During a battle, the ability to move troops swiftly and without detection can mean the difference between victory and defeat. The U.S. Army is developing tents and uniforms made from flexible solar panels to make it more difficult to track soldiers. Jean Hampel, project engineer in the Fabric Structures Group at the Army’s Natick Soldier Systems Center, said the need to reduce the Army’s logistics footprint spurred interest in developing lightweight solar panels. “We want to cut back on the things that soldiers have to bring with them,” including generators and personal battery packs, Hampel said. In modern warfare, portable power for communications technology is every bit as important as firepower and manpower.