Dummies and decoys are fake military equipment that are intended to deceive the enemy. Dummies and decoys are only one aspect of military deception.
Dummies and decoys are fake military equipment that are intended to deceive the enemy. Dummies and decoys are only one aspect of military deception.
During World War II, dummy airfields and even towns were used in England to divert German bombers from the real targets. [1] At the Battle of La Ciotat in 1944, American aircraft dropped hundreds of dummy paratroopers (paradummies) just north of La Ciotat, France. The goal of this operation was to divert German troops away from the main landing zones of Operation Dragoon. Additionally, during World War II, Operation Quicksilver was an attempt to mislead the Germans as to the location of the D-Day invasion using dummy military equipment. [2] [3]
A naval example was the British battleship HMS Centurion. Obsolete and disarmed by World War II, she spent two years in the Mediterranean fitted with wooden guns, to make British naval forces in the area seem stronger than they were. Likewise, Fleet tender was the codename for a number of British merchant ships that fitted with dummy structures to resemble warships. During the late Cold War, East German S-200 surface-to-air missile sites employed decommissioned and modified PRV-9 height finding radars as decoys to confuse NATO electronic signals intelligence gathering operations. [4]
In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, BQM-74C Chukar III drones were used as decoys during the initial air attacks into Iraq. One group of drones flew over 500 kilometers (310 miles) at 630 km/h (390 mph), then began to circle Baghdad for up to 20 minutes. Iraqi air defense radars which probed for the drones were engaged by allied strike aircraft firing AGM-88 HARMs (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles). [5]
During the Kosovo War, NATO claimed to have destroyed over 100 Serbian tanks and 200 armored personnel carriers using expensive precision-guided munitions, while various estimates place that number much lower. Numerous remains of decoys made of wood and canvas, or from out-of-commission vehicles are instead said to have been found by reporters. [6] [7]
In Russia, a former hot air balloon factory has continued in the 2010s to make dummy tanks, aircraft, missile launch pads, radar stations, and rocket launchers. The inflatable dummies are designed to present a realistic image to enemy radar and thermal imaging. [8]
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, AFU successfully used wooden dummies of HIMARS in order to divert Russian missile strikes. [9]
An intercontinental ballistic missile may release decoys in addition to one or more warheads.
Military aircraft on SEAD missions may carry decoy missiles such as the ADM-160 MALD which can create aircraft-like return signals on enemy radars.
Ukraine has made widespread usage of decoys as part of the Russo-Ukrainian War. In particular the usage of fake M777 howitzers costing $1000. When the actual weapon costs "several million dollars" to make. Decoys must use steel and wood. This is to match infra-red signature that a real M777 would give off. It also gives a false impression of Ukrainian weaponry. This is in line with fake HIMARS launchers that have been used by Ukraine since August 2022. Russia has also used fake trenches filled with explosives to kill Ukrainian soldiers. [10] [11] [12]
In April 2024, the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported that Russian occupied Kirovske air base had Su-30 fighter decoys painted on its hardstands and that at least a dozen more Russian air bases had painted similar decoys. The MoD believed the decoys were a reaction to Ukrainian attacks following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [13] [14]
The MIM-104 Patriot is a mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar component of the weapon system. The AN/MPQ-53 at the heart of the system is known as the "Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target," which is a backronym for "Patriot". In 1984, the Patriot system began to replace the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary high to medium air defense (HIMAD) system and the MIM-23 Hawk system as the U.S. Army's medium tactical air defense system. In addition to these roles, Patriot has been given a function in the U.S. Army's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system. As of 2016, the system is expected to stay fielded until at least 2040.
Electromagnetic warfare or electronic warfare (EW) is warfare involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy operations. The purpose of electromagnetic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of—and ensure friendly unimpeded access to—the EM spectrum. Electromagnetic warfare can be applied from air, sea, land, or space by crewed and uncrewed systems, and can target communication, radar, or other military and civilian assets.
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) M1140 truck frame.
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD, pronounced ), also known in the United States as "Wild Weasel" and (initially) "Iron Hand" operations, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses, including not only surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) but also interrelated systems such as early-warning radar and command, control and communication (C3) functions, while also marking other targets to be destroyed by an air strike. Suppression can be accomplished both by physically destroying the systems or by disrupting and deceiving them through electronic warfare. In modern warfare, SEAD missions can constitute as much as 30% of all sorties launched in the first week of combat and continue at a reduced rate through the rest of a campaign. One quarter of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD missions. Despite generally being associated with aircraft, SEAD missions may be performed using any means, including through actions by ground forces.
Brimstone is a ground or air-launched ground attack missile developed by MBDA UK for the UK's Royal Air Force. It was originally intended for "fire-and-forget" use against mass formations of enemy armour, using a millimetre wave (mmW) active radar homing seeker to ensure accuracy even against moving targets. Experience in Afghanistan led to the addition of laser guidance in the dual-mode Brimstone missile, allowing a "spotter" to pick out specific and the highest priority targets, particularly useful to minimise collateral damage when friendly forces or civilians were in the area. The tandem shaped-charge warhead is much more effective against modern tanks than older similar weapons such as the AGM-65G Maverick missile. Three Brimstones are carried on a launcher that occupies a single weapon station, allowing a single aircraft to carry many missiles.
