Erwin
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Posts posted by Erwin
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V. impressive video. Surprised how clear the images are. Looks like v high def.
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Re install...?
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And another timely one on Ukraine graft:
KYIV, Ukraine—Masked Ukrainian security officers have raided properties, seized wads of cash and detained suspects in a recent crackdown on graft in the purchase of goods for the military ranging from eggs to artillery shells.
As Ukraine faces setbacks on the battlefield in the third year of Russia’s invasion, attention has turned to corruption that is corroding support for the war effort at home and abroad.
The appointment of Bezrukova follows a series of procurement scandals that erupted after Ukrainian investigative journalists revealed the Defense Ministry had purchased eggs at more than twice their market price. President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the country’s defense minister in an effort to quell a furor in Ukraine and disquiet among Western allies.
Since then, law enforcement has carried out a number of corruption-related arrests. Among the most high-profile cases is that of businessman Ihor Hrynkevych, whose companies won contracts to supply clothing and underwear to the armed forces despite previously being involved in construction.
The companies weren’t able to meet the standards outlined in the contracts, resulting in losses of more than $30 million, according to Ukrainian law enforcement. Hrynkevych was detained in December while trying to pay a $500,000 bribe to a security official. His lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment.
A separate investigation by Ukrainian law enforcement implicated senior defense ministry officials in embezzling $40 million meant to purchase artillery shells for the army.
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And here is a timely WSJ article about it all:
https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-and-china-double-down-on-defying-u-s-446f5f7f?mod=latest_headlines
Russia and China Double Down on Defying U.S.
Moscow and Beijing are pulling closer after Washington warned China to avoid strengthening Russia’s military capacity as the war in Ukraine drags on
Russia and China have pledged to deepen their growing alliance and shared opposition to what they describe as the U.S.’s attempts to dominate the world order, with Moscow again seeking to boost trade with Beijing as it looks for new ways to bypass the Western sanctions imposed for its war on Ukraine.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday after the U.S. increased the volume of warnings that China should step back from helping the Russians pursue the war against their smaller neighbor. The meeting, which followed separate talks with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also came against a backdrop of a growing tussle for influence in the global south between the West on one hand, and China and Russia and their partners on the other.
Lavrov echoed some of the language of the Cold War in his remarks following the discussions, and again criticized what he called the West’s proclivity for falling in behind Washington, and the U.S.’s attempts to get the rest of the world to follow the same line.
“There is no place for dictatorship, hegemony, neocolonial and colonial practices, which are now being applied by the United States and all the rest of the collective West unquestioningly submitting to the will of Washington,” Lavrov said.
China has officially maintained a position of neutrality over the Ukraine war, but it has remained an economic lifeline for Russia, deepening trade ties that have helped Russian President Vladimir Putin stabilize his economy despite Western sanctions.
Beijing has also sought to position itself as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, and dispatched an envoy to Moscow, Kyiv and other capitals. Its proposal last year aimed at ending the conflict was discounted by European officials who saw China as hewing too closely to Russia’s position.
Wang said China “hopes to see a cease-fire and an end to the war as soon as possible,” while Lavrov said Moscow was “grateful to our Chinese friends for their objective, balanced position, and for their willingness to play a positive role in the matter of a political and diplomatic settlement.”
During a call last week, President Biden warned Xi about U.S. concerns that Beijing is supporting Russia’s defense industry.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen repeated those concerns during a visit to China this week, telling officials that Chinese companies that aid in Russia’s military procurement “will face significant consequences.”
…a trilateral summit this week that is expected to include talks on countering China’s increasingly aggressive efforts to stake its claims to much of the South China Sea.
Chinese companies have sold microchips, jamming equipment and jet-fighter parts to Russian entities, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Chinese exports of earth moving equipment to Russia have also shot up since the start of the war, which analysts say may be aiding the construction efforts of Russian forces in Ukraine.
During a visit to China, the Treasury Secretary also raised concerns about Chinese firms and financial institutions helping provide goods to Russia that Moscow is using in its invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Florence
Trade between Russia and China grew last year by more than 26% to $240 billion.
Energy was a key component of Russian exports, and China—which doesn’t observe the Western price cap—has been a leading buyer. Last month, China received a record volume of Russian crude as Indian purchases fell over concerns about sanctions, shipping-data company Vortexa reported.
