Ukraine

[Phil1111 910]

Norway has now also promised F-16s to Ukraine. Ukraine has 61 promised to date and Norway has up to 25 available. They have not yet specified how many they will give.

So Norway, the fourth least corrupt country in the world is giving up to 25

The Dutch, the eighth least corrupt country in the world are giving 42.

The Danes the least corrupt country are giving 19.

The US right who has its head up Putins ass are talking about Zelenskyy's corruption.

Perhaps that new Ukrainian helicopter pilot can be rated on F-16s.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Phil1111

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

On 8/23/2023 at 4:12 PM, jakee said:

The video is interesting. I'm sure it's quite normal for the wings to fall off a bizjet in midair, nothing suspicious there at all.

From the beginning I think we've all been wondering 'how the hell did he think he was going to get away with it'? Now the question is why did Putin put himself through the humiliation of doing a deal and giving Prigozhin his stuff back in the first place? If it's because he felt like he needed time to get all of Wagner's heavy weapons back, disolve their frontline combat units and get them out of Ukraine and Russia first, before he could get away with doing this, then that's another sign of weakness

Some folks are claiming Russia is blaming Ukraine for it, saying they used a SAM to shoot it down.
Which is at least sort of silly.

The crash was maybe 150 miles Northwest of Moscow.

So Ukraine snuck that far into Russia, set up a SAM battery (including Radar & command vehicles) and then escaped after the shoot down.

US intel is saying it was an onboard bomb.

Biden says he's "not surprised".

[gowlerk 1,905]

31 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Biden says he's "not surprised".

No one is surprised.

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

 

3 minutes ago, gowlerk said:

No one is surprised.

Very true.

But it was a bit surprising to hear Biden say it out loud.

Edited August 25, 2023 by wolfriverjoe

[JoeWeber 2,297]

Spiting Russian threats that they would be crossing a "Red Line",  Germany is sending their Taurus long range cruise missile to Ukraine. It's a true bunker buster and has a 310 mile range. Say goodbye to the Kerch Bridge.

[Phil1111 910]

3 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

Spiting Russian threats that they would be crossing a "Red Line",  Germany is sending their Taurus long range cruise missile to Ukraine. It's a true bunker buster and has a 310 mile range. Say goodbye to the Kerch Bridge.

Well shirt this is 120 miles longer than ATACMS. President Biden lets move on the ATACMS.

[Phil1111 910]

Australia-based SYPAQ Systems is sending low-cost drones made out of waxed cardboard to Ukrainian forces. They have destroyed a Mig-29 and at least four SU-30 aircraft. They have a range of 75 miles and have a six foot wingspan.

They cost $3500 each and Australia is supplying 100 a month. The cardboard/foam construction is almost impossible to see on radar. Well Russian S-400 radar anyway.

They come in a dozen per pallet packages. They have shaped downward firing shrapnel charges.

Happy birthday president Putin.

[JoeWeber 2,297]

Ukraine has apparently breached the second defensive line on the way to Tokmak. It was less of a barrier than the first and there are reasons to believe the third will be easier still. Now they need to decide if they should charge on to Tokmak or wheel left and right to roll up the second defensive line from the rear and widen the breach. I like option two but either way, for now at least, Ukraine is kicking ass. 

[Phil1111 910]

9 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

Ukraine has apparently breached the second defensive line on the way to Tokmak. It was less of a barrier than the first and there are reasons to believe the third will be easier still. Now they need to decide if they should charge on to Tokmak or wheel left and right to roll up the second defensive line from the rear and widen the breach. I like option two but either way, for now at least, Ukraine is kicking ass. 

Clearly you are subscribing to "western disinformation media" or at least Slim would say so. According to President Putin and "In a call with Russian military leaders, Shoigu claimed that Ukraine had lost more than 66,000 soldiers(about 550 a day) and 7,600 weapons(vehicles, tanks and armored vehicles, TASS) since the start of the counteroffensive," Which started about June 7th.

Meanwhile the US political right celebrated the christening of the new SLBM submarine for the N. Korean regime. A copy of Russian design its a forerunner of what Kim hopes to be a nuclear propelled sub. "There are reports that when President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un meet in Vladivostok there will be a request for Russian nuclear propulsion technology in exchange for the large amounts of ammunition and arms Putin needs desperately for his continuing war in Ukraine."

