"Metinvest launches production of fake military equipment
Its purpose is to imitate the real thing and draw enemy fire
Ukraine has launched the production of fake howitzers, radar stations and mortars to distract the Russian army's forces and resources on the battlefield.
Source. The Wall Street Journal reports this with reference to manufacturers and the Ukrainian military.
High-precision copies of military equipment are made from rigid foam, plumbing equipment and scrap metal at the factories of Metinvest, a company owned by Ukraine's richest oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov (currently estimated by Forbes to be worth $5.7 billion).
According to one Ukrainian commander, his unit used decoy targets to determine where Russian artillery was coming from. Ukrainian forces then targeted and hit the enemy artillery.
In one of the independent observer's videos, a Russian Lancet drone also "clicked" on a fake radar system and hit it. But it was just a decoy made from a wrecked car.
The decoy howitzer looks to the untrained eye the same as those actually used at the front of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The effect of firing from the fake howitzers is imitated by setting smoke bombs inside the barrel, said the Metinvest workshop manager.
It takes only four days to produce a D-20 howitzer, and two weeks to recreate a replica of the American M777 howitzer. The most time-consuming is the 35D6 radar installation, which takes a month to make a copy due to its size and many parts.
In addition to decoys from Metinvest, the Ukrainian army uses products from the Czech company Inflatech, which produces inflatable military equipment. In 2022, due to demand from Ukraine, the company's business grew by more than 30%, said Inflatech CEO Vojtech Fresser.
Ukraine receives models of HIMARS mobile rocket launchers, Leopard 2 tanks, howitzers, and even airplanes from the Czech company. The weight of the models starts at 60 kg, and it takes from three minutes to half an hour to deploy them. The dummies can be used at least 50 times.
To deceive the enemy, you need to install the decoy in the same way as its real counterpart: hide it under a camouflage net and dig trenches around it, as well as simulate its use, says the Metinvest workshop manager, adding that Russian troops are "not stupid."
However, he said, of the 250 decoys sent to the front, about half were hit.
Metinvest is currently preparing to produce decoys in the form of tanks and various vehicles.
Background. As we wrote earlier, fake military vehicles and HIMARS from the Czech company are in great demand, with a tenfold increase in demand over the past year.
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