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Russia’s New Lethal Weapon Against US Is Literally Inflatable

REUTERS/Neil Hall

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Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
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Russia’s buying hundreds of inflatable weapon look-a-likes to confuse enemy military commanders in the event they invade Western Europe.

“If you study the major battles of history, you see that trickery wins every time,” a Russian military engineer in charge of the inflatable enterprise told The New York Times. Russia’s inflatable weapons are part of a new concerted hybrid warfare strategy, which they call “maskirovka.”

Maskirovka was best on display in Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its surreptitious invasion of Ukraine. Prior to its annexation, Russia deployed un-flagged troops to “secure” strategic areas, continually denying they were sent by the Russian government. Russian President Vladimir Putin mocked his accusers, saying anyone could buy a military uniform and put it on.

Russia continues to sponsor eastern Ukrainian separatists, fueling the ongoing war, and violating their commitments under the Minsk II agreements.

The NYT revealed that a Russian company now employs 80 people full-time to stitch the Kremlin’s new inflatable weapons. Russia hopes the weapons will look so real from the air, their enemies will expend rare and expensive resources trying to strike them.

The inflatable weapon’s larger purpose is to confuse Russia’s enemies as to the actual size of their force, if they are to get into a conventional military confrontation. The weapons can reportedly be inflated in as little as five minutes, and fit into duffel bags. The inflatable tanks even come with a device that imprints fake tank tracks into the ground, to further confuse the enemy.

“There’s no chivalry anymore. Nobody wears a red uniform. Nobody stands up to get shot at. It’s either you or me, and whoever has the best trick wins,” the head of the Russian balloon company who manufactures the weapons elaborated to TheNYT.

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