Ukraine war: Russian army uses mysterious device - "Never seen anything like it"

Created: 03/15/2022Updated: 03/15/2022 8:46 p.m

By: Luke Rogalla

Test of a Russian Iskander-M missile, which is also used in the Ukraine war.

They should be equipped with new decoys.

(Archive photo) © Russian Defense Ministry/Imago

In the Ukraine war, Russia is apparently relying on previously unknown technology.

A US intelligence official thinks he knows what's behind it.

Kyiv/Moscow – In the Ukraine war*, the chief of police in a small town west of Luhansk recently made serious allegations.

The Russian army is said to have used phosphorus bombs, the use of which against civilians is prohibited, Oleksiy Bilochytsky claims.

But a previously unknown device is probably used.

The US secret service is said to have made a surprising discovery.

Apparently, Russia uses missiles with decoys in the war that trick radar and anti-missile missiles - and have never been seen before.

The New York Times reports, citing a secret service official.

Ukraine war: Russia uses a new type of decoy – “Never seen anything like it”

According to the official, who asked to remain anonymous, the Russian army fires Iskander-M missiles beyond the limit of mobile launch pads.

The missiles, which can reach targets up to 500 kilometers away, are equipped with decoys that are released as soon as the missile is targeted by air defense systems.

This is about 30 centimeters long, arrow-shaped, white and with an orange end.

Each decoy is equipped with electronics and produces radio signals to jam Ukrainian radars.

The radars are actually supposed to locate the Iskander-M missiles.

In addition, the bodies contain heat sources to attract incoming missiles.

Use of these decoys may explain why Ukrainian air defenses have trouble intercepting Russian Iskander missiles.

war in Ukraine

Background information and current news on the Ukraine conflict* can be found on our topic page.

Photos of these decoys made the rounds on social media.

Richard Stevens, who served in the British Army for 22 years before becoming a civilian bomb specialist, shared images of the body on the CAT-UXO page he launched 11 years ago.

The site is a database for explosive objects.

Even the veteran Stevens said "I've never seen anything like it" - as did other users of the site.

Ukraine war: decoys on Russian missiles are reminiscent of "penetration aids" from the Cold War

According to Stevens, the bodies resemble so-called "penetration aids" that have been known from the Cold War since the 1970s.

The escorted nuclear warheads were designed to bypass missile defense systems, allowing the warheads to find their target.

According to the anonymous intelligence official, until now there has been no documentation of the use of the new Russian decoys on weapons such as the Iskander-M missiles, which are equipped with regular warheads.

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According to Jeffrey Lewis, professor of nuclear non-proliferation at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, the New York Times gives reasons for the use of decoys, which have apparently never been seen before.

For one thing, the use shows a degree of carelessness on the part of the Russian army.

Russia knows that the objects would inevitably be investigated by Western secret services.

On the other hand, one could also recognize an urgency on the part of the military leadership to win the war.

It is also highly unlikely that the Iskander missiles fitted with the decoy were sold abroad by Russia, as the technology seems to be kept close by.

"I think there are some very excited people in the US intelligence community right now," he says.

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