METAL FIBRE FABRICS WITH SELECTIVE COATINGS

BETTER SURVEILLANCE TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT HAVE PLACED INCREASED DEMANDS ON THE DECOY MATERIALS. PARTICULARLY THE MODERN SENSORS UTILIZED IN THE VISIBLE AND INFRARED SPECTRUMS HAVE EXCELLENT RESOLUTION. THEREFORE, MATERIALS WITH LOW REFLECTANCE IN THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM AND LOW EMITTANCE ARE REQUIRED TO REDUCE THE CHANGE OF DETECTION. THE PROPOSED BLACK CHROME COATED METAL FABRIC SATISFIES THE PROPERTIES MENTIONED ABOVE. THE METAL FIBRE FABRICS ARE MANUFACTURED FROM VERY FINE FILAMENT YARNS MADE OUT OF 316 STAINLESS STEEL. THE RESULTING KNITTED OR WOVEN FABRIC IS STRONG, DURABLE, MILDEW RESISTANT, SUITABLE FOR LONG TERM STORAGE, AND HAS EXCELLENT ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPERTIES. THE OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STAINLESS STEEL ARE ALTERED BY A BLACK CHROME COATING WITH A DULL NICKEL BASE. THE FINAL SOLAR SPECTRUM REFLECTANCE IS LESS THAN 5% AND THE INFRARED EMISSIVITY IS IN THE ORDER OF 0.1. SPARTA/STI DIVISION HAS THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE TO MANUFACTURE THE PROPOSED BLACK CHROME COATED METAL FIBRE FABRIC.