Russia mocked for rudimentary counter-drone ‘wig’
Russia is attempting to hide military vehicles from Ukrainian drones using rudimentary screens of straw threads resembling hair.
The dressing is likely designed to cover the vehicles heat signature, making them more camouflaged to thermal imaging cameras. But military experts say the technique is likely flawed.
Pictures circulated on social media showed a Bukhanka, a 4x4 truck, with what appeared to be a counter-drone “wig”.
The vans have been widely used to supply Russian forces at the front line, making them targets for Ukrainian drones.
It is likely that camouflage – which has been ridiculed online for comparisons to the Magic Roundabout’s lovable dog Dougal and the Dumb and Dumber van – was being used to conceal heat emitted by the vehicle.
‘Wishful thinking’
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British tank commander, said that outcome was more “wishful thinking” from Russian forces.
He said: “This may dampen the thermal signature but the windscreen makes it stand out like the dog that it is.”
It would be “easily picked up by a $500 (£395) drone with even a basic night sight”, he added.
Both Ukraine and Russia are becoming more reliant on transporting troops and supplies to the front line under the cover of darkness to avoid the army of drones in the skies over the battlefield.
However, cheap, Chinese, night-vision cameras are being used by either side, according to analysts.
Ukrainian troops have reported that Moscow’s forces have started using first-person view drones with heat-detection cameras to strike in the darkness, overcoming what was once a technological advantage by Kyiv.
Crude and creative
Serhiy Sternenko, a Ukrainian military blogger, said: “I want to go and show this video to the highest offices. The Russians are hitting our troops with night FPV, including infantry. By spring, this could increase tenfold.”
Last week, British military officials claimed Ukraine had the edge in the dark because Russian forces were struggling to fight at night because of a lack of equipment and training.
Russia has been increasingly crude, and creative, with its attempts to conceal its vehicles and weapons from watchful Ukrainian forces.
Images released earlier this year appeared to show fuel trucks disguised as commercial logging vehicles, complete with logs to fool Ukrainian forces.
They have also frequently deployed heat blankets in a bid to cover up potential targets on the ground.
