Protection against rockets and drones of the Russian Federation: Ukraine uses fake tanks and howitzers - The Economist

The Armed Forces use inflatable baits to confuse the Russians and minimize the threat from the Russian drones-Kamikadze "Lancet", which are considered the most dangerous of their kind, of those in the arsenal of the Russian army. The warring parties resorted to different ways of deception of the enemy since the first known wars. Whether the Trojan horse, or the so -called "Rupert" - bags, stuffed with rags, which were issued for paratroopers during the planting of allies in Normandy.

With the development of technologies, methods of concealing military advantage were also changed. Drones and other technological developments significantly changed the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, but now the turn of the dummy. About it reports The Economist. When tanks appeared in the First World War to mislead, they were complemented by wooden skeletons with a painted burlap.

The Russian side stated the destruction of a large number of Himars - high -mobile RSSUs, which made a turning point in the course of the war in Ukraine. Kiev, in turn, claims that since the United States began to supply them last July, no HIMARS was lost. The Armed Forces has a park of wooden copies M142 Himars, which are mounted on heavy trucks.

In recent years, Ukraine has used mostly such handicrafts, according to the representative of the Foundation "return alive" Andrei Rimaruk, dummies that resembled heavy armored vehicles. Since 2018, inflatable prototypes that have a number of advantages have begun to use military exercises. Wooden "technique" is heavy and consists of several parts. You need a car for transportation and a brigade that would collect and disassemble them.

The inflatable structure is made of nylon fabric, make it cheaper, and it is quite easy to carry in a backpack. According to the Czech company Inflatech, which produces armored vehicles, these systems unfold very quickly: it is enough to turn on the pump, and in ten minutes the Himars RSZO is ready. Tanks, artillery, mortars, machine guns for almost any military equipment can make a rubber counterpart.

The Russian Federation also has factories for the production of balloons and inflatable structures, among other things fighters, through which the air base will seem crowded. There are difficulties in reproducing some parts of armored vehicles, such as antennas in radar systems. According to Inflatech engineer, tank guns are too long, so aluminum pipes are used instead of inflatable parts. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Inflatech orders have increased by 30%.

In turn, dummies are being improved. Yes, the wooden tank is practically indistinguishable from the real five meters away, as the military explained. To mislead drones with thermal immiums, reflectors are installed in inflatable dummies, which seem to get a projectile into the tank. Such lures are used to minimize the threat from Russian drones "Lancet", which are considered the most dangerous of their kind, of those in the arsenal of the army of the Russian Federation.

The radius of action of drones "Lancet" - 40 km, useful weight - 3 kg of explosives. Dronov-Kamikadze "Lancet" characteristics are quite high for the effective destruction of artillery. Lacet-3, produced in the Russian Federation, costs about $ 50,000, while the price of the American howitzer M777 can be about $ 4 million. Earlier it was reported that the Czech company, which produces baits for missiles of the VCSS of the Russian Federation, declared a boom in the production of inflatable Himars.