Is Ukraine about to have a war?
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What is the likely hood that modern militaries will create some form of Drone regiment for deployment on the modern battlefield?
They seem to have caused considerable damage in this conflict and most armies seem to have focussed on the larger drones like the Predator.
Flooding the battlefield with these little drones could be a real pain in the butt for a modern army.
They seem to have caused considerable damage in this conflict and most armies seem to have focussed on the larger drones like the Predator.
Flooding the battlefield with these little drones could be a real pain in the butt for a modern army.
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What is the likely hood that modern militaries will create some form of Drone regiment for deployment on the modern battlefield?
They seem to have caused considerable damage in this conflict and most armies seem to have focussed on the larger drones like the Predator.
Flooding the battlefield with these little drones could be a real pain in the butt for a modern army.
They seem to have caused considerable damage in this conflict and most armies seem to have focussed on the larger drones like the Predator.
Flooding the battlefield with these little drones could be a real pain in the butt for a modern army.
Drones are being used at multiple levels in the TAO. The MQ9/TB-2 type have their place, and require specialist skillsets at present. They provide reach, at a cost, and are vulnerable where there is any real air defence. The kamikazi drones give reach, but are not tactical without lots of effort in the back room. real time targeting is vulnerable to ECM and to kinetic defence weapons. The tactical quadcopters are inexpensive, and have been weaponised, this is still early in the innovation of offensive capability, but they are very disruptive when used as FO's for arty. Combined with terminal guided munitions or advanced arty fire directors, they are brutal. The tactical drones are changing what can and what can't be done in the field. The Ukrainians and even the Russians have shown that they can adapt rapidly in the tactical use, so as stated previously, their employment and defensive systems against the other teams similar systems is going to be an active field, and will have an effect to this type of old fashioned 1917 style warfare that the Russians seem bent on re-enacting. Training for integration of tactical drones is a change but not that big from prior art. Presumably there is a lot of new work happening in JTAC planning and training. A constraint about going all in with tactical drones as the answer to life and everything is that they are detectable, and can impact clandestine ops, so there is going to always be room for niche innovation in that area. L.O., low RCS, quiet drones would be worth a bit of effort, Maybe. Adding a home-on-jam with a det charge would be helpful.
Sure makes the guy in the trench have more headaches than before.
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I think drone deployment will be much different from that easy target. They'll be sent in swarms and not travel all at once, but leapfrog over each other one-at-a-time, and even take indirect routes to approach the target from different angles, maybe all at once and without warning. They might never have to get above the treetops so could remain invisible to humans. I think they'll also be able to loiter on the ground inop and silent for great stretches of time, listening for an activation command, or just waiting to "see" a potential target they can pounce on
In a way, they could become the new land mine
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
UK intelligence: Russia changes commander of its largest military district.
Commander of Russia's Central Military District Colonel General Alexander Lapin has been replaced with Major General Alexander Linkov, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Nov. 6.
Commander of Russia's Central Military District Colonel General Alexander Lapin has been replaced with Major General Alexander Linkov, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Nov. 6.
Interesting. In Western terms a 3* was replaced by a 1*. Is this because so many 3* have been either killed or fired they don't have any left ?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Reference the “cannon- fodder” complaints from a Russian troops above.
And here is the letter itself from the 155th Marine Brigade that is on everyone's lips today. The brigade was ordered to advance to Uhledar via Pavlivka. They mention 300 casualties (dead and wounded) in just 4 days, and these are marines.
And here is the letter itself from the 155th Marine Brigade that is on everyone's lips today. The brigade was ordered to advance to Uhledar via Pavlivka. They mention 300 casualties (dead and wounded) in just 4 days, and these are marines.
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Russia has blown up one dam, on the Oskil reservoir.
A news report I read said that the military are being lined up to take the blame for the failure in Ukraine: perhaps it's more convincing when the guys in front of the court are 3*.
I listened to Alexei Sayle the other night talking about three star generals and trip advisor. It was comedy but also the truth!
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Russians are blowing up ammunition in the Kherson area, as evidenced by this intercepted call between a so-called DPR fighter and his parent.
He does not understand why the Russians are doing it if they still have plans to recapture Kherson later.
He does not understand why the Russians are doing it if they still have plans to recapture Kherson later.
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I worked in telecoms and mobile phone signals are encrypted. Very difficult to intercept and decrypt. Not impossible but very difficult.
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A less likely method, if you don't have control over the mobile network, is to use Stingray devices. They can force the phone to use older encryption methods that can be defeated in real time. But you need to be quite close to the mobile phone in most cases, so I don't think that's how they do it. It would only make sense if the Russians would have control over some parts of the mobile networks.
One of the first things the rusians did when they invaded was put up stingray devices. no reason why the ukr. can't do similar. According to the wiki listing for stingray, it can carry out a man in the middle attack that includes capturing a devices encryption key.
When it comes to the Kherson 'withdrawal', I have serious misgivings and see it as a potential Trojan Horse in that it is not at all what it appears to be.
My reasoning, such as it is, is that the Russians want to destroy the UKR military and they have thus far failed to do so. They have then attacked civilians in a fit of rage founded in their own incompetence and weakness - Russia really is a piece of sh!t country with a 3rd world military capability and staggeringly incompetent leaders. Whatever they hoped to achieve by attacking civilian targets has clearly failed - the hatred of Russia and the desire to defeat them is stronger than ever amongst both UKR and it's myriad allies - Putin has quite literally destroyed Russia as it must now be crushed in insignificance for the world to be able to move on..
