Ukraine has used a fleet of decoys similar to US advanced missile systems (HIMARS) to trick Russian forces into wasting expensive long-range cruise missiles on decoys.
The Ukrainian decoys are wooden but cannot be distinguished from an artillery battery through the lens of Russian drones broadcasting their position to Navy cruise missile launchers in the Black Sea, according to the Washington Post.
“When the UAVs see the battery, it’s like a VIP target,” said a senior Ukrainian official, referring to UAVs hitting long-range replica artillery.
Ukraine has used a fleet of decoys similar to US advanced missile systems (HIMARS) to trick Russian forces into wasting expensive long-range cruise missiles on decoys
A senior Ukrainian official, who spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity, said the decoys attracted at least 10 Kalibr cruise missiles after a few weeks in the field, an initial success that prompted Ukraine to stop production of the replicas use broader base to expand.
The use of missile system decoys also indicates Ukraine’s willingness to use unorthodox tactics in the fight against an army superior to it on the battlefield.
The destruction of Ukrainian replicas may explain why Russia repeatedly boasts of destroying many US-made missiles, including long-range HIMARS missile systems, claims the US has called “manifestly false.”
“They claimed to have hit more HIMARS than we even sent,” a US diplomat said.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu last month ordered his generals to prioritize destroying long-range artillery systems after they hit key Russian supply lines.
Almost every week, Shoigu and other Russian defense officials announce new successful attacks on Western-supplied missile systems, including the lighter US-made HIMARS.
The Ukrainian decoys are made of wood, but are indistinguishable from an artillery battery through the lens of Russian drones
The destruction of Ukrainian replicas may explain why Russia has repeatedly boasted about destroying many US-made missiles, including long-range HIMARS missile systems, claims the US has called “manifestly false.”
However, a Pentagon spokesman categorically dismissed Russia’s claims and declared all US-provided HIMARS accounted for.
“We are aware of these recent claims by Secretary Shoigu, and they are again patently false,” said Todd Breasseale, acting Pentagon spokesman.
“What is happening, however, is that the Ukrainians are deploying each of the fully explained precision missile systems with devastating accuracy and effectiveness.”
The Pentagon says it has delivered 16 HIMARS to Ukraine since the war began.
US allies have deployed M270 missile systems that have similar functionality.
“If the Russians think they hit a HIMARS, they will claim they hit a HIMARS,” said George Barros, a military researcher at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank.
“Russian forces may overstate their battle damage estimates after hitting HIMAR decoys.”
The battlefield advantages of decoys for Ukraine are twofold, military analysts said.
A Pentagon spokesman categorically denied Russia’s claims and declared all US-provided HIMARS accounted for
U.S. defense officials say Russia’s stockpile of precision-guided missiles is running out, and U.S. export controls on microchips are making it “much harder” for Russia to replenish those munitions, Defense Department undersecretary Colin Kahl said earlier this month.
“A Kalibr missile fired at a fake HIMARS target in a field is a missile that cannot be used against a Ukrainian city,” said Rob Lee, military analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Another benefit of decoys is that they could force the Russians to take precautions and move their ammunition depots and command and control stations farther from the front line—beyond the expected range of the HIMARS.
“Such a reorganization would impair the Russians’ ability to engage in mass artillery fire – a tactic they have relied on to make gains in eastern Ukraine,” Barros said.