Saab has augmented its Barracuda Ultra-Lightweight Camouflage Screen, which previously hid an operator’s signature but can now allow selected frequencies to pass through the net. A game of hide-and-seek has never been easier.
While providing protection from adversarial sensors searching for a shred of activity, Saab’s Frequency Selective Surface Technology (FSS) represents an advancement in signature management technology.
Henning Robach head of Saab’s Barracuda business unit stated “we are taking camouflage to the next level with this novel feature.
“It changes how soldiers communicate while keeping multispectral protection, and so introduces a new era of tactical communication flexibility, offering unparalleled capabilities.”
The net solution uses advanced pigment blends, coatings, and textiles to reduce the chances of detection. Saab has tailored this net to counter different types of sensors: including ultraviolet, visual, near-infrared, short-wave infrared, thermal infrared, and radar signatures.
Besides standing guard from sensors detection the mobile camouflage system also reduces the internal temperature of a platform, extending the endurance of personnel and electronic equipment.
Bringing the Barracuda to new markets
To meet the demand for Barracuda products, Saab is expanding its production base to locations such as North America where Tulmar, a leading provider of protective textiles since 1992, emerged as an ideal partner.
Charlotta Fridell, head of production for Saab’s Barracuda business unit, explained that Saab will continue producing the advanced multi-spectral material used in the net solution at its factory in Sweden. Saab will send its material to Tulmar, where the company will tailor the net to fit a range of military vehicles for its Canadian customers.
Since then, in a recent Saab briefing on the Barracuda, a Saab official confirmed that deliveries of the system to its Canadian customers through a previously agreed tie-up with Tulmar had begun, with the company’s next step to expand into the United States.
