Kiev Is Burning

[Yama]

18 hours ago, Sardaukar said:

I don't think he gets that we have one of the most powerful militaries in Europe when it comes to land forces. 

Publicly 280 000 mobilized, 900 000 total reserves. 

Biggest artillery in Europe (learned that from Soviets in WW II but even before made it way better).

Well-trained military including reserves.

Plenty of experience how to fight Russians.

None and no and never has accused us to be nothing but great soldiers. 

For all our bluster about the performance of our military, if we went to war right now, we would suffer from many similar problems Russians are suffering now. The reserve has been chronically undertrained for over 30 years, ever since massive cutbacks in training due to Hornet purchase and '90s depression. The army has no experience in maneuvering large formations, as nothing larger than a brigade has been operated in exercises since the '60s, and usually it is just a skeleton of a brigade with most elements imaginary. Contrast this to pre-Winter War army, when division- or even corps sized maneuvers were commonplace in peacetime exercises.

If we had to deploy our field army, it would likely result in massive traffic jams a'la road to Kiev, as nobody at the operational level has experience in moving realistic wartime formations.

[ex2cav]

11 minutes ago, MiGG0 said:

It has nothing to do with attention. It everyting to do that FInnish (and Swedish) whole defence policy was trashed becuse they no longer can trust Russia at all. They pretty much has no other choice. From bad choices, it is least bad from their poin tof view.

The Russian-Ukrainian problem was regional. It is simply just an opinion of a random guy on the internet, but I don't think it is a trust issue. We are entering a new order and they picked a side. That is their right. 

I am just hoping a war Russo-Nato war will not happen. Those two countries joining now will only make the Russians feel more backed into a corner and will not significantly strengthen the alliance militarily. Politically yes. 

[Yama]

10 hours ago, Nobu said:

Another reason why they should be interested in weaning themselves off of the cheaper Russian systems they are depending on.

India buying Russian equipment has little to do with cost. It is a strategic necessity, for as long as their own military-industrial complex is not capable enough to provide self-sufficiency. I have explained this many times... 

[Adam_S]

 

[Yama]

10 hours ago, Nobu said:

The fact that the war and Ukraine itself have lasted long enough for artillery from the West to make its way onto the battlefield is an awful sign for the Federation.

“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”

Man, it's almost if that guy was on to something... 🤔

 

[Yama]

10 hours ago, Helmutkohl said:

https://defence-blog.com/russian-ka-52-helicopter-sufferers-excessive-vibration/

Somebody said that the vibration at the video is due to blowback of the double rotation disc during landing: probably happens at a certain angle or wind conditions, idk.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Yes, I think its wind. Im near certain I recall this happening in DCS with the KA50.

[MiGG0]

1 hour ago, ex2cav said:

The Russian-Ukrainian problem was regional. It is simply just an opinion of a random guy on the internet, but I don't think it is a trust issue. We are entering a new order and they picked a side. That is their right. 

I am just hoping a war Russo-Nato war will not happen. Those two countries joining now will only make the Russians feel more backed into a corner and will not significantly strengthen the alliance militarily. Politically yes. 

It is trust issue. That has been huge point in discussion of  Finnish media. Finland would have been happy to continue with "non allied status", but Russian agression to other sovereign state showed that Russia cannot be trusted -> so next best option is NATO.

[RETAC21]

Who is who in the Russian Generalship

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-general-officer-guide-may-11

[bojan]

2S4:

 

[Markus Becker]

18 minutes ago, bojan said:

2S4:

 

Very cool picture!

 

And a question about artillery in general.

A not MSM news site states that western artillery is a game changer because of the very long range of up to 40km and the smart shells.

Indeed? Artillery was always important to the Soviet military and range wise even the old BM-21 manages 40km. The various SPG seem to be around the 30km mark like the M109, some towed guns get to 40km. No idea what the Ukraine had in terms of guided shells before the war and how many they have been supplied by the west with western guns like M777.

Speaking of shells, another claim was the Ukraine starting to run out of ammo for its artillery. I take that with a grain of salt. With that much Soviet era artillery in inventory one has to have a healthy production capacity, especially in light of the long term planning the Ukraine did and it seems every former WP member that’s now in Nato also has Soviet era artillery systems still in use.

Top

[Mistral]

Russia will veto Finland's and Sweden's applications 🤣

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

He is only annoyed that Finland can have F35's and he cannot.

 

[MiGG0]

2 minutes ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

He is only annoyed that Finland can have F35's and he cannot.

