dan/california

Always a some small hope that Putins folds, or is given a 9mm retirement present.

People didn't draw real red lines about blowing the dam, and Putin blew the dam. It is quite possible people are now overreacting in the other direction. It is also possible that this was always going to escalate to some level of real NATO involvement because Putin is is simply unable to admit he lost to Ukraine, so he is going to keep doing crazier things until NATO gets involved. His megalomania and or theory of regime survival might make it inevitable. It would be a great time for someone else in the regime who is more attached to living to remember where they keep their pistol, and their spine.

On the way to his vacation bunker in West Virginia?

Last 36 hours, people seem to be trying to get ahead of the problem, and actually warn Putin off. It is worth pointing out that this is a non-binding opinion from Congress, not an actual law that Biden would have to adhere too. Unless Biden signs something it is all just talk. Zelensky seems to have a credible intercept of Russian communications or similar. He has been very vocal about last night and today. Other countries are acting like they believe him

This is new, and appears excellent, short though.

This actually excellent, even if the AFU lost a bit of ground. Forcing one of the best units the Russians have left to attack in a place where Ukraine can truly mass fires is the way to win this war.

I don't know if the vibration issue with the Ka-52s is a real thing, but it is potentially a large issue if true. Russia is having to fly the heck out theses thing to even try an stay in this war, or at least in Southern Ukraine. If they are running into a real fatigue limit issue with the airframes that could have a material effect on this war.

They faked the guy. They literally stuck a stick down the back of his vest and told him he had been wired with an explosive. They got three POWs instead of having to shoot most of them. Not a bad days work, really

I am really curious if these worked without modification. I also assume the people who test fired the first one stood way, WAY, back. Excellent news though, hopefully there was a huge pile of them in a depot somewhere, probably because it was too expensive to get rid of them.

We seem to be a bit slow...

I think the biggest limitation is artillery ammo/pgms. They can't maintain this level of fires indefinitely, so it is a tricky calculation to decide ow much you can afford to degrade any given objective before you have to push.

Seems like a useful trick.

I think this is exactly the issue. The system they exist in so brutal it doesn't even occur to them the other side could be different. This is why some of them can't shut up when they realize they are not going to be tortured. The feeling of relief is so strong it sort of breaks their brains.

Is that hand coded in, or a trick the AI sort of "learned"?

It is almost like Tendar heard your request or something. Edit: There is not a crew there yet, either.

T I am not the least bit happy about it, but that doesn't make it wrong. In every single war fought since 1914 at least one side has resorted to mine warfare on a large scale. In the case of several insurgencies I won't name it was clearly a war winning weapon, it just makes it to expensive for the other side. In the hopefully unlikely event of a U.S. war with Iran the Iranians would lay them like there was no tomorrow, because the war would be existential for the regime, and after can be dealt with after. People at real risk of losing a war on their own territory, and being marched straight into gulags if they do, figure out the math rather quickly. Below is one of Finland's ideas to get around the land mine treaty. Because it is a very long border, with a lot of orcs on the other side of it. And as the Russians demonstrate each and every day in Ukraine, losing is not an option. Even losing territory you can probably take back in a few months is not an option. This seems to be more of a fancy claymore than a set it and forget it mine but.... Edit: More or less all of that applies to DPICM as well.

So pointless that both sides in this war are laying them as fast as they physically can. Mines have literally been one of the defining weapons of this conflict. The Ukrainians seem to find them less awful than the Russians. The Russians seem to find them cheap and useful and surely don't give a bleep about anything. Putting artillery delivered mines in lanes the other side thought were clear may the most effective tactic demonstrated in this war. The West has built up a lot of doctrine, and SOP, and so on that assumed we would never really be challenged again. I hope we are right, Ukraine I am sure would be delighted for NATO's air force to show up at any time, until then...

The anti land mine people have targeted DPICM as well. The U.S. is currently holding to a standard for dud limitation that no manufacturer can meet. So we are probably looking at some combination of tungsten balls, and the smart sub munitions like one that the German 155 deploys. The one with the parachute. I fully expect that would all be out the window in a matter of minutes if it was U.S. soldiers dying to hold back the orcs. It takes time to rearrange the manufacturing though, of course. Then there will be this huge investigation by Congress about not the best ammo for the troops and so on. It is as irritating as it is inevitable.

At least one person is currently digging the worlds largest latrine.... Also, is really that hard to put a back up camera on a tank?

So the Russians claim to have retaken it and lost it again once. I wonder how many more times they will claim to take and lose it while the actual front slowly moves south.

So imagine being in that third vehicle driving along in the back of the frame. You watch two SPGs go up like they were smacked by Thor's own hammer, and you probably need new pants. So do you call the Ukrainian surrender hotline? Start walking home and take your chances with the blocking troops? Or just curl up in hole with ALL the vodka, and hope it doesn't hurt much when the hammer comes for you?

My faith in the reporting of the bigger mil bloggers evaporated when they were all "invited" to a public photo op with Putin, and a private look at exactly what would happen to them if they didn't do as they were told. Even if the Russians did take it back we don't know how many of their reserves they had to commit to do it and what percentage of that force is now smoking wreckage. They got one mech company shot to bleep yesterday counter attacking in this direction. If the remnants of two more are currently getting picked apart in exposed positions, the possession of a village of no particular importance for a few more days is irrelevant.

Ukraine may or may not be having some other issues, but they seem to have REALLY improved their counter-battery performance. This is not the first 30+ guns eliminated day either.