably 100 yards wide. It has some large bushes and trees dotting all along the river bed. There is no elevation for me to observe from with handheld thermal devices so we have to use the drones. To set up a baseline, I had Victor go out into the bush without the Phantom ghillie. Victor was kitted out with his Marine uniform, plate carrier, helmet, night vision goggles, rifle and walkie-talkie. To give him a fair chance I waited for him to get settled before flying the drone. Immediately I noticed what was possibly his footprints in the river bed sand. See the image below. This was around 9:40 pm at night and the sun had set around 8 pm. It was around 75ºF, overcast with thunderstorms and light rain bursts.

I was surprised that we could see his footprints. I am at the bottom edge of the image and Aaron is standing a few feet in front of me. The river bed has a beach-like sand quality to it. I believe the sand warmed up all day and when the sun set, the cooler air started to cool the topsoil first. So when Victor walked across it he disturbed and displaced the cooler top sand to reveal the warmer sand underneath thus allowing us to follow his footsteps. I was not entirely sure following the footsteps would work but it did and Victor was easy to spot even though he was tucked into a bush.

Granted I was facing the right angle and he popped up. If I was on the back side of the bush, I am pretty sure that entire bush would mask his thermal signature.

Phantom Ghillie Vs Drone

Now it was time for Victor to get suited up in this Phantom Ghillie vs drone face-off. He kept his marine gear on and threw the Phantom Ghillie on top. Like the previous test, Aaron and I turned our backs until Victor got settled then I flew the drone.

I will be honest, I was not able to find Victor. After some time, I gave up and Aaron told him to take a knee so we could see where he was hiding. Once he did so, I was able to spot him. I had to review the footage I recorded on my drone to see who the winner was in the Phantom Ghillie vs drone battle. Did I just not fly anywhere near Victor or did the thermal camo actually work? We ordered Victor to return to base and I asked him if he was aware of my drone in the air. He said I flew over him twice but he was unable to see where it was since he had his face lying down pointed in the dirt to hide his thermal signature the most. Upon reviewing the footage I recorded on my drone, I can confirm I should have been able to spot him at least once.

In the screenshot above, you can see a small sliver of white-hot at the edge of the bush. This would have been the best chance of detecting Victor but the Phantom Ghillie did its job. The screenshot below is when I flew back over him from the opposite direction but now the bush is between the drone and Victor. I would definitely not have been able to detect him from this angle.

When I flew down to get a better look at Victor, he was kneeling and facing the bush. Sure enough, I can now see his footprints. But more interesting than that is what is going on with him and the thermal camo in this iteration of Phantom Ghillie vs drone battle.

There is a significant amount of heat bleeding through the Phantom Ghillie. Now I did not notice this when I was much higher up in the air but I have never seen the Ghillie look like this under thermal.

Here Victor stood up and turned a bit so now we can see his uncovered front side and the Ghillie on his back.

We had Victor return to base and did a mini after-action report. He said he was very hot under the Ghillie. It had always been a belief told to me that a plate carrier and plates will offer up some insulation and stand off from the body to a thermal camo fabric helping it to keep cooler and reduce the bleed through and soaking of the body head. However, that did not seem to be the case here. Victor was so hot from the plate carrier that it made the Phantom Ghillie light up under a white-hot thermal palette.

Phantom Ghillie Vs Drone Round 3! Fight!

That second test worked in the ghillie’s favor. However, at the time I had not reviewed the thermal footage so I was unsure if the thermal camo worked or if I was just not looking in the right spot. So Aaron volunteered to wear the Phantom Ghillie. He took off his plate carrier after Victor told him how hot it was. And this time I followed Aaron to see how the camo worked under movement. Immediately I was able to confirm that walking on this ground leaves behind footprints that I could detect with my thermal drone. Aaron is not actively trying to hide so his head is exposed and the shape looks humanoid.

Here I am directly over him. This is just a screenshot but it was easy to pick him out from the background. If he did not move, covered his head and crouched down, I would assume he is just a small bush. The darker gray matches the natural vegetation all around.

Here Aaron is walking to the left and his uncovered body parts are very obvious.

I would turn the drone around to see if I could reacquire Aaron’s position. If he was moving I could see him. Once he got settled, I turned the drone around and hunted for him. It was easier this time since I saw his last known position.  Here is what he looked like from above. His legs were sticking out a bit.

I flew higher and asked him to remove the ghillie so I could see what it would look like without it. He is very obvious.

Here he is from the same height and angle now with the Phantom Ghillie back on. It definitely helps reduce his thermal signature.

Video From The Drone

 

Final Thoughts On Phantom Ghillie Vs Drone

This concludes the test of the Phantom Ghillie. It does work but like any piece of kit or camouflage the user needs to know how to use it. It is not Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak. It does mitigate your thermal signature but standing out in the open is never a good idea. Traditional techniques should be considered and the Phantom Ghillie will help augment those like seeking cover and concealment.

The drone test went as expected, other than the footprints in the sand. I have heard of soldiers using thermal to detect IEDs. Recently disturbed soil shows up under thermal and this is proof of that. The Phantom Ghillie can work but it is a tool that requires understanding on the user’s part. Throwing it on and walking around will not work. Our eyes and brains are programmed to see patterns. Seeing something move around like a person stands out and is very obvious even in the thermal drone image.

When I followed Aaron on his way back the cape of the ghillie dragged across the ground once again disturbing the soil. Something to be aware of when using any camo.

The thermal drone does present a real problem. It is difficult to detect the drone for the man on the ground. Especially what direction you are being observed from. So this makes it important to be vigilant when using thermal camo. Hiding out in the open is never a good idea. Hiding near or better yet inside and under a bush or tree is your best chance of hiding against a drone. Adding thermal camo will increase your chances of being undetected.

Thanks to Aaron and Victor for helping me test this. Thanks to Phantom Defence for letting me borrow and test the Phantom Ghillie. I am not done here just yet. My friends and I have more ideas for thermal camo and we will be testing those in the future.