The russian occupation forces might be using Chinese all-terrain vehicles such as the Desertcross-1000 as decoys. One of these all-terrain vehicles appeared in a photo, published online, with a metal frame and armor installed in a way that resembles a russian Tigr-M armored vehicle.
Apparently, it is a custom-made modification. It is not yet clear whether russians will implement this solution en masse in their army. So far, none of these decoys has been seen used by russian forces on the battlefield. It is also unknown whether they are equipped with a remote control, allowing them to function as full-fledged moving mock-ups.
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One likely option is that this episode depicts a simple process of installing extra armor on a Chinese all-terrain vehicle, and it will be used its intended purpose. However, this suggestion was rejected by some russians sources claiming that in such case, there would be no need to go out of one's way to make it look similar to the Tigr vehicle.
It is worth noting that battlefield mock-ups remain in demand today and are primarily deployed to force the enemy into wasting valuable ammunition or drones on their destruction. The quality of these mock-ups on the battlefield has been improving by the year. Nowadays, we can see realistic replicas of air defense systems, such as Patriot launchers, aircraft, armored vehicles like Leopard tanks, and more.
For a reminder, russia has been using Chinese Desertcross all-terrain vehicles on the battlefield since 2023. Their declared price was 1.58 million rubles (~$18,700) for the basic variant, and 2.1 million rubles ($25,000) for the version tailored to the requirements of the russian military.
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