Nakidka
![A tank equipped with RAM camouflage. Various parts are painted, draped in fabric, or covered with strips of astroturf.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Engineering_Technologies_-_2012_%281-22%29.jpg/220px-Engineering_Technologies_-_2012_%281-22%29.jpg)
Nakidkais a Russianradar-absorbent material(RAM) camouflage that "eliminates the use ofprecision-guided weapons".[1]Nakidka reduces theinfrared,thermal,andradarband signatures of an object. It can be mounted onarmored fighting vehicles,[1]field fortifications,command posts,permanent air and vehicle sheds, andammunitionand fuel depots byinfantrywith no special equipment.[2]
According toNII Stali(Scientific Research Institute of Steel), which designed Nakidka, it reduces the chances of detection by day/nightviewers andTVsystems and seekers by thirty percent,infrared seekersby two- to three-fold, radar by six-fold, and reduces the thermal-radar signature to near-background levels.[1]Nakidka is efficient in the optical, IR and radar wavelength bands up to 12 cm (4.7 in), and also reduces theradar cross sectionby 10db.[1]
Nakidka weighs 2 kilograms per square metre (0.41 lb/sq ft)[1]and can be deployed in 0.4–1.0 man hours per square meter. It is also capable of withstanding combat conditions, such as takingsmall armsfire or anapalmattack. It is said to have a long maintenance-free service life.[2]
In 2006, during theRussian Expo Armsand International Defense Exhibition of Land Forces, aT-72BM "Rogatka"(an upgradedT-72B) fitted with Nakidka was demonstrated. A T-72B and aT-90S fitted with a signature reduction package based on Nakidka were also featured. Since then, that "signature reduction package" has become a standard component of the T-72B.[1]
To reduce its visibility, the new2S19M2artillery self-propelled howitzer uses a set of camouflage system to reduce the thermal heat of the vehicle and increase protection against radar, thermal and optical detection by more than 1.5 times, thereby reducing the effectiveness of high-precision weapons.[3]
Because the addition ofcage armorwould normally negate the camouflage properties of Nakidka, NII Stali offers special rubber side screens which would fit over cage armor and reduce the vehicle's visibility further.[1]
Nakidka entered serial production in June 2023.[4]
Combat use
[edit]On September 18, 2022, inKharkiv Oblast,Ukraine,a T-90M equipped with Nakidka was captured by Ukrainian forces.[5]In early 2023 a Russian T-90M was targeted by a Javelin which engaged and disabled the tank normally, despite being fully equipped with Nakidka.[6]
References
[edit]- ^abcdefg"RPM 'Cloak' to protect from exploration and precision weapons".Nii Stali.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-09.Retrieved2015-05-22.
- ^abEugene Yanko, Copyright 1997 - [email protected]."Nakidka kit for protection | Russian Arms, Military Technology, Analysis of Russia's Military Forces".Warfare.ru.Retrieved2010-08-05.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^"Firsts modernized self-propelled artillery howitzer 2S19M2 enter in service Russian army 2806131 | June 2013 news defence security industry military | Military army defense industry news year 2013".armyrecognition.Retrieved2015-05-22.
- ^"ЦАМТО / /" Накидка "от НИИ Стали пошла в серию".
- ^"Ukraine's Armed Forces captured the latest Russian Т-90М" Proryv "tank in Kharkiv Region".
- ^"Marinka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian forces from the 79th Air Assault Brigade reportedly hit a Russian T-90M with a FGM-148 Javelin, disabling it".