A senior British military legal expert has warned that “invisibility cloaks” and other likely technological breakthrough in military camouflage techniques may violate the international laws regulating armed conflict.
Technological advancements already used on stealth bombers can potentially breach compliance with the Geneva Conventions if military hardware or weapons held by troops are camouflaged, said the former air commodore and the deputy chief of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) legal services, Bill Boothby, in report published by The Guardian on Monday.
According to the report, scientists and military contractors are investing tens of millions of dollars on research to develop technologies to generate effective invisibility through sophisticated “metamaterials” – substances devised to absorb or bend light and radar waves in a bid to disguise approaching warplane or troops.
The report further states that the US Defense Advanced…