Something else for the Russians to blow up: Putin's secret inflatable army of decoys that are designed to fool the enemy into thinking Russia is more powerful than it is

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 At first glance, they look like any other military vehicle.

However, Russian army bosses have revealed their latest range of weapons - and they are all inflatable. 

The blow up battalions are designed to bamboozle satellites and surveillance aircraft into thinking forces are more powerful than they actually are.

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Aleksei A. Komarov of Rusbal, a hot air balloon company that also provides Russia's Ministry of Defense with everything from tanks, jets and missile launchers - all in inflatable form. Here, he is stood next to a life sized mock a Mig-31 workers had just inflated in a field outside Sergeev Posad, 50 miles to the north of Moscow, where their factory is located.

'If you study the major battles of history, you see that trickery wins every time,' Aleksei A. Komarov of Rusbal, a hot air balloon company that also provides Russia's Ministry of Defense with everything from tanks, jets and missile launchers - all in inflatable form, told the New York Times.

The decoys, made of material rather than rubber, are designed to appear lifelike from as close as 300 yards, yet be able to vanish in minutes.

Employees prepare to inflate a copy of a Mig-31 in a field outside Sergeev Posad, 50 miles to the north of Moscow, where their factory is located.

The fullsize mock of a Mig-31takes around five minutes to inflate fully, the firm says.

The inflatable T-80 tank, one of the company's standard products, weighs 154 pounds, costs about $16,000, and is delivered in two duffel bags.

It can inflate and deflate  in about five minutes.

Russia's new fighting force includes tanks, complete with gun barrels, an S-300 missile launching truck, MiG fighter jets and entire radar stations.

Manufacturer Rusbal has been dealing with defence bosses since 1995 but refused to say how many air-filled models have been made, sold and deployed.

Employees looked on after having inflated a fullsize mock of a Mig-31 in a field outside Sergeev Posad, 50 miles to the north of Moscow.

Employees inflated a life sized mock of a S300 rocket system next to a fullsize mock of a Mig-31 they had just inflated in a field outside Sergeev Posad, 50 miles to the north of Moscow, where their factory is located.

A hot air balloon enthusiast founded Rusbal in 1993 and later diversified into bouncy castles.

On its website, the firm now offers a huge range of military vehicles. 

However, the technique is not new.

During World War I Britain mocked up wooden tanks which were towed around the country by horses, using a set of concealed wheels behind their pretend tracks.

And in World War II disused British airfields were dressed up like military runways, complete with dummy planes and fuel resources, to confuse German bombers and soldiers.

WOODEN TANKS IN WORLD WAR ONE: THE HISTORY OF DECOYS IN WARFARE 

During World War I Britain mocked up wooden tanks which were towed around the country by horses, using a set of concealed wheels behind their pretend tracks.

They were constructed from a wooden framework and covered with painted Hessian cloth.

Many were fitted with concealed wheels underneath and were towed from place to place by a pair of horses.

An inflatable Sherman M4, left, and dummy tanks, mounted on trucks, going to the forward areas in the Western Desert, 13 February 1942

Dummy tanks, representing Allied models, were also found to have been constructed by the Germans, although it is believed they were mainly used for training.

The decoys were used during World War II by both the Allies, who dubbed them 'spoofs' and the Germans. 

A dummy Sherman under construction by 6 Field Park Company, Royal Engineers, in the Anzio bridgehead on 29 April 1944.

One of the first uses of dummy tanks during the Second World War was in the North African Campaign, where Royal Engineers constructed two dummy tanks per day.

Between April and June 1941, they were able to build three dummy Royal Tank Regiments, and another in November that same year. 

The design was foldable, allowing them to be moved. 

Jeeps and steel frames were used to make them move more realistically.  

Inflatable dummies were also used.

In one operation in September 1944, the British deployed 148 inflatable tanks close to the front line - although around half were 'destroyed' by fragments from German mortar and artillery fire, and by Allied bombs falling short.

Dummy tanks were also used in Operation Fortitude prior to the landings at the Normandy Beaches to confuse German forces.  

Disused British airfields were dressed up like military runways, complete with dummy planes and fuel resources, to confuse German bombers and soldiers.

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'There was a lot of skepticism at first,' Maria A. Oparina, the director of Rusbal and daughter of the founder, told the times. 

The firm refuses to reveal its sales figures, but say its output has shot up in the last year.  

Workers inflate a model of a Russian S-300 long range surface-to-air missile system at the compound of the RusBal balloon manufacturer outside Moscow. The small firm produces infrared and radar reflective inflatable dummy targets in 1:1 ratio that are designed for the Russian military and the international defence market.

Another Russian firm, Rusbal, created this dummy of a truck, designed to look like the real thing from the air

A Mig 31 (left) and an SU 27 (right) - or so it would seem at first glance.

The factory now employs 80 people full time, most sewing inflatable weapons which the firm also exports.

It made about $3 million worth of inflatable decoys of the S-300 antiaircraft missile system to sell to Iran, but was left holding the goods when the Russian government suspended the sale of the actual missile system because of United Nations sanctions. 

THE RUSSIAN ART OF MASKIROVKA 

Russia has long been fascinated by deceit and disguise, known as maskirovka, or masking.

The idea behind maskirovka is to 'keep the enemy guessing'.

Workers carry an inflatable model of a Russian T-72B tank at the compound of the RusBal balloon manufacturer outside Moscow.

It involves never admitting true intentions, always denying activities and using all means political and military to maintain an edge of surprise.

The doctrine, military analysts say, is in this sense 'multilevel.' 

It draws no distinction between disguising a soldier as a bush or a tree with green and patterned clothing, a lie of a sort, and high-level political disinformation and cunning evasions.

Dozens of different tanks are available, including this 9A331 fighting vehicle and T-72 (right)

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