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Invisible army? Rostec unveils chameleon camouflage for combat vehicles, uniforms

The coating can be easily applied, which allows for prompt repairs in field conditions

KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, August 21. /TASS/. A chameleon camouflage innovation from the state corporation Rostec, which was originally developed for combat vehicles and is capable of changing color depending on the environment, can be used in the textile industry, too, to make field uniforms for military personnel, according to the state corporation’s press release.

The camouflage coating for combat vehicles and soldier’s gear is on display at the forum Army-2018. Unique electrically controlled material covering a soldier’s helmet is capable of changing color depending on the immediate environment. In the future, the material will be improved to acquire new features, such as the ability to promptly adjust color intensity and to simulate complex graphic effects, for instance, leaves swaying in the wind.

"This innovation may be in great demand from civilian manufacturers. For instance, it can be used to make clothes change color and graphics depending on the customer’s wish," the news release says.

Rostec incorporates the holding company Roselektronika and TsNIITochMash. The coating can be easily applied, which allows for prompt repairs in field conditions.

"The power it consumes when used constantly is no greater than that of an energy saving light bulb. And the mass of the coating is several hundred grams per square meter," the news release says.

Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov, who earlier briefed TASS on the properties of the newly-developed coating, said the invisible helmet presented at the Army-2018 show was part of the gear being created for Russia’s ‘soldier of the future.’ Experimental samples of the coating have been tested to confirm it as an ideal means of camouflage for personnel and military equipment, including armored vehicles.

The international military-technical forum Army-2018 is opening in Kubinka outside Moscow on Tuesday. It will run until August 26.