 

It is pretty much safe to say that all NATO countries will accept Finland/Sweden eventually (it is very humiliating for NATO if they cannot get consensus). But political play will start now and Turkey probably wants those F35:s   

[TrustMe]

13 hours ago, crazyinsane105 said:

Any chance this may be taking place due to the lack of maintenance due to high usage? Ka-52 has seen export success with Egypt and China. The Egyptians wouldn't bother with the Ka series if it was this bad, they have other options. 

Egypt's Mistral class LHD were designed specifically for the Ka52. Egypt was forced to buy them because of that. 

Edited May 13, 2022 by TrustMe

[alejandro_]

17 minutes ago, TrustMe said:

Egypt's Mistral class LHD were designed specifically for the Ka52. Egypt was forced to buy them because of that. 

IIRC the only difference was a taller hangar, not an issue if you want to buy another helicopter.

[Markus Becker]

30 minutes ago, MiGG0 said:

It is pretty much safe to say that all NATO countries will accept Finland/Sweden eventually (it is very humiliating for NATO if they cannot get consensus). But political play will start now and Turkey probably wants those F35:s   

 

But is that a good way to get them? Making a threat instead of offering support? They got a lot of older but much modernized self propelled artillery for example. 

[Yama]

48 minutes ago, MiGG0 said:

It is pretty much safe to say that all NATO countries will accept Finland/Sweden eventually (it is very humiliating for NATO if they cannot get consensus). But political play will start now and Turkey probably wants those F35:s   

Well, that already happened with Macedonia. Oops sorry, meant NORTH Macedonia...

[Yama]

14 minutes ago, Markus Becker said:

But is that a good way to get them? Making a threat instead of offering support?

Silly you, of course it is! Clearly you don't 'get' Erdogan. Sultan's gotta be tough 

[TrustMe]

34 minutes ago, alejandro_ said:

IIRC the only difference was a taller hangar, not an issue if you want to buy another helicopter.

I thought it was because the lift's were specifically designed for the Ka52 even with folding chopper blades?

You have to remember that the Mistral class was designed by the French for the Russians, and they were designed for Russian equipment.

Edited May 13, 2022 by TrustMe

[Josh]

9 hours ago, crazyinsane105 said:

So GPS kits can’t be ‘attached’ to artillery rounds. The only artillery rounds that actually exist that have GPS in them are Excalibur and the Russian equivalent (posted that a while back).

I think you misinterpreted my post; the US does have GPS kits for artillery and has exported them to a half dozen others. They are fuses with small fins that make corrections to the ballistic path of an otherwise normal shell. They are not necessarily point target precise, like Excalibur, but they are also a tenth the cost and the US has tens of thousands in inventory. The the target location is set wirelessly; the A2 version of the M777 has a mechanism for this built in. The early US army tests were sub 20m CEP; The Germans apparently had CEPs  in single digits for one of their tests. It isn't quite precise enough to pick off an individual vehicle in one shot like a laser guided round or Excalibur, but it is close enough to ruin someone's day. Again, not sure if this or Excalibur were provided; I've seen nothing explicitly stating this ammunition was sent to Ukraine. But I'd be surprised if it weren't given its low cost and availability.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1156_Precision_Guidance_Kit

 

[Josh]

39 minutes ago, Markus Becker said:

 

But is that a good way to get them? Making a threat instead of offering support? They got a lot of older but much modernized self propelled artillery for example. 

I don't think The Sultan gets F35s. What he might lose if he doesn't play ball is the F16 sale.

[glenn239]

14 hours ago, Nobu said:

Another reason why they should be interested in weaning themselves off of the cheaper Russian systems they are depending on.

Right, because if there is one lesson from Ukrainian resistance in this war, it's that the Russian equipment they're using doesn't work?

[Markus Becker]

2 minutes ago, Josh said:

I don't think The Sultan gets F35s. What he might lose if he doesn't play ball is the F16 sale.

Giving the S-400 as aid to Ukraine could have been a face saving way out of the sanctions. This is asking for more bad-will and not just from the USA. 

[glenn239]

14 hours ago, Angrybk said:

I think it’s going to turn into a bit of a WW1 situation. Germans made big gains in France, were eventually beaten back, but all they had to do was chill out and defend those gains. 

Agreed.  From what I'm seeing my guess at the moment is the Russians will try to push the Ukrainians out of the Oblasts they intend to annex, then they will go over to the defensive and dig in, replacing line Russian troops with locals as is possible going forward.