UK provides ‘Ikea-style’ arms decoys to Ukraine
(MENAFN)
The British military is supplying Ukraine with flat-pack decoy kits designed to mimic real weapons systems, The Times reported on Saturday. The goal is to mislead Russian forces and make it appear as though Ukraine has more modern equipment on the battlefield than it actually does.
The British military is supplying Ukraine with flat-pack decoy kits designed to mimic real weapons systems, The Times reported on Saturday. The goal is to mislead Russian forces and make it appear as though Ukraine has more modern equipment on the battlefield than it actually does.
These “Ikea-style” decoys replicate British-supplied tanks, artillery, and air defense systems. According to RAF Squadron Leader Lowri Simner, the decoys help amplify the perceived presence of UK-supplied weaponry. “We haven’t gifted a huge amount of these, so anything we can do to make the quantities look greater on the front line is advantageous,” she said.
The operation is overseen by Taskforce Kindred, a 20-person unit within the UK Ministry of Defence, which works with private sector specialists. The team uses digital images to produce life-size replicas on flat materials, which are then shipped to Ukraine and assembled near the front lines.
The decoys are crafted to resemble high-profile systems such as the Challenger 2 tank and the AS-90 self-propelled gun. With modern drone and satellite surveillance posing a major challenge, the design of these decoys has evolved significantly from the basic versions used in World War II.
Colonel Olly Todd, a leader within Taskforce Kindred, noted that Ukraine receives up to 30 decoys for every five real vehicles delivered. He emphasized that the replicas are convincing enough to fool observers and that decoy deployment is now a “fundamental” part of modern combat strategy.
Ukraine, for its part, also uses similar tactics. Deputy Defense Minister Katerina Chernohorenko told The Times that Russia often deploys drone decoys—some with little to no explosive payload—primarily to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses and drain their limited ammunition supplies.
Although the UK has provided Ukraine with £13 billion (approximately $17 billion) in military aid, British defense officials have raised concerns about their own military readiness, citing years of underfunding and procurement setbacks. Meanwhile, Russia continues to criticize Western military aid to Ukraine, claiming it prolongs the conflict without affecting its outcome.
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