Xi and Putin declared a friendship with “no limits” between their two countries in early 2022, shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. While Beijing has sought at times to play down that declaration, it has never condemned Putin’s war, or even called it a war, instead describing it as the “Ukraine crisis.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that Lavrov’s visit to Beijing could be considered to be preparation for “upcoming contacts at the highest level,” between the two nations, but he declined to confirm whether the Kremlin leader was planning another trip to China this year.
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Yes, very nice. For some reason there are far fewer mods for CMFI than the other titles. The terrain especially seems neglected.
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I agree. It is vital that aggression by a foreign country is punished. However I don't see anything positive happening in Ukraine so long as China is basically bankrolling Russia.
FWIW: My dad was born in Ukraine, but sent to Poland cos the Russians/Soviets were massacring Ukrainians at that time and as a result of the Holodor he lost his entire family and was orphaned shortly after. My mother's family come from the Baltics and they lost family members to the Russians/Soviets and most survivors were made refugees to Finland, Sweden and the UK. One relative more recently married a Russian (didn't work out). So, I have a better than most concept of the Russia character and what the Russians are capable of.
I have also been in the USSR, then Russia, and more recently (per my first post) several of the satellite nations to see what they are thinking. My experience tells me that the only realistic plan to get a positive result in Ukraine is to first degrade China to the point that we can pressure China to pressure Russia.
The current thread on Ukraine beautifully illustrates Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer's saying, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
The other one that is pertinent: George Orwell — '...reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.'
Anyhow... am off to Africa next. See you end of May.
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Well... am off to Africa until end of May, so all I can do is hope your project works out well. I will be excited to have a better-looking CMA.
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They were probably released years ago and I don't recall where. However, I sent Bootie an ext HD with all content that had been created since 2007 a couple years ago, so he has everything.
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2 minutes ago, Holien said:
Yep, Ukraine to win just has to stay in the fight...
What game plan does Russia have to win this?
Time is on the Ukrainian side, they just have to keep fighting.
Am sorry to point out that it is the opposite. Russia already controls large swathes of Ukraine with valuable minerals (primarily needed for EV's) which with China gives them a huge longterm strategic advantage (assuming that we do not switch from EV's to a better source of power like hydrogen). All Russia has to do is sit on that land and hold out.
Meanwhile, the west has growing economic and social problems and can ill afford a longterm commitment to keep the Ukraine govt financed (currently we are paying for all the govt salaries) and the military reinforcements. As in Vietnam and Afghanistan, vast sums of aid/cash are being stolen by the Ukrainian oligarchs who are about as corrupt as the Russian ones.
What game plan does Ulraine have to win this other than the forlorn hope that Russia will self-destruct. Per my own research last year that is very unlikely to happen:
It's debatable whether we in the west are exhausting Russia and China or if they are exhausting us (depleting our weapons reserves). China is the main foe. China is akin to Nazi Germany in the 1930's with Russia playing the hapless Italians bogged down in Albania. The Ukraine war is giving China (and others) excellent training on how the west fights and what weapons systems we deploy. That is a major reason imo why we are understandably reluctant and slow to provide the best weapons to Ukraine.
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Any new mods for CMA would be wonderful.
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Will be very interested in new mods for CMA as that is such a great and underappreciated game.
However, one challenge is that "Snowball" the co that was hired to do the programming did some strange things so that mods (esp faces and IIRC uniforms) are not always compatible with the way they were done for all the other titles made by BF.
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Fun video. Shows one doesn't have to be too accurate when shooting 25 rounds/sec.
But, these rounds cost money. Anyone hazard a guess as to how many college tuition fees were used up in the video??
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I generally collect mods and scenario/campaigns etc when they are announced.
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In addition:
Crosses of Iron (2/2/15) (may be different from The Cross of Iron"?
The Battle of Tali Ihantala
The Hill
The Last Bridge
The Last Panzer
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FWIW CMFB's "Mission to Maas "also has Grilles.
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6 hours ago, thilio said:
In mission 3 you have Grille on map that you can use for indirect fire support.
It's possible Grilles can elevate their guns high enough to have a shorter range - like a mortar?
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Thanks for doing those tests. It would have been interesting to know if SPEED made a difference, and also GROUND PRESSURE - ie: lbs/sq ft. Wider tracks on (say) the T-34 should enable it to function much better than a similar weight tank with thinner tracks.
