Three independent sources report that the deputy chief of Russia's Rosgvardia (a unit of RU's interior army which has had tremendous losses in Ukraine), Gen. Roman Gavrilov has been detained by FSB. Gavrilov had also previously worked in FSO, Putin's security service.
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) March 17, 2022
***Russian - Ukraine War Tactical and Strategic Updates*** [Warning on OP]
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I have thought that also. At some level I think there is more to all of this than the simple escalation explanation. I read/heard somewhere that Ukraine has air assets they have not utilized.Quote:
All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?
So here's a question I have regarding the giving them of planes...does Ukraine have the pilots to fly these planes?Dorm 15 said:I have thought that also. At some level I think there is more to all of this than the simple escalation explanation. I read/heard somewhere that Ukraine has air assets they have not utilized.Quote:
All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?
If so, does that mean Ukraine has more pilots than it has planes?
Is that normal?
A buddy, whose mom is in Russia, tells me she told him she is starting to suspect what the Russian government is telling Russians about Ukraine “may not be entirely true because it can’t be that the whole world hates Russia and supports Nazis”. Finally.
— Bakhti Nishanov (@b_nishanov) March 16, 2022
Yes, if your enemy takes out your aircraft on a first strike. Ideally you want to get both pilots and aircraft on the ground but that is hard to do. I dont think Russia was totally successful on that score. That should have been goal #1 that and taking out communications.Tramp96 said:So here's a question I have regarding the giving them of planes...does Ukraine have the pilots to fly these planes?Dorm 15 said:I have thought that also. At some level I think there is more to all of this than the simple escalation explanation. I read/heard somewhere that Ukraine has air assets they have not utilized.Quote:
All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?
If so, does that mean Ukraine has more pilots than it has planes?
Is that normal?
Update, including Slovakian SAMs for Ukraine. TODAY
Politicians and the brass are among the last to figure out changes in warfare. See Trench attacks in WW1 and Admirals insisting BB's were the primary offensive weapon in 1940.Valtrex11 said:All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?Eliminatus said:ElKabong said:
CONFIRMED Biden to provide killer 'Switchblade Kamikaze' drones to Ukraine…
As part of a massive military aid package announced Wednesday, the Biden administration is providing Ukraine with U.S. made killer drones guided missiles that could accurately target Russian troops from miles away two congressional officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.
The White House referred to the weapons as "100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems."
There are two variants of the weapon, the Switchblade 300 and the 600, that have been sold to U.S. Special Operations Command by manufacturer AeroVironment, based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The 300 is designed for pinpoint strikes on personnel, and the larger 600 is meant to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. The Congressional officials did not have clarity on which variant would be provided to Ukraine, or whether both would be.
The Switchblades are essentially robotic smart bombs, equipped with cameras, guidance systems and explosives. They can be programmed to automatically strike targets miles away, and they can be steered around objectives until the time is right to strike. The company says the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and up to 50 miles.
They are single-use weapons, which is why they have been dubbed "kamikaze drones." But they are orders of magnitude cheaper than the Hellfire missiles fired by U.S. Reaper drones.
The Kamikaze 300 can cost as little as $6,000.
Both weapons can be set up in minutes and launched from tubes. They fly much faster than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that Ukraine has been using.
This is the new era of warfare that the US has been preparing for/ fearing.
Next step is swarms. Drone swarms between near peers are going to invalidate a lot of commonly held thoughts in regards to tactics and strategy.
From the purely objective side, this war is actually a gold mine of benefits to us in so many different areas. Aeronvirionment just got some free large scale field testing to perfect their craft...
Still Mig-29's are multi role aircraft and capable of both offense and defensive missions. And they have theater wide range. Where most drones, javilins are close in tactical weapons only so the scope is not strategic in nature.
Could also be that some of the Russkie pilots have a conscience and don't want to kill civilians so they miss their targets on purpose.GAC06 said:
A pretty clear indication that losses are getting to the Russians:Airborne MRLS.
— Petri Mäkelä (@pmakela1) March 17, 2022
But at least he gets to return to base with munitions expended and without a stinger up his tailpipe.
Abysmal morale #Russia https://t.co/dSNiJZPpMa
I wonder if this sort of wildly inaccurate use of rockets is condoned or if the pilots are doing it on their own to return to base winchester to claim they actually destroyed assigned targets.
No, then they wouldn't be lobbing them up in the air. They could just fire them anywhere towards the ground. They're lobbing them upward so they carry deeper into the cities.
aggiehawg said:Yeah releasing what essentially is a bill of lading telling the Russians what and how many we are sending is just idiotic.Charpie said:
I hope we don't know exactly how many.
