Ukraine

[wolfriverjoe 1,181]

1 hour ago, ryoder said:

Leaked U.S. Report Says Basic F-16 Training For Ukrainian Pilots Could Take Just Four Months

OK, but what about:

1) Mechanic training.

2) Stockpiling parts.

3) Acquiring maintenance equipment.

 

Given that the F-16 is in use all over the world, parts & tools won't be a huge problem. They just have to get there. Not trivial, but the West does logistics a LOT better than Russia.

Mechanic training really shouldn't be all that big of a deal. They have people experienced on similar Soviet aircraft. 
I don't think the stuff specific to the F-16 would be an insurmountable issue.

I've seen posts in various places that the Ukrainians are recruiting former/retired F16 maintenance folks to come help them. Not sure how much I believe that, but it's a possibility.

[riggerrob 556]

On 5/21/2023 at 11:44 AM, Phil1111 said:

Swine!...... Keep your hands off Canada's F-18s. Seriously, Canada will need them because of liberal government bungling, feet dragging and politics. As you may be aware of.Canada has a long history of buying old equipment from allies.

"Most Canadians know the sad story of Canada's second-hand submarines. Purchased from Britain in 1998 for a suspiciously low price, the four vessels have spent most of the last fifteen years being refitted and repaired." Word had it is that the UK laughed and laughed that Canadian admirals were so dumb,Its politicians so .gullible.

Then Canada bought other used F-18s from Australia. But because of Canadian government bungling and delays Canada won't receive its first F-35 until 2026 and its last F-35 until 2034. So Canada will likely end up with them.

In 2016 Canada's F-18s had already reached the end of their service lives with most having 7000 hours. and a useful life of 8000 hours.

But we do have $10 daycare now

Bungled defense procurement is the norm in Canada.

Back during WW2, there was a scandal about Canadian-made Ross rifles not being able to chamber sloppily-made British ammunition.

Cardboard boots,

Glass water bottles that shattered the first time infantry rolled on the ground.

Shovels that were supposed to double as sniper plates.

No gov't issue puttees for the first draft of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

The list goes on and those examples are only from the First World War. I could go on. I could write a book about Canadian defense procurement blunders, but it would be too depressing. The procurement process rarely makes sense from the perspective of tank drivers or helicopter mechanics. I worked in both trades during my Canadian military service.

[JerryBaumchen 967]

13 minutes ago, riggerrob said:

Bungled defense procurement is the norm in Canada.

Back during WW2, there was a scandal about Canadian-made Ross rifles not being able to chamber sloppily-made British ammunition.

Cardboard boots,

Glass water bottles that shattered the first time infantry rolled on the ground.

Shovels that were supposed to double as sniper plates.

No gov't issue puttees for the first draft of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

The list goes on and those examples are only from the First World War. I could go on. I could write a book about Canadian defense procurement blunders, but it would be too depressing. The procurement process rarely makes sense from the perspective of tank drivers or helicopter mechanics. I worked in both trades during my Canadian military service.

Hi Rob,

Few people are ever satisfied when someone else buys something for them.

How would you like it if someone you do not know bought you your rig?

As I grew older, my mother learned to always put the receipt in the pocket of any shirt that she bought for me for my birthday.  It made it much easier to do the exchange.

Jerry Baumchen

[JerryBaumchen 967]

Hi folks,

Looks like they are going to have to increase those enlistment bonuses:  Head of Russian private army Wagner says more than 20,000 of his troops died in Bakhmut battle | AP News

Join now & spend a lifetime in uniform.

It's the length of that 'lifetime; that is problematic.

Jerry Baumchen

[Phil1111 826]

44 minutes ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi folks,

Looks like they are going to have to increase those enlistment bonuses:  Head of Russian private army Wagner says more than 20,000 of his troops died in Bakhmut battle | AP News

Join now & spend a lifetime in uniform.

It's the length of that 'lifetime; that is problematic.

Jerry Baumchen

You do know he is a liar don't you? He is a former convict himself and the Russian government has stated that only 6,000 have been killed up to last January.

