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The challenge of making the inflatable illusion and training centre

21st April 2025 - 08:48 GMT | by Scott Gourley in Las Vegas

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HIMARS is one of the more complex inflatables i2K Defense has made. (Photo: i2K Defense)

Faking aircraft, yanks and vehicles has a storied history through the previous century but there are others uses for inflatable systems such as more detailed and classified military equipment and training structures.

Traditionally inflatable systems have been used for decoys of basic military vehicles and aircraft and more recently to create tactical training environments, but makers are also rising up to the challenge of creating more classified platforms with less physical data.

Portable shoot houses enable creation of a realistic tactical training environment using reconfigurable rubber walls, removing the need to rely on and possibly damage existing buildings. However, the same technology is finding fresh application in the often highly classified sphere of creating battlefield decoys of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and other weapon systems.

Stacy Gray, government sales consultant

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