So UN sanctions don't apply to these two partners trading in nuclear technology and weapons. All in violation of UN resolutions. No word yet if trump, and Ramaswamy have been invited to the christening of the nuclear attack sub by Kim.

In other news from the front. A captured Russian marine told the press that Russian artillery was directed  behind them when they started to retreat from the battle that Joe described above. These battlefield coaching techniques first implemented by Stalin are designed to "motivate" the men to fight.

Edited September 9, 2023 by Phil1111

[kallend 1,623]

On 8/31/2023 at 6:18 PM, Phil1111 said:

Australia-based SYPAQ Systems is sending low-cost drones made out of waxed cardboard to Ukrainian forces. They have destroyed a Mig-29 and at least four SU-30 aircraft. They have a range of 75 miles and have a six foot wingspan.

They cost $3500 each and Australia is supplying 100 a month. The cardboard/foam construction is almost impossible to see on radar. Well Russian S-400 radar anyway.

They come in a dozen per pallet packages. They have shaped downward firing shrapnel charges.

Happy birthday president Putin.

Just think what they could do with my R/C B-1B bomber:  Cheaper too.

[Phil1111 910]

15 minutes ago, kallend said:

Just think what they could do with my R/C B-1B bomber:  Cheaper too.

 

Does that have turbine engines?

[kallend 1,623]

11 minutes ago, Phil1111 said:

Does that have turbine engines?

No.  Electric ducted fans.

[JoeWeber 2,297]

2 hours ago, kallend said:

No.  Electric ducted fans.

Be a sport and donate it.

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

5 hours ago, kallend said:

Just think what they could do with my R/C B-1B bomber:  Cheaper too.

Hi John,

Heck, you're retired; send them a proposal for a 1/2 doz or so:  Embassy.org: The Embassy of Ukraine

Might be a great 2nd career.  And, I am very sure that they could use them.

Jerry Baumchen

 

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

From the Elon Musk thread:

On 9/13/2023 at 8:31 AM, Phil1111 said:

Speaking of Crimea. it appears as though UK and French supplied air launched cruise missiles were used overnight. A Russian LST ship and Kilo class sub were reportedly damaged. Ukraine has severely degraded Russian air defense systems on the western side of the Crimean peninsula. This has allowed Ukraine to reintroduce Bayraktar UCAV drones to that area. They previously had been withdrawn due to Russian airspace control in that area.

 

On 9/13/2023 at 1:22 PM, jakee said:

Let's hope there's much more to come - though the problem with Storm Shadow / Scalp and Germany's Taurus is just that there aren't many available and MBDA isn't geared up to produce them very quickly either. They can't afford to risk very many of them on missions like this where they might get shot down.

The Ukrainian MoD released a statement about this attack. 10 missiles were launched,  7 were shot down.  The 3 that made it through did considerable damage. The Kilo-class sub and the amphibious landing ship Minsk were in the dry-dock and along with the dry-dock,  were badly damaged*. Depending on where in the repair process they were,  both vessels are somewhere between 'badly damaged' and 'totally fucked'. In any case, given the Russian ability to do ANYTHING,  those ships AND the repair facility is going to be out of commission for a while. Probably a long while.  Given that Sevastopol is the only large scale repair facility in the Black Sea, the Russian navy is in big(er) trouble. 10 Storm Shadows is a lot, but the results speak for themselves.  

Also, Ukrainian Special Forces took back 2 oil platforms.  Despite Russian claims that all the attacking boats were sunk, and all the soldiers killed, they managed to take control of both.  This deprives the Russians of a significant surveillance capability. And of a lot of rather expensive gear. Combined with the Ukrainians doing lots of damage to the Russian anti-aircraft systems across the Crimean peninsula,  the ability to take out MORE Russian assets is growing.  

 

* - The damage to the repair facilities is huge. Many historians believe that the biggest failure of the Japanese at Pearl Harbor was not destroying the dry-dock facilities. It allowed the US to get most of the damaged ships back in service fairly quickly.  Much faster than if they would have had to be repaired in California.

[ryoder 1,381]

Ukraine finds a lost Russian tank. Being gentlemen, they return it to the owners.