Besides,"'No Body, No Payment': Wagner Mercenary Deaths Being Hidden From Families Back In Russia" and when there is a body they don't even pay for funeral expenses! Not even one ruble. Oh well everyone knows life in Russia really is cheap. I wonder how Slim is making in his new deployment out in Ukraine.

[JerryBaumchen 967]

3 minutes ago, Phil1111 said:

You do know he is a liar don't you? He is a former convict himself and the Russian government has stated that only 6,000 have been killed up to last January.

Besides,"'No Body, No Payment': Wagner Mercenary Deaths Being Hidden From Families Back In Russia" and when there is a body they don't even pay for funeral expenses! Not even one ruble. Oh well everyone knows life in Russia really is cheap. I wonder how Slim is making in his new deployment out in Ukraine.

Hi Phil,

Re:  You do know he is a liar don't you?

What, what?  Next you are going to say that there is no Tooth Fairy.*  Oh, the horror.

Jerry Baumchen

* After 60+ yrs of good service, I just had a Wisdom tooth removed.  I guess nothing is forever.

 

[kallend 1,490]

5 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

 

* After 60+ yrs of good service, I just had a Wisdom tooth removed.  I guess nothing is forever.

 

Same for me last December.  I believe I'd had it for 64 years.  Still have 3 left.

[olofscience 370]

9 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Head of Russian private army Wagner says more than 20,000 of his troops died in Bakhmut battle | AP News

Need to ask Slim about this when he gets back. (He'll probably say this is compared to 100,000 Ukranian children who died in Bakhmut - more than its pre-war population but who's keeping count eh?)

[jakee 1,094]

1 hour ago, olofscience said:

Need to ask Slim about this when he gets back. 

Or alternatively… not? 

[normiss 528]

17 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Phil,

Re:  You do know he is a liar don't you?

What, what?  Next you are going to say that there is no Tooth Fairy.*  Oh, the horror.

Jerry Baumchen

* After 60+ yrs of good service, I just had a Wisdom tooth removed.  I guess nothing is forever.

 

Navy had quite the practice of removing all 4 wisdom teeth during boot camp.

Thankfully mine were better than the dentists tended to be. I saw a few guys in their racks bleeding for days after the procedure.

[wolfriverjoe 1,181]

20 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

You do know he is a liar don't you? He is a former convict himself and the Russian government has stated that only 6,000 have been killed up to last January.

Besides,"'No Body, No Payment': Wagner Mercenary Deaths Being Hidden From Families Back In Russia" and when there is a body they don't even pay for funeral expenses! Not even one ruble. Oh well everyone knows life in Russia really is cheap. I wonder how Slim is making in his new deployment out in Ukraine.

Casualties, especially Russian casualties are largely guesswork. 

Estimates for Russian casualties (dead and wounded) at Bakhmut run from 40k to over 100k. Higher rather than lower seems likely.

For the prisoners that Wagner offered amnesty to, upwards of 40k of the 60k sent to Ukraine are dead (just the dead, not counting the wounded). 

And, on a slightly different note, 2 'independent Russian separatist groups' (Russians fighting for Ukraine) have invaded Russia. They crossed into Belgorod and ran around a bit. 
The Russian army is all in Ukraine, so all that was opposing the 'invasion' was some border guards. All that was sent as a 'reactionary force' was riot police, who are really good at beating up unarmed protesters, but not so great against actual soldiers. 

The best part is the statement by Ukraine:

 

Quote

"The security and defense forces of Ukraine are liberating Ukrainian territory and de-occupying our lands in order to reach the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine of 1991. Everything that is happening on the territory of the Russian Federation is an internal Russian conflict," Yusov said.

He noted that the structures that took responsibility for the events in the Belgorod region - the "Freedom of Russia" Legion and the "Russian Volunteer Corps" - consist of Russian citizens who are defending Russia from the Putin regime with arms in their hands.

This virtually mirrors the statements by Russia back in 2014, when they invaded Ukraine the first time.

There was nothing tactically or strategically significant about it.

But it sure makes Putler look like a fool.

And it might motivate Russia to pull troops from Ukraine back to Russia.

