Once thought to be only a Science Fiction/Fantasy technology, Guy Cramer, President/CEO of Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corp., discusses the implications of militaries which can now become invisible with his light bending technology called "Quantum Stealth".
Hyperstealth is a successful Canadian camouflage design company with over two million military issued uniforms and over 3000 vehicles and fighter jets using their patterns around the world.
Quantum Stealth is a material that renders the target completely invisible by bending light waves around the target. The material removes not only your visual, infrared (night vision) and thermal signatures but also the target’s shadow.
Two separate command groups within the U.S. Military and two separate Canadian Military groups as well as Federal Emergency Response Team (Counter Terrorism) have seen the actual material so they could verify that I was not just manipulating video or photo results; These groups now know that it works and does so without cameras, batteries, lights or mirrors...It is lightweight and quite inexpensive. Both the U.S. and Canadian military have confirmed that it also works against military IR scopes and Thermal Optics.
For reasons of security, I can’t discuss details about how it accomplishes the bending of light but I can explain how it might be used. Scenario 1: A pilot ejects over open terrain in enemy territory, his parachute that deploys is made of the Quantum Stealth material to hide his fall. The enemy knows his aircraft crashed in a specific location, he has less than one hour to find cover, of which there is none. He takes the Quantum Stealth material from the parachute and throws it over top of him, the pilot is now undetectable to all visual sensors and human eyes unless they happen to trip over him. Now he radios out his coordinates and waits for rescue. Scenario 2: Cameras and visual sensors are on the enemy beach, the Special Forces team decked out in Quantum Stealth swims up to the beach in the middle of the day as they no longer have to wait till night to hide their approach. The team infiltrates the defenses without detection, completes their mission and goes out the same way they came in. The enemy reviews the sensors and cameras; no anomalies were detected on any sensor, no shadows on the cameras, no jamming of the sensors, no thermal signatures, the only evidence discovered by the enemy are boot tracks leading up the beach right past of their defenses and another set of boot tracks going back into the water. Scenario 3: The next generation of combat aircraft is undergoing trials, in the past these secret aircraft had to be moved into hangers whenever a spy satellite passed overhead. Now with Quantum Stealth, the aircraft is undetectable from spy satellites, aerial drones or surveillance balloons eyes at any time of the day or night.
Scenario 4: One of the most vulnerable times for a submarine is when it comes to periscope depth to look around to verify the enemy, ships or aircraft are not loitering in the area, before the submarine surfaces or fires on the enemy. The periscope can only be hidden with painted camouflage to a certain degree. With Quantum Stealth; the entire submarine can stay hidden near the surface as well as the periscope above the surface which also cannot be seen. Scenario 5: One of the most dangerous missions for soldiers is Close Quarters Combat inside structures, Special Forces and Counter Terrorism teams train over and over on these possible confrontations. Now the enemy will only know someone is there when they have to open or breach a door or hear movement, providing the specialized team more time to determine targets from hostages and allowing them time to wait to react when it’s most favorable to do so. Scenario 6: A group of Canadian Battle Tanks in Quantum Stealth engage an enemy group of tanks, the only indication to the enemy of the Canadian Tanks location is the direction of the noise of the tanks engines and the sound of their guns firing. As the enemy looks through their targeting scopes to fire back, there is no indication on any sensor to where the Canadian tanks are located, nor can the enemy see the other Canadian tanks which are moving to flank them from the side and behind. As news spreads of an invisible Canadian army which can move without detection, the psychological effect on the enemy is devastating, they never know when or even if this invisible army has them targeted or surrounded. How can you hit a target you cannot see, how do you defend from the invisible? Scenario 7: A sniper is required to take out a high profile target at a specific location, however, there is no cover for miles. Prior to Quantum Stealth the sniper used to look for cover and concealment to hide their location, now they are able to remain undetected sneaking into the location, in open terrain, reloading without their movement being detected, changing locations without their motion being noticed and depart the location at any time day or night.
