Russia is painting drones black so they are harder to spot at night, UK intel says

• Russia is darkening drones to make them harder to spot at night, the UK MOD said.
• Ukraine's air force also said Russia was painting its drones black.

Russia is painting some of its attack drones black to make them harder to see at night, according to UK intelligence.

In an intelligence update on Wednesday, the UK Ministry of Defence said that some Russian uncrewed aerial vehicles had been painted with a black finish.

This was "making it harder to visually identify the incoming drones at night," it said.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said this month that Russia had started painting some drones black to make them harder to spot and shoot down.

He also said that it was using more carbon fiber material in its drones, which he said was "an absorbing material for radar signals."

According to The New Voice of Ukraine, Ihnat was commenting on images shared by the National Guard of Ukraine that showed Russian drones reportedly downed during an attack on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, on November 25.

The drones appeared to be painted black.

Soldiers fighting in Ukraine have told Business Insider that a lot of combat takes place at night, including the use of drones, and that both sides' tactics shift so they can avoid detection.

Russia has also been increasing its domestic production of drones, which experts say could give it a major advantage going forward.

The UK MOD said Russia is increasingly employing one-way attack drones "in large raids in an attempt to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences."

However, it added that Ukraine "continues to successfully neutralise the majority of incoming weapons."