Russia's new "Inflatable Weapons"

[Albino Boo]

Nothing new in this. This is technology that's been around for 20 years. Its just a mylar balloon with an IR bulb in it. Fooling radar and IR sensors isn't that hard, the difficult bit is fooling the playback. Jstars ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-8_Joint_STARS ) records images so a static sight will show up.

But does it have real time playback? Sounds stupid, but real time playback exists, and is used right now.

Based on what they pulled out, they won't fool the US' IR sensors. Well, the aircraft won't at least.

Fooling sensors is easy, it doesn't matter who makes the sensors using an IR source will show up the same as the real thing. All an IR sensor can do is say that this is about x temperature and if you produce a temperature thats the same as a cooling tank engine it will look the identical. As with all intelligence gathering techniques, its the interpenetration that is key. Watching for, changes or the lack of them, tank crews doing their jobs or not, fuel trucks arriving or not is where the key to discovering the fake from the real lurks.

 

[Lou]

Opposing nation used Pin! It's super-effective! =p

Really? Only 100 times cheaper then the real thing though? I mean, I had no idea bouncy castles cost so much ^^

 

[Korey Von Doom]

Two Words: Thermal Goggles

Oh their ya go the whole thing is defeated.

 

[subject_87]

I think the Russian higher-ups have been playing a bit too much RUSE.

Ninja'd.

 

[sooperman]

Two Words: Thermal Goggles

Oh their ya go the whole thing is defeated.

The article and the OP made it clear that the material the tanks are made from reflect a thermal and radar signature. Nice reading, bro.

 

[Korey Von Doom]

Two Words: Thermal Goggles

Oh their ya go the whole thing is defeated.

The article and the OP made it clear that the material the tanks are made from reflect a thermal and radar signature. Nice reading, bro.

Yea but just reflecting is not enough, oh and the fact that this has entirely been made public and everyone knows about it so anyone who fights them will be expecting it.

 

[HellsingerAngel]

Yea but just reflecting is not enough, oh and the fact that this has entirely been made public and everyone knows about it so anyone who fights them will be expecting it.

Because...

A) All military superpowers are checking in with a news station for military intelligence with an allied country

-and-

B) Any military faction is going to stop bombarding a position on the off-chance it's a bunch of balloons and not an actual armoured batallion sitting by a radar station.

Sound military tactics indeed. /sarcasm

 

[Nolanp01]

This kind of tactic is old an used, but works well. That being said, it isn't concerning.

My favorite decoy though was the fake paratroopers dolls, that when dropped behind lines in Normandy, proceeded to pop and make gunshot noises to confuse the enemy. It seems more likely that Russia is just trying to find ways to save money on military expenditures, but focusing more on intelligence gathering and statistical analysis, they can reduce their army size further.

Besides, they want to develop bigger nuclear weapons anyhow xD

 

[Nolanp01]

Now do inflatable buildings!

They already do.

Weapon of Mass Terror and Hysteria. Absolutely Brilliant.

You laugh now but soon comrade ducky will lead the glorious inflatable army to victory over the west.

The TRUE weapon!

 

[Shock and Awe]

Hate to say it, but the UK and US have BEEN THERE DONE THAT.

 

[lostzombies.com]

I think this is completely ridiculous. I don't know who's going to fall for a bunch of fucking balloons that look vaguely like a tank. besides what happens when a spy comes in with a needle and trips and pokes a hole in one of them? Then your entire arsenal is gone once he gets done.

1- A spy comes in? Real life isn't like James Bond...

2- They showed pics on the BBC and they look like the real thing from even 10 feet away (the tanks at least) and they are coated with a special polymer so they give the same radar signiture as real tanks.

 

[Korey Von Doom]

Yea but just reflecting is not enough, oh and the fact that this has entirely been made public and everyone knows about it so anyone who fights them will be expecting it.

Because...

A) All military superpowers are checking in with a news station for military intelligence with an allied country

-and-

B) Any military faction is going to stop bombarding a position on the off-chance it's a bunch of balloons and not an actual armoured batallion sitting by a radar station.

Sound military tactics indeed. /sarcasm

I'm saying it's not going to fool anyone expecting it, and um yea military superpowers do actually check the news, or at least their mail on yahoo and see it on the front page.

Thinking the military doesn't know about this weeks before it was news is just foolish.

 

[Logic 0]

I'm glad russia has started to carry light artilary now if only they would start carrying a light infintry.

 

[Grayjack]

Didn't they do this in WWII to decieve spy plane runs?

They did, and I think it actually worked.

 

[superbatranger]

So... all that's needed to defeat the new Russian army is a nailgun?

Hell, just use a needle and poke them.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I think this is completely ridiculous. I don't know who's going to fall for a bunch of fucking balloons that look vaguely like a tank. besides what happens when a spy comes in with a needle and trips and pokes a hole in one of them? Then your entire arsenal is gone once he gets done.

You don't get it. The tanks and jeeps are supposed to look EXACTLY like the real thing. Giving that on the battlefield you shoot first and ask questions later this is a great idea. Whilst the enemy is wasting ammunition on a balloon the main force would flank the enemy and pretty much obliterate them. Even if you can't flank the enemy is still wasting ammunition on something that possesses no threat to them.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Not a bad play on the Ruskie's part. Aerial photography and targeting might have trouble differentiating between these and the real thing.

 

[Levi93]

No this is not new. The allies did this 65 years ago in WW2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE2Euz3ucdE&feature=player_embedded

Edit: Read the OP, yeah I guess that's an improvement. Also doesn't this only work as a secret?

damn ninja...

I was gonna post that vid but yeah it has been done past in WW2, i know for a fact somthing similar was done in egypt aswell where tanks were disguised to look like supply trucks from above.

And in a town about 20 minutes from where i live, during WW2 there was an ammunition factory which had a pond and some grass painted on the roof to stop it being bombed.

Deception can be a very powerfull tactic, especialy during wartime.

 

[Daffy F]

...It's a great secret weapon. Just a shame it's not a secret anymore. Although, now that I think about it, You can't tell the difference when organising an attack whether the radar station to just blew up was the real deal or a cheapo rip off.

 

[Yureina]

I mean, I know its not likely that Russia is going to be using this stuff in reality very much (I hope), but if they did chances are they would have their "inflatable armies" be able to trick their foes quite nicely. I think that the Allies in WW2 did this a little bit as part of the preparation to invade Normandy, but I doubt they were able to create dummies that, if this article is to be believed, can even trick radar and thermal imaging into believing that they are real. This sort of stuff just might have some real effect in the future if it ever actually ends up in a real situation.

The Allies built a load of wooden planes and tank and parked them near Dover(I think) so German intelligence would thing we would be launching attacks into Calais rather then Normandy and it worked, so this sort of thing isn't without precident.

I have to say I'm a big fan of this idea and not just because I like Bouncy Castles

Yarp! That's what it was I was thinking of about my WW2 history.