Ukraine

[Phil1111 910]

8 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Phil,

Are you saying that they cannot have an OOPSIE?

Jerry Baumchen

mmmm....NATO membership sooner rather than later. So no Storm Shadows to the Kremlin.

[JoeWeber 2,297]

16 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

Yeah thats the first thing I checked out. They can now take it out from Ukrainian airspace.

They can also finish off the Russian fleet in Sevastopol.The Novorossiysk sub base. Together with the two sub bases in the Sea of Azov. All without leaving Ukrainian airspace.

Technically the subs would have to leave the Russian bases in Russia proper. Since Ukraine isn't supposed to use the missiles to attack Russia directly.

There were reports among the Russian positions that the Ukrainian offensive had started.  Russian troops dropped AKs and beat feet for up to 3km over a 6km front.

I wonder if Slim's troops will collapse as fast as Saddam's.

Could be people just don’t want to be needlessly killed like in the good old days. Damn internet.

[Phil1111 910]

15 minutes ago, normiss said:

Like Russians bombing themselves??

Having grown up during the cold war, it's almost laughable to me to see how incompetent the Russians actually are. Is their Naval fleet still rusting away as well?

They seem to have quite an underdeveloped economy thanks to their leaders and oligarchs.

 

I wonder what component of that over-estimation was from the military industrial complex. How much from politicians. How much from analysts that were just incompetent.

The current spending spree by western countries to rearm. To build up their military power. All due to this invasion Involves spending in the 2-3 trillion dollar range. Worldwide $2.24 trillion up 34% last year alone.

No word yet if Putin has asked for his weapons back from Assad. You know barrel bombs, etc.

[Phil1111 910]

Just now, JoeWeber said:

Could be people just don’t want to be needlessly killed like in the good old days. Damn internet.

Perhaps NATO should offer free VPN service to all Russian draftees?

[normiss 622]

2 minutes ago, Phil1111 said:

Perhaps NATO should offer free VPN service to all Russian draftees?

Can we get Elon to re-enable Starlink for that area??

[ryoder 1,381]

33 minutes ago, normiss said:

Like Russians bombing themselves??

Having grown up during the cold war, it's almost laughable to me to see how incompetent the Russians actually are. Is their Naval fleet still rusting away as well?

They seem to have quite an underdeveloped economy thanks to their leaders and oligarchs.

 

AFAIK, back in the days of the Soviet Union, the money allocated to the military, actually went to the military. As opposed to now, where it gets siphoned on by Putin's oligarch lackeys, to buy yachts and foreign vacation mansions.

[Phil1111 910]

11 minutes ago, ryoder said:

AFAIK, back in the days of the Soviet Union, the money allocated to the military, actually went to the military. As opposed to now, where it gets siphoned on by Putin's oligarch lackeys, to buy yachts and foreign vacation mansions.

I wonder if they introduced a new class at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. In kleptocracy 101.

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

43 minutes ago, normiss said:

Like Russians bombing themselves??

Having grown up during the cold war, it's almost laughable to me to see how incompetent the Russians actually are. Is their Naval fleet still rusting away as well?

They seem to have quite an underdeveloped economy thanks to their leaders and oligarchs.

 

 

8 minutes ago, ryoder said:

AFAIK, back in the days of the Soviet Union, the money allocated to the military, actually went to the military. As opposed to now, where it gets siphoned on by Putin's oligarch lackeys, to buy yachts and foreign vacation mansions.

The theft & corruption was always there. 

It just got a LOT worse under Putin.

There were always competing intel positions about the old Soviet Union.

The "hollow shell" theory was somewhat prevalent. It didn't get a whole lot of attention, in part because if the Soviets weren't strong, we wouldn't need a strong military to deal with them.

They also had the 'strength through overwhelming numbers'. 

In WW2, the T-34 tank was widely admired.
But when one was brought to the US and put through testing, the testers wondered if they had deliberately been given a faulty one.
 

The reality was that the reliability was total shit. Something like a quarter broke down before even reaching the front lines (and this is after being transported by train to within a few miles of the front).

But they had enough that they could lose a lot, either in battle or from breakdown, that they still beat the Nazis.

Fun Fact: The Soviet T-64 tank was/is a superior tank. Better in almost every way.
Except cost. The T-72 was much cheaper to produce, so they could produce a lot more of them. 
The fact that the crews inside had significantly lower chances of surviving didn't matter to the leadership.