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It is likely that masses (thousands) of AI managed drones would be involved in an operation. One way to simulate masses of drones may be the way ROME TW simulated attacks by a mass of dogs or flaming pigs. ie: A mass of drones washes over the battlefield leaving a wasteland and routed units. (And we're not just talking over land. Subs could control a mass of drones for naval attacks.)
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That's what I recall as well.
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You mean the HMG's? Hadn't noticed that. But, if it's a short move - a few meters - HMG's can be moved without packing up.
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FWIW: The primary tactic that works for all CM games (unless your units are all armor) is to send several 2-man scouts ahead to spot enemy positions - especially the most dangerous: ATGM's and ATG's (and tanks of course). The best approach is to kill those asap with arty or mass fire from tanks etc. Once the ATGM's and/or ATG's are dead, then one can maneuver with more "safety" vs enemy units.
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"Ukraine lowered the age of military conscription to 25 as part of an effort to bolster its depleted armed forces after two years of fighting Russia’s invasion and facing renewed assaults. The controversial bill, which President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law on Tuesday, is the most significant overhaul of Ukraine’s war bureaucracy since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Men between 18 and 60 have been prohibited from leaving the country since the start of the war, but only those who were at least 27 were eligible to be drafted. Zelensky’s backers and some opponents said the bill had been delayed because it was unpopular.
The change comes as Ukraine’s defensive lines come under heavy pressure from massive Russian assaults. Front-line commanders say they are short of personnel and ammunition, as a supplemental aid package is stuck in Congress. Ukrainian officers say they are expecting Russia to mount a significant offensive around the start of the summer, which is aimed at expanding the nearly 20% of territory the invading forces already occupy."
This seems bizarre, as that means Ukraine is conscripting men (are women being conscripted as well?) who are likely have families, careers and other responsibilities. Usually its the 18-22 years old who get sent to the front.
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Adam, your questions are confusing. it occurs to me maybe you don't have English as your first language. Maybe post in your language and we'll try and translate.
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You should not leave out Iran vs the US as well. Iran is well-positioned to shut off our oil tankers from the Gulf.
Views on Ukraine situation from around the world
in Combat Mission Black Sea
Posted
"The Silicon Valley company Skydio sent hundreds of its best drones to Ukraine to help fight the Russians. Things didn’t go well.
Skydio’s drones flew off course and were lost, victims of Russia’s electronic warfare. The company has since gone back to the drawing board to build a new fleet.
Most small drones from U.S. startups have failed to perform in combat, dashing companies’ hopes that a badge of being battle-tested would bring the startups sales and attention. It is also bad news for the Pentagon, which needs a reliable supply of thousands of small, unmanned aircraft.
In the first war to feature small drones prominently, American companies still have no meaningful presence. Made-in-America drones tend to be expensive, glitchy and hard to repair, said drone company executives, Ukrainians on the front lines, Ukrainian government officials and former U.S. defense officials.
Absent solutions from the West, Ukraine has turned to cheaper Chinese products to fill its drone arsenal.
“The general reputation for every class of U.S. drone in Ukraine is that they don’t work as well as other systems,” Skydio Chief Executive Adam Bry said, calling his own drone “not a very successful platform on the front lines.”
Ukrainian officials have found U.S.-made drones fragile and unable to overcome Russian jamming and GPS blackout technology. At times, they couldn’t take off, complete missions or return home. American drones often fail to fly at the distances advertised or carry substantial payloads.
Small American drones for the battlefield “have been underdeveloped,” said Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Ukraine’s Come Back Alive, a charity that has supplied more than 30,000 drones to the military.
American drone company executives say they didn’t anticipate the electronic warfare in Ukraine.
The innovation cycle in this war is very short.”
Using Chinese drones
Ukraine has found ways to get tens of thousands of drones as well as drone parts from China. The military is using off-the-shelf Chinese drones, primarily from SZ DJI Technology.
Ukraine has also developed a domestic drone industry that relies on Chinese components. Ukrainian factories are churning out hundreds of thousands of small, cheap drones that can carry explosives. It also produces larger drones that can strike deep into enemy territory and reach Russian ships on the Black Sea.
Dubynskyi said Ukraine wants to test and use more U.S. drones. “Nevertheless, we are looking for cost-effective solutions,” he said.