Russian soldiers becomes invisible for enemy helicopter with Ratnik combat gear.

Soldiers wearing the Ratnik combat gear made of a special fabric are invisible to enemy helicopters’ night-vision devices in the field, CEO of Russia’s Central Research Institute for Precision Machine-Building (TsNIITochMash) Dmitry Semizorov told TASS.

The camouflage pattern of the Ratnik field uniform makes the soldiers less visible to infrared cameras

Amid the development of observation and target detection systems, making troops invisible to equipment operating in the visible band is not enough anymore. It is important to prevent military personnel from being detected by infrared devices. "Fabrics have been developed to prevent troops from being detected by infrared instruments as they block the heat produced by the human body. A soldier wearing the Ratnik combat gear made of this fabric is virtually invisible to a hostile helicopter at night in the field," Semizorov said.

The modern combat helicopter with night-vision devices poses a dangerous threat to infantry units at night as such devices can detect almost anything, which is proved by the use of attack helicopters in various local conflicts. Thermal imagers and infrared instruments are used by snipers, armored vehicles and unmanned aerial systems at night in combat environment.

The Ratnik combat gear is a Russian infantry combat system similar to the French Future Soldier System FELIN. It is designed to improve the connectivity and combat effectiveness of the Russian Army. Improvements include modernized body armor, helmet with special monitor (eye monitor, thermal, night vision monocular, flashlight), systems of communication and special headphones.

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