Gallery: The Goofy and Cool Shooting Targets Used by the World's Armies
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl01n regionfelt ostland special forces targets- 001
German photographer Herlinde Koelbl's series Targets documents shooting targets used around the world. This one is from Norway.
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl02hammelburg- 001
Some of the targets, like this one used in Germany, look like they've jumped off the page of a comic book.
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl03Ukraine
The images reveal a great deal about each country's perceived enemy, and the resources made available to each military. Here, targets in Ukraine.
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl04Germany 2
“Most of the soldiers told me the more realistic the targets are, the better training it is,” Koelbl says.
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl05Western Sahara
Western Saharan countries in Africa practice aim on scrap metal.
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl06Mali
In Mali, like in Western Sarahan countries, the shooting targets are cheap and crude.
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl07USA 2
In the United States, life-sized cutouts of men wearing keffiyehs are the "enemy."
Photo: Herlinde Koelbl08bruckneudorf- 005
Koelbl says darker-skinned targets were more common around the world. This suit-wearing target, used in Austria, is an exception.