The guy who drove a rolling tank bomb at Russian soldiers jammed the accelerator down before jumping out of a hatch, Ukraine says

[jakee 1,254]

3 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

The Kilo-class sub and the amphibious landing ship Minsk were in the dry-dock and along with the dry-dock,  were badly damaged*. Depending on where in the repair process they were,  both vessels are somewhere between 'badly damaged' and 'totally fucked'. In any case, given the Russian ability to do ANYTHING,  those ships AND the repair facility is going to be out of commission for a while. Probably a long while.  Given that Sevastopol is the only large scale repair facility in the Black Sea, the Russian navy is in big(er) trouble. 10 Storm Shadows is a lot, but the results speak for themselves.  

One thing I hadn’t quite grasped is that the Black Sea is completely cut off now, with no warships permitted through the Bosporous. So everything the Russians lose there is gone for the duration of the conflict, there’s no way of replacing those vessels. 

Also, even before the 2014 invasion the Black Sea fleet was based at Sevastopol under a controversial lease agreement. Another way that Russia will emerge from this war in a much, much weaker position than it started from. 

[piisfish 135]

They could dig canals from Murmansk and from Vladivostok  to the Black Sea. That would probably be a 2 weeks Special Digging Operation. 

[Phil1111 910]

Pictures of what the Ukraine AF did to Russian Kilo class sub for using Ukrainian repair facilities without permission. Needless to say security is not a part of the Russian SMO.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Phil1111

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:48 AM, Phil1111 said:

Pictures of what the Ukraine AF did to Russian Kilo class sub for using Ukrainian repair facilities without permission. Needless to say security is not a part of the Russian SMO.

As a regular on a couple car forums, I have to say:

Yeah, that ain't gonna buff out.

One article on the results of the attack:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/russian-submarine-shows-massive-damage-after-ukrainian-strike

Gotta love the statement that "this is an ex-submarine'.

I have to wonder how much the Russians are going to 'finish' destroying it before the Ukrainians show up.

Not sure how much intelligence info the "West" needs on an obsolete diesel/electric sub, but I'm sure they'd love the chance to get a close look at it.

[riggerrob 558]

On 9/15/2023 at 11:20 AM, piisfish said:

They could dig canals from Murmansk and from Vladivostok  to the Black Sea. That would probably be a 2 weeks Special Digging Operation. 

It has been done before.

Back during the Second World War, the German Navy moved a few submarines from the North Sea to the Black Sea via, rivers, canals and rail. Mind you those were small diesel/electric attack subs, much smaller than current fashions.

[jakee 1,254]

2 minutes ago, riggerrob said:

It has been done before.

Back during the Second World War, the German Navy moved a few submarines from the North Sea to the Black Sea via, rivers, canals and rail. Mind you those were small diesel/electric attack subs, much smaller than current fashions.

Are there any Ekranoplans left on the Caspian they could bring over? Totally useless but kinda cool, and blowing them up would be nice payback for the An-225.

[Phil1111 910]

President Biden has approved the supply of ATACMS armed with cluster warheads. The cluster warhead is considered less useful to the US army. "As of the end of August, the Army had 1,486 ATACMS in its arsenal, 1,122 with unitary warheads and 364 armed with cluster munitions, "

Which of course is bad news for Putin.

[JoeWeber 2,297]

2 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

President Biden has approved the supply of ATACMS armed with cluster warheads. The cluster warhead is considered less useful to the US army. "As of the end of August, the Army had 1,486 ATACMS in its arsenal, 1,122 with unitary warheads and 364 armed with cluster munitions, "

Which of course is bad news for Putin.

The charade is tedious. Our #1 objective today must be taking out the Kerch bridge in a serious way. It's not useful to let our impatient populous think about anything for more than a couple of weeks. Give the Ukrainians the ATACMS bridge busters now, damn it!

[Phil1111 910]

7 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

The charade is tedious. Our #1 objective today must be taking out the Kerch bridge in a serious way. It's not useful to let our impatient populous think about anything for more than a couple of weeks. Give the Ukrainians the ATACMS bridge busters now, damn it!

Completely agree and I would add the Russian Black sea fleet in its entirety. Screwing about in the decision making to give this or that weapon system is costing ooo's of lives.