The company is adding US-made HIMARS to its fleet of more than 30 types of full-size inflatable decoys as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.
Losing a tank or valuable US-made high mobility artillery missile systems (HIMARS) can hurt an army less if the weapon is a cheap inflatable decoy placed in the front lines to deceive the enemy.
As the war in Ukraine has increased the need for heavy military vehicles, guns and aircraft, it has also been a boon for Inflatech Decoys, a Czech manufacturer of fake military equipment.
The company has added HIMARS to its fleet of more than 30 types of full-size inflatable decoys that it sells to customers around the world, Chief Executive Vojtech Fresser said.
Inflatech would not confirm that Ukraine is one of the destinations, but Fresser said he would expect them to make their way there.
“I would imagine that if we want to support a partner country that is in trouble, we will send them inflatable decoys from Inflatech and they are already there or will definitely be there,” he said.
The Defense Ministry, which helps organize Czech military supplies to Ukraine, was not immediately available for comment.
The decoys are made of synthetic silk and, apart from visually deceiving the opponent, have a thermal footprint and appear on radars to fool enemy reconnaissance.
They come packed in bags that can hold two to four soldiers and can be inflated in 10 minutes.
The HIMARS inflatable top, without the heat generator and compressor equipment, weighs 43 kg, Fresser told reporters at the company’s plant in the northern Czech city of Decin.
The decoys cost from $10,000 to $100,000.
“If you get the enemy to destroy my equipment with something four or maybe 20 times more expensive, you win economically,” Fresser said.
Inflatech has seen its business thrive over the past year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, boosting production to dozens of decoys per month, and is seeing big growth this year — in dozens and perhaps more than 100 percent, Fresser said.
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