The US Army confirmed it used plywood tanks during an exercise in Hawaii to simulate armored threats in training.
According to Defence Blog, the tank replicas were used during the Rotation 26-01 of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, on November 6, 2025.
The service referred to these systems as a “mock opposing force tank set,” describing them as an effective and cost-efficient tool to support large-scale training.
During rotations, units face an opposing force dedicated to using a combination of real vehicles, drones, sensors, and improvised platforms to replicate enemy capabilities.
By presenting soldiers with what appears to be a mechanized threat, the Army says the replicas play a useful role in testing reaction times and decision-making under pressure.
The replicas are built with plywood and basic structural materials, designed to mimic the visual profile of armored vehicles, and mounted on commercial pickup trucks, helping to create a realistic battlefield image for soldiers participating in combat simulations.
This method allows units to train against simulated armored threats without the cost and logistics of mobilizing real tanks, which also helps preserve the operational life of vehicles, especially heavy platforms that are expensive to maintain.
Photos: Duke Edwards. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
