The russians have camouflaged the bow and stern of one of their Project 11356 frigates, which is equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles. Such an upgrade was first noticed on June 19, 2023, and it is likely that it was the Admiral Essen frigate, distinguished by a lighter color of the Positive-M radar fairing, Naval News reports.
The purpose of this camouflage is most likely to make identification of the frigate more challenging, particularly from a side profile, for the operators of the Ukrainian maritime drones, who may utilize optical-electronic stations for target acquisition. This assumption is supported by the fact that the frigate could still be recognized from above and even the details of the camouflage pattern could be discerned.
Read more: The UK Defense Intelligence: russian Navy Employs Marine Mammals to Safeguard Sevastopol Harbour
Naval News state that the Kriegsmarine applied a similar camouflage to the Bismarck battleship. This combined elements of both a deceptive and disruptive camouflage.
During the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and even after the sinking of the Moskva cruiser in April 2022, russian occupiers in Crimea began employing a more primitive form of camouflage on their ships, painting over the names and tactical numbers on the hulls of vessels. However, this could only make it more difficult to identify a specific ship among a series of similar ones, but no more than that.
Indeed, if the russian forces are able to develop a truly functional camouflage pattern for their ships, it could complicate the task of targeting and neutralizing them for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Read more: Russia Is Scared of Ukraine Assaulting Crimea, Builds an Extensive Zone of Defenses
