Prague, Dec 22 (CTK) – The Czech firm Inflatech produces inflatable tanks as pieces of dummy equipment that has always been used by armies to mislead the enemy and that still remains a part of military tactics in the 21st-century battlefields, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes yesterday.
Inflatech, a family firm based in Decin, north Bohemia, follows up the tradition from the first half of the 20th century when inflatable dummy tanks were made of rubber and weighed up to one tonne, the paper writes.
Compared to its predecessors, Inflatech uses far more advanced technologies. Its tank replicas are hand-made of synthetic silk covered with polyurethane, which are foldable. One of its latest products, a dummy U.S. Abrams tank, weighs 59 kg when folded up, the paper writes.
It takes two minutes to inflate the tank replica, it writes, adding that a compressor is a part of the packaging.
After being folded, a dummy tank can be used by soldiers repeatedly in combat, up to 50 times, MfD writes.
The Czech-made dummies can even cheat a radar with thermal vision, because inside of them, there are heating spirals simulating the heat generated by engines in operation.
“Our tank is exceptional not only because it can cheat the enemy, if they have no binoculars, at a distance of more than 150 metres, but it can also reflect radio waves to make itself indiscernible from real equipment,” Inflatech co-owner Vojtech Fresser is quoted as saying.
The firm is capable of producing one tank a month. The tank prices start at 25,000 dollars, MfD writes.
Inflatech, with 15 employees, can produce any replica of real military equipment according to a model.
It offers, for example, dummy Russian fighter planes and BUK missile system, the daily writes.
