The Future is Now: Simulating Multispectral Camouflage (VIS + IR + THERMAL) in Arma

The future of warfare is now: advanced detection technologies mean that the 21st century battlefield is pay-to-win. Moving forward, it will become increasingly impossible for anyone to survive in modern conflict without utilizing so-called multispectral camouflage, which not only offers visible light and infrared spectrum reduction, but also (and more importantly) thermal signature mitigation.

In real life, several startup companies are exploring ways to offer thermal signature-reducing suits to the individual soldier. Prototypes range from cloaks to ghillies, and leaf suits to advanced heat-dissipating materials on regular uniforms. Some of these approaches are more practical than others, but in each case, the idea is to make the outer layer of the suit match the ambient temperature of the soldier’s environment.

Anyone designing a modern-day combat scenario in Arma III or Reforger should be thinking about ways to introduce realistic thermal and counter-thermal technologies into the game. While thermal optics have only been recently introduced in Reforger, more than 12 years of modding have made thermal simulation more thorough in Arma III.

The first mod that bears mentioning, of course, is the exemplary Arma 3 Thermal Improvement (A3TI) mod by “hateandcaffeine” (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2041057379). Several years ago, Arma III’s thermal simulation was severely “nerfed” to the point that it was almost unusable, with trees glowing as bright-white through optics as enemy soldiers. A3TI fixes this issue by not only renewing Arma III’s original representation of thermal imagery, but by expanding the dynamic visual simulation of thermal optics to the point that they accurately mimic the capabilities of their real-life equivalents.

But now with realistic thermal imaging in Arma III, what mods can simulate effective countermeasures? After much research, I have concluded that the answer lies in the Special Stealth Uniforms (SSU) mod by “Clasless” (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2122147403). In Vanilla Arma III, the CTRG Stealth Uniform appears gray – the same color as the surrounding environment – under thermal imagery, making units wearing the uniform much harder to detect by players with thermal optics.

That’s all well and great, but what if a player doesn’t want to use the triangular or tropical camouflage patterns of the stealth uniforms in the game? The SSU mod introduces the same thermal-mitigating uniform in different camouflage patterns, including Multicam, M81, desert, and tropical variations. What’s even better, though, is that the mod includes a “ghillie” variant of each featured uniform, which features a cloak-like grassy/leafy covering over the rest of the soldier’s uniform. This is important because it reflects the way that real-world thermal mitigation suits work by providing an “outer” layer separated from the heat of a soldier’s body. Out of all the thermal-mitigating suits introduced by the SSU mod, using the “ghillie” variant would be the most believable for reducing thermal signature (although they all perform the same).

There are two other mods that also deserve a shout-out: 1) the A3TI REAP-IR mod by “PingoPete” (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3370946091) and 2) the “SkeetIR Thermal Weapon Sight” mod by “hateandcaffeine” (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2857096620). Both of these mods introduce realistic thermal weapons optics in the game, with the SkeetIR mod offering several flip-to-side variations with other common optics (ex. an Eotech). It is my belief that in the future (perhaps sooner than later), thermal optics will become standard for the average infantry soldier, much like how analogue night vision is virtually mandatory on the modern battlefield. Even with a relatively low-resolution, flip-to-side thermal optic used primarily for scanning (instead of shooting), the detection capabilities that thermal offers are unmatched and can make the difference between life and death.

Hopefully, more thermal optics and thermal-mitigating suits will be introduced into Arma: Reforger and (eventually) Arma IV. Until then, though, I am sincerely enjoying playing with the above-mentioned mods, which have totally changed the dynamic of my mil-sim gameplay.

Please let me know what you all think, and if there are any other important considerations for simulating thermal optics and thermal-mitigation technology in Arma. Thank you!