Military Decoys in Ukraine - Fake equipment, inflatables & lessons in deception for foreign forces

[@PerunAU]

Sponsored by Ground News: Compare news coverage from diverse sources around the world on a transparent platform driven by data. Try Ground News today and get 40% off your subscription: ground.news/perun Note that part of the reason the Russian segment is shorter than the Ukrainian one is because I didn't want to cover the same types of uses twice and instead focus on differences. You can safely assume that most Ukrainian decoy use cases have at least some Russian parallels - though with a greater focus on factory produced inflatables over ad-hoc, wood, or similar constructions. They obviously also don't have access to Czech, US etc. decoys, JTEs or equivalents (hopefully).

[@pradhyudh]

Make a Pakistanui defence analysis presentation.

[@Syndr1]

Hi Perun, I'm a basic guy. CNN,AP and BBC are my news outlets. I have been noticing this little graphic that's asking my opinion on the neutrality of the news article. PS. Fox News 🖕 isn't 📰 news.

[@edwardfletcher7790]

Your audio sounds really whack in this slideshow mate... It would probably sound better if you just used your phone . You also sound really really rushed, it's not at all relaxing to listen to 🫤

[@Syndr1]

​@@edwardfletcher7790check your speakers?

[@Syndr1]

​@@pradhyudhI don't think he makes 8 min videos😉

[@AnimarchyHistory]

She may be inflatable, but she is for emotional support

[@elektrotehnik94]

🏆❤️

[@farnow01]

what being single does to a man

[@DavidDoesFilms]

😂😂

[@triple777kodiak]

Good one by you!

[@evanfaruq]

please dont remind me of my youth life, brother 🥲

[@_Twink]

All you silly people thinking this is the real Perun video this week. It's actually a high fidelity decoy, to distract you from a high valued video he discretely deployed.

[@kena4977]

That would be some amazing meta video release

[@WilliamDeVey]

You win the internet today

[@KenMathis1]

Curses, foiled again!

[@kcnmsepognln]

The decoy is strong, but the context weak: the same-old, tired-old comments are a giveaway. 2x "PowerPoint presentation" and 1x "Australia is in a different time zone" so far; just waiting for a "babe wake up" and/or "I'm a simple man", before I call it.

[@usergiodmsilva1983PT]

@@kcnmsepognln what about inflatable party pooper?

[@andrewmcalister3462]

A 1 hour PowerPoint presentation on bouncy castles. And because it’s Perun, we’re totally here for it.

[@thejudgmentalcat]

"Bouncy castles" 😂😂😂 not inaccurate

[@nikolaideianov5092]

​@@thejudgmentalcat bouncy cars

[@SledgeOfHouseHammer]

Not just bouncy castles, but tank-shaped bouncy castles.

[@kevinmullner4280]

@@nikolaideianov5092 bouncy carsles

[@avro-day]

Sounds like a Russian kids birthday 🎈

[@sgtreid7659]

True story: my Grandfather was a IMMINT analyst in WWII. He told me there must have been a German manual that said “Achtung, when you set up your battery, make a dummy batter 500 meters away”. He would find the uncamoglauged decoy, draw a 500 meter radius circle, and usually find the real battery with the line passing through it. (I have the original recon photos of Pont Du Hoc illustrating the point)

[@TheFrewah]

Clever! Sometimes you shouldn’t be too specific in your manuals. It would be nice you could upload those images. They should be preserved.

[@3ddesigns220]

Those Germans are very systematic.

[@aaronleverton4221]

After the Dambusters destroyed all the concrete V1 launch ramps, the Germans very quickly and very smartly (quick smart, you might say) transitioned to mobile launch rails, usually in forest remnants or copses to hide them. Unfortunately prior to every launch the buzzbomb had to be "magnetically re-oriented" to its new course in order for its autopilot system to work. This meant putting the thing in a jig and beating it with wooden mallets to excite the electrons (I might be getting part of this wrong) and have them all resettle themselves on their new alignment, as compared to when it left the production line. In order to do this they had to erect a tent within which to do this. Said tent was always located very close by the launch rail, always the same dimensions and always, always in perfect alignment with the launch rail. So, the PRU pilots were told to look for the tents and the analysts would then identify the launch rails and order the ground-attack mission. When you see one of the high-res photos the Brits were able to take the tent is such a dead give-away and they all had to be erected within a certain distance from London.

[@prpr8904]

As a german, that is incredibly german 😂

[@HALLish-jl5mo]

The more I hear about German rule following during the war, the more I think everything could have been avoided if someone had managed to put "no genocides” in an obscure code of conduct.

[@greg_mca]

My favourite historical decoy is the multicoloured salzburg cow. While the hilltop fortress was under siege the defenders ran low on food, ultimately down to the last cow. In a bid to trick the besiegers they marched the cow along the castle walls every day, each time painted to look slightly different than before. The besiegers concluded the defenders must still have massive food stocks because of all these different cows and since they evidently couldn't starve them out, they pulled back.

[@gbcb8853]

It had a walk on role in the Sound of Music and was mistaken by a lonely goatherd

[@chrisrubin6445]

funny how they never thought to ask, "why are they marching cows on the ramparts? and why one at a time?"

[@JohnSmith-zl1tr]

@@chrisrubin6445 The cow marching would clearly be a middle finger to the besiegers about their food stores. The one at a time bit though is something they maybe should have thought of, but sometimes you just fail your wisdom check and there's nothing you can do.

