A heat-reflective poncho for the Ukrainian Armed Forces was developed in Rivne. In addition to shielding from the thermal imager, the cape also protects against water and wind, says one of the developers, Serhiy Smalyuk. The product was tested in the field and received a patent for it.
Serhii Smalyuk, a native of Rivne, is a co-founder of the GHOST project. He shows a poncho that masks a person from a thermal imager.
“In the four corners, there are large eyelets for transforming the poncho into two types of tents, for stretching the awning. There are also eyelets for squeezing out air in the corners,” Serhiy Smalyuk explains.
He developed the camouflage cape together with his project partner. He says they have already received a patent for this poncho. Before the full-scale invasion, they were engaged in sewing knitted clothes, however, because of the war, they decided to change their profile.
“The first samples we developed were winter camouflage suits, they used expensive, foreign fabric. It is effective, but the price for such equipment was too high. Therefore, the further goal was that the essence of the equipment was the same, shielding from the thermal imager, but so that the price is not so biting,” says Serhii Smalyuk.
Oleksandra Shilan is one of the seamstresses of camouflage clothing. Before that, she sewed civilian clothes for 20 years.
Serhii Smalyuk says: they have already tested the heat-reflective poncho. They did it in daylight in the city at a distance of up to 50 meters.
“We tested in the city with a crowd of people. The test showed a positive result, but in order to confirm it, we turned to our friends in another region so that they could protest in the field with the military and could give their final word,” says Serhii Smalyuk.
Such a poncho may be needed for scouts, says a military man with the call sign Khmel.
“We tried to test them both with a passive infrared device and with an active infrared device. The tests were carried out in the field. The cape really works. It is probably best to use it while moving – in a field, in a forest strip. Where you need to quickly provide camouflage.” – says the soldier.
According to Sergey, such a cape protects against water and wind. The weight is one and a half kilograms, and the cost of a camouflage suit is up to 7.5 thousand hryvnias. Currently, they have received orders from the military, who are fighting on the front lines. However, they cannot finance such a number of products themselves, says Serhiy Smalyuk.
“We received a request for hundreds of pieces of such equipment. This alone is a very large amount. Our main goal is not to sell this product directly to the boys, but to connect foundations, charitable organizations and, let’s say, caring people who would like a quick victory for us and the security the boys’ lives are on the front line,” he adds.
Source: Suspline;