Ukraine claims to have invented an 'invisibility cloak' to help its snipers and specialists evade detection from Russian troops

• Ukraine said it invented an "invisibility cloak" to help soldiers evade detection from thermal-imaging devices.
• One of the developers told Newsweek it was made with specialist units like snipers in mind.

Ukraine claims to have invented an "invisibility cloak" to help its soldiers evade detection by Russian thermal-imaging cameras and drones.

Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, shared a video on social media, which he said showed the jacket being tested.

The video, filmed by a thermal-imaging camera, shows one cloaked soldier appearing much fainter than his two uncloaked counterparts.

"The cloak blocks heat radiation & makes defenders invisible to Russian thermal cameras. It will help our soldiers work effectively during the night," Fedorov wrote in an X, formerly known as Twitter, post.

Fedorov added on Telegram that the jacket was lightweight, weighed up to 2.5 kg, or around 5.5 pounds, and worked in difficult conditions such as snow and rain. He added that it did not burn and protected users from extreme heat.

He did not provide further information about the materials and technology used to make the jacket.

He attributed the invention to Brave1, which is a Ukrainian government initiative to promote innovation in battlefield technology.

A member of the Brave1 development team, Maxim Boryak, told Newsweek that their production capacity for the jackets was currently limited to 150 units per month but that they are "ready for mass production."

He said that the technology was designed with certain specialist units in mind, such as snipers and reconnaissance teams.

Boryak added that the cloaks worked best when the person wearing them moved slowly, as rapid movements cause body temperature to rise.

Earlier this year, reports emerged about Russian forces wearing space blankets made of Mylar, a material with "excellent heat-reflective properties" that can redirect "approximately 90 percent of radiant heat."

This tactic was also reportedly used by the Taliban in Afghanistan to avoid being detected by NATO forces.

It is not clear how or if the new Ukrainian jacket differs in any way.

These types of jackets could prove useful for Ukrainian forces at this stage of the counteroffensive, as troops have often had to abandon vehicles and proceed on foot after coming up against dense Russian minefields, The Kyiv Post noted.

In 2021, The Israeli Ministry of Defense and Polaris Solutions, an Israel-based manufacturer thermal emitters, revealed new camouflage technology that made soldiers virtually "invisible."

The Kit 300 was made of thermal-visual concealment material that combined metals, microfibres, and polymers to make it harder to detect soldiers.