the Russian AC have tandem seating for commissars to go with the pilots to point a gun in the back... WAIT: to enhance morale :E

Suggestions on Twitter that Ukraine has now reached parity with Russia in terms of number of tanks deployed.
Seems hard to believe?

Sorry looks like a media joyride with the gpro on the wingtip. Did see any signs of combat either ground or air.

tail wreckage isn't from a SU-25, but it sure looks like a SU-24M "Fencer" tail. Being high over contested airspace would get an increase in your insurance policy, but they make great bait for an ARM raid.

Caveat: assuming the images are actually related

:} incentivizing P.O. Prunovich

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.

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?

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).

LOL. He's being too polite. So basically what he's saying is that they've spent next-to-nothing (at least on the kit - they've got a couple of lovely yachts though), what they have is cr*p and is unreliable, and their dimwit conscripts can't operate it when it does work.

My understanding is that they are remotely operated, not autonomous. The identification and and selection of targets is still the responsibility of the operator, just as with the other weapons that they are using.

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

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....6e7e831e75.png

Wikis suggests the Switchblade 600 can operate in autonomous mode, albeit without elaborating exactly what that means.

And they’ll only be used in a target rich environment - so even if a HVA can’t be identified, they’ll be an tank, tanker or IFV around.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ed9af5317.jpeg

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.

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…

Which bridges? Not Mikoleiv.

The Russians don't have the troops to keep Crimea anymore, let alone take Odessa. Ukraine isn't going to bend over in front of an attack on Odessa, and that has to come from the east along the coast. Odessa is the remaining port for Ukraine, they cannot afford to let that fall into Russian hands.

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.

Is this hinting at a shift in policy, on the BBC this morning

A million THOTS screamed in terror

The platform #OnlyFans, on which users post erotic content for a paid subscription, suspended #Russian accounts.