The flat-bodied lookdown doesn’t seem remarkable at first glance, but the fish can disappear at the blink of an eye. This unassuming species of fish is a master at underwater stealth, and the U.S. Navy is hoping to adapt its secrets for the military’s advantage.

Researchers from the University of Texas found that the lookdown fish and its cousin, the scad, can use their silvery scales to blend in with light waves, or “hide” in the light. Thanks to this manipulation of polarized light, these fish can camouflage their bodies at a moment’s notice and evade predators.

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This simulated photo demonstrates how the lookdown fish looks before and after it manipulates light. Against a magenta backdrop it is still easy to pick out the fish, but in a sea of dark blue…

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…the lookdown can become much harder to keep track of.

Assuming the Navy is able to replicate the lookdown fish’s talent for camouflage, it can develop stealth technology that would better cloak submarines in deep water.

“If we can identify that process, then we can improve upon our own camouflage technology for that environment,” said Molly Cummings, a research working on the project alongside the Navy.

“I think it’s a great example of how human applications can take advantage of evolutionary solutions and the value of evolutionary biology,” she continued. “It’s important for people to recognize that we take advantage of evolutionary processes and solutions all the time and that even our military does.”