MSBoxer

Regarding US politics. Let's all just remember that what a politician says is not always what they do. "Read my lips no new taxes" "If you like your doctor, you can keep them" This is particularly true during election season. I am not posting this to start a debate/pissing match over which party said/says/lies most. Just pointing out some examples from somewhat recent history.

My bad, I thought the explosion was from a drone/missle

So, what is the load under the parachute? Sub-munition?

This has been my thought; except I would have the "chase car" follow the truck onto the bridge and then pass the truck. Get 100 yards ahead and then once I spotted the train, wait for the truck to get into position then detonate. The trigger man could then proceed into Crimea un-scathed and continue home or to next mission. Judging by the spray and waves I would not risk using a drone.

The images I found must have been from before they installed the gravel

This video looks off. Typically track is not ballested on bridges. It is embedded directly in concrete as seen on this previous picture of the bridge https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.unian.info/society/amp-10586211-russian-occupation-forces-build-first-rail-track-on-kerch-strait-bridge-photo.html Of course this may have been done as a temporary fix, but I still have my doubts that this is from the bridge.

And he may be justified, I still have hope, maybe a fools hope that people can improve culturally give time and the right conditions.

If this is true, it gives me hope. For all of those that say that Russian culture is irredeemable, I ask If Ukraine was such a substantial part of Russia/Soviet Union just over 30 years ago, I have hopes that if there is actually a change at the top in Russia we could see a change in the overall regard for humanity across the board. This may be a simplistic view, and I have no idea if the average Ukrainian from 30+ years ago had the same views as today's Russians, but it gives me hope and there are times when hope in your fellow man is all you can ask for.

My friends from the Great White North, like to refer to the U.S. as "Canada's Basement" where they hide their simple minded cousins when polite company comes to visit. In turn I tell them that Canada is actually our 51st state and is officially known as "Northern North Dakota"

"We are not American, sorry if that causes any offence"

34 years ago when we were stationed in West Berlin, this was much less true. Of course the local population lived in a city surrounded by Soviet forces who presented a pretty convincing threat.

Unfortunately our European partners have allowed their militaries to atrophy for 3 decades, confident that the US would support them in any conflict. I believe that the war in Ukraine has been a rude awakening, forcing them to realize that there continues to be a need for a strong defense against aggressors, strong enough not only defend their own territory, but to contribute to defense of allied nation states. Now I know that Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but if European nations had built the means to defend not only themselves but also contribute to the defense of their neighbors, there would be more than enough equipment to spare for Ukraine. Every nation gets to make their own decisions on what to send, but in some cases these choices are limited by available stock as well as political considerations.

dbl post

Eh, I was more of an Oingo Boingo kind of guy. so +10, just for nostalgia

Sorry, moderately damp is my walk away point

I agree, but to my knowledge that was the first mass use of technology for aerial observation.

Much like balloons used for spotting in WW 1

Dammit! Now I need to make a call and tell Sergei to cancel the "reservation". Probably no chance I can get a refund! Thanks for nothing!

CM Black Sea selection screen Player selects Russia - You selected Russia - Are you sure??? (Y/N) - You selected Russia again - Are you really sure???????! (Y/N) - You selected Russia - You Lose - Would you like to play again? (Y/N)

Have been expecting this for awhile.

Agreed, I don't want to see them "in combat" I do hope they can be of use supplying those that are in combat.

Launching a drone and flying it to a target takes much longer than a 120mm round. Event calling in artillery takes longer. Now I know that the MBT or large gun vehicle may take a few minutes to get in position, but once on target it can fire multiple rounds much faster than either artillery or drone while correcting as needed. Also upper level support may be occupied by other fire missions. Not to mention the fact that drones and missiles can be intercepted or guidance degraded. Try that with a rifled round. Plus, in most cases 120mm don't care about openings, they make their own.

So are we talking about an armored formation similar to a carrier task force with Infantry = subs / scouting and removing threats with precision ordance drone hosts = destroyers / identifying threats and protecting larger assets gun platform = cruiser / mid range threat reduction MBT = carrier / long range threat reduction & support of other units I may have the sequencing off or we could add/combine capabilities Edit: I also forgot to add an air/drone defense unit/ could be in the destroyer class.

The tank is dead, long live the tank

From a Facebook post - for what it is worth Military aircraft And this is how they did it! The most exciting news these few days, involves the question of how the Ukrainians managed to employ American supplied AGM-88 High-speed Anti Radiation Missile (HARM) against Russian radar equipment when they don't have any Western aircraft capable of using the Air-Launched HARM which requires special avionics to be integrated into the aircraft using it. It has now been revealed that the Ukrainian Air Force managed to integrate the AGM-88 HARM onto their Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-29 Fulcrum's with the help of technicians from Raytheon. Raytheon is the American company that manufactures the AGM-88 HARM. But, the deeper question of HOW the American technicians managed to put it off? To integrate Western weaponry into a 1980's vintage Soviet era design is no walk in the park. The answer? The Americans had prior experience with the Mig-29 Fulcrum and deep technical knowledge of the aircraft that helped them to develop a way to integrate the AGM-88 HARM onto it within a short time and with apparently little effort. Back in 1997, the Americans acquired 21 units of Mig-29 Fulcrum-A, the newer Fulcrum-C and a single twin-seater Fulcrum-B conversion trainer, seen here being loaded into a USAF Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, from Moldova. The acquired aircraft were literally studied to the last bolt by the USAF's National Air and Space Intelligence Centre (NASIC) formerly and perhaps better known as the Foreign Technology Division (FTD). These early model Mig-29 Fulcrum-A and Fulcrum-C are similar, if not identical, to the models that the Ukrainian Air Force is flying today. Hence, any information that the Americans gained from the Moldovian units 25 years ago is still relevant and useful. It is this technical knowledge gained from the exploitation of enemy equipment that gives the Americans their edge.