Russia knows that if it does not defeat the UKR military then is doomed to lose this war (Russia losing is inevitable as the West simply cannot afford any other outcome). So...how does Russia target the UKR military it has so comprehensively failed to beat so far? How about this...'withdraw' from Kherson, knowing that the people moving in will be troops, not civilians. When the city is full of UKR soldiers, then strike. The strike could be massive conventional, but I think not. Given the call for civilians to leave (people Russia considers 'theirs'), I think a massive Chemical attack might be on the cards and fots Russia's playbook - an attempt to really degrade the UKR military whilst appearing to minimize civilian casualties. This is a very over-simplified idea, but Putin is a psychoticially insane narcissist and he thinks like a 6 year old playing with toy soldiers.
We are still just dancing around handbags and waiting for the real party to start - it is absolutely inevitable* that NATO will end up in a full-scale war with Russia. NATO knows this, and is using UKR to degrade Russia as much as possible before that happens.
* If Putin is assassinated, then maybe there is hope for something other than WWIII
I wish there was a single NATO leader with a pair of balls.
My reasoning, such as it is, is that the Russians want to destroy the UKR military and they have thus far failed to do so. They have then attacked civilians in a fit of rage founded in their own incompetence and weakness - Russia really is a piece of sh!t country with a 3rd world military capability and staggeringly incompetent leaders. Whatever they hoped to achieve by attacking civilian targets has clearly failed - the hatred of Russia and the desire to defeat them is stronger than ever amongst both UKR and it's myriad allies - Putin has quite literally destroyed Russia as it must now be crushed in insignificance for the world to be able to move on..
Russia knows that if it does not defeat the UKR military then is doomed to lose this war (Russia losing is inevitable as the West simply cannot afford any other outcome). So...how does Russia target the UKR military it has so comprehensively failed to beat so far? How about this...'withdraw' from Kherson, knowing that the people moving in will be troops, not civilians. When the city is full of UKR soldiers, then strike. The strike could be massive conventional, but I think not. Given the call for civilians to leave (people Russia considers 'theirs'), I think a massive Chemical attack might be on the cards and fots Russia's playbook - an attempt to really degrade the UKR military whilst appearing to minimize civilian casualties. This is a very over-simplified idea, but Putin is a psychoticially insane narcissist and he thinks like a 6 year old playing with toy soldiers.
We are still just dancing around handbags and waiting for the real party to start - it is absolutely inevitable* that NATO will end up in a full-scale war with Russia. NATO knows this, and is using UKR to degrade Russia as much as possible before that happens.
* If Putin is assassinated, then maybe there is hope for something other than WWIII
I wish there was a single NATO leader with a pair of balls.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
(No) blood on their hands….
This is something forwarded to me about Russia's whole blood supply chain complete with translation:
"I have already written by blood. The obviousness of the problem did not cause due attention. First of all, from the side of local administrations,….
..pharmacy auto-refrigerators are no longer provided for these purposes. Blood collection points in Kherson do not work. They even bring blood from the Voronezh region. But not in the right amount. The consequences are obvious."…
This is something forwarded to me about Russia's whole blood supply chain complete with translation:
"I have already written by blood. The obviousness of the problem did not cause due attention. First of all, from the side of local administrations,….
..pharmacy auto-refrigerators are no longer provided for these purposes. Blood collection points in Kherson do not work. They even bring blood from the Voronezh region. But not in the right amount. The consequences are obvious."…
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Fulsome thanks to those here who have been working so hard to keep the rest of us appraised of the latest developments.
Right now Kherson is very much in focus, but for those not familar with the geography this link may be rather helpful:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=kherson#map
- one may zoom in to examine the city in great detail, or out to get a better feel for the wider tactical situation.
- of particular note is the flatland river-delta topography, especially the extensive wetlands over the river to the SE of the city. Clearly, freezing of these may make a big difference as to what happens next.
Aviation content: Presumably, departing forces may have left the aerodrome in the most inhospitable state possible (or tried to, if in not too much of a hurry). Whilst I am mindful of the remarkable job done by the UK Sappers in the closing stages of Operation Corporate when setting up a forward air station double-quick ( thanks Mog for flagging that up in the recent ‘40 years’ thread! ), the sudden appearance of large tracts of frozen wetland might make a big difference as to the deployment of air assets in the current conflict ... by one side or the other ... if indeed the other has significant serviceable such assets left by then.
Perhaps our much-respected Canadian colleagues, who understand such matters better than most, may care to comment further?
Right now Kherson is very much in focus, but for those not familar with the geography this link may be rather helpful:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=kherson#map
- one may zoom in to examine the city in great detail, or out to get a better feel for the wider tactical situation.
- of particular note is the flatland river-delta topography, especially the extensive wetlands over the river to the SE of the city. Clearly, freezing of these may make a big difference as to what happens next.
Aviation content: Presumably, departing forces may have left the aerodrome in the most inhospitable state possible (or tried to, if in not too much of a hurry). Whilst I am mindful of the remarkable job done by the UK Sappers in the closing stages of Operation Corporate when setting up a forward air station double-quick ( thanks Mog for flagging that up in the recent ‘40 years’ thread! ), the sudden appearance of large tracts of frozen wetland might make a big difference as to the deployment of air assets in the current conflict ... by one side or the other ... if indeed the other has significant serviceable such assets left by then.
Perhaps our much-respected Canadian colleagues, who understand such matters better than most, may care to comment further?
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