The Malian army has seized a large shipment of inflatable cars, NOVA reported.
According to the command of the armed forces, they are being used as decoys by various armed groups in the country. The cars resemble a popular pickup truck model, which is often used in Africa to transport soldiers and mount machine guns.
The seized shipment consists of 20 inflatable pickup trucks. The idea is for the army's drones to use up the relatively expensive and difficult-to-produce missiles they carry.
The military claims that both major armed groups in Mali – the Tuareg separatists and the branch of “Al Qaeda“ – they know about the inflatable cars and smuggle them in.
“An inflatable car costs about $1,300. That's a lot cheaper than a real pickup truck, not to mention how valuable it is if they can avoid casualties by fooling the army. Armed groups are increasingly using them, both in Mali and Burkina Faso,“ said Lida Lamoury, a security expert in the Sahel region.