Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov on Wednesday presented the so-called “invisibility cloak”, which, according to him, can hide soldiers from thermal imaging cameras and drones, reports CNN.

a presentation from Brave1, a defense technology development projectPhoto: Hanna Arkhirova / AP / Profimedia

Cloaks block radiation from human body heat, making the soldier invisible to the enemy.

They were created by Brave1, a defense technology project sponsored by the Ukrainian government.

The cloak has been under development since 2015, when it was supposed to be used by snipers and SBU special forces in Donbas, one of the cloak’s developers, Maksym Boryak, told CNN.

Its development would begin again in earnest when Russia invaded in February 2022.

The cape uses materials commonly used by firefighters to prevent hot air from leaking out and showing up on thermal imaging cameras, and a built-in ventilation system cools hot air trapped inside the cape.

Boryak calls it a “simple system” that weighs up to 2.5 kilograms. Capes are waterproof and non-flammable.

According to Boryak, capes were already used by the 35th brigade of marines during the counteroffensive of Ukrainian troops.

The capes were first revealed in a demonstration video released by Fedorov on Wednesday. According to him, the video “shows a finished sample that has successfully passed field tests.”

CNN cannot confirm the effectiveness of the mask or the extent of its use.