Camouflage usually means blending in. That wasn't an option for the submarine-dodging battleships of a century ago, which advertised their presence against an ever-changing sea and sky with bow waves and smokestacks. And so dazzle camouflage was born, an abstract riot of squiggles and harlequin patterns. It wasn't hard to spot a dazzle ship but the challenge for the periscope operator was quickly to judge a ship's speed and direction before firing a torpedo on a ponderous intercept. Dazzle camouflage was intended to provoke misjudgments, and there is some evidence that it worked.
迷彩通常意味着与周围环境协调一致。在一个世纪之前，战舰想躲避潜艇时不会用这一招，因为在不断变幻的海天背景之下，船首波与主烟囱会时刻暴露出战舰的位置。于是炫幻迷彩应运而生，这种迷彩由弯弯曲曲的线条和五颜六色的花纹，以很抽象的方式显示出来。采用炫幻迷彩的战舰不难定位，难的是在程序繁琐的拦截中，发射鱼雷之前需要潜望镜操作手迅速判断出战舰的航速与航向。也就是说，设计炫幻迷彩的目的就是造成误判，有证据表明这种策略确实有效。