Ukrainian troops have a new way of hiding from night drones
- A thermal blanket can help a soldier hide from night-flying drones
- But the best Western blankets are too expensive: as much as $2,000 apiece
- So a Ukrainian firm has developed a cheaper but high-quality local alternative
- Ukrainian troops still clinging to Myrnohrad would benefit from thermal camouflage as they slip out of the town
A Ukrainian company has developed a better thermal blanket for hiding from night-flying drones. Ukrainian troops badly need this new and improved blanket: some of them are cut off in Myrnohrad. The only way out for these survivors is to sneak past the Russian drones that are everywhere all the time around the ruined town.
Soldiers wear thermal blankets to mask their heat signature. A well-made thermal blanket, worn properly, can cause the wearer to practically "disappear" on the kind of thermal cameras drones carry for seeing at night. A badly-made blanket can actually cause the wearer to stand out—making easier to detect, not harder.
Examples abound of thermal blankets betraying their wearers. Ukrainian firm STG Defence is trying to do better. The company recently revealed its Chuhaistyr Gen 2 thermal blanket, which provides head-to-toe coverage and, according to Canadian drone expert Roy, results in "thermal visibility to a Mavic 3T similar to the surroundings."
In other words, the operator of a Mavic 3T or similar small drone, peering downward with the drone's thermal camera, can't tell the difference between someone wearing a Chuhaistyr Gen 2 and the surrounding terrain. Invisibility.
What makes the Chuhaistyr Gen 2 different
STG Defence told Militarnyi it developed the Chuhaistyr Gen 2 owing to the high price of Western-made thermal blankets, which can cost $2,000 apiece—too much for many Ukrainian units. The company has not disclosed the price of its alternative.
The Chuhaistyr Gen 2 is made of nylon embedded with silver crystals. STG Defence claimed the inside of the new blanket traps heat; the outside reflects it. That should help the wearer match the temperature of the terrain.
Matching is critical. When a blanket is cooler than the surroundings, it appears as an obvious black shape on a thermal camera. When a blanket is warmer than the surroundings, it appears as an obvious white shape.
How to wear thermal camouflage correctly
It's not for no reason that one Russian field manual urges troops to hang their blankets outside before donning them. Leaving a blanket outside for a while allows it to warm up or cool down to the ambient temperature. Once a blanket is the right temperature, it's imperative to achieve the correct fit so no body heat leaks out.
Taking all the right precautions isn't enough, however. The quality of the blanket matters, too. American firm Thin Line Defense compared a $400 thermal blanket versus a $4 thermal blanket—and found that the pricier blanket effectively hid the wearer, while the cheaper one gave them away as a cold black shape.
Myrnohrad's escape corridor
The few Ukrainian troops still clinging to positions in Myrnohrad following a yearlong Russian siege would benefit from some quality thermal blankets. Encroaching Russian forces have all but surrounded Myrnohrad.
The only way into or out of Myrnohrad for Ukrainian forces is along a narrow contested corridor no more than a few kilometers across, north of the town. Every time Ukrainian troops try to travel along the corridor, they run into Russian troops. Russian drones are always watching.
Their best chance to reinforce Myrnohrad—or, more sanely, escape it—may be to move in small groups, at night, on foot ... and under thermal camouflage.