Why disclose this technology to the public? I have not disclosed how it's done, I have only said that I have done it and described potential applications for it. Many people believe that movies and T.V. shows are close to reality in how the U.S. government or U.S. military reacts to new technology, acquiring anything that provides an advantage. My experience is that this is not the case, at least not for a foreign company, it is much more boring and time consuming than you may think as there are approvals and agreements required between each participating country and few people who have the authority to sign off on these multi-country agreements. Many times you will meet with someone or some group in the military only to find they can't help, to find the right person who has the ability to take it to the next level can take months. Sometimes you need publicize your ability to get the attention of the right person. Most in the military were skeptical that the real photos and videos I was showing them were not manipulated (note the photos on this page do not show the real technology - they are mockups to show the media the concept).
I had an open channel in regards to new technology to the U.S. from 2004-2008 when I worked with the Chief of Staff for Senator John Warner (Chairman of the Armed Services Committee until 2007), but Warner retired in late 2008 and his people dispersed into other jobs, I developed Quantum Stealth after this time.
In October of 2010 I released a video of “Smartcamo” at a camouflage symposium in Brussels which showed a camouflage uniform changing colors from Woodland to Transitional and then into Desert coloration. I assumed that the U.S. military was already there on this technology and I was playing catch-up. I was notified immediately after my talk by someone from the U.S. Military that I could not show that video again as I had just shown them that I had solved a problem they were still working on. Even professors in Textiles at the symposium were astonished when they saw the video.
Smart (Interactive/Intelligent textiles) are textiles embedded with some form of technology which can adjust to their surroundings or user. Most research in this area is being done with Nanotechnology or Metamaterials. Our Smartcamo approach showed how I could combine new technologies with preexisting for a cost effective - yet quick applicable solution to the problem. Slight modifications to the system will allow a mobile or moving camouflage for uniforms to mask movement. There are limitations to Smartcamo such as cost, weight of power source and limited activation time. What I was not saying at the time was that I had already developed something better without these limitations; Quantum Stealth.
I was speaking at a breakout session at ADS Inc. Warrior West in San Diego during May of 2011 on “The New Science of Stealth”. Anyone was allowed to attend and being a military show in San Diego, there were a large number of U.S. Navy SEALs in the audience, but what I didn’t know is that an editor from "Military Times" had traveled to the show just to hear this presentation, and when she heard about light bending material at the end of the talk she wanted more information. After the talk she came to me for an interview on the subject.
As with all media, I told her that I could describe where it could be used but not how I accomplished the light bending. She wanted images and I told her that I could not provide those images for public dissemination.
This is when the media became very interested in this technology and helped garner the interest of the U.S. Military.
Numerous stories have been written on the technology without any disclosure of how it’s done, I released mock-up photos that the media wanted to show the public the concept without providing actual photos of the technology and many people remain skeptical, (as would I).
After enough press had been written on the subject, the U.S. Military Command finally asked to see the real material to verify that it worked. Those meetings took place with very limited “Need to Know” access and the technology is now moving forward.
Isn’t there a risk that someone else may figure this out or copy what you’ve done? Yes, but I’ve already developed a countermeasure for Quantum Stealth so we would be able to detect anyone else with something identical or similar to Quantum Stealth.
Do I care that people remain skeptical? Nope, the people that need to know that it works have seen it and verified it and their opinions are the only ones that matter.
Will Quantum Stealth be available for the general public or commercial market? Not in the near future unless the Military decided to release the technology and I don't anticipate that will happen anytime soon.
Is there anything planned for the commercial market? I am working on a number of non-powered color changing camouflage materials for the commercial market which utilize different technologies than either Quantum Stealth or Smartcamo. Colors change with climate, seasons cause environmental colors to change and even the 24 hour day can cause a large color discrepancy between camouflage and the background as day becomes night. People want camouflage which can change with these variables.
Have you made camouflage obsolete? Not necessarily, standard camouflage should continue to have its place, however, on the front lines it might become your second choice behind Quantum Stealth if you’re Canadian, American or British and your group is authorized to use it.
Guy Cramer
13.12.2012