Night combat

Spectra of the night

The modern 'night' is not a single spectrum but several: residual visible (ambient light), near-IR (NVGs), thermal (body and engine heat). A countermeasure effective on one spectrum is often visible on another. Understanding what the enemy sees is the foundation of night discipline.

NVG considerations

NVGs amplify residual light but have limits that must be known. The volunteer using them without adequate training often over-trusts the device and falls into predictable errors.

• Limited field of view (typical 40°, only 100° with quad-tube): continuous scanning required
• Reduced depth of field: distances hard to estimate accurately
• Spot brightness from IR sources — illuminators, lasers, heaters — can temporarily blind
• Weapon optics must be compatible or have dedicated IR collimators
• An IR light reveals the user's position to any enemy NVG within line of sight
• Batteries deplete in hours of continuous use — always carry spares
• Rain, snow, fog significantly degrade effectiveness

IR discipline

IR discipline is the care with which every near-IR emission is managed not to reveal own position. It is analogous to daytime visual discipline but on a spectrum that 'seems invisible' to those without NVGs, generating false confidence.

• IR illuminators (PEQ-15, DBAL, Ukrainian): bright as torches on any NVG — use only for aim-on-shot, not continuously
• IR aiming lasers: visible to enemies with NVGs as a bright beam
• IR ID strobes (under patch or helmet): identify as friendly but also localise — use as needed, off when not
• LCD screens of phones and tablets: emit enough IR to be seen on good NVGs
• IR filters on torches: turn visible light into IR but do not eliminate signature — still revealing

Night navigation

Night navigation combines tools (compass, GPS, map) and technique (terrain association, dead reckoning). On the Ukrainian front GPS is often jammed; the ability to navigate without GPS is a critical operational skill.

• Compass: always essential, independent of EW
• Paper map: always GPS backup, in faraday if digital
• Pace count: count paces to estimate distance covered
• Terrain association: recognise key features (streams, hills, buildings)
• Tactical GPS: on in short windows, off the rest of the time
• Celestial references (moon, stars): general direction in open space
• Dedicated navigator: one soldier focused on navigation, free from other duties

Friend/foe identification (IFF)

Friend/foe identification at night is one of the highest risks. Night fratricide is documented in significant proportion on the Ukrainian front and elsewhere. Identification procedures must be rehearsed to automaticity.

• IR strobe / IR patch: identifies to friendly NVG but also to the enemy
• Reflective IR patches on the back: identify to following units from behind
• Night challenge/password: valid for the single operation, never for multiple days
• Pre-agreed vocal references: a specific word if required by friendly post
• Direction of movement: move in directions agreed with adjacent units
• Radio comms: announce movements ahead — 'BRAVO TWO MOVING TO GRID X'
• Silhouette discrimination: under NVG, silhouette and kit are often indistinguishable between sides — rely on positive IFF

Night movement

Night movement is slower, noisier, more disorienting than daytime movement. Tactical movement rules remain valid (dispersion, cover, bounding overwatch) but adapted to reduced FoV and increased error.

• Reduced pace: rushing at night is error. Plan distances at 1:2 ratio vs day
• Reduced inter-soldier spacing (lower visibility), but not enough to concentrate thermal signature
• Longer halts for orientation: every 100-200 metres verify position
• Tactile terrain recognition: surfaces, slopes, vegetation
• Whispered voice or tactile signals: voice carries further at night due to lack of ambient noise
• Kit checked for silence: night noise betrays much more than during the day

Thermal — the key difference

Thermal cameras see what NVGs do not: heat signature. On the Ukrainian front, FPV thermals (even low-end) have changed night dynamics. Cover from NVGs is no longer enough.

• The human body is always warmer than the night environment — visible from hundreds of metres
• Engines remain warm hours after shutdown — vehicles must be thermally covered or approached in natural cover
• Footprints on the ground are visible on thermal for minutes after passage
• Surfaces heated by the sun emit signature even after sunset
• Anti-thermal cloaks (see Camouflage chapter) reduce but do not eliminate
• Glass and thick plastic attenuate thermal — closed windows reduce indoor signature

Common mistakes

• Trusting NVG as 'full vision' — FoV is limited, peripheral eyes are naked
• Switching IR illuminators on continuously, revealing to any enemy NVG
• Neglecting thermal: 'IR camouflage' does not protect against thermal
• Trusting GPS in EW zones: always compass and paper map
• Skipping IFF procedures at patrol return
• Loud voice at night 'because we are far from the enemy' — voice travels further
• Cigarettes or fire at night — visible kilometres away to NVGs
• Screens on (phone, tablet) without IR cover

Lessons learned Ukraine

On the Ukrainian front night is movement time for many operations — rotations, resupply, evacuation — but it is no longer the safety it once was. NVGs on both sides, FPV thermals even at night, constant EW. The NATO night superiority of the 2000s is obsolete in this context: who wins is who has IR discipline, NVG-thermal integration, and rigid IFF procedures. The international volunteer entering a night operation does so trained on all three spectra, not only on the NVG they brought from home.