That would be strategically significant. The Russians don't have enough troops to defend their lines as it is. Removing any would be bad for them.

[ryoder 1,183]

Politico: Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments

Well, I'm open to the discussion of an extradition.

[JoeWeber 2,057]

2 minutes ago, ryoder said:

Politico: Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments

Well, I'm open to the discussion of an extradition.

Anything for peace in our time.

[Phil1111 826]

39 minutes ago, ryoder said:

Politico: Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments

Well, I'm open to the discussion of an extradition.

I wonder..I wonder... It's the memorial weekend. Do you think the ghost of John McCain has grabbed a hold of Graham and given him a kick in the ass?

trump has spent this important weekend reflecting upon his personal bravery and personal sacrifice. He stated.

"In all caps, the ex-president ranted: “Happy memorial day to all, but especially to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country they love, and to those in line of a very different, but equally dangerous fire, stopping the threats of the terrorists, misfits and lunatic thugs who are working feverishly from within to overturn and destroy our once great country, (which of course would mean trump himself)which has never been in greater peril than it is right now. We must stop the communists, marxists and fascist ‘pigs’ at every turn and, make america great again!”

It comes after Mr Trump slammed Disney and his main rival in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, claiming that he’s responsible for the entertainment giant becoming “woke”.

Earlier in the weekend, he railed against members of the Texas state legislature who voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton on charges of corruption. The impeachment effort was led by Republicans, whom Mr Trump branded “RINOS” (Republicans in name only).

[JerryBaumchen 967]

2 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

I wonder..I wonder... It's the memorial weekend. Do you think the ghost of John McCain has grabbed a hold of Graham and given him a kick in the ass?

trump has spent this important weekend reflecting upon his personal bravery and personal sacrifice. He stated.

"In all caps, the ex-president ranted: “Happy memorial day to all, but especially to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country they love, and to those in line of a very different, but equally dangerous fire, stopping the threats of the terrorists, misfits and lunatic thugs who are working feverishly from within to overturn and destroy our once great country, (which of course would mean trump himself)which has never been in greater peril than it is right now. We must stop the communists, marxists and fascist ‘pigs’ at every turn and, make america great again!”

It comes after Mr Trump slammed Disney and his main rival in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, claiming that he’s responsible for the entertainment giant becoming “woke”.

Earlier in the weekend, he railed against members of the Texas state legislature who voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton on charges of corruption. The impeachment effort was led by Republicans, whom Mr Trump branded “RINOS” (Republicans in name only).

Hi Phil,

In the words of MJOSparky:  'He has not seen the football since kickoff.'

Jerry Baumchen

[JerryBaumchen 967]

Hi folks,

Well, you Brits are in trouble now:   the U.K., our eternal enemy

Top Russian official says British politicians now a legitimate military target – POLITICO

Jerry Baumchen

[Phil1111 826]

Putin sent an urgent message to Wagner's Prigozhin. "The Ukrainians have started their offensive, how far have they penetrated?"  Prigozhin replied "They are already deep in our rear"

[wolfriverjoe 1,181]

5 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

Putin sent an urgent message to Wagner's Prigozhin. "The Ukrainians have started their offensive, how far have they penetrated?"  Prigozhin replied "They are already deep in our rear"

Yup. 

The RVC & LSR have taken control of some parts of Belograd.

Rather than trying to retake those areas, the Russians have just left.
The cops and local authorities ran away. No army units have responded.

So there's wide spread looting.

No supplies, no gas, no trains, no nothing.

And, of course, the Russians have responded with artillery.

Shelling their own cities to deny them to the insurgents.

So not only is Russia the 2nd most powerful army in Ukraine, it seems to be the 2nd most powerful army in...


Russia.

[Phil1111 826]

13 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Yup.
Shelling their own cities to deny them to the insurgents.

So not only is Russia the 2nd most powerful army in Ukraine, it seems to be the 2nd most powerful army in...


Russia.

Shelling civilians, shelling cities. They did it in Chechnya, did it in Ukraine and now in Belograd. They must teach those tactics in the Military Academy of the General Staff in Russia. Don't worry about targeting generals or leadership buildings. Just level the whole city.

