Russia’s Color-Changing ‘Stealth Camouflage’ Could Hide Military Troops, Vehicles In Plain Sight

As the United States continues to develop sophisticated weapons to gain combat advantage, Russia has showcased a technology that could hide its troops and armored vehicles in plain sight.

The technology, as state-owned outlet TASS described, is a unique camouflaging coating, one that can change its color depending on the surrounding environment. It has been developed by Russian defense contractor Rostec and was showcased recently at the ongoing Army-2018 defense expo in Moscow.

At the forum, Rostec demonstrated the technology by putting a helmet — equipped with the color-changing material — on display. The contractor did not reveal how the coating mimics the color of a surface or environment with the same intensity, but it did note the whole thing was electrically operated and could even replicate complex graphics like the movement of leaves in wind.

"Existing types of camouflage do not change their masking properties depending on changes in the background. For example, soldiers will not be seen in a forest against greenery, but they will be visible against sand or snow," Sergey Abramov, the industrial director of armament cluster at Rostec, said in a statement.

This technology, however, behaves according to the surrounding conditions, giving soldiers an element of stealth and therefore combat advantage. In fact, the helmet is just one possible application of the masking technology. According to Abramov, it could be used to cover equipment, weapons, outfit, or even armored vehicles of the soldiers.

The layer of camouflage, weighing a few hundred grams per square meter, is applied very easily on an equipment or piece of clothing. Soldiers can use it readily like regular paint to make themselves invisible on the field.

More importantly, they won’t have to worry about the power supply required for the masking tech. The material needed for the coating required just as much power as a standard energy saving lamp consumes.

Though there is no word on when Russian soldiers might get the technology for real-world use, the development does indicate a major push toward boosting the element of stealth for Russian soldiers. The coating is a part of Russia’s Ratnik-3 program, which aims to create technologically advanced gear — body armor, equipment, weapons — for soldiers of the future. An advanced exoskeleton aimed at reducing fatigue and boosting ground troops’ capacity to carry fellow comrades has also been developed as part of the same effort.

That said it is worth noting the developer of the stealth camouflage also thinks the same tech could prove handy in the civilian industry, where textile manufacturers could leverage its capabilities to develop environmentally responsive clothing.

The International Military-Technical Forum ARMY 2018 started on Aug. 21 and will run till Aug. 26.