It could also be I tentionallu misleading. We say we're giving 100, but 500-1,000 are sent. Part can also be based on how many armored vehicles are where and how many RU losses are needed to make them think twice etc...
ttu_85 said:Politicians and the brass are among the last to figure out changes in warfare. See Trench attacks in WW1 and Admirals insisting BB's were the primary offensive weapon in 1940.Valtrex11 said:All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?Eliminatus said:ElKabong said:
CONFIRMED Biden to provide killer 'Switchblade Kamikaze' drones to Ukraine…
As part of a massive military aid package announced Wednesday, the Biden administration is providing Ukraine with U.S. made killer drones guided missiles that could accurately target Russian troops from miles away two congressional officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.
The White House referred to the weapons as "100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems."
There are two variants of the weapon, the Switchblade 300 and the 600, that have been sold to U.S. Special Operations Command by manufacturer AeroVironment, based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The 300 is designed for pinpoint strikes on personnel, and the larger 600 is meant to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. The Congressional officials did not have clarity on which variant would be provided to Ukraine, or whether both would be.
The Switchblades are essentially robotic smart bombs, equipped with cameras, guidance systems and explosives. They can be programmed to automatically strike targets miles away, and they can be steered around objectives until the time is right to strike. The company says the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and up to 50 miles.
They are single-use weapons, which is why they have been dubbed "kamikaze drones." But they are orders of magnitude cheaper than the Hellfire missiles fired by U.S. Reaper drones.
The Kamikaze 300 can cost as little as $6,000.
Both weapons can be set up in minutes and launched from tubes. They fly much faster than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that Ukraine has been using.
This is the new era of warfare that the US has been preparing for/ fearing.
Next step is swarms. Drone swarms between near peers are going to invalidate a lot of commonly held thoughts in regards to tactics and strategy.
From the purely objective side, this war is actually a gold mine of benefits to us in so many different areas. Aeronvirionment just got some free large scale field testing to perfect their craft...
Still Mig-29's are multi role aircraft and capable of both offense and defensive missions. And they have theater wide range. Where most drones, javilins are close in tactical weapons only so the scope is not strategic in nature.
This x 1000.
These people really fail to realize how technology is rapidly changing things. Tanks and multi-million dollar jets and other expensive hardware will rapidly go out of vogue.
Imagine the damage 1000 drone pilots could do flying 10 sorties each of Switchblades in support of heavily armed infantry? That's 10k hits on target all for the price of less than 1 fighter or MBT. Then scale that up...
Imagine those same 1000 drones attacking a carrier at sea or another drone flying 10'about the water with a tactical warhead.javajaws said:ttu_85 said:Politicians and the brass are among the last to figure out changes in warfare. See Trench attacks in WW1 and Admirals insisting BB's were the primary offensive weapon in 1940.Valtrex11 said:All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?Eliminatus said:ElKabong said:
CONFIRMED Biden to provide killer 'Switchblade Kamikaze' drones to Ukraine…
As part of a massive military aid package announced Wednesday, the Biden administration is providing Ukraine with U.S. made killer drones guided missiles that could accurately target Russian troops from miles away two congressional officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.
The White House referred to the weapons as "100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems."
There are two variants of the weapon, the Switchblade 300 and the 600, that have been sold to U.S. Special Operations Command by manufacturer AeroVironment, based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The 300 is designed for pinpoint strikes on personnel, and the larger 600 is meant to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. The Congressional officials did not have clarity on which variant would be provided to Ukraine, or whether both would be.
The Switchblades are essentially robotic smart bombs, equipped with cameras, guidance systems and explosives. They can be programmed to automatically strike targets miles away, and they can be steered around objectives until the time is right to strike. The company says the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and up to 50 miles.
They are single-use weapons, which is why they have been dubbed "kamikaze drones." But they are orders of magnitude cheaper than the Hellfire missiles fired by U.S. Reaper drones.
The Kamikaze 300 can cost as little as $6,000.
Both weapons can be set up in minutes and launched from tubes. They fly much faster than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that Ukraine has been using.
This is the new era of warfare that the US has been preparing for/ fearing.
Next step is swarms. Drone swarms between near peers are going to invalidate a lot of commonly held thoughts in regards to tactics and strategy.
From the purely objective side, this war is actually a gold mine of benefits to us in so many different areas. Aeronvirionment just got some free large scale field testing to perfect their craft...
Still Mig-29's are multi role aircraft and capable of both offense and defensive missions. And they have theater wide range. Where most drones, javilins are close in tactical weapons only so the scope is not strategic in nature.
