Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian decoys expose costly blunder
The Russian Federation recently announced that it had successfully carried out attacks on a Ukrainian airport with parked planes in Kryvyi Rih and destroyed a Patriot complex near the city of Yuzhne. However, it turns out that in both cases, the targets were dummy models.
Both Russians and Ukrainians use dummy military equipment. This is not surprising—it's a tactic known for many decades and used in various conflicts, including during World War II.
The Russian military uses dummies and decoys, including in seaports. For instance, British intelligence recently spotted a painted-on concrete dummy submarine in Novorossiysk. Photos of painted airplanes on airport tarmacs often appear on social media.
Russians thought they hit a Patriot. They actually hit a dummy
Each of these actions is important for the military. The primary objective is to draw the enemy’s attention to an essentially worthless target. The Ukrainians successfully executed this tactic by reporting that Russians struck two objects. According to the Russian Federation, these were planes at the Kryvyi Rih airport and a Patriot missile system near Yuzhne. However, as stated by Gen. Mykola Oleschuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, the strikes recorded in Russian videos show the shelling of decoys—according to Defense Express.
It is noteworthy that Russian propagandists claimed they used expensive Iskander missiles, costing around CAD 4 million each, during the attacks. The Ukrainian losses would have been much more costly if they were real. However, the Ukrainian military highlights that the attack only hit decoys. Oleschuk also thanked everyone involved in creating high-quality aircraft and air defence dummies. The general added that the Russians now have fewer Iskander missiles due to the recent attacks. He also announced that more dummies will soon appear in Ukraine.
They hit valuable Iskanders
According to recent calculations by analyst Olexander Musienko, Russians produce about 85-90 Iskander and Kinzhal missiles monthly combined. However, the monthly production of Iskanders is estimated to be around 40 units, although factory output may have increased to prepare the Russian military for combat with F-16s.
The Iskander missiles are ballistic missiles, each over 7 metres long, with just under 1 metre diameter. The most popular variant in Russia is the Iskander-M. Additionally, there are versions labelled "K" and "E." The most popular variant of these large missiles weighs around 4,990 kilograms. The maximum range of Iskanders is approximately 500 kilometres, and the speed achieved by a single rocket after launch reaches Mach 7, or about 8,600 kilometres per hour. The accuracy of the Iskander in terms of CEP is about 30 meters.
