The Russians are disguising their warships as buildings to confuse drones
The Russian Baltic Fleet has begun using an unusual camouflage pattern on its Project 1331-M small anti-submarine ships. Patterns imitating urban buildings and a waterfront have appeared on the hulls.
These changes were observed on two ships based in Kronstadt. Part of the hull was painted black to visually “break up” the silhouette, while other sections were painted with zebra-like stripes. Meanwhile, the artillery mounts have been given a tiger-stripe camouflage pattern.
It is likely that the Russian military is attempting to make it more difficult for drones—particularly those using artificial intelligence algorithms to identify targets—to detect the ships.
In addition to the camouflage, homemade anti-drone nets are visible on some ships. They were installed near the bridge and torpedo tubes.
At the same time, the actual effectiveness of such camouflage against modern guidance systems remains questionable—its capabilities have not yet been tested in combat conditions.
Project 1331-M ships began entering service with the Soviet Navy in 1986. A total of 12 such ships were built. They are armed with AK-176 and AK-630M artillery systems, “Smerch-2” bomb launchers, and torpedo tubes.
Source: Military
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