[jakee 1,254]

3 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

I wonder if they introduced a new class at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. In kleptocracy 101.

Quite possibly something like that, yeah. I read an article last year that said the Russian military essentially tolerates a certain level of corruption (for officers) throughout the chain of command as an integral part of maintaining discipline. It's basically a mafia like structure where the message is 'keep doing what you're told and we'll let you keep making money". Plus then if anyone steps out of line or challenges the political orthodoxy the authorities will immediately 'find out' about whatever it is they've been stealing. 

The problem they've found is that they were too corrupt to accurately keep track of how corrupt they were. The people at the top thought they were tolerating a certain amount of graft from the people just below them, who were tolerating more from the people below them, who were tolerating more from the people below them.... And now they've gone to Ukraine and suddenly found out the effects of everything all at once

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

6 hours ago, normiss said:

Like Russians bombing themselves??

Having grown up during the cold war, it's almost laughable to me to see how incompetent the Russians actually are. Is their Naval fleet still rusting away as well?

They seem to have quite an underdeveloped economy thanks to their leaders and oligarchs.

 

Hi Mark,

As you, I ( all of us, actually ) thought they were a super power.  Then, after 9 Nov 89, we began to see that they were just a hollow puppet.

Fall of the Berlin Wall - Wikipedia

And, the interesting part is how they are so much more now.

Jerry Baumchen 

[jakee 1,254]

On 5/11/2023 at 7:16 PM, olofscience said:

No worries, but we're getting closer: Storm Shadows have been delivered to Ukraine - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65558070

The Kerch bridge is well within their 300km range.

Additionally, they've lost quite a bit of ground on the southern flank of Bakhmut. Slim won't be able to deny it because his boss has actually released a video complaining about it.

Some big explosions in Russian occupied areas 100km from the front line already today. 

 

And while the Russian Ministry of Defence strenuously denies any suggestion that its forces have had to retreat anywhere in the Bakhmut region.... some units have redeployed to "more advantageous defensive positions". Err, right.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/12/russian-troops-defensive-positions-near-bakhmut-moscow-statement-ukraine

Edited May 12, 2023 by jakee

[ryoder 1,381]

I really hope one of those Storm Shadows finds its way to Putin's palace on the Black Sea.

[johnhking1 70]

10 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

 

The theft & corruption was always there. 

It just got a LOT worse under Putin.

There were always competing intel positions about the old Soviet Union.

The "hollow shell" theory was somewhat prevalent. It didn't get a whole lot of attention, in part because if the Soviets weren't strong, we wouldn't need a strong military to deal with them.

They also had the 'strength through overwhelming numbers'. 

In WW2, the T-34 tank was widely admired.
But when one was brought to the US and put through testing, the testers wondered if they had deliberately been given a faulty one.
 

The reality was that the reliability was total shit. Something like a quarter broke down before even reaching the front lines (and this is after being transported by train to within a few miles of the front).

But they had enough that they could lose a lot, either in battle or from breakdown, that they still beat the Nazis.

Fun Fact: The Soviet T-64 tank was/is a superior tank. Better in almost every way.
Except cost. The T-72 was much cheaper to produce, so they could produce a lot more of them. 
The fact that the crews inside had significantly lower chances of surviving didn't matter to the leadership.

I remember years ago on 60 Minutes, Andy Rooney did a piece on a new tank and compared it to Chrysler LeBarons.  It was typical Andy Rooney funny.

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

Hi folks,

Not looking so good for Putin:  Russia appears to lose 4 military aircraft in Russian territory – POLITICO

Keep up the good work you folks in Ukraine.

Jerry Baumchen

[riggerrob 558]

This discussion about corruption reminds of Westerners questioning why Russian soldiers were looting washing machines during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Some attributed the thefts to conscript soldiers - from poor villages inside Russia - taking luxury goods home. I doubted if their superiors would allow them to transport those looted luxury goods all the way home.

Later we learned that computer chips were being salvaged from those washing machines ... and being installed in newly-manufactured military missiles.

[jakee 1,254]

19 minutes ago, riggerrob said:

This discussion about corruption reminds of Westerners questioning why Russian soldiers were looting washing machines during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Some attributed the thefts to conscript soldiers - from poor villages inside Russia - taking luxury goods home. I doubted if their superiors would allow them to transport those looted luxury goods all the way home.

Later we learned that computer chips were being salvaged from those washing machines ... and being installed in newly-manufactured military missiles.

