Ukrainian volunteers craft clever decoy to outsmart Russian artillery
In Ukrainian media, photos of the successful mock-up, depicting a towed D-20 howitzer, were circulated. It is the work of volunteers from Transcarpathia, who decided to build a cheap, yet hard to distinguish from the original mock-up of a 152-mm weapon, intended to serve as a model for further decoys.
As its creators claim, their work was inspired by the efforts of soldiers observed in the combat area, who tried to build mock-ups of artillery positions with whatever was available, resulting in unconvincing efforts.
The new decoy closely resembles the original and – according to Ukrainians – is expected to contribute to victory over Russian artillery.
See also: Is it NATO equipment or Russian?
The hard-to-distinguish copy of the real weapon is designed to provoke Russians into firing, causing quicker depletion of their ammunition stocks. Russian attacks are also supposed to reveal to Ukrainians the location of enemy artillery positions.
All this thanks to a cheap decoy, costing about 200,000 hryvnias (around 6,200 GBP) of the popular howitzer. As one of the mock-up's designers stated, his greatest dream is for the Russians to target his creation with a Lancet (a type of guided missile) costing 31,000 GBP.
Artillery from the Stalin Era
The D-20 howitzer was developed in the 1940s in the Soviet Union, and its production started in 1955. The weapon has undergone numerous modifications, and its copies and variants have spread to dozens of countries over the years. The D-20 fires 152 mm caliber shells to a range, depending on the type of ammunition, of 17-24 km.
The howitzer weighs 6.2 tonnes, is 8.7 metres long in its marching position, and is operated by 8-10 soldiers. Its rate of fire is up to 6 shots per minute and up to 65 per hour.
