The Red Army during the Russian Civil War made use of series of heliograph stations to disseminate intelligence efficiently about basmachi rebel movements in Turkestan in 1926.^[28]
During WWII, South African and Australian forces used the heliograph against German forces in Libya and Egypt in 1941 and 1942.^[1]
The heliograph remained standard equipment for military signallers in the Australian and British armies until the 1960s, where it was considered a "low probability of intercept" type of communication. The Canadian Army was the last major army to have the heliograph as an issue item. By the time the mirror instruments were retired, they were seldom used for signalling.^[8] However, as recently as the 1980s, heliographs were used by Afghan forces during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.^[1] Signal mirrors are still included in survival kits for emergency signaling to search and rescue aircraft.^[1]