[@greg_mca]

@@eyoutubere I'm trying to remember, all I can home in on is that it was pre Napoleon, probably 1500-1700, and the castle is the festung hohensalzburg. I remember a sign talking about it inside the main wall on the southern side by the cable car entrance of the castle

[@lqr824]

Russians apparently did the same with carrier fighters: painting new tail numbers on them when around likely NATO spy cameras to make the carrier look like it had a full complement below deck.

[@alexroselle]

On this subject, I read today that a Russian missile hit the middle of a lake in Ukraine, because the word for a group of fish is “school”

[@MM22966]

Serbs: "Ha! Our decoys are perfect! The Americans won't know which one to bomb! Americans (scratching heads): "Well, I guess we'll bomb everything then..."

[@skeewiffenator]

They probably could have come up with something better, just not in a decent time frame. Give someone a hammer…

[@bulldozer8950]

⁠@@skeewiffenatorthere’s also sort of a question of cost. They probably had a huge economic advantage over them, and the bombs were probably relatively cheap compared to the target. If the cost of destroying the target is still lower taking into account the misses, and you drastically outproduce them, it’s sort of a who cares situations

[@hollandp9606]

A typical US response. Just destroy everything.

[@jimtalbott9535]

@@bulldozer8950And there’s the fact that each mission has some level of risk, just starting up. If that decoy is the only target you locate, AND you have plenty of ammo, better hit it.

[@JohnSmith-gb5vg]

😂😂😂😂

[@danielharnden516]

‘Call the cops dear, the neighbor is pointing his blowup Himars at us again!’

[@jacobq.2204]

Pshhh, don't call the cops, go hang out, I bet the inside is like a bouncy castle

[@Kyle-sr6jm]

"Why are you arresting me?! I didn't kill them!" "You put a decoy Himars on their roof."

[@joblo341]

Guess again dear, that is a real HIMARS he stole with his tractor! Oooo, he is sooo in trouble now!

[@kupamufasy]

Panzer of the lake, what is your wisdom? "A decoy tank is not properly located if placed in the middle of a lake."

[@plumbthumbs9584]

Listen, strange MBT's lying about in ponds distributing aphorisms is no basis for a system of strategy...

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Alternatively the tank driver got lost and his machine fell through an iced-over lake.

[@edwinmartin9120]

@@Dave5843-d9m it dont take a tank to have that nightmare😐😐😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

Then again, there was once a decoy M1 Abrams somewhere near Vietnam by the waters and was found by an Indonesian fishing vessel...

[@mirv695]

Best Cross Over Ever

[@3ddesigns220]

Russia: We have destroyed dozens of Himars Ukraine: Correction, you have deflated dozens of Himars.

[@jamesmcdougal2]

Unless Ukraines bouncy castles also have secondary explosions that is a no

[@3ddesigns220]

@@jamesmcdougal2 It's a joke lol, the Ruskies probably have destroyed at least a few real ones

[@littlekong7685]

@@3ddesigns220 Then Ukraine is replenishing them from some secret source because every single one was accounted for and confirmed by independent sources last week. Also, ignore the dozen or so Himars inflatables with duct tape over the holes from repeated air and artillery strikes...

[@EdT.-xt6yv]

No wonder the russians have run out of n. Korean& iranian ammunition?

[@gigaslave]

@@3ddesigns220 It took 2 years to nail the first HIMARS loss lmao

[@Zolbat]

There may also be value in deliberately bad decoys - if the enemy thinks you're not able to create even mediocre decoys, your mediocre decoys may just do the trick a little more often than otherwise

[@ToastyMozart]

Yep, slap down a bunch of inflatable radars in the vicinity and the nearby mockup made with plywood and a HackRF One looks very convincing.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

I was thinking this, too. The enemy might ignore your concentration of forces if they think you’re trying to fool them with decoys and deception tactics. “Those dumb Emus are trying to divert our forces away from the real battle.”

[@Confederation1867]

Ah, the classic decoy decoy ploy!

[@Zolbat]

@@Confederation1867 oi oi!

[@galens2543]

Where’s Waldo?

[@sunnex474]

Perun is single-handedly keeping the PowerPoint era of KZbin relevant

[@alltat]

There are others who are also keeping the Old Ways alive. @auspextactics draws 300k+ subscribers to PowerPoint presentations about toy soldiers.

[@masonhoover165]

“well there’s your problem” has a great engineering based podcast with powerpoint

[@jimtalbott9535]

“Relevant”? Dude, he’s advancing it.

[@alfiedeegan1895]

😂😂

[@fireiceuk9221]

At the end of the day quality of what is being said is more important than fancy Adobe Premiere animations.

[@avro-day]

This reminds me of a little story our school had in the textbook about the war of 1812. Two drunk Canadians in a border town mount a scrap stove pipe to a wagon Axel/wheels. They proceeded to wheel it onto a hill over looking a US border town, then stacked some rocks by it. The defending garrison panicked as they had no cannons and they abandoned the town. The 2 inebriated Canadians then paraded their Cannon through town, before retreating back to Canada late afternoon once word reached the US garrison that it was in fact a decoy Cannon.

[@defenestrated23]

Absolute madlads

[@Daemonworks]

"and things were very historical"

[@artsseriouschannel]

From an American : This anecdote made me smile. Reminds me of Great grade school friends.

[@judithcampbell1705]

I'd say they were pretty smart.

[@mirv695]

Lies! It was a Trial for Canada’s War Plan Red! *Sarc*

[@uss_04]

“Tank in the middle of a lake” Don’t threaten me with a good time

[@MarcosElMalo2]

The tank was ordered to rendezvous with the Moskva.

[@christopherconard2831]

Not in the middle of a lake. Currently out of service for deep cleaning.

[@andersjjensen]

I immediately thought of the "Oh panzer of the lake, what is thy wisdom" meme.

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

@@andersjjensen You are not the only one with that first thought!

[@nehrigen]

Wait, isn't that the being that chooses the next Army Chief of Staff?

[@MM22966]

*"A decoy tank is not properly located if placed in the middle of a lake."* Perun immediately transitions to MULTIPLE pics of Russian tanks ending up in lakes...and I know for certain that was only a small sample. I come here for elucidation, but I stay for the comedy.

[@piedpiper1172]

“Australia may not be at war but I can still launch these strikes” - Perun

[@greywolf6443]

Who ever wrote that manual hat a sense of humor.

[@JoshSweetvale]

If Russians see a decoy tank in a lake, they'll think it's a friendly.

[@andersjjensen]

@@JoshSweetvale LOL!

[@FartherTed-g7h]

A 6-foot-directional satellite dish made out of cardboard Foam and chicken wire and painted dark green always works!

[@aldraone-mu5yg]

An A-10 misidentifying a target? Who would have thought it.

[@MM22966]

Look, it was ONE time! And the other time. Sometimes the zoomies come back when they're not supposed to, that's all.

[@AlRoderick]

Yeah that's what I was thinking, it's not that hard to fool an aircraft whose only sensor is a guy who is also very busy flying the plane. Though I find myself amused by the idea of a repeat of the supposed story of the Germans dropping a wooden bomb on a decoy airfield, a field of inflatable tanks is strafed by an A10 except they get sprayed with enormous Nerf darts.

[@j100j]

@@MM22966 Wasn't there like 3 blue on blue incidents with the A-10?

[@plumbthumbs9584]

bbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt!

[@Dave5843-d9m]

During WW2 US escort fighters on their ways home were notorious for shooting at anything everything. My uncle was a gunner after D-Day. He said we always shot first to make the pilots re think what they were shooting at. Basically go away and find someone blunt claws.

[@MattBellzminion]

One engaging aspect of the decoy game is its, well, public-engagement factor. When a Ukrainian teenager's crude, wooden tank decoy drew fire and was transformed into a pile of kindling and toothpicks, his story went global as an amusing, feel-good human interest item in an increasingly dehumanizing war of Ruscist aggression. But it was also a testament to how crafting decoys is an activity that most Ukrainians can contribute to without having an erudite skillset or access to a machinist's workshop, although those assets would be incredibly helpful in making high-quality fakes. In this way, the crafting of decoys shares something in common with the making of camo nettings: civilians of all ages can get involved, if some are admittedly more accomplished or productive than others.

[@glenndean6]

98/100. Two points off for not using the Winston Churchill quote "In war, the truth is so precious she must always be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies."

[@thomascolbert2687]

Ehhhh.

[@avp6730]

Interesting one)

[@colincampbell4261]

​@@thomascolbert2687deception.

[@Someone-wj1lf]

Ew winston Churchill

[@hundredfireify]

Meh

[@stuzza4526]

27:45 - Bunnings is a large hardware store chain in Australia, if anyone’s wondering.

[@rjs_698]

They also operated in the UK for a short time.

[@suntiger745]

I suspected as much from the context, but thanks for the clarfication. :)

[@TheKazragore]

​@@suntiger745They also often have sausage sizzle stands operating outside them.

[@Sunflowercowboy]

Didgeridoo home Depot theme intensifies

[@EmyrDerfel]

They sell supplies for manufacturing energetic compounds, an Australian in a shed told me.

[@ralkai]

"Militarized Jumping Castle" is my new favourite phrase xD

[@kena4977]

Mine is the "MKI eyeball sensor"

[@juver890]

When this is over i am so going to buy a surplus "jumping castle"

[@krissteel4074]

I think a lot of us might also opt for the BTR-pool floaty as well

[@macmcleod1188]

Don't get too excited.. this is a decoy video to distract you from his real video this week. 🥸

[@dx-ek4vr]

What do you think will be the cost of an aircraft carrier bouncy castle?

[@alimaeus455]

@@dx-ek4vr Well that depends, pool-size or life-size

[@benisboy2697]

​@@dx-ek4vrboys will be jealous when i float to the beachparty with full fleet

[@katherinek6166]

There's rarely a Perun analysis video that doesn't give me a new favorite phrase. "Localized Tungsten showers," is today's winner.

[@StevenJackson-re6qm]

Yup: I want the BBc weather reports to includes this going forward….

[@PosthumousAddress]

"Unscheduled explosive disassembly"

[@PosthumousAddress]

"Unscheduled explosive disassembly"

[@katherinek6166]

@@PosthumousAddress I like the variant, "Rapid Unplanned Disassembly," but both are good.

[@sittingonariver]

I appreciated enough redbull and they play whack-a-mole! Close but not a quote cause I was laughing too hard! 😊😅😂

[@stephaniewilson3955]

The UK employed decoys long before the US got involved. At the time we had a decent film industry and the people who had done scenery for that proved brilliant at building decoys. We even went to the extent of making fake cities. The Luftwaffe bombed at night so a suitable array of fire-points over a few acres of farmland could easily be mistaken for a bit of necessary lighting of a busy port. The Germans wasted a lot of ammunition on this.

[@TheFrewah]

A Magician, Jasper Maskelyne, made a lot of these things

[@stephaniewilson3955]

@@TheFrewah thank you! I knew there was a magician leading the mission but could not remember his name. I believe he was the one who woke Churchill up to the idea but I would have to check to be sure.

[@TheFrewah]

@@stephaniewilson3955 I saw a fascinating documentary years ago. Alas, I don’t remember the name of it. So I had to google. It seems he had the perfect skill set for this job. As a magician, he would have had a clear understanding of what you need to do and what you can get away with. I’m pretty sure he looked at the entire environment to make sure it gave people the idea he wanted them to have. So you need the right buildings, you want some trodden paths, I’m sure.

[@gbcb8853]

Hull had a decoy. Looked a lot like Grimsby.

[@bobjohnbowles]

If I remember right Liverpool had a decoy city somewhere in North Wales. Probably populated by sheep.

[@thechancellor3715]

Ok, at 37 secs you got me. "....sombody's got to explain to command why they slammed a missile on a militarized jumping castle."

[@JTWhite-zm4mx]

During the American Civil War, my hometown, Shreveport, Louisiana, defended itself from Union gunboats by emplacing tarred logs atop the bluffs overlooking the Red river. The gunboats turned back, and union forces decided to attack across the scrubby swamps instead, which really wasn't a good idea. Thus my hometown was "saved." Anyway, "Ft Humbug" as it became known, was an important part of our local history. And my young mind learned an extremely important lesson - you can win without fighting if you are clever.

[@martinmethod427]

Confederacy lost the war, though, so what fucking good that brought you...

[@zibbitybibbitybop]

It didn't, but it was still a clever tactic. The Confederacy didn't lack intelligent military officers, they lacked resources and manpower.

[@GoErikTheRed]

One notable advantage of decoys is that even if one is correctly identified as a decoy, that just means you’re free to move it somewhere else and try again. The worst case scenario is that you steadily build up more and more decoys

[@PosthumousAddress]

It also has used up enemy ISR time/resources

[@TheReykjavik]

It is worth noting that low fidelity decoys can improve the effectiveness of high fidelity decoys. If the enemy sees an obvious decoy, recognizes it as such, and pats themselves on the back for not falling for it, they might be less suspicious of a high fidelity decoy decently hidden in the tree line.

[@mikewaite5507]

There's an old (tall?) tale of the Luftwaffe in WW2 constructing a whole decoy airfield out of wood. Supposedly, shortly after the airfield was complete a RAF plane flew over - and dropped a wooden bomb

[@MM22966]

Not confirmed. It is from CBS news correspondent William L. Shirer's book, Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941,, in which he recorded the following entry for 27 November 1940. Though teh Germans got VERY good at camo and decoys as Allied airpower started to hurt.

[@3ddesigns220]

I love it, even if it isn't true, still hilarious.

[@ctographerm3285]

Someone mind telling me why they'd make and drop a wooden bomb though?

[@JonBerry555]

​@ctographerm3285 its funny. Always take a opportunity to troll your enemy

[@gbcb8853]

@@ctographerm3285 English schoolboy sense of humour

[@tdb7992]

A while ago I read that in WW2, the Russians painted 'streets' on top of large factories and important buildings, especially in Moscow. A bit like camouflaging a whole building when seen from above during recon or bombing missions. No idea how successful it was though. Always a pleasure to hear your voice on a Sunday evening, Perun.

[@TheFrewah]

It seems rather childish to me, I am sure real maps and intelligence had been gathered before. Where there were bridges, the sign that indicated height showed something lower than the actual height as the soviets thought this would prevent troops from going under. In Sweden, several Baltic state truck drivers got stuck under bridges because they were so used to the claimed height being lower than actual height. In Sweden, the signs show actual height.

[@SketchyDetails]

In the US they had an entire fake town built on top of an aircraft factory.

[@craigclose125]

WW2, Lockheed aircraft plant, Burbank California.

[@MM22966]

@@TheFrewah This is in an era where aircraft could miss whole major cities like London, so it probably had some value.

[@MM22966]

@@craigclose125 I was going to mention that one. There are some amazing pics in the Time-Life WW2 books of it, with camo netting and fake trees being stretched across entire multi-acre factory complexes to look like a local hill from above.

[@leka34]

Another company that makes decoys is the finnish Dobbelgänger Oy. Their main selling point is that in addition to visible light spectrum, they also replicate the SAR signature of the real vehicles.

[@avp6730]

Cool name

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Upvoted for the company name alone. 😂

[@TheFrewah]

Found their homepage!

[@noahway13]

A job worse than the driver of a tank, the driver of a mechanized decoy tank.

[@MM22966]

It's all fun & games until you throw a fake track.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

The wind up key on the side is a bit of a giveaway.

[@gmanbo]

The cord running down into the 200ft away fox hole.

[@acediadekay3793]

I wonder if remote controlled variations exist

[@apollyon1]

I’m imagining a guy on a bmx with a bouncy castle on his head…

[@memph1ston]

"Decoys operate on a spectrum" Me too, decoys. Me too.

[@hennebux]

" A noticeable absence of localized tungsten showers..." Perun, you never cease to amaze. Thank you I really needed a laugh today.

[@jorgeshaft1483]

Decoys are very very old in indeed. During the 3 kingdoms period of ancient china, theres a famous story where an army made an assault force of strawmen on boats to attack the enemy. They collected a lot of arrows.

[@robomonkey1018]

Mix really bad decoys in, too. If they get targeted, great, they are cheaper than good ones. If not, the opposition thinks they know what your decoys look like.

[@gbcb8853]

Ah! Decoy decoys!

[@the_mini_axe2817]

Even then, you at least have resources used on something that was even cheaper. Having a drone operator pause and have to take a second look is not much, but that is flight time that could be used getting an ID on a better decoy or even just covering ground

[@demun6065]

You know your sleep habit is messed up when you finally get to see a Perun upload, while living on AEST… yet having work at 6am 😢

[@arinasosnovskaya5298]

I died at the word 'flusterclack'. Be back to listen to the rest upon revival. 😂

[@TheKazragore]

@@arinasosnovskaya5298 Always been partial to "fustercluck", myself

[@00calvinlee00]

Awesome video. The Vietnames did a number on USAF F-105s. After finally granting permission for the Air Force to target a particular SA-2 Site, the DoD annouced a planned air strike on the SAM Battery. Hearing this and knowing how the F-105s flew strike missions, the Vietnames moved the SAMs, Radar and other equipment and set up fake SA-2s which were white painted trees on fake launchers, then moved in heavy AAA assets. IIRC half of the F-105s were shot down. Poobah's Party in the 1991 Gulf War was employed against the Iraqi Integrated Air Defence System KARI. After studing the use of Drones by the Israeli Air Force in Beeka Valley ten years earlier, the USAF employed USAF and USN Target drones on a massive scale, causing the Iraqis to expend missiles and AAA fire and exposing their Radar and Air Defense units to jamming, destruction or avoidance. Yes, all war is deception. And I want one of those Ply Wood Air Search Radars!!

[@kiwiruna9077]

And then Operation BOLO happened.

[@jorgerivero6181]

Thanks for using my article on decoys in Ukraine and using it as a reference! Great video!!!

[@henrihamalainen300]

During Winter War Finns lit bonfires on a field near Helsinki to fool Soviet bombers. Soviet aircrews thought that they saw Helsinki on fire and dropped their bombloads there during night time air raids. As such it is sometimes possible to make enemy think that an entire city is in another place with a simple decoy.

[@mrchambers31]

At least Perun dosent use decoys to mislead people into watching his videos!

[@SpookyEng1]

Unlike the thirst trap thumbnail crowd😂

[@alltat]

Can we be 100% sure that this video wasn't just a decoy to distract us from the fact that there wasn't any defense economics video this week?

[@Dave5843-d9m]

The British label “bouncy castle” is even funnier on a few levels.

[@raxit1337]

It appears to be one of the unshakable principles of war. Even with the modern technology we have, something that looks like a weapon will be mistaken for a weapon. In theory, it shouldn't happen, but in practice, war is fought with limited visibility and overview. Fascinating!

[@TheFrewah]

And limited experience as well. What do the russian conscripts know? All they get is a crash course. I think this is true for radar operators as well given their poor performance.

[@fjm7132]

Very true. In many situations you also have limited time for decision making. In battlefield you have endless supply of sensory input and distractions of all kinds. Flying bullets, debris, loud noises, smoke..... Then you see something that might be a threat. Are you really going to take any chances there?

[@TheFrewah]

@@fjm7132 not to mention that you haven’t slept well for a long time, feel anxiety because you have seen how some comrades got shot. No food or water

[@fjm7132]

@@TheFrewah exactly

[@talideon]

I dunno, that ersatz MIG is pretty impressive! I'd have to question how anyone would think they wouldn't be fooled by it from the air.

[@MM22966]

You have to admire the extra effort. I mean, the Russians have just been painting their MiGs on the ground.

[@PosthumousAddress]

It's complicated. An inflatable MiG may fool a visible spectrum recon satellite. But if Russia used a SAR recon satellite it can tell it is not made of metal. But every such decoy takes up Russian ISR resources especially as the Ukrainian air force disperses across something like 50 airfields (when SAR recon satellites can only be tasked to cover maybe 3 or 4 on each pass)

[@steemlenn8797]

@@PosthumousAddress If they had the air base space, then putting up 10 decoys for every single airplane for the cost of maybe 2 of them will in the minimum make sure Russians don't fire until they are damn sure.

[@joehealy6376]

A decoy system can make an enemy think a sector is weak because of decoys with very little real assests. You than rush real assests to the area replacing the decoys, you're expecting decoys, you see decoys moved and being in the area. You eventually move better assests to another area, move real assests to the area and assuming decoys.

[@BaddeJimme]

I'm wondering if some of those painted-on aircraft we see on Russian airbases aren't actually real aircraft with some sort of lighting system installed on the underside to make the shadow disappear.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

⁠@@BaddeJimme That sounds overly elaborate for a military force that would steal the lighting system.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

That is what I was thinking throughout this video, because the explanation of how the Ukrainians were able to concentrate their forces for Kursk seems inadequate or incomplete. One could also use this technique to lure the enemy into a trap.

[@MsZeeZed]

Fake hardware is funny, but Kursk seems to have imitated Bagration by usin fake movement and radio traffic to say “there’s less here than there is and what there is isn’t what it is”.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

I wonder if they didn’t use “obvious decoys” to hide troop concentrations. You create the impression that you are bolstering weak defenses with deception tactics, and meanwhile you are bringing in troops, equipment, and matériel. You would play to your enemy’s suspicion while preparing a surprise attack or luring the enemy into an ambush by provoking an attempted breakthrough. It’s sort of like Patton’s 3rd Army ruse, but if you actually intended to land at Calais. You’d tip your hand that Patton’s 3rd Army was fake, and the German High Command would put their resources elsewhere, possibly deceived by another deception operation (in Southern France, Greece, or the Balkans).

[@MsZeeZed]

@@MarcosElMalo2 maybe, because using decoys is part of the SOP you could fill a parade ground with un-camouflaged inflatable armor, checking it over, while you assemble the real thing in underground parking. That way when you talk loudly about bolstering defence, Russian intelligence will believe this is bluster and that Ukraine is short of material and manpower, swallowing Budanov’s “fears” because they want them to be true. The exact mechanics will have to wait until the end of hostilities to be revealed (to an extent). Don’t forget the details and operations of Bletchley Park and others during WWII was concealed, for the length of the Cold War.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

@@MsZeeZed It will come out sooner or later, but I’d put my money on later.

[@olivere5497]

Ukrainian friend told me they were 'complaining' on the radio when deployed, it was actually an mp3 of them whining about lack of hot food, with another voice promising hot food at xx00 hours. It was something about drawing away russian artillery from actual manned positions, too complex for me to understsnd, i dont know how front lines work.

[@VladimirPutin-p3t]

Thank God for Perun and his weekly dose of high quality content.

[@xsto01]

Back in the Day when The DDR broke down in the 90s with Russia, we in west Germany got all the old Supplies of the NVA. we were totaly astound to see the masses of inflatable tanks and arty. our numbers after it shouldnt have been that much

[@spudjiii]

I Recall asking a question about this a couple months ago. Great to see this! Thanks Perun!

[@Argosh]

I'm a long term subscriber to ground news. One of the reasons is the continued support of this channel. It does reinforce the trustworthiness of the service everytime.

[@mitchellvangrieken3900]

what do they do about newspaper bias when one paper will have articles written by people from left and right? It always seems like the service undermines itself by labeling an entire newspaper as left or right.

[@Argosh]

@@mitchellvangrieken3900 it's a general judgement, so obviously there are papers with more spread. I find sources with that kind of spread get balanced towards the neutral. Although most often nowadays sources are quite openly biased either way.

[@mitchellvangrieken3900]

@@Argosh fair enough

[@luigilain5692]

in chess we tell a principle that applies also to other things in life: a threat is stronger than its execution. decoys may not be worth much in a battlefield saturated with advanced sensors. but the threat that everyting you may be targeting with expensive ammunition may be a decoy, that alone forces a lot of additional work and uncertainty on the enemy. to the point that it would still be worth using some decoys even if the enemy had a 100% recognition rate. just to force them to take the effort.

[@dracolazarus7776]

That is especially true in chess because a given asset's threat potential is multidirectional, while its execution can only be unidirectional.

[@potatomato4912]

We definitely need a fleet of inflatable aircraft carriers

[@jjanovsky1983]

IMO, something like a bunch of empty large oil tankers (with minor modifications to adjust radar signature) in near proximity to a real carrier might be able to divert a decent % of incomming missiles.

[@velvetmagnetta3074]

Made in China©

[@HughONeill]

They would be more effective than Russia’s real one.

[@edwinmartin9120]

we light smoke pots on aircraftcarrier to make it appear as it was hit.😑😑

[@bobjohnbowles]

I thought we already had them.

[@freshforever235]

10/10 👍👍 I listen to a LOT of Ukraine news on Utube while I work. The only video Ive stopped to watch...twice. Finally a comprehensive review on the importance of decoys in a drone transparent battlefield.

[@AvocadoAfficionado]

A lesson I learned playing Allies in command and conquer as a child. Decoys don't fill the role of the actual object and the enemy is more than able to kill you after they've killed the decoy. 😂

[@youmukonpaku3168]

funny enough the better decoy strategy in Red Alert is to build Gap Generators where your base isn't. Useless (as are fake buildings) against the AI, often very successful against human players.

[@ctographerm3285]

Y'know, those Chinese tofu dreg constructions and empty ghost cities are making a lot more sense now...

[@davidburnett5049]

An interesting idea.

[@a8205-w8h]

Those ghost cities could be used to house population of a nuked city that survived on bunkers

[@davidburnett5049]

@@a8205-w8h maybe. Remember they are tofu dreg. Bad construction, low durability, fake storm drains, fake fire hoses, crumbling stairs, no power or water, It Might, be better than nothing. It might be worse

[@Lorendrawn]

They're not in the shape to serve large populations

[@DougWedel-wj2jl]

An ideal would be to make the real thing look like a decoy. The other side leaves it alone so the real thing can do real things.

[@lqr824]

> An ideal would be to make the real thing look like a decoy. The other side leaves it alone so the real thing can do real things. The first thing I thought when I saw the decoy Kilo was that it might contain a real Kilo. That said, with Turkey cutting the intake of new warships, including subs, I think Ukraine has a pretty good idea where all the subs in the Black Sea are.

[@wizzzer1337]

When the war is over Ukraine can make a theme park filled with 1 to 1 sized inflatable trampolines. Kids would love it!

[@demun6065]

I think Ukraine would more likely start selling inflatable F-22’s to America, so they may be positioned around the pacific. Potential investment opportunities right there.

[@danielmartin7838]

Hannibal’s use of a decoy camp leading up to the battle of lake Trasimene is in the top three best uses of decoy/deception in war

[@mikesmith2905]

Adding some theatrical flash-bangs (and perhaps a stick of dynamite) to the decoy to give a show if it is hit will encourage the enemy to keep hitting them. There is also the option of adding for example a drooping rubber end to a tank barrel to make it look like a decoy.

[@lqr824]

yeah but how you gonna make a decoy pop its turret 40m into the air

[@DebatingWombat]

Apart from using decoys to draw fire there’s still the more tactic and strategic usefulness of misdirection and uncertainty similar to the fake WWII invasion force mentioned in the video and the Russian tradition of maskirovka. Confusing the enemy about which forces are concentrated where and what their actions and targets might be, can serve useful purposes on their own, including luring enemies into a false sense of security or heightened alarm. An example of the latter would be the Russian WWII use of loudspeakers to broadcast recordings of trucks and tanks during the night, which could initially alarm German defenders, then dull them and subsequently make it hard to figure out when the sounds were made by actual vehicles massing for an attack.

[@Xiaengao]

The USA did that.

[@stephaneboily172]

KZbin knows me. Auto play 10 seconds after Perun uploaded his video 😊 Thanks for another awesome presentation!

[@stuzza4526]

Question: if a decoy is a cheap and has no utility, and the real thing is expensive but does have utility, then which category does the T-14 Amata fall into?

[@Isaac-ue8uj]

Vaporware

[@cthulhudreams7578]

You could argue rhat this, the body armour, the bomber gap episode are strategic decoys, in that the US sees this, panics, and sinks vast development funding in beating a threat that doesnt exist. Of course, this results in the US having whatever super weapon they needed to beat the imaginary threat which has generally worked out for them.

[@petarkostesic8570]

I see Perun upload, I click, I Like and I watch an hour of glorious PPTX with tongue-in-cheek commentary. Life is good :)

[@Marinealver]

Another thing about INFLATECH is like the JTE they were training aids. Originally they were designed to be exactly what a pilot/gunner on a live fire exercise as what to shoot at or not to shoot at (hence NATO) through various sensor and image enhancers a pilot may need. Thus the necessity to match both the visible and IR spectrum. Also since in the real battlefield targets don't stay in one spot the need to make them moving is also added. Along with them being cheaper than mere decommissioned old tanks. Thing is being a simulated target dummy designed to imitate the real thing for training purposes, it is effortless to repurpose it into a military decoy to draw enemy fire and waste enemy resources. There is no need to convert it, just a minor change of practice.

[@judithcampbell1705]

Thank you 💛 Perun. I appreciate your coverage on Ukraine, because right now it's important to me as I have been following the war since it started. Your report makes it easy to understand and for a common civilian I think you have done an amazing job. 👏 ❤

[@masterofthecontinuum]

It worked for D-day. Sometimes the classics are still the best.

[@gbcb8853]

Fortitude, Fortitude North

[@uss_04]

Imagine getting a blow up HIMARS for your party

[@pRahvi0]

I imagine it'd be a rather tense and probably short party if it took place in Ukraine

[@Tuck-Shop]

​@@pRahvi0but hilarious if it took place in Russia.

[@charlesphillips4575]

A variant you mention in passing is the shell game. One constructs genuine hangers, bunkers, silos etc but only have equipment for a few of them. Even if the enemy determines that one is empty, it might not be tomorrow. It can also be used to mask redeployments, if you have 10 HAS for each aircraft that does not have to be the ratio at every airfield, rather the airfield where you are about to attack could have all of them occupied.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Did you not watch the part about Chinese missile silos?

[@charlesphillips4575]

@@MarcosElMalo2 I said he mentioned it in passing.

[@SawChick249]

The best part of waking up on a Sunday morning is a good cup of coffee in hand and a new Perun PowerPoint on KZbin to watch..... Another great installment, thank you, and keep up the good work. Cheers 🥃

[@Hidfhjccbxcbhc]

In 2 hrs Already 32, 670 people watched, it's Incredible perun's PowerPoint on every Sunday, great guy thank you for continuing and constant uploading extraordinary topics on military, defense, war and global conflicts, procurement in military, corruption and many other interesting surrounding topics, Australian boy, Much appreciated mate 👍

[@amusementguy]

This is absolutely my favorite Sunday information place.

[@chrisblake4198]

The best example in western warfare is King Arthur's use of Bedivere's Rabbit against the French. So clever it fooled its own creators.

[@MM22966]

@@Iwishiwasanoscarmeyerweiner "Run away! Run away!"

[@davidprice1908]

And the Holy Hand grenade!

[@michaelotoole1807]

it'll do you a treat mate!

[@TheFilmFatale]

Damn. That was a fascinating (as well as at times quite comical) video. Thank you!

[@TheFrewah]

I’m under the impression that Ukrainians are as clever with decoys as they are with, well, everything else. I heard the at least some atacm’s and himars decoys were made by them. Decoys are very fascinating. Ideally they should have the same detectable properties as the thing they look like. Same visual, thermal and radar signature. And if the real thing moves around, so should the decoy and should be made with this in mind.

[@demun6065]

Why not make I fire a volley of missiles too? 😅

[@Demopans5990]

4 blokes with bikes inside a balloon

[@TheFrewah]

@@Demopans5990Maybe. I read an article years ago about a company that made military decoys. It takes special skills and the most expensive cost a lot but a mere fraction of the real thing. Some had motors so they could move around. The man that made the Brittish decoys during ww2 was Jasper Maskelyne. He was a British magician and illusionist who played a crucial role in creating decoy tanks during World War II. His unique skills in deception and stagecraft made him an invaluable asset in the war effort.

[@3ddesigns220]

​@@TheFrewah I heard that decoys played a large part in distracting German intelligence away from the DDay landings. Was he a part of that operation?

[@pogo1140]

a decoy can be canvas over a chicken wire structure (to give a radar return) with a kerosene heater inside it to provide a heat source, a bit of light weight piping to distribute the heat, put a camo net and some leaves and branches, and viola, you what looks to to aircraft sensors and the human eye to be a military vehicle trying to hide.

[@creativturtle01]

Thank you for your well spoken and informative presentation, as usual! Your work informs the world and I am so grateful to know about it. Stay well and all the best- from the NE USA.

[@NothingIsKnown00]

Modern Russia’s military motto: appear strong where you’re weak and weak where you’re weak.

[@Josephus_da_Killer]

This reminds me of an old rts called RUSE where decoys played a major role.

[@WWFanatic0]

Reminds me of CGP's video on pirates. Yeah, painted canvas looks pretty fake anywhere up close but on the high seas, miles away, with fog and ocean spray it looks quite convincing.

[@davidcerutti8795]

A great episode for an age-old element of combat. Thanks, Perun!

[@SpookyEng1]

Cigar and coffee in hand, commence today’s brief!

[@taufiqutomo]

12 seconds. My best reaction time so far.

[@cpeteman1]

Mines 6 seconds. Was at 1min this time

[@clessayons]

Ahh the Sunday Perun video, such a wonderful tradition!

[@hisheighnessthesupremebeing]

@13:15 ... On the left one the Briggs and Stratton stickers are a dead giveaway

[@TheEvilMrJeb]

38:24 “Better Sensors, Better Intelligence, Better Precision. -Papa Perun.”

[@AlRoderick]

Air Castle is a really good name for a SAM system.

[@evanmyers2318]

A refreshingly light-hearted subject, with just as much complexity!

[@gmanbo]

48:50 In a non clouded/ non snowy/ non dusty/ non foggy space. With excellent sight conditions. No mud thermal camo over stuff. Sure decoys are going to be near useless with a fully intact sensor set. But in many environments thats just not the case most if the time. Edit: the taxing bit is quite interesting as well. Do you have the best eyes everywhere or are they the equivalent of security cameras.

[@Zaprozhan]

I'm impressed by the quality of this video, and the quality of the comments. Thank you!

[@williamlloyd3769]

Visiting my local Japanese restaurant, always amazed by the fake food designed to tempt me to try out the curry, noddles or jello dessert. PS - got to give Russians props for the Kilo submarine decoy PS2 - if China diverts its bounce house manufacturers into the decoy business, it would make targeting difficult during any incident

[@YMandarin]

I like how both Perun and Animarchy used the "all war is based on deception" quote from sun tsu in their latest videos, a few hours apart

[@kenvirta6720]

My favorite example of military decoys was a picture that I saw in Udiapur, India, where there are horses with prosthetic trunks in use fighting an enemy that made use of elephants. Apparently, elephants didn't attack the horses with the fake trunks. Nothing is new.

[@lqr824]

> My favorite example of military decoys was a picture that I saw in Udiapur, India, where there are horses with prosthetic trunks in use fighting an enemy that made use of elephants. Apparently, elephants didn't attack the horses with the fake trunks. Nothing is new. Also reminds me that in certain areas there were tiger attacks on humans. They determined the tigers always attacked from behind, so started wearing masks on the backs of their heads. Deaths fell to zero for five years, but then started picking up again....

[@ulvitron]

I think this was my all time favorite video from you. I really liked this content, which I had never really considered.

[@dtsivoulidis]

I saw someone leaving Cash Converters yesterday with a Ford Class Supercarrier.

[@LarGo-tn5ej]

"Fustercluck" just took 1st place from "dramastically" - I salute you, Sir for increasing my wordiness.

[@moxie_ST]

Stop everything, new episode of how to bluff Excel edition is on ❤

[@michaelramon2411]

Even Sherlock Holmes used decoys at times! In "The Empty House", he uses a bust of himself to lure out a sniper who is trying to kill him. He even had someone crawl into the room and rotate the bust every so often to make the illusion more convincing.

[@RePeteAndMe]

45:02 "good luck setting up an inflatable bridge" Give the Orcs some credit. Their pontoon bridges have drawn lots of fire 😁

[@howtoappearincompletely9739]

Great stuff as usual, Mr Perun. The use of decoys in warfare shows yet again how so many of the considerations in war are largely economic in nature.

[@evertbunschoten2930]

Have there ever been double bluffs where real targets were set up to seem like decoys?

[@peterdieleman303]

An extra spicy Kansas city shuffle