Eurosatory 2018: Saab announced its new Barracuda Adjustable MCS.

Stelios Kanavakis

Senior Defence Analyst

On the occasion of Eurosatory 2018, Saab presented its new Barracuda Adjustable Mobile Camouflage System (MCS). The camouflage offers concealment to vehicles on the move, in different patterns, allowing the users to remain undetected for a longer period of time.

 
Mr. Claes-Peter Cederlöf, Saab’s VP and Head of Marketing & Sales Barracuda Business Area Dynamics during the presentation (Picture source Army Recognition)

Army Recognition had the opportunity to attend the briefing from Saab’s VP and Head of Marketing & Sales Barracuda Business Area Dynamics, Mr. Claes-Peter Cederlöf.

Saab and other military forces around the world have been analyzing the lessons-learned from the recent conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere, to better understand the market’s needs in the field of signature management.

With increasingly capable ISTAR means being available by an expanding number of forces, signature management becomes a critical issue for battlefield survival. If we further add electronic warfare, a means of restricting an opponent’s capability to react, it can be easily understood how signature management is of outmost importance in the modern battlefield.

However, experience until now has shown that many Western forces have to start training in remaining undetected by camouflaging their equipment, as this skill has been neglected due to the nature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The new Barracuda Adjustable Mobile Camouflage System is designed to operate in more than one environment. The platform-integrated system is made out of panels, which can be attached on the vehicles with the use of velcros, thanks to the very low weight of the camouflage, which is 250-300 grams/sq.m.

This Mobile Camouflage System is known as a “uniform” because it is tailored to the vehicle. Some of the panels are adjustable and include other colours. Therefore, a woodland system can quickly be more urban by changing light green to grey. A winter uniform can be adjusted to spring or deep foliage by changing some panels to green and brown.

Barracuda’s advanced camouflage technology products have already been exported to more than 60 countries worldwide. Saab offers a unique package of tailor-made camouflage systems and force protection solutions that decrease the enemy’s ability to detect and engage. These solutions protect personnel, vehicles and base infrastructure against hostile sensors and enemy target acquisition.

For even greater success of hiding against enemy ISTAR systems, the Mobile Camouflage System can be combined with a static version of the net. In this case, success rate can be as high as 95%.

How this 95% can be translated in operational terms? User combat experience has shown that the friendly forces did not have to engage the enemy at distances above 1.200 m., allowing them to come as close as 800 m. and then firing with a higher rate of success from the first round, due to the fact that they remained undetected for a longer period of time.

Years of operational use and testing have shown that Barracuda camouflage provides many other advantages, such as protection from heat and dust. Temperature in the vehicle can be as low as 20 degrees Celsius, while thanks to the camouflage the vehicles require less cleaning and fewer changes of air filters. Equally important is the fact that lower temperatures offer less fuel consumption for cooling. These are valuable characteristics when it comes to armies operating in hot and dusty environments.

The Barracuda net is also offered for soldiers, as a suit. However, the great success comes with a cost in body heat for those wearing it.

Finally, besides the Barracuda solution offered for the Arctic environment, Saab offers the “Break Away” version. It usually mounted on special operations vehicles, which want to remain hidden from enemy observation. However, in case of quick reaction, the crew can drive the vehicle away, without the need to roll-up the net, as it is designed to fall of the vehicle once on the move.