This x 1000.
These people really fail to realize how technology is rapidly changing things. Tanks and multi-million dollar jets and other expensive hardware will rapidly go out of vogue.
Imagine the damage 1000 drone pilots could do flying 10 sorties each of Switchblades in support of heavily armed infantry? That's 10k hits on target all for the price of less than 1 fighter or MBT. Then scale that up..
Still need infantry but large groups are sitting ducks.
Yep everything is swinging to the defense again. We are beginning to deploy light speed DEWs- Directed energy weapons. See it, shoot it, kill it. THEN give it 10 15 more years when serious space based weapons can pop defensive systems from orbit. Then offence is cool again. Its a never ending game that began in 5000 BCjavajaws said:ttu_85 said:Politicians and the brass are among the last to figure out changes in warfare. See Trench attacks in WW1 and Admirals insisting BB's were the primary offensive weapon in 1940.Valtrex11 said:All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?Eliminatus said:ElKabong said:
CONFIRMED Biden to provide killer 'Switchblade Kamikaze' drones to Ukraine…
As part of a massive military aid package announced Wednesday, the Biden administration is providing Ukraine with U.S. made killer drones guided missiles that could accurately target Russian troops from miles away two congressional officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.
The White House referred to the weapons as "100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems."
There are two variants of the weapon, the Switchblade 300 and the 600, that have been sold to U.S. Special Operations Command by manufacturer AeroVironment, based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The 300 is designed for pinpoint strikes on personnel, and the larger 600 is meant to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. The Congressional officials did not have clarity on which variant would be provided to Ukraine, or whether both would be.
The Switchblades are essentially robotic smart bombs, equipped with cameras, guidance systems and explosives. They can be programmed to automatically strike targets miles away, and they can be steered around objectives until the time is right to strike. The company says the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and up to 50 miles.
They are single-use weapons, which is why they have been dubbed "kamikaze drones." But they are orders of magnitude cheaper than the Hellfire missiles fired by U.S. Reaper drones.
The Kamikaze 300 can cost as little as $6,000.
Both weapons can be set up in minutes and launched from tubes. They fly much faster than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that Ukraine has been using.
This is the new era of warfare that the US has been preparing for/ fearing.
Next step is swarms. Drone swarms between near peers are going to invalidate a lot of commonly held thoughts in regards to tactics and strategy.
From the purely objective side, this war is actually a gold mine of benefits to us in so many different areas. Aeronvirionment just got some free large scale field testing to perfect their craft...
Still Mig-29's are multi role aircraft and capable of both offense and defensive missions. And they have theater wide range. Where most drones, javilins are close in tactical weapons only so the scope is not strategic in nature.
This x 1000.
These people really fail to realize how technology is rapidly changing things. Tanks and multi-million dollar jets and other expensive hardware will rapidly go out of vogue.
Imagine the damage 1000 drone pilots could do flying 10 sorties each of Switchblades in support of heavily armed infantry? That's 10k hits on target all for the price of less than 1 fighter or MBT. Then scale that up...
This effort to keep space from becoming militarized is a joke.
Squadron7 said:VaultingChemist said:This is such a wild inversion of roles from the previous rounds of fighting. In 2016, the GRU hacked an artillery calculator app to snag location data on Ukrainian troops trying to do targeting math. Now Russian generals are getting smoked by Ukrainians eavesdropping on them. pic.twitter.com/KgVGv25XuV
— Adam Rawnsley (@arawnsley) March 17, 2022
I thought that the Ukes would do this with the help of U.S. intel.
Let's see....that's two American military officials that need to STFU.
I'm not so sure though.
Logically, we know that radio direction finding is a known field. Everyone knows this. Since at least the 1930's. There is even a dedicated field of science to it.
Russia did not learn anything new from the two officials I promise.
What they did learn is confirmation that the Ukes HAVE done it. And it is a matter of scale. Would you rather knock off a couple more generals or stop all of them from communicating on the front lines out of fear. Reports say their secret squirrel comms equipment hasn't been working since the start of this war and open comms is all they have on the ground really.
I would personally rather put more pressure on the Russians in Ukraine. Having them doubt their most reliable means of communication across the nation would pay much more dividend than a few dead generals I think. Of which I assume your typical Russki rifleman has no idea about anyways.
Just my thoughts on why this may not have been so bad and maybe even allotted for. Or perhaps the two officials don't know how to shut the **** up either after all. We have also seen that....
ETA: I don't know where I got senators from. Military officials instead.
China state media?? Xi may not be as tight with Putin as Putin thinks.....
