MoD tests technology to turn tanks 'invisible'

But the Ministry of Defence has just revealed it is testing prototype technology that can make tanks and troops disappear.

	'Invisibility' technology could save the lives of British soldiers

It is developing special cameras that film the surrounding scenery and project it on to the men or their vehicles clad in reflective materials.

As a result enemies look straight "through" them.

Recent trials have had some success, according to the MoD, and use of the technology on the battlefield could be just a few years away.

Should it work, the technology could help cut down battlefield losses in future conflicts.

Military chiefs are also interested in a far more advanced technique that uses nano-technology to create Harry Potter style "invisibility cloaks".

Far-fetched as it sounds, invisibility expert Prof Sir John Pendry from Imperial College London said early experiments were encouraging.

He told The Daily Telegraph: "There are certain approaches to hiding things.

"The camera and projector approach is a pretty simple one and therefore it's probably realistic that it could be deployed in the near future."

He said Japanese academic Professor Susumu Tachi has already made himself "disappear" using a friend to project the background on to a reflective coat that acts as a photographic screen.

More exciting still is the prospect of a true invisibility cloak which does not rely on cameras, he said.

"Don't hold your breath - it's not going to be around this year or next, but may be in 10 years," he predicted.

But when it does the results could be amazing, he said. Whereas the camera/projector method only makes an object "invisible" from one angle, the cloak would make it disappear viewed from any direction.

Prof Pendry explained: "It doesn't use a video camera, rather the object to be hidden is wrapped in a cloak that guides light around it, like a chicane.

"Of course your eye doesn't know that because it only senses the direction of the rays that enter the eye.

	YouTube: Japanese demonstration of an 'invisibility cloak'

"As a result the object becomes invisible."

The theory behind the method, that uses materials that refract light in ways not found in nature, has already been proven.

"Researchers at Duke University in the US have already built a material that works for radar," he said.

"But doing it with visible light will take a lot longer."

Although his research has been funded by the American Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), he said he had talked to the MoD about it. "They are interested," he said.

An MoD spokesman confirmed it was looking at the technology.

She said: "We're researching new technologies to help disguise vehicles, and we've already had some results in making them 'appear' invisible. It's still early days."

Tests into “high tech camouflage” techniques in conjunction with the privatised defence firm QinetiQ are ongoing, the MOD confirmed.