Based on various images published over the past year that caught the attention of specialists in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and analysts, it was noted that the Russian Aerospace Forces were covering their combat aircraft with tires while stationed at their airbases. This sparked a wide range of theories aimed at explaining this unusual practice. Recently, U.S. officials have stated that this is intended to confuse Ukrainian missile sensors.
Particularly, the technology director of U.S. Central Command, Schuyler Moore, stated: “The classic unclassified example is a photograph of an airplane from above… And you’re looking for an airplane, and then if you put tires on top of the wings, suddenly, many artificial vision models have difficulty identifying that as an airplane.”
Delving into details, Director Moore refers to images of two Russian bombers, the Tu-95 and Tu-160, which had a layer of car tires along their wings to achieve the mentioned purpose. It’s worth noting that these photographs were published shortly after Ukraine carried out a significant series of attacks on Russian airbases using drones. Similar multimedia material, in this case of Su-34 fighters, was released concurrently with reports from the Ukrainian Armed Forces about the use of modified Neptune cruise missiles for ground attacks.
In this regard, it should be highlighted that several long-range precision weapons have systems that utilize Artificial Intelligence to more easily identify enemy targets, relying on comparisons of real-time images with a pre-established database to differentiate targets. This measure appears to have had a certain degree of effectiveness, considering that alerts have been raised among manufacturers of these systems to begin adapting the data and sensors of their weapons to remain effective.
Finally, it should be noted that this is not the only technique the Russian Armed Forces have implemented to protect their equipment from Ukrainian attacks since the beginning of the war. In previous instances, various cases were reported where aircraft were painted on the ground of Russian runways, along with the placement of fake reflectors and radars to draw the attention of enemy systems. Additionally, inflatable tanks and supposed shipments of weapons that were merely wooden models have also been used, among other tactics.
*Cover image: @Osinttechnical on X
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