Is Ukraine about to have a war?
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/0...raine-00026970
Mystery drone: How the Air Force fast-tracked a new weapon for Ukraine
…..The Phoenix Ghost “is a different type of aircraft, it’s a one-way aircraft that is effective against medium armored ground targets,” said retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and member of the Aevex board.
The drone can take off vertically, fly for six-plus hours searching for or tracking a target, and operate at night using its infrared sensors, Deptula said. Phoenix Ghost has a longer loitering capability than the Switchblade, which can fly for less than an hour, he said.
Mystery drone: How the Air Force fast-tracked a new weapon for Ukraine
…..The Phoenix Ghost “is a different type of aircraft, it’s a one-way aircraft that is effective against medium armored ground targets,” said retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and member of the Aevex board.
The drone can take off vertically, fly for six-plus hours searching for or tracking a target, and operate at night using its infrared sensors, Deptula said. Phoenix Ghost has a longer loitering capability than the Switchblade, which can fly for less than an hour, he said.
I also read that Switchblade will simply fall to the ground if it doesn't find a target i.e. doesn't self-destruct or attempt to return to the launch point for re-use, which I believe the likes of Harop do (a much bigger and more expensive system, admittedly).
“We’re learning a lot what Russia has been investing their money in, the sophistication and the reliability of their equipment, and.. their ability to execute that mission in a synchronized fashion,” he said.
Weapons like these sound all well and good, but how would/could they differentiate between say a Russian grad launcher and Ukrainian grad launcher? Can they be geofenced so that they only search a specified area, and woe betide any blue forces which stray into this area?
Vlad seems to be having some need of OH&S work on fire safety.
1. First he sets fire to RFS Ronson, which is untidy, and ends up with a scum ring around the bath that is the Black Sea. Untidy.
2. Then his dudes in Tver bunsen burn the shed down that was the aerospace R&D facility. Adding more CO2 emissions and soot to the NW of Moscow.
3. Then someone drops their cigarette into their Vodka at Russia's biggest chemical plant, the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant self-immolated.
Is it rat season? Are the rats around the Kremmin getting hungry and chewing on tasty electrical wiring? Perhaps, a good OH&S audit is in order, I suggest ISO18001:2007 or ISO45001:2018. It may be that the Kremmin is still using the ISO 18001:1812 "overture" version which is about 2 centuries out of date, like most fire extinguishers in Russia, and most concepts of civilisation.
Never mind, as long as Russia is setting fire to itself, it at least shares some irritation about on the home front, much as Putin has to innocent people of Ukraine.
Drinking and smoking is bad, Don't smoke in bed. Don't invade your neighbor's turf. If these concepts are too complex to comprehend, are there any adults available to do an intervention session?
SAFETY ALERT: STOP INVADING YOUR NEIGHBORS
1. First he sets fire to RFS Ronson, which is untidy, and ends up with a scum ring around the bath that is the Black Sea. Untidy.
2. Then his dudes in Tver bunsen burn the shed down that was the aerospace R&D facility. Adding more CO2 emissions and soot to the NW of Moscow.
3. Then someone drops their cigarette into their Vodka at Russia's biggest chemical plant, the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant self-immolated.
Is it rat season? Are the rats around the Kremmin getting hungry and chewing on tasty electrical wiring? Perhaps, a good OH&S audit is in order, I suggest ISO18001:2007 or ISO45001:2018. It may be that the Kremmin is still using the ISO 18001:1812 "overture" version which is about 2 centuries out of date, like most fire extinguishers in Russia, and most concepts of civilisation.
Never mind, as long as Russia is setting fire to itself, it at least shares some irritation about on the home front, much as Putin has to innocent people of Ukraine.
Drinking and smoking is bad, Don't smoke in bed. Don't invade your neighbor's turf. If these concepts are too complex to comprehend, are there any adults available to do an intervention session?
SAFETY ALERT: STOP INVADING YOUR NEIGHBORS
Wikis suggests the Switchblade 600 can operate in autonomous mode, albeit without elaborating exactly what that means.
If the kit is the same on both sides and no Z is visible, then go back to basics. Which way is it pointing? At the good guys equals bad and vice versa.
Looks busy this morning with Swedish Gulfstream up and down Poland's eastern border, USAF Rivet Joint and NATO Sentry both on Moldova's western border, tankers on station as usual.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
From a UKR source.
Also code red for Odessa. But I don’t think thry have the troops to get to Odessa, though they currently hold the bridges to get their.
Taking Odessa would solve their supply line problems - but taking it could make Mariupol look like a cakewalk…
The Russian war’s new “official” goals:
.
1. Full control of Donbas
2. A land connection between Russia and Crimea
3. Full control of Southern Ukraine and a land access to the Transnistria (where “Russian-speaking population is being oppressed”)
Code red for Moldova 🚨
.
1. Full control of Donbas
2. A land connection between Russia and Crimea
3. Full control of Southern Ukraine and a land access to the Transnistria (where “Russian-speaking population is being oppressed”)
Code red for Moldova 🚨
Taking Odessa would solve their supply line problems - but taking it could make Mariupol look like a cakewalk…
The Russians may retain part of Donbas, but their actions so far don't get high marks for effectiveness. They are pretty good at destroying their own troops, and they are well versed in killing civilians.
Some are convinced his motto is “It’s now or never” and with the continued blessing of Patriarch Killer he will push across regardless to join up with Moldova. That might explain the fresh red activity at the western tip of the Russian land grab, even as all eyes are on the Donbas.
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Is this hinting at a shift in policy, on the BBC this morning
He pays tribute to the UK diplomats who remained elsewhere in the region.
"The UK and our allies will not watch passively as Vladimir Putin continues this onslaught," he says.
West cannot watch passively as Putin's 'onslaught' continues - Johnson
Johnson tells the news conference in New Delhi that the "extraordinary fortitude and success" of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the country's people in resisting Russia's forces means that the UK is able to make the move.He pays tribute to the UK diplomats who remained elsewhere in the region.
"The UK and our allies will not watch passively as Vladimir Putin continues this onslaught," he says.
The Russian war’s new “official” goals:
.
1. Full control of Donbas
2. A land connection between Russia and Crimea
3. Full control of Southern Ukraine and a land access to the Transnistria (where “Russian-speaking population is being oppressed”)
.
1. Full control of Donbas
2. A land connection between Russia and Crimea
3. Full control of Southern Ukraine and a land access to the Transnistria (where “Russian-speaking population is being oppressed”)
General consensus is that Russia's latest statement is wishful thinking in the extreme, primarily for domestic consumption. Also a view that it is intended to leave the door open for future action is they fail to achieve these aims in the next weeks and months (as if Ukraine is just going to stand by and let them settle, esp given the veritable tsumani of military aid now heading their way).
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Erkki Tuomioja the Deputy-Chairmen of the Finnish Foreign Affairs Committee reportedly told the Swedish Parliament today that Finland will Submit its Proposal to join NATO in the next 2 weeks.
My comment wasn't about Russian multi-crew rationale, or even to support that the aircraft in question was a Su-25, but rather just to point out that two parachutes don't rule out a Frogfoot.