Didn’t the Skunk Works guys used to create models of ridiculous concept planes and leave them out for Soviet satellites to photograph?
Exactly. Russians dropped billions chasing ghosts.
We got screwed that way ourselves once - the atomic bomber.
We did early work on it, and decided that while it could be done, we probably shouldn’t.
Then an article appeared in Aviation Week saying the Soviets were ACTUALLY FLYING THEM.
We ended up chasing our tail some more, only to find the article was a hoax, planted.