View source for Combat Identification Panel

{{Short description|Military device to mark friendly vehicles}}
[[File:1-118th Combined Arms Battalion fires newly acquired Abrams 140414-Z-ID851-006.jpg|thumb|right|A pair of CIPs mounted on the side of an [[M1A1 Abrams]]' turret]]

The '''Combat Identification Panel''' ('''CIP'''), also known as a '''[[Multi-National Force – Iraq|Coalition]] Identification Panel''', is an [[Identification friend or foe]] device mounted on military ground vehicles used by [[United States Armed Forces]]' [[United States Army]] with [[United States Marine Corps]] and its allies to distinguish them from the enemy during battle.

==History==
[[File:Defense.gov photo essay 090512-A-3108M-003.jpg|thumb|left|The CIP is the large square panel mounted directly above the rear axle of the nearest [[Humvee]]]]
Combat Identification Panels were developed after the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]] to reduce [[friendly fire]] incidents among allied ground forces. These panels are designed to produce a distinct and easily identifiable [[infrared]] signature when seen through [[thermal imaging]] systems. Originally created as a hasty expediency, the use of low-thermal-emissivity tape and physical separation from the body of the vehicle meant that the panel would appear as a contrasting dark (i.e. cooler) area through thermal viewers in white hot mode.

[[File:A Challenger 2 crosses into Iraq. 21-03-2003 MOD 45142823.jpg|thumb|right|A British Army [[Challenger 2]] with a combat identification panel mounted on the side of the turret]]
CIPs first saw widespread use in the [[Iraq War]] where nearly all coalition vehicles were equipped with these devices, usually mounted on the sides and rear of the body and/or turret. Some were even mounted on the driver and front passenger doors of [[Humvee]]s with a special cutout so the door handle could still be accessed through the panel, as well as on the hood between the windshield and the top grille.

==See also==

* [[Clapboard (architecture)|Clapboard]], the "overlapping" architectural element which it resembles
* [[Invasion stripes]]
*[[Tactical recognition flash]]
{{Commons cat|Combat Identification Panels}}

==References==
* globalsecurity.org : [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/cip.htm Combat Identification Panels]
* fas.org : [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/wsh/150.pdf 2005 U.S. Army Weapons System Handbook : JCIMS]

[[Category:Military equipment of the United States]]