Chinese state media. https://t.co/RMS5CH19Ky
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) March 17, 2022
They're hedging still playing both sides imo.
China will end up on whatever side benefits them most.
China will end up on whatever side benefits them most.
ThisATX_AG_08 said:
They're hedging still playing both sides imo
Not good. Izyum is a major strategic city.
Russia has taken control of the Ukrainian town of Izyum, south of Kharkiv, in an effort to cut off 🇺🇦 troops in the east: senior U.S. defense official.
— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) March 17, 2022
Video : Ukrainian Humvee machine gunner engaging with Russian troops somewhere in Ukraine.
— BlueSauron👁️ (@Blue_Sauron) March 17, 2022
Via @herooftheday10 pic.twitter.com/gN2zhbgZ3n
Based on precedent, I suspect it won't stay in Russian hands...ATX_AG_08 said:
Not good. Izyum is a major strategic city.Russia has taken control of the Ukrainian town of Izyum, south of Kharkiv, in an effort to cut off 🇺🇦 troops in the east: senior U.S. defense official.
— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) March 17, 2022
The Ukes seem to always be able to take the big stuff back with well-planned counteroffensives...
It doesn't matter if WE don't see the differentiation, Putin does.
Regardless, it is comical how inept the Russian military is. Russia invaded 3 weeks ago and the US, UK, Turkey and others are still supplying offensive and defensive weapons to Ukraine that are being deployed in the field.
If the roles were reversed and the U.S. invaded Ukraine and Russia was seeking to provide the same assistance to Ukraine, they would have about a 48 hour window to do so after the invasion was launched, after that just about 9 out of 10 shipments would be targeted and destroyed immediately when it landed or crossed the border. Or it would be so cumbersome to get them into the country bit by bit on foot through isolated and desolate areas it would not even help.
It's not like the U.S. did some unforeseen crazy thing in the gulf war where we started with a 48-72 hour air blitz, knocked out the opposition air force and as much air defense as possible, severely damaged all command and control, cut off escape routes, took out targeted infrastructure, etc. THEN proceeded with a ground attack.
The Russian air force is still MIA with their pretty but not overly sophisticated planes, there is no coordination between ground and air units, attack helicopters and armour being sent in haphazard and getting taken out piecemeal, etc. That Ukraine still has ANY air capability and holds any strategically important infrastructure show the level of amateurism by Russia.
Regardless, it is comical how inept the Russian military is. Russia invaded 3 weeks ago and the US, UK, Turkey and others are still supplying offensive and defensive weapons to Ukraine that are being deployed in the field.
If the roles were reversed and the U.S. invaded Ukraine and Russia was seeking to provide the same assistance to Ukraine, they would have about a 48 hour window to do so after the invasion was launched, after that just about 9 out of 10 shipments would be targeted and destroyed immediately when it landed or crossed the border. Or it would be so cumbersome to get them into the country bit by bit on foot through isolated and desolate areas it would not even help.
It's not like the U.S. did some unforeseen crazy thing in the gulf war where we started with a 48-72 hour air blitz, knocked out the opposition air force and as much air defense as possible, severely damaged all command and control, cut off escape routes, took out targeted infrastructure, etc. THEN proceeded with a ground attack.
The Russian air force is still MIA with their pretty but not overly sophisticated planes, there is no coordination between ground and air units, attack helicopters and armour being sent in haphazard and getting taken out piecemeal, etc. That Ukraine still has ANY air capability and holds any strategically important infrastructure show the level of amateurism by Russia.
Polaris75 said:Imagine those same 1000 drones attacking a carrier at sea or another drone flying 10'about the water with a tactical warhead.javajaws said:ttu_85 said:Politicians and the brass are among the last to figure out changes in warfare. See Trench attacks in WW1 and Admirals insisting BB's were the primary offensive weapon in 1940.Valtrex11 said:All of this lethal aide we are giving the UKE how does giving them planes all of a sudden an escalation?Eliminatus said:ElKabong said:
CONFIRMED Biden to provide killer 'Switchblade Kamikaze' drones to Ukraine…
As part of a massive military aid package announced Wednesday, the Biden administration is providing Ukraine with U.S. made killer drones guided missiles that could accurately target Russian troops from miles away two congressional officials briefed on the matter told NBC News.
The White House referred to the weapons as "100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems."
There are two variants of the weapon, the Switchblade 300 and the 600, that have been sold to U.S. Special Operations Command by manufacturer AeroVironment, based in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The 300 is designed for pinpoint strikes on personnel, and the larger 600 is meant to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. The Congressional officials did not have clarity on which variant would be provided to Ukraine, or whether both would be.
