No doubt we should be leading but think for a minute about proximity. I’d be concerned more if I were a European country. My biggest disappointment and there are many, is we have tons of equipment sitting in storage, “bone yards”, and reserve that is already out of date but of use to Ukraine.
Hilarious. France has a military industrial complex? The French make perfume and purses, not weapons of war. They are another country that struggled to spend 2% of their GDP on their own defense. The closest that France has come to having a military industrial complex was when the war broke out, they were supplying optics for tanks to Russia. Macron likes to posture. Both Ukraine and Russian troops have been using a variety of drugs for their soldiers to perform better during the war. Sometimes, the two sides sold drugs to each other unwittingly through local people in occupied territories. This is not news. It is somewhat doubtful that Afghani terrorists would need to use drugs to execute a terror attack on a defenseless concert hall. If by "journalist" you mean "liar", then Pepe Escobar is a great "journalist". Why don't you post a link for your news that all of these European troops have moved into Ukraine? Then we'll decide if you are making things up again.
France makes very good fighter jets, ship killing missiles (Exocet) great submarines and the best torpedo isn the business.
Agree with all except the “best torpedo in the business.” Lots would disagree, including some of the best minds in our Navy. Only a war in which both parties took part could prove who had the better weapon.
You’re clearly responding to someone not very well informed, but your words on the French are a bit ill informed as well. Much as we make jokes about the French, I would want them on our side in a fight against Russia and/or China. Pound for pound, they are one of the top militaries in Europe. And since coming back as a full member of NATO they have set one of the better examples of burden sharing in an alliance that doesn’t understand the concept very well.
like most trump supporters know he lost the election. they are just afraid to tell the emperor he has no robes
More Than a Soft Power: France Becomes the World’s No. 2 Arms Exporter More Than a Soft Power: France Becomes the World’s No. 2 Arms Exporter Poor chemgstor has lost every exchange with me but he keeps trying to school me. "Hilarious" indeed.
Well, let’s be fair. There’s a lot more to be afraid of with respect to Putin. What happens when you work for Trump and can’t make him see reason? You quit in frustration and maybe end up with a new nickname. When the same thing happens in Putin’s inner circle, you end up with death by tragically stuffing yourself into an industrial washing machine. “So, yes, Comrade Marshall, absolutely, those rebellious Nazi, white supremacist, ultra-Christian Little Russians are tied in with little brown Muslims to carry out terrorist attacks against Russians. It has nothing to do with our campaign of terror in Syria. How wise you are to see it,”
My buddy retired from the navy. He was commander of an attack sub. He told me stories you’d expect to see only on TV. This was way back in the 1990s. His description of how our torpedoes tracked ships (hulls), warheads, and how often he went into port for upgrades was eye opening. Every hull design of every ship, both friend and foe, was programmed into the seeker that has the capability to distinguish each ship from its signature.
Important VIPo" linked at the bottom of Pepe's tweet. ("404" means Ukraine) VIP Memo: The French Road To Nuclear War Mr. President: France is reportedly preparing to dispatch a force of some 2,000 troops — roughly a reinforced brigade built around an armored battalion and two mechanized battalions, with supporting logistical, engineering, and artillery troops attached — into Ukraine sometime in the not-so-distant future. This force is purely symbolic, inasmuch as it would have zero survivability in a modern high-intensity conflict of the scope and scale of what is transpiring in Ukraine today. It would not be deployed directly in a conflict zone, but would serve either as (1) a screening force/tripwire to stop Russia’s advance; or (2) a replacement force deployed to a non-active zone to free up Ukrainian soldiers for combat duty. The French Brigade reportedly will be supplemented by smaller units from the Baltic states. ...
I think it funny that the f16 is causing the Russians to quiver in fear. Isn’t that a 50 year old design?
Only the airframe. What makes it still a viable and threatening to Russia are all the avionics upgrades over the years. And Ukraine will get “out of date” planes.
I’m going to take a wild guess and suggest that Russia is NOT quivering in fear for the reason you suggest, that the F-16’s are flying coffins. I’m going to take another wild guess and suggest that the Kremlin may be dismayed that the West, though losing decisively, has no off-ramp and, in desperation, shows signs of escalating the conflict.
I would hardly call them "flying coffins" with a air combat record of 76-1. What is the U.S. F-16 combat record? ✅ Quick Facts: The F-16 Fighting Falcon flew for the first time 50 years ago. Its storied career includes a 76–1 air combat record. F-16s have struck an Iraqi nuclear plant, the Syrian air force, targets in Yugoslavia, the Iraqi military, and most recently Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps.Jan 29, 2024