A Czech company producing inflatable weapon decoys, including HIMARS rocket launchers and Abrams tanks, on Monday said that it had seen a spike in demand since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started last year.
The synthetic silk decoys inflated with an electric or gasoline blower are used to fool the enemy in the battlefield, making them target the air-filled decoys instead of real weaponry.
Inflatech Co’s managers have refused to confirm selling their products to Ukraine, citing military secrecy, but they said that output had jumped by 100 percent over the past 12 months.
Photo: AP
“Definitely we’re selling to a lot of governments around the world, not only in Europe,” Inflatech sales and marketing director Poven Kumaresan told reporters.
The company’s three dozen employees produce 30 to 40 decoys a month, Kumaresan said.
The decoys including tanks, armored vehicles and even jet fighters weigh between 25kg and 90kg, and take two to four people to handle in the battlefield.
Photo: AFP
The company can come up with a new design within 72 hours if it has the exact plans of the original piece of military hardware, while it takes up to two weeks if working “from scratch,” Kumaresan said.
It had taken 60 days to ship a replica HIMARS rocket launcher after the order was placed, he said.
Inflatech has so far rolled out “dozens” of fake HIMARS while the real weapon is wreaking havoc on Russian invaders in Ukraine.
Inflatech’s products are classified as military materiel and must be approved by government authorities.
The Czech government last month said that it had provided Ukraine with military aid worth about US$500 million since the invasion started on Feb. 24 last year.
Inflatech chief executive officer Vojtech Fresser said that key qualities of the firm’s products included a look true to the original.
“If I don’t have binoculars, looking from a distance of 150-200 metres, I won’t be able to tell whether it is a real weapon or a decoy,” Fresser said.
The engine used to inflate the weapons also emanates heat that fools infrared sensors.
The inflatable decoys cost US$10,000 to US$100,000, much less than the rockets used to destroy them, Fresser said.
“If I force the enemy to destroy my product with something that is at least four times as expensive, but in practice it is even 20 times, then I win economically,” he said.
Kumaresan said that the company keeps upgrading its products, looking to make the decoys mobile in the future.
Inflatech, which originally made the decoys for training purposes, used to produce toys or tailor-made models according to customers’ wishes.
“We produce according to the customer’s specific needs. We’re not an e-shop where you could choose,” Fresser said.
There is “no limit” on output or product range and the company expects rapid growth over the next three years, he said.
“Of course I would prefer to produce toys for children, but first of all we must ensure a safe world for them,” Fresser said.
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