The Switchblades are essentially robotic smart bombs, equipped with cameras, guidance systems and explosives. They can be programmed to automatically strike targets miles away, and they can be steered around objectives until the time is right to strike. The company says the 600 can fly for 40 minutes and up to 50 miles.
They are single-use weapons, which is why they have been dubbed "kamikaze drones." But they are orders of magnitude cheaper than the Hellfire missiles fired by U.S. Reaper drones.
The Kamikaze 300 can cost as little as $6,000.
Both weapons can be set up in minutes and launched from tubes. They fly much faster than the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones that Ukraine has been using.
This is the new era of warfare that the US has been preparing for/ fearing.
Next step is swarms. Drone swarms between near peers are going to invalidate a lot of commonly held thoughts in regards to tactics and strategy.
From the purely objective side, this war is actually a gold mine of benefits to us in so many different areas. Aeronvirionment just got some free large scale field testing to perfect their craft...
Still Mig-29's are multi role aircraft and capable of both offense and defensive missions. And they have theater wide range. Where most drones, javilins are close in tactical weapons only so the scope is not strategic in nature.
This x 1000.
These people really fail to realize how technology is rapidly changing things. Tanks and multi-million dollar jets and other expensive hardware will rapidly go out of vogue.
Imagine the damage 1000 drone pilots could do flying 10 sorties each of Switchblades in support of heavily armed infantry? That's 10k hits on target all for the price of less than 1 fighter or MBT. Then scale that up..
Still need infantry but large groups are sitting ducks.
This thing seems pretty good at knocking out drone swarms
Yeah you can imagine a next gen switchblade able to fly 200 miles weighing oh 150 lbs. (Current 600 is 50 mile range at 120 lbs.) Lets say you take a 20% weight for carrying containers and put them on a B-52 you could release 350 or so of these at once. The damage done to a BTG with one strike like that...
Uzbekistan’s foreign minister said it won’t recognize the so called LNR and DNR, fully supports Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Also that Uzbekistan will provide a humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This is massive.
— Bakhti Nishanov (@b_nishanov) March 17, 2022
Doesn't sound good for Russia.
Russia warns United States: we have the might to put you in your place https://t.co/VutdyLxvdS pic.twitter.com/OvmUvB2UuH
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 17, 2022
If you think Ukrainian farmers are formidable......
Secretary Blinken says the US is concerned that China is considering "directly assisting" Russia with more military equipment to use in Ukraine. President Biden will speak with President Xi tomorrow to "make clear" the US will impose costs if China does.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 17, 2022
SPSAg05 said:Russia warns United States: we have the might to put you in your place https://t.co/VutdyLxvdS pic.twitter.com/OvmUvB2UuH
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 17, 2022
If you think Ukrainian farmers are formidable......
Ditto.
There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the later ignorance. Hippocrates
But is it really "massive"?Captain Positivity said:Uzbekistan’s foreign minister said it won’t recognize the so called LNR and DNR, fully supports Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Also that Uzbekistan will provide a humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This is massive.
— Bakhti Nishanov (@b_nishanov) March 17, 2022
Doesn't sound good for Russia.
They are a former Soviet Republic and a Russian ally.
The movement of these Russian warships so close to Japan’s islands is unusual but Japan can’t confirm they are bound for Ukraine https://t.co/m5eIpfFIB8
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) March 17, 2022
As I said; https://t.co/Zd1rCrv8Y0
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 17, 2022
No, I get that. But based on their sphere of influence, not really sure I would characterize it as "massive" as the author of the tweet did.Captain Positivity said:
They are a former Soviet Republic and a Russian ally.
A US volunteer serving on the Kyiv front sent me this pic today.
— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) March 17, 2022
His update:
‘The front is active, all these small villages east of Boryspil and Brovary are the front. There is artillery and mortar fire on positions followed by infantry pushed to clear villages by both sides.’ pic.twitter.com/VPabDrcn00
With the logistical problems they are having, how the hell would they get there?Rossticus said:As I said; https://t.co/Zd1rCrv8Y0
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) March 17, 2022
Today, unfortunately, many Americans have good reason to fear that they will be victimized if they are unable to protect themselves. And today, no less than in 1791, the Second Amendment guarantees their right to do so. - Justice Samuel Alito 2022
SPSAg05 said:Russia warns United States: we have the might to put you in your place https://t.co/VutdyLxvdS pic.twitter.com/OvmUvB2UuH
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 17, 2022
If you think Ukrainian farmers are formidable......
From what I'm seeing out of Russia, Ukrainian and Texan farmers can deal with Russia alone.
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