Ukraine may have used US 'ghost fighters' to attack Lugansk

Lugansk officials announced the discovery of debris from an ADM-160B decoy, a device likened to a "ghost fighter" developed by the US to deceive air defenses.

"Police officers have discovered an enemy decoy in the center of Lugansk. Preliminary data indicate that it is an ADM-160B system made in the United States," the internal affairs department of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) said today.

Images released by Russian media show parts of a gray drone, with the inscription "ADM-160B" and various technical specifications on the body. Experts believe that this device could be deployed by Ukraine to make it difficult for Russian air defenses in Lugansk, making it difficult for them to deal with Kiev's missile and drone attacks.

Fragments suspected to be from the ADM-160B decoy were released by Lugansk authorities on May 12. Photo: Ria Novosti — Fragments suspected to be from the ADM-160B decoy were released by Lugansk authorities on May 12. Photo: *Ria Novosti*

LPR leader Leonid Pasechnik earlier announced that Ukraine had launched two Grom-2 tactical ballistic missiles at the capital Lugansk on the evening of May 12. The shells destroyed or damaged the administration building at a packaging facility and a detergent factory, and shattered windows in several nearby homes.

Lugansk officials insisted that the two areas had long been abandoned and that no one had been killed, adding that the raid left at least seven people injured, including six children and Russian lawmaker Viktor Volodatsky.

The Ukrainian military has not commented on the information.

The ADM-160 "MALD" program was born in the 1990s based on the tactic of war deception. The US military wanted to use cruise missiles disguised as "phantom fighters" to fool enemy air defense systems, disperse interception capabilities and allow real missiles to fly to their targets.

The completed ADM-160B was displayed by the US in Japan in 2015. Photo: Flickr/Yasu_osogi — The completed ADM-160B was displayed by the US in Japan in 2015. Photo: *Flickr/Yasu_osogi*

The role of deceiving enemy air defense networks has traditionally been performed by drones. However, MALD is a completely different system in terms of its purpose and features. This weapon can be launched from a variety of aircraft, from F-16 fighters to heavy transport aircraft, with the ability to disguise itself as many types of military aircraft in the US inventory today.

The ADM-160B is the first complete version of the MALD project, put into service with the US military in 2009. Each unit sold to the US military costs $322,000, has a range of more than 900 km and is capable of continuously hovering in the airspace near the target.

Vu Anh (According to Ria Novosti, Drive )

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