The 9K35 Strela-10 is a Soviet highly mobile, short-range surface-to-air missile system. It is visually aimed, and utilizes optical/infrared-guidance. The system is primarily intended to engage low-altitude threats, such as helicopters. "9K35" is its GRAU designation; its NATO reporting name is SA-13 "Gopher".
The S-400 Triumf, previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S-300 family of missiles. The S-400 was approved for service on 28 April 2007 and the first battalion of the systems assumed combat duty on 6 August 2007. The system is complemented by its successor, the S-500.
The 9K720 Iskander is a Russian mobile short-range ballistic missile system. It has a range of 500 kilometres. It was intended to replace the OTR-21 Tochka in the Russian military by 2020.
The Pantsir missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Three types of vehicles make up one system: a missile launcher, a radar truck and a command post. Starting with the Pantsir-S1 as the first version, it is produced by KBP Instrument Design Bureau of Tula, Russia, and is the successor to the Tunguska M1.
An improvised fighting vehicle is an ad hoc combat vehicle resulting from modified or upgraded civilian or military non-combat vehicle, often constructed and employed by civilian insurgents, terrorists, rebels, mobsters, guerrillas, partisans, drug cartels, criminal organizations or other forms of non-state militias and irregular armies. Such modifications usually consist of grafting improvised armour plating and fixed crew-served weapons such as heavy machine guns or antiaircraft autocannons mounted onto the back of a utility vehicle or pickup truck.
Dummy tanks superficially resemble real tanks and are often deployed as a means of military deception in the absence of real tanks. Early designs included wooden shells and inflatable props that could fool enemy intelligence; they were fragile and only believable from a distance. Modern designs are more advanced and can imitate heat signatures, making them more effective illusions.
The Rocket Forces and Artillery of the Ukrainian Ground Forces consist of units armed with tactical missiles, howitzers, cannons, mortars, jet-propelled and anti-tank artillery. They are tasked to destroy human resources, tanks, artillery, anti-tank weapons, aircraft, air defense and other important installations operations.
A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a guided munition intended to hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the Persian Gulf War guided munitions accounted for only 9% of weapons fired, but accounted for 75% of all successful hits. Despite guided weapons generally being used on more difficult targets, they were still 35 times more likely to destroy their targets per weapon dropped.
A loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone, kamikaze drone, or exploding drone, is a kind of aerial weapon with a built-in warhead that is typically designed to loiter around a target area until a target is located, then attack the target by crashing into it. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms near the target area and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can be changed mid-flight or aborted.
There have been attacks in mainland Russia as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The main targets have been the military, the arms industry and the oil industry. Many of the attacks have been drone strikes, firebombing, and rail sabotage. The Ukrainian intelligence services have acknowledged carrying out some of these attacks. Others have been carried out by anti-war activists in Russia. There have also been cross-border shelling, missile strikes, and covert raids from Ukraine, mainly in Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts. Several times, Ukrainian-based paramilitaries launched incursions into Russia, captured border villages and battled the Russian military. These were carried out by units made up mainly of Russian emigrants. While Ukraine supported these ground incursions, it denied direct involvement.
The ZALA Lancet is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and loitering munition developed by the Russian company ZALA Aero Group for the Russian Armed Forces. It was first unveiled in June 2019 at the ARMY-2019 military expo in Moscow. It is a further development of the ZALA Kub-BLA loitering munition. Iran claimed in April 2024 that it has manufactured a domestic analogue of the drone.
This timeline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine covers the period from 8 April 2022, when the area of heavy fighting shifted to the south and east of Ukraine, to 28 August 2022, the day before Ukraine announced the start of its Kherson counteroffensive.
This timeline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine covers the period from 29 August 2022, when Ukraine's Kherson counteroffensive started, to 11 November 2022 when Ukrainian troops retook Kherson. In between, Ukraine launched a successful counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast. Starting in October, Russia began a campaign of massive strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014 into the full-scale invasion and the biggest war in Europe since World War II. Twenty-one months later, on 20 November 2023, Ukraine had cumulatively received over $44 billion in materiel aid from the United States and over $35 billion from other allies on a month-to-month basis. The aid is logistical and is provided by drawdown of existing materiel that is then delivered to Ukraine. As this materiel is expended, the allied industrial base has been gradually drawn in to supply Ukraine but had not been fully engaged as of November 2023. Since January 2022, mostly Western nations have pledged more than $380 billion in aid to Ukraine, including nearly $118 billion in direct military aid to Ukraine from individual countries.
Trembita is a Ukrainian surface-to-surface cruise missile manufactured by PARS. It was revealed publicly in April 2023.