WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - American intelligence officials have discovered that the barrage of ballistic missiles Russia has fired into Ukraine contain a surprise: decoys that trick air defence radars and fool heat-seeking missiles.

The devices are each about 30cm long, shaped like a dart and white with an orange tail, according to an American intelligence official. They are released by the Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles that Russia is firing from mobile launchers across the border, the official said, when the missile senses that it has been targeted by air defence systems.

Each is packed with electronics and produces radio signals to jam or spoof enemy radars attempting to locate the Iskander-M, and contains a heat source to attract incoming missiles. The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly about intelligence matters, described the devices on the condition of anonymity.

The use of the decoys may help explain why Ukrainian air defence weapons have had difficulty intercepting Russia's Iskander missiles.

Powered by a solid-fuel rocket motor, the Iskander can reach targets more than 320km away, according to United States government documents. Each mobile launcher can fire two Iskanders before it must be reloaded.

Photographs of the dart-shaped munitions began circulating on social media two weeks ago. They had stumped experts and open-source intelligence analysts - many of whom mistook them for bomblets from cluster weapons based on their size and shape.

Mr Richard Stevens, who spent 22 years in the British Army as an explosive ordnance disposal soldier and later worked as a civilian bomb technician for 10 years in southern Iraq, Africa and other regions, said he had been exposed "to plenty of Chinese and Russian munitions, but I had never seen this". Mr Stevens posted photos of the munitions to a site for military and civilian bomb disposal experts that he started in 2011, and found that no one else seemed to have seen these mystery munitions before either.

"That Russia is using that size of weapon - the Iskander-M - and quite a few of them I believe, that's why we're seeing this now," Mr Stevens said. "It's just that, post-conflict in the past 10 to 15 years, no one has had the opportunity to see this."

The devices are similar to Cold War decoys called "penetration aids", the intelligence official said, that have accompanied nuclear warheads since the 1970s and were designed to evade anti-missile systems and allow individual warheads to reach their targets. The incorporation of the devices into weapons such as the Iskander-M that have conventional warheads has not been previously documented in military arsenals.

"The minute people came up with missiles, people started trying to shoot them down, and the minute people started trying to shoot them down, people started thinking about penetration aids," said Dr Jeffrey Lewis, a professor of non-proliferation at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. "But we never see them because they're highly secret - if you know how they work, you can counteract them."

The use of the decoys may point to some level of carelessness or urgency by Russian military leadership, Dr Lewis said, given that Russia knows they will inevitably be collected and studied by Western intelligence services so that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air defences can be programmed to defeat the Iskander's countermeasures.

And it is highly unlikely, he said, that the version of the Iskander that Russia has sold to other countries would contain these decoys.

"That suggests to me that the Russians place some value on keeping that technology close to home and that this war is important enough to them to give that up," Dr Lewis said. "They're digging deep, and maybe they no longer care, but I would care if I were them.

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

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/russia-deploys-mystery-device-in-ukraine

God bless putin God bless mother Russia...


Don't fool yourself.. Russia uses only there old vintage take which are on the verge of disposal... Latest weapons not involved in war....


Russian Defense announces the destruction of 128 Ukrainian military facilities within a day

The Russian Defense Ministry announced today, Wednesday, that its forces have taken out 128 military facilities in Ukraine, and destroyed 7 weapons depots.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a press briefing that the targets that were hit also include the Buk-M1 air defense system and another Osa model, in addition to 4 radar stations, 4 command centers and 68 locations for stationing military equipment.

Konashenkov added that the Russian forces had shot down two Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft in the Chernihiv region and another MiG-29 in the Novaya Bykovka region, in addition to 4 drones.

Thus, the total number of Ukrainian military equipment that has been destroyed since the beginning of the operation has reached 111 aircraft, 68 helicopters, 160 drones, 159 anti-aircraft missile systems, 1,353 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 129 rocket launchers, 493 pieces of field artillery and mortars, and 1,096 special military vehicles.

The spokesman stated that the forces of the Lugansk People's Republic, as part of their continuous offensive operations, are fighting battles inside the city of Severodonetsk in its eastern, northeastern and northwestern neighborhoods.

