Russian soldiers' ‘drone-proof' thermal coats actually mark them for attack
Russian soldiers are struggling to hide from Ukrainian drones, despite being given coats and blankets designed to hide them from thermal and night vision sensors.
The garments are intended to mask body heat, making soldiers harder to detect with night-vision and infrared optics.
However they are constructed with faulty technology, and troops are often given inadequate training in how to use them.
Rather than concealing body heat, the coats create cold spots against a warmer natural environment, making bold black targets for Ukraine to strike.
'This is no invisibility cloak,' Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army colonel and chemical weapons expert, told The Telegraph. 'In fact, because of the contrast, it makes them more acquirable than less.'
Ukrainian drones, often operated by special forces or intelligence units, combine thermal imaging with real-time targeting capabilities.
This technology allows Ukraine to conduct precise strikes even at night, taking out hidden or camouflaged Russian positions.
Russian soldiers are now being sent towards the enemy believing the equipment will keep them safe from attacks.
But video footage and photographs taken in Lyman earlier this week show soldiers standing out more than ever as Ukrainian drones hover low behind them.
The soldiers moved towards positions held by the Ukrainian army's 63rd Mechanised Brigade with coats draped over their shoulders before a barrage of first-person view (FPV) drones descended on them.
The 'funny occupiers in the Lyman region… put on anti-drone raincoats and thought that now they are safe,' the brigade said after the attack.
A different Russian assault group used higher-quality thermal blankets but lacked proper training on how to use them effectively.
They could be seen with their legs, arms, or heads peeking out from the covers, suddenly highlighting where they were standing.
Nick Reynolds, research fellow for land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that there have been 'instances of incompetence by Russian personnel who clearly do not understand how to use their equipment'.
Mr de Bretton-Gordon added: 'It does highlight how difficult it is to hide on today's battlefield... They need to cover their whole bodies.'
Details found online showed Russian versions of the suits on sale for just $47 USD. Improvements in Ukrainian technology are also making it even harder for Russians to hide.
'Thermal cameras on drones are both improving and becoming cheaper as manufacturing processes improve,' explained Mr Reynolds.
Ukrainian soldiers have previously used thermal camouflage suits, reportedly to much better effect than their Russian adversaries.
The suits, which weigh 2.5 kilograms, are made by a variety of multilayer materials, in particular polymers, microfibres, and fabrics interspersed with metal particles.
'Our goal is to disguise the military and equipment from the enemy as reliably as possible,' Vitalii Polovenko, the deputy defence minister, said last year.
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