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Britain to introduce new inflatable warships to expand fleet [Ironically only kind of a joke]
(ukdefencejournal.org.uk)
“These ships are undetectable by radar, highly mobile, and, in the event of enemy attack, can be easily replaced with a foot pump and a bit of patience,” he said.
Edit update april 10th
Ship decoys work as follows: when needed, a vessel launches a floating decoy that mimics a strong radar signal or heat source. The decoy is designed to deceive enemy missiles, which may mistake it for a real ship and strike it instead.
One example is the Naval Decoy IDS300, which simulates targets such as a British Type 45-class destroyer or an American Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
The decoy is launched from one of four platforms installed on the ship, deploys within seconds, and can remain afloat for about three hours.
I feel so trolled by reality right now.
I feel like that is kind of part of what makes this joke so funny, it is a joke but it also it really desperately isn't the more you think about it which is undeniably absurd.
The more expensive the equipment the more genius idea it is to produce blowup mockup decoys. The cost to benefit analysis is astronomically in favor of spending a bit on big blowup floaties if there is even a chance the deception will work.
For example if you put a 30 foot blowup skeleton in your yard, most people who aren't experts in D&D will not know it isn't actually a real skeleton demon. Try it yourself! I don't recommend trying this at home with decoys of Cruise Missile launchers however.