According to Oleg Taksheyev, head of the RusBal state orders department, in August this year the enterprise plans to test completely new inflatable models imitating anti-aircraft missile systems and supplementing the existing models of tanks and aircraft that are currently used by the troops. Based on the results of field tests, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is ready to include these products in the list of the State Defense Order for 2012.
Among the products of the enterprise, which are mass-produced, Oleg Taksheyev named models imitating the LZK-1 anti-aircraft complex (this "balloon" depicts the S-300). Earlier it was reported that during 2011 RusBal will supply the Russian defense department with a batch of inflatable (rubber) models of fighters and tanks. The fact that inflatable missile systems will also appear in the Russian armed forces was reported by the Ministry of Defense in the summer of 2010. The development of imitation models of air defense systems and rocket launchers intended for the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation was planned to be completed by the end of 2011 or, as a deadline, by the beginning of 2012. Moreover, the question was about the mock-ups not only of new systems, but also of improved air defense systems and missile technology, which have long been accepted for supply, for example, of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems.
Some experts argue that, given the very simple technology and low labor intensity of making models, it is quite affordable to make them using sewing technology at other enterprises. Each of the pneumatic mock-ups of military equipment consists of a shell, thermal and radar simulators, a power unit, a fan, etc. The inflatable mock-ups can also include parts of a rigid frame. All models are fairly easy to transport by air, road and sea without any restrictions. At the same time, the established price of one inflatable model does not exceed 1-2% of the original cost.
Despite assurances from manufacturers of rubber dummies that their products can provide real help to the armed forces, in the West these innovations are openly mocked. Thus, in particular, the British daily The Daily Mail sarcastically ridiculed the so-called "rubber power" of the Russian armed forces, pointing out that its arsenals were filled with all kinds of inflatable tanks and missiles. In Russia, such statements are answered that rubber dummies do not occupy even 1% of the amount of real military equipment in the domestic Armed Forces. Such false weapons exist in all advanced armies of the world, and the British army is no exception. As a rule, money for making mock-ups of planes, tanks, missiles and even submarines is included in annual budgets.
In this case, it is appropriate to recall the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in the late 90s, in which British Air Force planes also took an active part. Obviously, the journalists of the British publication have forgotten how their pilots courageously destroyed inflatable tanks and airplanes with rockets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, which are several times cheaper, mistaking them for real. For information: all the dummies used by the Yugoslav army were Russian-made. And later, British generals sent submissions to the medals and orders of their brave pilots, who allegedly hit Yugoslavian positions with high precision and destroyed hundreds of aircraft, cannons, missiles and tanks. In the end, it was a beautifully presented lie. The Serbs then named their high-profile government awards "For the victory over Russian condoms."
Alexander Talanov, General Director of NPP RusBal, proudly talks about the company's products, in particular, he points out that “inflatable equipment recreates the radar range, near infrared and thermal ranges, similar to night vision devices, taking this into account, the dummies look on enemy observation devices like a real weapon. At the same time, it is much easier to disperse an inflatable army over combat positions than a real one, for example, a model of a tank is inflated in just four minutes, and a missile complex in five minutes."
The same edition of The Daily Mail sarcastically notes: "Russia only in words boasts to the whole world of its advanced weapons systems." One gets the impression that British journalists do not read Russian newspapers, which almost every day talk about significant problems in the Russian armed forces, and about the new State Rearmament Program for the period until 2020. Including about the strategic bombers of the Russian Air Force, which periodically visit neutral waters off the coast of Great Britain. And then the Royal Air Force in panic flies out to meet them, and the British media begin to scream with might and main that "the Russian bear is showing its fangs again." So are they inflatable or real?
There are critics of the use of pneumatic models of military equipment in Russia. So, in particular, some military experts argue that the program of arming the domestic army with pneumatic models of aircraft and armored vehicles does not justify itself to the extent that it was originally planned. The huge amount of money that is being spent today and will be spent in the future on rubber tanks and missiles is being wasted in a stormy stream.
The problem is that inflatable technology cannot fully reproduce all the properties of a real combat vehicle. Yes, and the current means of detection quite easily distinguish the materials used for the manufacture of such equipment from metal. And in real combat conditions, such mock-ups generally become meaningless, experts say.
Despite the statements of experts, the Ministry of Defense decided to supply about 100 models of various military equipment to the army annually. As previously reported, the total number of various inflatable equipment will be 800 units. The zeal with which the Russian Ministry of Defense seeks to fill the army with rubber mock-ups of military equipment will not be news to anyone if a message appears about the adoption of inflatable infantrymen and generals of the same kind.
