Russia Buys Inflatable Army

Apparently, Russia needs an inflatable Army for some reason (Coming War Maybe) and they're paying 2500 grand per tank.



Quote from skeptic I concur with: "But at a time of peace, duping foreign intelligence networks with such expensive toys is a questionable luxury."

Thats so they can shoot the armed inflatable spacecraft during the fake invasion... What the he** is Earth gonna do when the Lamb shows up w/o gimmiks

"But at a time of peace, duping foreign intelligence networks with such expensive toys is a questionable luxury."

Since when are we in a time of peace?

Interesting article though.

1st they give plutonium to Iran, then the buy an army of inflatables and then they change the broadcasting signal on a spy frequency..Seems like they're preparing doesn't it?

Originally posted by ATLien
1st they give plutonium to Iran, then the buy an army of inflatables and then they change the broadcasting signal on a spy frequency..Seems like they're preparing doesn't it?

I honstly would have to say that there actions are speaking louder than words and the world needs to be ready.


Would be funny as hell to be M.I. after hitting the ground troops with napalm.

"i.e" Napalm away and F-16s lining up with tank busters..... wait... WTF did the tanks go????

Well, it could make your army look 2x bigger if you place them right.

I don't about how effective these would be as they probably don't have heat signatures but I do know that 2500 grand is alot of money LOL

On a gusty day....what's that? A bird? A plane? NO, it's an inflatable tank!

While those used to be good, simple inflatables without any heat signatures stand out like a sore thumb on the modern optical battlefield. They still can confuse your foe, always a good thing.

Originally posted by habfan1968
I don't about how effective these would be as they probably don't have heat signatures but I do know that 2500 grand is alot of money LOL

think its 2.5 grand as 2500 grand will get a a real one.

These would still confuse satellite imaging or high aerial recon. A big, tank-looking object is a big tank-looking object and since satellite recon still is mostly a visual tool, these will work just fine.

It's the same exact ploy the Allies used in the lead-up to the Normandy invasion,. We created a huge fake army out of balloons and wooden dummy tanks and trucks across the English Channel from Calais. We even drove tractors around to create tracks in the earth so it looked like we were training and doing maneuvers in the gear up for an attack on Calais instead of Normandy. Finally, we put it out that Patton was stationed with this fake army because we knew he was the one Allied general the Germans most feared. The trick worked brilliantly (mostly because Hitler wouldn't listen to Rommel, who correctly assessed the attack would probably come at Normandy), and so much of the German armor and troops were in the wrong place when we finally hit the Normandy beaches.

If the Russians want to keep foes or potential foes guessing as to their deployments, this is a relatively cheap way to do it. We do the same and have currently a sizable force of inflatable tanks and trucks we can set up at will, if we feel we need such a deception. An old trick, but still very effective.

reply to post by ATLien


Russia is also flying around alot of different countries airspaces lately too.
Like Canada and the UK i wonder if they are trying to send a message to the West to back off of Iran?

Originally posted by pavil
While those used to be good, simple inflatables without any heat signatures stand out like a sore thumb on the modern optical battlefield. They still can confuse your foe, always a good thing.

I wonder if putting a simple gas powered heater inside the balloon could give it an appropriate heat signature? Of course, you better strap the thing down, else it might float away...

IR signatures don't matter when you are trying to fool a photographer (all it takes is a heater to keep the air warm though).

This was done in the second world war as well and it is a very disturbing development. My question is what is the goal behind deploying these? Are they trying to make the army look bigger?

Or, in the true nature of a decoy, do they want to make it look like the army is someplace that it is not?

Remember, it is not just governments/militaries that are watching troop movements. Having these decoys makes it very easy to move units into their starting positions without anyone noticing that something has changed.

I would prefer if these decoys were of a yet-to-be-deployed model, at least then I would feel secure that they won't be used any time soon. Having them based on the current model of tank suggests that they are going to be used in the relatively near future.

One more peice of the puzzle, one more move on the chess board.



[edit on 25-8-2010 by [davinci]]

Originally posted by epsilon69
reply to post by ATLien

 

Russia is also flying around alot of different countries airspaces lately too.
Like Canada and the UK i wonder if they are trying to send a message to the West to back off of Iran?

It was really good timing on Tuesday's flight around Canada for Harper. He was smiling so much on camera talking about it, I almost thought maybe he asked them for a fly over, to help him justify spending billions on the new CF-35s that he wants. Not that he should need justification. We clearly need new equipment for our military.

Those inflatable army vehicles are strange though. Cheaper than the real thing. Everyone seems to be getting ready for something.

Well, i doubt they overlooked the heat signature problem... I'm sure they didnt pay a few thousand bucks for a bag of inflatable plastic, there could be some type of heating element to make the tank look more "real" in the battlefield.

Russia isn't preparing some new inflatable army. This is a diversion tactic that Russia and any other large military has deployed since forever. The only difference now is that they are inflatable and can be deployed quickly, instead of being built out of wood and steel like in WWII.

And obviously they have thermal signatures. You people think you can outsmart the Red Army through an internet discussion?

And these are mostly to fool drones and satellites. Russia has been using inflatable aircraft on runways for years. It's called counter-intelligence.

[edit on 25-8-2010 by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi]

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


The whole world knows countries use inflatable tanks..The thread is about the fact that they find it necessary to NOW BUY many many tanks...Not that the inflatable tanks exist, so what's so funny? I hate it when people read the 1st post then skip to the end and leave a sarcastic comment.

Previous post sounds correct.

So why would these be needed now? If you read George fried mans "the next 100 years" you might say its because Russia would like to claim her world power status from the good old days, pre 1981.

If you read the news you would say "the Iranian reactor will be attacked" and Russia, being the sponsor and protector, will send these decoys to Iran to confuse the advance wave.... Which some say will be soon.

What do you think?

reply to post by ATLien


It looks like they are making more than just tanks:

Link with video


The US had stuff like this during the cold war. It even created a heat signature to fool thermal optics.

ARMY INCREASING USE OF FAKE TANKS

BELTSVILLE, Md., Dec. 26, 1987— The Army, returning to an age-old strategy used extensively by the Soviet military, is increasing its use of decoys and fake targets in hopes of outsmarting an enemy's modern weapons.

Decoys ranging from canvas tanks to plastic soldiers could make the Army in battle seem twice as large as it really is. And if that news seems to give away the secret, the Army points out that the enemy still does not know which half is real.

''We will always be outnumbered conventionally,'' said Stephen P. Rosa, vice president of the TVI Corporation, which has developed decoys for M-1 tanks and Army trucks. He said the decoys ''are a force multiplier.''

The canvas two- and three-dimensional tanks made at TVI's plant here in the suburbs of Washington look real and are capable of creating heat to attract heat-seeking weapons designed for use at night. Deception and Survivability

An unassembled front-view M-1 weighs about 25 pounds and collapses into a 4-by-2-foot duffle bag. In less than three minutes one person can assemble it and start a generator to create its thermal ''signature.'' A tape player and loudspeakers can create the sound of an entire tank battalion.

A fake M-1 costs about $3,500. The real thing costs about $3 million.

NYT