Invisibles on the battlefield: what means of disguise are used by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the NATO army

Elena Petrova

Fighting is not only a direct clash, but also a gradual advance, digging in, masking and distracting maneuvers on the battlefield, writes «Spiegel». Reconnaissance and camouflage compete on the battlefield, and the soldiers of the future must hide not only from the enemy's eyes, but also from his radars and infrared detection devices.

The Bundeswehr uses camouflage, developed in 1991, consisting of 5 colors. It proved so successful that it was adopted by several European armies.

Experts are carefully developing protective paint for military equipment. Usually, three colors are used for Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard tanks: yellow-green, brown leather shade and black. IFVs sent to Ukraine are painted in swamp color, for lack of time. Experts say that this color is not optimal, but sufficient.

After electronics and digital technologies became firmly established in military use, protection from binoculars was clearly not enough. The answer was multispectral masking, which allows you to mask both people and equipment even in motion.

The Bundeswehr uses the «Barracuda» system manufactured by the SAAB concern, which allows masking, for example, Leopard tanks that are in ambush, not only from enemy surveillance, but also from detection systems using infrared and ultraviolet radiation.

Even for radars, the tank can be invisible, for this the military adds special polymers with semiconductors to the fabric. The difficulty of such networks is to maintain the conductivity at a certain level. If the grid gives too much conductivity, then the radar sees not the tank, but the grid itself. And for thermal imagers, this grid is not visible. The military uses insulating materials that accept the ambient temperature.

The Israeli firm Fibrotex has developed a blanket measuring 2 m by 2 m, which weighs 700 grams, and under which a soldier can completely hide.

The American army connects these canvases and covers the equipment with them.

In the future, uniforms will also be made from such material.

These technologies are gradually being implemented. A battery-powered form has been developed in the Netherlands. On the surface of which a camouflage pattern with built-in LEDs is applied. The camera and light sensor provide information that is processed by a microprocessor, and turns on light bulbs that allow you to merge with the terrain. This form is used by snipers.

The Russian army also has new means of disguise.

Camouflage nets are widely used to blend in with the landscape.

For the first time, camouflage cape kits were used in the SVO, which protect T-90M tanks and other combat vehicles in position or in motion.

MTK and MTK-2 camouflage kits are widely used. These are 12 networks measuring 3×6 m. A polymer tape is woven into the base.

MTK-4 is a variant with a conductive grid, and MTK-5 also contains garlands. They are able to protect not only from visual surveillance, but also from radars.

In addition, some time ago, T-90M tanks participated in battles with a «Cape» on the armor.