There are probably few things as terrifying as being hunted at night by a foe who can see in the dark—especially when you can’t. It can leave exposed personnel at the mercy of distant snipers, armored vehicles, or even tiny grenade-armed drones hovering overhead.
This is a common situation for Russian soldiers invading Ukraine – because they are not equipped with night vision systems. However, a recent report suggests that in order to reduce the likelihood of detection by Ukrainian drones and snipers equipped with thermal imaging, the Russians are using “space blankets” to hide their thermal footprints.
A Ukrainian officer stationed in Eastern Ukraine, who uses the pseudonym Tatarigami on the social network, claims that especially such blankets were found among Russians who were captured or killed near Avdijivka.
“Based on information provided by our military, Russian sabotage groups are reportedly using these thermal blankets and/or ponchos to avoid detection by thermal imagers and drones,” he tweeted. “A video previously posted on Russia’s Telegram channel purportedly demonstrates the product’s effectiveness, showing how a soldier can go undetected under an anti-thermal blanket.”
This is far from the latest trick. Military vehicles are often equipped with camouflage tarps that use thermal signature reduction techniques. The Taliban in Afghanistan are known to have effectively used “space blankets” to reduce the detection capabilities of NATO forces. Ukrainians are also trying to use such blankets to mask personnel – and one Ukrainian inventor has even patented an infrared cloak.
However, the results of such thermal hiding are not perfect. Blankets still leave a slightly blurry outline on thermal imagers.
However, they transmit much less heat than a normally clothed human body, and are definitely much harder to spot when scanning a wider area. This method may also be more effective against lower quality or shorter range commercial thermal imagers.
Mylar – also known by the trade names Melinex and Hostaphan and the scientific term BoPET – is generally most valued for its ability to prevent heat loss. This feature is also important because in 2022-2023 in the winter, drone cameras captured under equipped Russian soldiers freezing or losing effectiveness due to hypothermia at the front. A number of such blankets or ponchos were issued to refugees in Ukraine and beyond.
But mylar also reflects 97 percent. heat, thus protecting against infrared rays.
Night vision gap
Russia’s war in Ukraine has exposed a long-known shortcoming of the Russian military, the lack of infrared night vision devices that equip troops and vehicles. There simply aren’t enough of them – especially for infantry – and they’re of inferior quality to those used by Western armies.
For example, until recently, the most modern Russian tanks used the Catherine FC infrared sight from the French company Thales. The country lost the opportunity to use them after the first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. and since then Russia has had to begin assembling its own devices, a process made much more difficult by the fact that many sources of the required components are subject to sanctions. Some older Russian vehicles also still use active infrared searchlights – which by their very operation betray the vehicle using them, which can result in its destruction.
Meanwhile, U.S. military aid to Ukraine has focused on supplying night-vision equipment — especially before a Russian invasion in 2022, when transfers of lethal weapons have been rare. Thus, Ukrainian troops have demonstrated an overall advantage in fighting at night – although they need more night vision systems. Such equipment can be deadly effective in identifying hidden soldiers and vehicles.
While the camouflage of ‘space’ blankets and ponchos is hardly perfect, it can still mean the difference between life and death, sometimes avoiding detection by an overhead drone or a distant sniper.
However, Tatarigami believes that Russia will have a limited use of this technology:
“It is doubtful that the enemy can supply these anti-thermal blankets and/or ponchos on a large scale. Nevertheless, even if they can only be used by small groups or sniper teams, they are still a potential threat.”
With the proliferation of thermal sensors on today’s battlefields, forward-looking militaries may be forced to more systematically evaluate personal thermal cloaking—and, if found effective enough, to integrate it alongside optical cloaking tools. Previous efforts to implement thermal cloaking have not been successful, but the technology may have improved since then.
Source: Popular Mechanics