On Friday, August 16, 2024, the Warsaw-based company Mildat announced on social media that during the upcoming 32nd International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO 2024 in Kielce, it will showcase decoy military vehicle mock-ups from the Czech company Inflatech, based in Děčín, Ústí nad Labem Region.
Na tegorocznym #MSPO2024 pokażemy makiety sprzętu od Inflatech. https://t.co/i3rhkR7hgH
— Mildat (@MildatPl) August 16, 2024
The Czech manufacturer gained significant attention after a February 22, 2023, report aired by the local investigative program Reportéři ČT, which highlighted the effective use of decoy mock-ups of heavy military equipment by the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the ongoing full-scale war with Russia. It was stated that the company could produce 35 mock-ups per month. Although not confirmed directly, it was suggested that Ukraine had received, among other things, mock-ups of M142 HIMARS launchers, leading to Russian claims of allegedly high losses of these systems. Later, on March 6, major global news agencies and media outlets, including Associated Press, Forbes, Le Monde, The Economist, Bussines Insider, France24, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Reuters covered stories about Inflatech
Czech TV @ReporteriCT: Czech 🇨🇿 production of inflatable decoys HIMARS, which are delivered to Ukraine 🇺🇦
(English subtitles added) pic.twitter.com/wiyKTjCRSK— Tarmo 🇨🇿 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 (@TarmoFella) February 22, 2023
To deceive enemy air and artillery strikes, the Czech company offers realistic decoy mock-ups of military equipment, which typically cost around $20,000 to $25,000 but simulate equipment worth millions of dollars. Examples include a Leopard 2A4 tank mock-up (weighing 43 kg), a M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launcher (42 kg), a 155mm K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer (48 kg), an S-300P air defense system launcher (75 kg), and a simpler mock-up of a tank camouflaged with a net (25 kg). These mock-ups can be set up and taken down in 10 to 15 minutes. They are anchored to the ground and provide realistic optical, radar, and thermal signatures.
Challenger 2 tank decoy mock-up / Photo: Inflatech
The Czech manufacturer also offers decoy mock-ups of other air defense launchers and radars, armored personnel carriers, military trucks, combat aircraft, as well as naval targets. According to the manufacturer’s information, these include: AS90, BM-30 Smerch, BMP-2, BMP-3, BTR-80, CAESAR 6×6, Challenger 2, DF-21, F-16, FV107 Scimitar, M1 Abrams, M270 MLRS, M60 Patton, Pantsir-S1, MIM-104 Patriot, 9K330 Tor, Buk-M1, 2K22 Tunguska, S-400 Triumf, 9K33 Osa, Su-27, Su-30, T-72, T-80, T-90, Tatra STARKOM, and UH-60 Black Hawk.
Inflatech also declares that it can design and produce mock-ups of any type of vehicle at the client’s request. On June 3 of this year, the company celebrated its 10th anniversary and showcased its mock-ups at exhibitions such as Eurosatory 2024 in France, World Defense Show 2024 in Saudi Arabia, and DSEI 2023 in the United Kingdom.