The Russian military is arming itself with inflatable weapons. Inflatable dummies of missile launchers, tanks and anti-aircraft systems, made by the developers of air balloons and trampolines in Khotkovo, could mislead the enemy and draw fire away from real-life combat units.
The Russian military is arming itself with inflatable weapons. Inflatable dummies of missile launchers, tanks and anti-aircraft systems, made by the developers of air balloons and trampolines in Khotkovo, could mislead the enemy and draw fire away from real-life combat units.
Inflated S-300 missile launchers, T-72 and T-80 tanks, and Su-27 and MiG-31 fighters have a special purpose, Yury Stepanov, head of a research and production laboratory in Khotkovo, told RIA Novosti. “State-of-the-art technology in reconnaissance and targeting leaves little chance for real weapons,” Stepanov said. “With the help of inflated models, we can increase the survivability of actual military hardware. The enemy will waste time hitting phony targets instead of searching for real ones.”
The average weight of one inflatable unit is 30 kilograms. A dummy is made of waterproof fabric and, folded, takes up little space. It takes inflatable tanks and fighter planes only five minutes to reach the actual size of a combat unit. What is more, they are impossible to tell from the real thing at a distance of 100 meters, the developers say.
Inflatable models of military hardware function in any weather and at low operating cost. A compressor pumping air into a rubber tank consumes one liter of fuel per hour.
Inflatable models reproduce the heat and radar signature of actual combat units. “From the air the enemy will fail to notice the difference because the models can imitate engine heat, and thanks to a special coating on the fabric, the tanks reflect the radio waves of hostile radar,” the expert explained.
Configured as a traveling unit or as a unit positioned for combat, the decoy can pass for a real unit. The tanks, for example, have a turning turret and hatches that can open and close.
Inflatables are gradually replacing old plywood models. According to Stepanov, the company has been manufacturing an inflatable S-300 missile system for the Defense Ministry for several years now. In the future, developers hope the Russian army will adopt Su-27 and MiG-31 decoys, which have recently passed tests.
