u/Alch999

Hello
I'm trying to find a movie or possibly a standalone episode of an anthology TV series (something like The Outer Limits or The X-Files) that I watched a long time ago, probably on TV between the 90s and mid-2000s.

What I remember:

• A small group (maybe 3–6 people) of soldiers or mercenaries — I lean toward mercenaries rather than regular military.
• They were on some other mission and stumbled onto the creature unexpectedly — it wasn't what they were sent there for.
• There was a woman in the group (not sure if she was a fighter/soldier herself, or possibly a captive/civilian).
• Setting: arid desert/steppe, NOT jungle, NOT snow, NOT space. Definitely on Earth.
• There was a small building — like a barn, shed, or farmhouse — not a large base.
• The creature could turn fully invisible at will (not a suit/tech — seemed like a natural/biological ability), similar to the shimmer/heat-distortion effect from Predator.
• The soldiers used a thermal imaging device/goggles to try to detect and fight it — this was a key plot element, they specifically relied on thermal vision to see it since normal vision/weapons couldn't.
• The film was in color, tone was action/thriller, not comedy.
• The creature(s) were eventually killed/destroyed — I believe there was an explosion at the end.
• Definitely NOT: Predator (any installment), The Thing (1982 or 2011 prequel), The Faculty, Species, AVP, any X-Files or Stargate SG-1 or Sliders episode I've been able to identify so far.

I originally thought the creature might be insect-like (grasshopper/mantis-like), but I'm no longer sure about that — I might be misremembering or conflating it with something else. The core memory I'm confident about is: mercenaries/soldiers + desert + invisible creature + thermal goggles as the way to detect it + explosion ending.

Any ideas? Could be a low-budget/TV movie, a Sci-Fi Channel (Syfy) original, or a foreign production too.