In turn, the units of the Donetsk People's Republic also advanced their offensive and took control of the towns of Mikhailovka, Stavka, Putmanka and Vasilievka, while the fighting around the town of Verkhnitoretskoye is still going on.

Source: Russian Ministry of Defense

That why USA is afraid of Russia many hidden treasures in mother Russia, Russia is a continent.

Mr Richard Stevens, who spent 22 years in the British Army as an explosive ordnance disposal soldier and later worked as a civilian bomb technician for 10 years in southern Iraq, Africa and other regions, said he had been exposed "to plenty of Chinese and Russian munitions, but I had never seen this". Mr Stevens posted photos of the munitions to a site for military and civilian bomb disposal experts that he started in 2011, and found that no one else seemed to have seen these mystery munitions before either.

Kingsnairaland:
That why USA is afraid of Russia many hidden treasures in mother Russia, Russia is a continent.

How is Russia a continent?
And who told you USA is scared of Russia?

See weapon wey man dey make to kill man. Men. Contact me for thesis and dissertation writing.

unknown to USA, but known to nigerians. by the way, na ELEMENGUDJARER PHORHIDIC CRUSHER be that

Dumb post.

Russia is really doing well pray for victory for Russia

It's funny how humans spend billions making research and building equipments that can destroy life why they could have spend much less in making that same life better,is Humanity agent of destruction?

"Mystery device" and other deadly weapons..but,cant feed the poor.

I don see this missile Before....

Kingsnairaland:
That why USA is afraid of Russia many hidden treasures in mother Russia, Russia is a continent.

Mr Richard Stevens, who spent 22 years in the British Army as an explosive ordnance disposal soldier and later worked as a civilian bomb technician for 10 years in southern Iraq, Africa and other regions, said he had been exposed "to plenty of Chinese and Russian munitions, but I had never seen this". Mr Stevens posted photos of the munitions to a site for military and civilian bomb disposal experts that he started in 2011, and found that no one else seemed to have seen these mystery munitions before either.

Isn't it ironic U believe and swallowed this hook line and sinker from the same west U call their news propaganda wen it doesn't favour the Russians?

Kingsnairaland:


You should know by now that the West mix truth and lie....

Not only them every one on earth..


For the lord said let God be true and all men Liars.

See how foolish ur comment sound. So how exactly are U certain of which of is the truth and which one is a lie becos clearly only the ones that make Russia look bad are lies to U

Kingsnairaland:
God bless putin God bless mother Russia

God doesn’t bless murderers

The more the west arms Ukraine the more Russia is tempted to escalate this war with powerful weapons in its arsenal. Honestly the west is pushing Ukraine to destruction and Zelensky is not seeing this.

Hanibbal:
The more the west arms Ukraine the more Russia is tempted to escalate this war with powerful weapons in its arsenal. Honestly the west is pushing Ukraine to destruction and Zelensky is not seeing this.

...At all

They want his country to be a testing ground for their warheads.

SweetiliciousD:


...At all

They want his country to be a testing ground for their warheads.

Zelensky is a drug cocaine man.

We all know Russia is very stingy on weapons in this military intervention.


If she was to offload her modern weaponry on Ukraine (which I see as a waste of weaponry), u ukranians would not live to tell the tale.

joyandfaith:


God doesn’t bless murderers

Is SaMSon Not A Murderer ? Is King David Not A Murderer? Is Israelite Not A Murderer? MoSes Not A Murderer? Use Your Sense

Puttin My Real NiGGA Just They ShoCK Them For Me

I told some people Russia should not be underestimated, they think I am joking...

Russia keeps shocking the world. It's true they have amassed thousands of deadly nuclear weapons. With this, US should find a better way to negotiate instead of fueling the fire.

R

if US/NATO fit invade libya killed ghadaffi and left libya worse off than they met it....then make dem leave russia alone....

I am sure at this moment it is no longer a mystery because China and US would have reverse engineered the shit out of it by now.

The question is how fast can they built a counter measure?

The second though question is that by now both USA and China are second guessing if Russia still have enough surprises?

In my opinion as long as this war stretches out US will end up having a good knowledge of what Russia is capable of or not. Infact the whole world will be able to make good assessments of their military might.

Lol...

Comradewhy:

How is Russia a continent?
And who told you USA is scared of Russia?

Clown lol.

Nigeria get dis kind weapon Just asking