The Russian military painted Tu-95 strategic bombers at the Engels air base. The photo of Planet Labs was shown by the American publication The War Zone.
The satellite images were taken on September 29.
They show two fairly realistic, but obviously two-dimensional decoys painted on the airfield apron. The publication does not exclude that these silhouettes may be cut from some kind of canvas or fabric, but “most likely it is paint.”
One of the painted bombers even had tires on it to make the decoy more realistic. In September 2023, it was reported that Russia began placing tires on Tu-95MS in Engels in the hope that they would protect them from Ukrainian kamikaze drones or drones dropping munitions, as was the case in the recent attack on the airfield in Pskov.
Maxar satellite image from Engels Air Base shows a Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber with car tires on top of its fuselage. pic.twitter.com/2mk5Z3IOTd
– Clash Report (@clashreport) September 5, 2023
The publication points out that the painted decoys can have several purposes. The first is to try to deceive the satellites.
“But this clearly won’t work, because even limited high-resolution images from commercial satellites can clearly distinguish the silhouettes of airplanes from real ones. With the help of a number of other intelligence sources, such as synthetic-aperture radar technology (SAR, a satellite for Ukraine last year “bought” by volunteers – ed.), it is possible to understand that the target is not a three-dimensional object,” the publication says.
Secondly, the decoy could have been painted in the hope that in low visibility conditions it would confuse drone operators and prevent them from hitting the real plane.
- In early 2023, after the first attacks on Engels airfield, protective barriers appeared there.
- In early fall, the GUR admitted that Engels and Diaghilev airfields were hit by old Soviet Tu-141 Strizh drones.
