Russia traded captured stingers, javelins, and british NLAW tank weapons along with cash to buy drones from Iran. Iran will now attempt to reverse engineer and manufacture the weapons. I can track a suitcase across the planet with a $15 airtag. How hard is it to be able to add airtags ability to these weapons along with a remotely controlled small charge (EMP) that would fry the electronics or possibly detonate these weapons? They move outside of friendly territory, self destruct Heat needs to be turned up on Iran Russia hands captured British anti-tank missile to Iran in exchange for drones (msn.com) The Kremlin handed over £120 million in cash along with state-of-the-art British and US weaponry seized from Ukrainian troops to pay for the drones, a security source has claimed. The cash and weapons were flown into an airport in Tehran on a Russian military aircraft in the early hours of August 20, Sky News reported on Tuesday night. On board the Russian military cargo plane were a British NLAW anti-tank missile, a US Javelin anti-tank missile and a US Stinger anti-aircraft missile. Satellite imagery showed two Russian aircraft at Mehrabad airport at 1.17am, having flown in under the cover of darkness. The aircraft remained at the airport for around three hours before taking off. ..................................................... The source told Sky News that a fresh deal worth £175 million for another batch of drones had been agreed between Moscow and Tehran. "That means there will be another big supply of UAVs from Iran soon," the source said. A fresh bombardment will cause alarm in Ukraine which has staged an effective counter-offensive against Russian troops in recent weeks. Ukraine has used up precious supplies of Western anti-aircraft missiles to repel incoming drones amid calls for the West to supplement stocks.
hopefully it means they have ruled out blowing up the dam. if they were going to blow the dam, that would have taken out the bridges. it seems their intent is to delineate the river as the border and fight to hold it
That will work to a point, but Ukraine already has a large bridgehead over the Dniepr in the north, so they can always march south. And that’s assuming the river is some kind insurmountable obstacle. If it’s anything like the Don or the Volga, then it will freeze to the point you can move heavy equipment across in winter. Blowing the bridges gives Russia time only.
Yet we are not only not increasing pressure on Iran as you suggest, but also we continue to bend over trying to secure a new tribute deal with them, even while they are on the precipice of revolution and collaborate with the Russians. Someone tell me again why this Jake Sullivan character still has a job.
and Himars should be able to soften the crossing by eliminating any russian fortifications of substance
The key to a good wet-gap crossing is capturing the far bank simultaneously with approaching the near. If Ukraine can develop a viable air assault capability, then they are going to have a great deal more success than the Russians in managing the rivers.
It would seem that drones, Himars, and long range artillery are going to have to replace air assault options from what little I understand of their capabilities
We are probably talking about two different things. The capabilities you mentioned are fires capabilities; I was discussing a maneuver capability. One way or another, no matter how much you shape or prepare with fires, little men in green are eventually going to have to physically take and consolidate that bridgehead. There are basically three ways of doing that: frontal (going straight across a bridge itself, using boats to cross the river at the bridging point, etc), flanking (crossing the river at another point then attacking down the bank to the bridging point), or vertical envelopment (using air assault helicopters or paratroopers to capture the far side by either dropping on it or near enough to march on it). I was discussing using large formations of assault helicopters to transport infantry to LZs on or near the far bank, which unfortunately cannot be substituted with more fires.
OK uftaipan - I would like to get your feedback on the following: Ukraine has a very small airforce so, supposedly air superiority lies with the Russian forces. Russia just called up 300,000 soldiers. (Although I have heard the number could be much higher). If I am following the conflict properly Ukraine seems to still have some slight inititive in the north, Russia seems to be pushing back in the center but very very slowly with reported heavy casulties and in the south, (Kherson) it is purported Russia is ordering evacuations. I find it stunning in the extreme that a supposed "super-power" with significant industrial and manufacturing resources and huge advantages in manpower can be so un-successful or incompetent. What the hell is actually happenning? Is Russia really this impotent? Is it just recreational war on a casual basis? How can they be losing this conflict? It's mind boggling really. I keep waiting for some huge russian pincer movement to put this one away and it just hasn't happened. General winter is just around the corner now. Maybe another 2 possibly 3 weeks of the campaign season before everything goes stagnet? Russian troops and jr officers sending social media messages about the incompetence of the Generals and political leadership? Either NATO has weapon, reconnissaance and intel capabilities that are mind blowingly advanced compared to their Russian Confederation counterparts or Russia is being led by some seriously incompetent fools. I really thought it would all be overr in the spring, and here we are, approaching mid November and the ski's are supposedly pulling out of Kherson. Duggars Dad and Cape better hope that the Ski's have a "Stalingrad" level surprise in the works or this thing looks like a gigantic Ski Turd, in the middle of winter, with no toilet paper in sight..........
I mentioned way upthread that Kherson is a little warmer than where I am in coastal Maine (on average). No way I would drive a small car across a river here in most winters, needless to say a tank. And the dnipro is bigger than anything around my parts. From a random site: Also, I count two bridges between the Black sea and Zhaporizia (sp). That's ~250 miles of river.
I certainly don’t think anyone is discussing moving a modern MBT across the frozen Dnipro. But what you can do is infiltrate personnel across at unguarded portions (one simply can’t fortify the entire Left Bank; defense is focused at the bridging sites) and take the enemy on their flanks in areas where you can move tanks and other heavy equipment across. All I was saying is that winter increases options for the army on the attack.