Where is Slim to explain the Slavic logic of these tactics. Oh yeah, he got called back to the front. Perhaps leveling the city helps prevent looting and deserters from taking shelter as well.

[ryoder 1,183]

56 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Yup. 

The RVC & LSR have taken control of some parts of Belgorod.

The RVC & LSR are just conducting a "special military operation". ;-)

[wolfriverjoe 1,181]

5 hours ago, ryoder said:

The RVC & LSR are just conducting a "special military operation". ;-)

That's the really funny part.

Putler is pretty much silent on it.

He can't admit that the RVC & LSR are having success. Or that the Russian army is impotent against them. 

He's condemned the 'terrorist' drone attacks on Moscow, but the rest of the world laughed at that, given what Russia has done in Ukraine.

Anything he says or does will be 'the wrong thing'.

It's kind of along the same lines as what the Russian army can do.

If they move troops from Ukraine to Belograd to stop the insurgents, they leave parts of Ukraine vulnerable. 
If they don't, they leave Russia vulnerable.

Given their absolute shit logistics, trying to move stuff around would be just plain silly.
They CAN'T move enough supplies for their troops in Ukraine. The idea that they'd be able to move a significant amount of force out of Ukraine to defend Belograd is ridiculous.

[jakee 1,094]

12 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

Shelling civilians, shelling cities. They did it in Chechnya, did it in Ukraine and now in Belograd. They must teach those tactics in the Military Academy of the General Staff in Russia. Don't worry about targeting generals or leadership buildings. Just level the whole city.

Oh they absolutely do. It’s not just a tactic they use, it’s something that the entire structure and equipment of their military is based around, and that their entire command and control structure is designed for. It makes sense when you have a military that is so deficient in training and standards, because it’s then the easiest way of moving forwards.

 

This morning Russia blew up the biggest dam on the Dnieper river, putting all of Kherson province (that last year Russia declared as its own territory forever more) at risk of catastrophic flooding. As well as the huge number of homes that will be destroyed and people killed and displaced, it will destroy the entire agriculture and irrigation system of southern Ukraine, including the water supply to Crimea - which was something Russia had planned to restore as a result of the invasion. It sounds like the Russians had even intentionally raised the level of the lake to record levels over winter so that the flooding would be even more devastating. 
 

All this because they have no confidence they can defend against a Ukrainian counterattack in the south.

[Phil1111 826]

Joe may have been right and the Ukrainians might have stolen Canada's F-18s.

'High-level international negotiations are continuing between Australia, Ukraine, and the United States over the fate of the decommissioned fighter aircraft, in what could become this country's largest-ever single transfer of military equipment to a foreign power.

The Royal Australian Air Force's fleet of Boeing "Classic" Hornets were retired in late 2021 after almost 40 years of service, which included bombing missions in the Middle East against Islamic State."

So the jets are experienced in bombing terrorist states. Which is very useful when bombing Russians.

[JoeWeber 2,057]

On 4/18/2023 at 9:21 PM, JoeWeber said:

I honestly believe that Russia is about to get their asses kicked again. I suspect that Ukraine will attack to take Tokmak and the rail and river transport Russia needs to supply their operations. Russia needs rail and river because their truck transport is miserable; they are unable to even keep their truck tires inflated. After that it will be off to the races for another year of Russian embarrassments until winter again gives the AFU time to refit. Dasvidaniya, comrade.

Large Ukrainian offensive started in the direction of Tokmak. This may be the start.

[Phil1111 826]

Normally I would not quote the Daily Mail. But a just reported story about how Russian government sources reported destroying Leopard tanks already. was first criticized by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Was reported in several online sources who all got the story, the targets and what farm equipment was hit all wrong.

It showed ATGM missile strikes from helicopters on both combines and sprayers. Most sources misidentified them all as tractors. The Daily Mail screwed it up a little but the two strikes and the two different types of farm equipment are correct in the linked story.

At least Slim and Putin were happy about what they were told by the Russian air force generals. No word yet if the Air Farce generals had fallen out of any windows.