Inspired by the success that Ukraine has had in fooling Russian forces on the battlefield, Japan is reportedly buying more inflatable dummy weapons systems, a move observers say is also embedded in Tokyo’s fighting history.
Vehicle News reported on Friday that Japan’s Defence Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency announced last month a public tender for “balloon decoys” that would have to be delivered to an aircraft factory operated by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Gifu Prefecture, prompting speculation that the dummies may be of aircraft.
Analysts point out that there is a long tradition of attempting to confuse an enemy by camouflaging real military assets while at the same time projecting power elsewhere through realistic dummy weapons.
In 1333, samurai Masashige Kusunoki lined up straw-filled dummies at Chihaya Castle, in modern-day Osaka prefecture, to deter the opposing forces of the Kamakura shogunate.
An inflatable decoy of an Abrams tank in Decin, the Czech Republic, in 2023. Czech company Inflatech has made a wide range of replicas of heavy arms. Photo: AP
“This is not unusual in global terms as both China and Russia have records of producing decoy targets,” said Garren Mulloy, a professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University and a specialist in military issues.
AloJapan.com