Use of night vision goggles has escalated dramatically. In the mid-2000s I remember working with a retail giant that was being asked to help track and investigate spread of such technology in organized crime (e.g. where did a supply chain go wrong).

Israel at the same time took another approach and set out to develop a material that would zero a heat signature, making even a group of wearers look like inert rocks. I’m not saying that’s some kind of Biblical reference to stone but you can be sure it was tested in the desert. After 15 years of research and development, they’ve just disclosed the availability of their product.

The Kit 300 is made of thermal visual concealment (TVC) material that combines microfibres, metals, and polymers to make soldiers harder to see with a range of thermal cameras, Hariri said.

The sheet weighs around 500 g and folds up into a small roll. Soldiers can wrap it around themselves when on the move and join their sheets together to build a barrier that resembles rock when they set up a position. “Someone staring at them with binoculars from afar will not see soldiers,” said Harari.

It can also be used as a stretcher: a far lighter solution than the current set-up where a squad member has to carry a dedicated stretcher weighing several kilograms.

That kind of ends on a contradictory note, yet a realistic one. It would be far less believable (a stretch, if you will) had they announced stretchers were no longer needed given sufficient camouflage.