Lots of questions there. I’ll start by addressing the assumption of air superiority. Russia does not have it. Air superiority means being able to operate in the air domain without prohibitive interference from enemy ground (meaning air defense) or air forces (meaning fighters). Now Russia was projected to have air superiority within 12-48 hours, but that was based on many assumptions of the quality of the Russian Air Force, professional planning, integrated air operations, etc, all of which appear now to have been untrue. Russia seems to still have an advantage in the air domain but mostly on their side of the lines. Russian manned aircraft very rarely venture beyond tube-artillery range of their forward lines due to the losses they’ve taken to this point. People like Duggers can polish that turd till it shines like a waxed wooden floor, but the Russian failure to control the skies nine months into this conflict is one of if not the most embarrassing aspects to the Russophiles. And you’ll notice that they will just change the subject rather than addressing it.
So your saying Russian airpower is essentially NEGATED on the Ukrainian geographical side of the conflict, primarily based on "GROUND" anti aircraft capabilities by the Ukrainians? Thats rich man ............. it's almost inconcievable. That puts Russian air capabilities right on par with............. Guatemala? Ghana?? LOL And you haven't even addressed land, sea or political capabilities. My God, three NATO armored divisions with air support could probably roll all the way to the Mongolian border in two weeks against these clowns.
I didn’t say that it was Ukrainian air defense capabilities alone. The Ukrainian Air Force is still taking to the skies and fighting, even conducting ground support sorties over Russian-occupied areas. Not as many as the Russians, of course, but if you consider that back in February the idea that any Ukrainian aircraft would still be operational was a laughable concept, that’s pretty jaw-dropping. Druggers would keep scoffing “Ghost of Ukraine” (my God, it’s like he had nothing else as a comeback …), not realizing the underlying truth of that war myth: Ukrainian aircraft were engaging and shooting down Russian aircraft in air-to-air battles; it just was not one single pilot being credited with most of the kills. Can anyone state with certainty when the last U.S. aircraft was lost to an air-to-air kill? I know it happened in Korea, maybe Vietnam, so what is that, like, 60-70 years? On your last point, I’m far less sanguine about our ability to march through Russia with contemptuous ease. The Russian people are capable of a great deal more suffering than we are. Even their ability to absorb losses in Ukraine that we would view as catastrophic is impressive. Politically, our people would never endure these kinds of casualties in an adventurous war without overthrowing our government, one way or another. Just because they don’t really believe in this war enough to make the necessary reforms to win it does not mean they would not do so when it actually comes to protecting Russia (real Russia, not fake annexed territories). That is why I am such a pain in the ass on this forum that the time to slap down Russia is now, while it is teetering, and to stop farting around waiting for Russia to figure out what it is doing.
Trump moves in Ukraine as president - 2016-2020 For those wondering "what would Trump do if still in office" Read and decide for yourselves: Ukraine and Russia were at war when Donald Trump became President. Here are among the actions that Donald Trump took: Had his National Security Advisor tell the Russian Ambassador to the US not to react to US sanctions during the Obama Administration for invading Crimea, that he would sought to get those reversed. Sought to have Russia admitted to the G-7. Publicly said that since the residents of Crimea spoke Russia, then Crimea belonged to Russia. Publicly said that NATO was obsolete. Refused to publicly say that the US would commit to honoring Article V of the NATO treaty (that says if someone like Russia attacks a member of NATO, the US would come to their aid). After newly elected President Zelenskyy asked for a public meeting with Trump at the WH (to show Russia that we had their back), he refused to meet with Zelenskyy in the WH. Without warning either the US or Ukraine, he abruptly cut off all arms supplies to Ukraine. When Congress forced him to resume and he was impeached, he then placed restrictions on the arms so the Javelins could not be used in combat. He told his aides that if elected to a second term, he wanted to withdraw from NATO. When the US Intelligence Community got copies of Russian plans for the full invasion of Ukraine, the Biden Administration shared them with NATO and Ukraine and then publicized them in an effort to help preparation for the invasion and possibly deter Putin from invading by showing his plans were revealed. This included the Russian “hit list” of individuals targeted for assassination (which included Zelenskyy and his wife and children). Putin denied all of this prior to the invasion. Trump said publicly that he believed Putin over the US Intelligence Community and he trusted Putin when he denied various accusations. During the 4 years of the Trump Administration when Ukraine and Russia were at war, Trump did not acknowledge this war or seek to stop it. When Putin did invade, Trump called him a “genius” and a “peace maker.”
Uftaipan posted: That is why I am such a pain in the ass on this forum that the time to slap down Russia is now, while it is teetering, and to stop farting around waiting for Russia to figure out what it is doing. Answer: My friend, I am 100% on board with you. While American citizens piss and moan about politics, the social rights of persons with different sexual orientations, recorded history, what to read, how to vote, energy prices, what I-Phone to purchase and if the Eagles can go unbeaten, the REAL WORLD is playing out right before our eyes, in Ukraine. All that is on the line is the future of, as George Bush 1 declared,: "The New World Order" put another way - human ideology - Totalitarian or Representative Democracy? I know where my personal attention is focused (outside of GC of course)!
