The Russian Army plans to coat its combat vehicles with a color-changing material that blends in with the surrounding environment, RIA Novosti revealed, citing a source.
According to the Moscow-based news agency, the camouflage developed by Ruselectronics consists of several small plates of electrochromic coating, “which allows it to create various visual images that not only copy the color of the surrounding landscape, but also its structure.”
Computer Changes Color Pattern
The state-backed outlet explained that the system consists of video cameras that collect information from outside and pass it on to a computer. Based on the information received, the computer changes the color and image on the exterior of the vehicle.
The unnamed source told the outlet that “the speed of camouflage reaction to changes in the environment is fractions of a second. If, for example, a tank was standing in a field and the coating had a painting of one type, and then it changed its position and found itself against the background of a different type of landscape, then the coating will change the color and structure of camouflage throughout the entire area.”
Evades Optical Tracking Devices
He added that the camouflage helps the vehicle merge with the landscape, thus avoiding enemy tracking by satellites, drones, and manned aircraft.
The coating will be applied to a range of army vehicles such as tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers.