Ukrainians employ wooden F‑16 decoys to outwit Russian drones
Ukrainians have begun creating wooden models of F-16 aircraft, which can deceive a drone pilot with a high-quality camera and more. We explain how they were made and why.
One of the elements of war that is inextricably linked to it is the art of deceiving the enemy through the use of mock-ups and feigned actions. With technological progress, new ways of confusing the enemy have emerged, and one of the oldest methods is indeed mock-ups.
Ukraine uses virtually anything available at hand, from U.S.-acquired non-flight-worthy F-16A ADF aircraft shells to inflatable models from companies like the Czech INFLATECH, and even what can be called wooden masterpieces that closely resemble the original systems. The following pictures show the production of a model from the last category.
Models in warfare — a highly valuable tool for both sides
The war in Ukraine has shown that wooden models that faithfully reproduce targets can be extremely useful. The Russians largely rely on drones equipped with daylight cameras, making these types of models quite effective. Examples include very realistic models of the IRIS-T SLM system and AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar or the mentioned F-16 aircraft models.
Admittedly, placing and repositioning them occasionally require considerable effort, but if they attract an Iskander-M ballistic missile, they have served their purpose. The Russians do not have many of these missiles, and they are used to attack targets of very high importance, which undoubtedly include F-16 aircraft. Moreover, Ukrainians have very limited means of defence against Iskanders.
In addition, Ukrainians can add fuel barrels to the models to enhance Russians' perception of a successful attack in case of a hit. This is precisely why Russian reports appear about, for instance, the destruction of more M142 HIMARS systems than were actually delivered to Ukraine.
