The French defense procurement agency Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) has ordered 3,000 multispectral camouflage nets from Saab. The nets are from the company's Barracuda camouflage system and will be produced by the company Solarmtex S.A.S in central France, according to a press release from DGA.

The Barracuda system not only masks visually but also conceals heat signatures from IR optics. It has long been in use within the Armed Forces, and the vehicles that Sweden donated to Ukraine—such as the Combat Vehicle 90, Tank 122, and the Archer artillery system—were also equipped with the camouflage system from Saab Barracuda.

Combat Vehicle 90 equipped with camouflage net from Saab Barracuda Photo: Armed Forces

In an interview with a Ukrainian CV90 crew on the front line, they praised the net's capabilities. According to the crew, the camouflage makes the entire vehicle look like a stalled car in a thermal camera.

According to DGA, the order value amounts to 20 million euros and will be delivered to the French army as well as the air and space forces between 2024 and 2026. The nets come in three different sizes and four designs: Northern Europe, Southern Europe, desert, and winter.

Saab entered into a cooperation agreement with Solartex in October 2021. The agreement includes among other things a distribution agreement where Solartex is a reseller of the camouflage system in France. Manufacturing and assembly of the camouflage systems will be carried out in a factory established for this purpose.

In January 2022, Saab entered into a framework agreement with DGA regarding Barracuda nets over eight years. According to DGA, the current order is a result of two years of collaboration between Saab, DGA, and the French army's technical section. The nets will be used to camouflage command posts and vehicle groupings.