Well, maybe, though I haven't seen mention of that anywhere. I think most looted appliances were just being looted. Superior officers would let them be transported back because 1) they're all corrupt together and view everything in occupied Ukraine as the spoils of war and 2) plenty of Russian units were on the ragged edge of discipline as soon as things started to go badly for them. Unlikely their commanders would want to risk doing anything that would push them closer to open insubordination.

[Phil1111 910]

President Putin is looking for some new pilots. Signup bonuses in the millions of rubles are offered. Seven new positions opened today alone!

"Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that a Russian SU-35 jet and a second Mi-8 helicopter also crashed on May 13, but that report could not immediately be confirmed.

Kommersant said an SU-34, SU-35, and two Mi-8 helicopters were part of an air group and that they had been "shot down almost simultaneously" in the Bryansk region.

"According to preliminary data, they were all part of the same air group -- the fighters were supposed to deliver a missile and bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters were to secure them, in order to pick up the SU crews if they were shot down by enemy fire," the report said.

"All four aircraft failed to return to the airfield. Their pilots are dead," it added."

No word yet if a single Ukrainian AA ground crew almost made Ace in one day.

Slim! The Zero to Hero Coursehttps://www.flyaxiom.com/zerotohero   is waiting for you. Contact your embassy for details.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Phil1111

[ryoder 1,381]

I would not have thought it possible to deploy them this quickly:

British Storm Shadow missiles 'go into action': Russian separatists in Ukraine say they have been hit by first of the deadly 600mph cruise weapons given to Zelensky by UK

[Phil1111 910]

10 minutes ago, ryoder said:

I would not have thought it possible to deploy them this quickly:

British Storm Shadow missiles 'go into action': Russian separatists in Ukraine say they have been hit by first of the deadly 600mph cruise weapons given to Zelensky by UK

"A fanatical pro-Putin politician was said to be wounded in the strike." From your story. Well there goes Slim's career as a Russian pilot.

[JoeWeber 2,297]

36 minutes ago, ryoder said:

I would not have thought it possible to deploy them this quickly:

British Storm Shadow missiles 'go into action': Russian separatists in Ukraine say they have been hit by first of the deadly 600mph cruise weapons given to Zelensky by UK

Who can guess what is already there by the time it’s announced in the next package. Let’s hope they already have a few surprises ready for their offensive.

[JoeWeber 2,297]

20 hours ago, riggerrob said:

This discussion about corruption reminds of Westerners questioning why Russian soldiers were looting washing machines during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Some attributed the thefts to conscript soldiers - from poor villages inside Russia - taking luxury goods home. I doubted if their superiors would allow them to transport those looted luxury goods all the way home.

Later we learned that computer chips were being salvaged from those washing machines ... and being installed in newly-manufactured military missiles.

Makes sense but where are the computer chips in the toilets?

[jakee 1,254]

32 minutes ago, ryoder said:

I would not have thought it possible to deploy them this quickly:

British Storm Shadow missiles 'go into action': Russian separatists in Ukraine say they have been hit by first of the deadly 600mph cruise weapons given to Zelensky by UK

The integration work would have been going on for some time ahead of the announcement that they were being supplied. Aside from physically matching it to the hard points, a GPS guided cruise missile like this would be one of the easiest though, because the entire mission profile and targeting info can be preloaded on the ground and there’s no integration needed with any avionics except a fire button. 
 

There’s speculation that the same thing was done with the HARMs they’ve been using - which is a big disadvantage since they can only fire it blind at a certain area and hope it picks up an active radar on its own (the main alternative would be having a tablet computer running in the cockpit which sounds like a pilot workload nightmare). For the Storm Shadow the most basic integration should be just about perfect anyway, since it’s always going to be fired at a known, static, pre-chosen target.

[normiss 622]

5 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

Makes sense but where are the computer chips in the toilets?

You don't have a Kohler Numi???  Still using the outhouse? Or the high tanks?

[JoeWeber 2,297]

18 minutes ago, normiss said:

You don't have a Kohler Numi???  Still using the outhouse? Or the high tanks?

Koehler Numi? Nope, Toto Explorer.

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

1 hour ago, normiss said:

You don't have a Kohler Numi???  Still using the outhouse? Or the high tanks?

Hi Mark,

My grandmother had an outhouse until I was about 10 yrs old.

I grew up in a house with a high water closet.  One thing you did not have to be concerned with was everything going down the toilet.

Jerry Baumchen