Vladislav Grigoriev22:21, 14.09.26

Small anti-submarine ships of Project 1331-M received an atypical camouflage.

Unusual camouflage designed to confuse AI-powered drones has been spotted on ships of Russia’s Baltic Fleet . OSINT analyst Massimo Frantarelli posted a photo of one of these ships on the social media site X.

Two ships were painted in camouflage resembling a mixture of a building’s façade and an embankment. According to an OSINT analyst, the Project 1331-M small anti-submarine ships (likely the Zelenodolsk and Kazanets), based in Kronstadt, received this unusual paint job.

The ships’ artillery mounts were also given a tiger-skin paint job. Part of the hull was painted black, which should make the ship’s silhouette more inconspicuous.

According to Militarnye , other Russian ships have received zebra-pattern camouflage, as well as homemade anti-drone protection in the form of nets on the conning tower and torpedo tubes. Analysts say the Russian Navy hopes this camouflage could hinder the AI-guided drones’ targeting systems.

Deformation camouflage on Russian ships

Previously, the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies analyzed a photograph of the Russian dry cargo vessel MECHTA S (formerly the Sormovsky-3059, Project 488) with deforming paint . According to Russian sources, the vessel was photographed in the Turkish port of Haydarpaşa, located in Istanbul.

The idea for this camouflage dates back to the First and Second World Wars. This camouflage, composed of various geometric shapes, was intended to visually distort a vessel’s silhouette when spotted by the enemy.

(C)UNIAN 2026