Russia has started putting tires on top of its bombers and other aircraft, and now a U.S. military expert has confirmed the reason behind this strange tactic. The goal is to confuse high-tech missiles that use image-matching technology to find their targets.
A satellite image taken on August 28, 2023, showed a Russian Tu-95 Bear bomber with tires placed on its wings and fuselage (the main body of the plane) at Engels-2 Air Base. This airbase, located about 300 miles from the Ukraine border, has been a target of several Ukrainian drone attacks. Russia has since been using this unusual tactic to protect its bombers, and now we know why.
Schuyler Moore, the Chief Technology Officer of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), recently explained during a live-streamed discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) how Russia’s tactic works. AI plays a big role in modern warfare, especially in targeting systems that missiles use to hit their targets. Moore used the example of Russian planes covered in tires to explain how AI image-recognition software struggles when the appearance of a plane is altered.
“Imagine you’re a missile looking for a plane,” Moore said, “but when you see the plane, there are tires on it. Suddenly, it’s not so easy for the missile’s AI to recognize that it’s a plane.” This disruption makes it harder for incoming weapons to find their targets, especially if they rely on infrared imaging, which matches shapes and patterns to what’s stored in their database.
Russia began using this tire tactic in 2023 after Ukrainian forces launched several drone attacks on Engels-2. Around the same time, Ukraine started using advanced missiles that rely on infrared seekers, which scan their targets and match them to images stored in their systems. These missiles, such as Ukraine’s Neptune or the air-launched Storm Shadow, are hard to jam electronically and are very accurate because they passively scan their surroundings. By covering their planes in tires, Russia is attempting to mess with the image-matching process of these weapons.
Although some people suggested the tires might act as extra physical protection, The War Zone suspected early on that this was about confusing the missiles, not defending against them. Now, Moore’s comments have confirmed that the tires are indeed being used to throw off advanced targeting systems.
But Russia didn’t stop at just placing tires on their planes. They’ve also painted silhouettes of bombers on the ground to trick incoming missiles. These decoys are meant to lure missiles away from real targets. There’s even been a case where Russia painted a submarine silhouette on a naval base’s tarmac, likely for the same reason.
This tactic isn’t only about Russia’s war with Ukraine. The U.S. military is paying close attention, as these kinds of decoys and camouflage techniques could become relevant in future conflicts, especially against countries like China, which have been rapidly improving their intelligence and surveillance technology. AI is now being used to spot targets from satellite images, and if something like a tire-covered plane can confuse these systems, it raises questions about the limits of modern technology in warfare.
General David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, mentioned that as AI advances, military decoys need to become much more sophisticated. It’s no longer enough to use basic tricks, like inflating a fake plane, because advanced AI will quickly see through those kinds of deceptions. The real challenge is figuring out how to mimic the “pattern of life” or the signature of an object, making decoys convincing enough to fool high-tech sensors and AI-driven weapons.
So, will the U.S. start putting tires on its bombers anytime soon? Probably not. But this Russian tactic, which seemed strange at first, now shows just how tricky modern warfare has become, especially when it comes to countering AI-based weapons. It’s a reminder that even in the age of high-tech warfare, sometimes the simplest solutions—like tossing a few tires on a plane—can make a big difference.
