You can find from the movies or hear that the soldiers always take the red LED flashlights or headlamps when performing military observation, patrolling or actions. Have you ever wondered why the flashlight has to be red? What is a red flashlight used for in the military? Why should a soldier take a red LED flashlight?
Improve Night Vision
The first purpose of red light on headlamps and handheld flashlights is to preserve and improve night vision.
Night observation and actions for the military happens all the time. The moon is bright on a cloudy or rainy night. So, the soldiers can’t depend too much on the moonlight. A LED flashlight is considered to be a good light source that is able to see at night. A quality LED flashlight should be reliable for harsh working environments, like caves, tunnels, caves and other underground spaces.
Too much bright light causes over-stimulated light-sensing cells in your eyes’ retina, then a lot of signaling chemicals are released, which may damage your eyes. Thus, for the health of your eyes and vision, red light is used. The human eye is less sensitive to red light. So, the damage is minimized when we use red light.
Red light flashlights or headlamps are generally used by soldiers for observing or patrolling. They usually go in pairs or groups. Therefore, using red light is not only better for the user but also their mates, who are closest to them and share the same sphere of light.
For all these reasons, red light helps preserve and improve night vision. Needless to say, good night vision is a must for military personnel. Hence, it is understandable that the military uses red light.
Not Easily to be Spotted
The second use of red light handheld LED flashlights is to reduce a person’s light profile. Since the human eye is less sensitive to red light, it is not as easy for us to detect or catch a red light, especially when we are far away from the source of light. This means that the light signature of the person using a red light is not “too” visible to others.
Soldiers are always risking performing military actions so it’s important to keep them not being spotted by their enemies. Military personnel can navigate, stop to read a map, or communicate back to a base with the vision provided by red light but not worry about the light “giving away” their location. In this way, red light is “safer” for military service members.
Send Out Signals
The red light emitted from a LED flashlight or headlamp in the military is to send out signals. There are plenty of signal systems among military personnel, which is not too surprising. Red light can be used as an indicator of “identity” between partners on stake-out or patrol. It is actually very practical in the military.
It is not always easy to recognize whether someone is on the same side of you, when all of your wears are the same. It is also very difficult to “distinguish” in a short moment. This short moment may decide whether you are still alive or not as all the members including your enemies are trained to respond quickly and put their nation’s safety above anything else.
Additional Advantages
They are a must factory but also very important for military services. Three other potential reasons for the military’s use of red light headlamps and flashlights are as follows.
- Fewer Bugs & Insects
Technology and experience have proved that bugs and insects are not as attracted to lights with lower color temperatures than white or blue. Red makes it more challenging for bugs and insects to see the light source and is thus deterred.
- Fewer Wildlife Aggression
As military members often stake out in the wild with dangerous animals in and out, it is better to use red lights, which do not make animals uncomfortable, reducing their attack. This is mostly thanks to the advantage that some animals are not sensitive to red light, which is a good reason why hunters use this LED flashlight for hunting.
- Minimal Light Pollution
Red light does not contribute to light pollution as much as white light. This is a crucial aspect to note in military bases that are focused on space operations and communications, and minimal light pollution is necessary.