Why Russian trucks in Ukraine are covered in ‘zebra’ camouflage
Key takeaways
- Images shared by military bloggers show Russian forces using black-and-white striped camouflage on their trucks.
- “The rationale is almost certainly to complicate drone targeting,” James Patton Rogers, a drone warfare expert at Cornell University, told our team.
- A Russian blogger says this is an attempt to confuse the guidance systems of Hornet drones, “which use AI-assisted targeting during the terminal phase of flight”.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Images shared by military bloggers show Russian forces using black-and-white striped camouflage on their trucks. The technique aims to deceive the AI recognition systems of Ukrainian drones, underscoring the constant adaptation of tactics in the conflict.
By: The FRANCE 24 Observers / Lise KIENNEMANN This image, shared on May 31, 2026, shows a Russian truck covered in a “dazzle” camouflage. © Telegram / @milinfolive_man "An attempt to confuse the guidance systems of enemy drones," a Russian military blogger wrote in the caption of a photo shared on Telegram, which shows a Russian Kamaz truck covered in zebra stripes.
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