A Ukrainian officer deployed to eastern Ukraine, who has a social media account under the name Tatarigami, said that this trend has been noted in recent times when the Kiev side obtained such blankets in the area. area near Avdiivka, north of the large city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Thermal blanket "passes" the infrared scanner
“According to information provided by our soldiers, Russian commando groups (DRGs) are said to be using these heat-resistant blankets/jackets to avoid detection by thermal cameras and drones. ,” the officer wrote on Twitter. “A video previously published on the Russian Telegram channel is said to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product, showing how a soldier can go undetected under a heat-proof blanket.”
This is not the first time thermal blankets have been used on the battlefield. Previously, the Taliban in Afghanistan also used this item to evade NATO thermal scanners.
Volunteers participating in the war in Ukraine have also requested such blankets to help improve the camouflage of soldiers. A Ukrainian inventor has even patented a heat-hiding cloak (IR-masking-cloak).
Some commercially available insulated blankets or tents have also been shown to be highly effective in preventing detection by heat detectors. However, they have the disadvantage that the edges are still speckled when looking at the scanner. Even so, the result is still much better than that of a normally dressed human body and in the field it is not easy to detect the difference when the scanning space is large.
“Mylar”- a material with the trade name Melinex or Hostaphan and the scientific term BoPET, is often appreciated for its ability to prevent heat loss. Blankets made from this material are often provided to refugees in Ukraine in particular and elsewhere in general. With a reflection rate of up to 97% of radiant heat, “Mylar” has the ability to shield from infrared vision.
Promote the development of thermal camouflage technology
Western military circles say that the war with Ukraine has brought to light a long-known weakness in the Russian military - that is, the lack of infrared equipment for night operations, or if any, these equipment is of lower quality than the equipment used by the US and its allies.
For example, until recently, the most modern Russian tanks relied on the Catherine FC - an infrared observation device manufactured by the French company Thales. Since 2014, Moscow has not been able to import this item due to the embargo. As a result, Russia had to start assembling its own equipment amid a significantly tight supply of components due to sanctions. Some older Russian vehicles still rely on active infrared searchlights – technology that makes users easy to spot.
Meanwhile, Ukraine received shipments of night vision goggles from before this conflict broke out. As a result, the country's military has shown an overall advantage in night combat, although they also need more similar systems. Such devices can be extremely effective at detecting troops and concealed vehicles.
Even so, according to Tatarigami, thermal blankets still pose a potential threat on the modern battlefield. “We are not sure about the other side distributing these heatproof blankets/jackets on a large scale. But even if they are only used in a small number of groups or sniper teams, they still pose a significant danger.”
The war in Ukraine shows that thermal sensors are becoming more and more popular, which may cause militaries of countries to re-evaluate their personal thermal camouflage technology to integrate with other optical camouflage measures. Future.
(According to PopMech)
