Putting Predator to Shame? Russian Camo Goes Invisible in IR

The Russian military has new camouflage that can conceal a fighter's visibility in the infrared spectrum, says Oleg Faustov, a senior engineer with the Russian industrial design bureau TsNIITochMash who works on personnel life support systems.

"It's already here," Faustov told journalists on March 24.

He explained that the camouflage implements what scientists call "materials with infrared remission."

"So that you understand: it is a different intensity of reflection of light waves of a certain length, from different elements or camouflage patches," he said.

According to Faustov, "because of this, a human silhouette, when observed through night vision goggles, appears shattered and, therefore, harder to recognize."

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Infrared waves are light waves outside the visible spectrum for humans, whose radiation we perceive as heat. Night vision devices rely heavily on infrared to see in dark environments, just like The Predator, a legendary Hollywood movie character, did. In the movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger's character used cold mud to conceal his own heat footprint and become invisible to the alien.

The infrared remission materials are already implemented in the newest Russian "Ratnik" gear. The Russian military expects to procure 50,000 "Ratnik" sets every year. By 2022, a new generation of military gear will be designed, the military says.