dan/california

We send the Israelis several billion dollars a year, they could be encouraged if we set our minds to it. Been a lot of discussion of the 105 mm smooth bore matching up to the later Russian stuff. I think the issue for 120mm is simply that most of the available ammo is DU, and they had to get the bleep over it.

Mobile mines would be really , really bad, now how about mobile mines with IFF. They play little patriotic ditties as friendly forces drive right thru. The possibilities go on forever, and they are coming to a battlefield near you very soon. Then there are other neat tricks like not activating the field until an entire enemy column is stuck in. And on, and on. Edit: Some of this wouldn't take much more than sticking a cell phone on that nifty German off route mine the Ukrainians have been using. All but guarantee AFU/Rheimetal has team working on this.

If standard anti tank mines were not slightly to big for most UAVs they could quietly re-mining cleared lanes at night right now.

And their artillery is the only thing keeping them in this war...

Hopefully the Russian paper work is S&^*(T as usual and they have no idea where these shells are. If one a hundred rounds goes off in the breach the volume of Russian fire is going to decline nicely.

We have almost seen that when the Ukrainians used artillery delivered mines to refill the lanes on the Russians at Vueheldar. The Russians died. It won't be better because the AI controlling the minefield can set the little monsters to crawling around on their own. On the plus side it also might be able to tell them to line up for collection, so the field isn't nearly as dangerous to the side that laid it, and civilians.

Everybody here has bleeped a scenario or twenty in CM, hit quit, and memory holed the experience. The poor B#^&$##@#ds were playing for real but had exactly the same crap go wrong. The enemy hit the most important piece of equipment on the board, your very first decision in response was wrong, and it was all just bleeped. In CM you blame it on the second beer and go to bed. At least most of the crews got out, so somebody only has to write four letters, instead of twenty or thirty. Also allow me to add that a BIG part of the failure of this attack is due to NATO supplying Ukraine older kit they wouldn't go to war with. If the vehicles in that attack had APS, they drive right thru and start killing Russians.

I do hope the Chinese Finance Ministry picks up the phone the next time they have a crisis.

There is a severe confirmation bias with the ammo/stopping power discussion. The times where a reasonably well aimed bullet doesn't stop some one quickly make an extremely strong impression on the soldier involved, and spectacular click bait video. The millions, literally millions, of rounds fired in the general direction of the bad guys to suppress them, not to mention the several million more fired at innocent trees, bushes, and sheds, just to be really sure, don't. All those millions of rounds have to be manufactured, shipped, brought to the front, and then carried around. And someone on the board a while back made the point that Afghanistan is really unique case. The rifle for there is not the rifle for everywhere. I also agree with this, the infantry have a great deal of stuff to carry besides rifle ammo, and they are inventing more by the minute, and you have to carry the batteries to run it all. A bigger heavier round/rifle has a high burden of proof. There was great British study posted on the the board years ago that made a good case for a SMALLER round. I think that case has only gotten stronger since then.

Oddly you are never quite far enough away from the window when that very strange falling virus manifests itself.

We will know the Russians understand how badly it is going when everyone in this picture is mobilzed.

Breaching against even current Russian Tech is just REALLY hard.

It almost like the Ukrainians have a plan...

Mk1 eyeball map reading that entire bulge the Ukrainians are gnawing into the side of is about to go away. Haiduk do you have insight on what roads the Russians were using for their last ten or twenty kilometers of logistics in this area?

That would make all of Russia merely a Chinese province with an unfortunate dominant religion. They might want to enquire with Uighur about the fine print in that contract.

EVERYTHING has been six months later than it should have been because someone with real influence thinks Putin can be persuaded to make a rational deal to withdraw to 2/24 lines and try to move back towards some semblance of pre war relations. Even SCHOLZ has finally figured out this isn't happening. We need to finally realize that the only two limitations on what to give Ukraine should be what the factories can produce, and what the trains can haul. The Russians simply need to be smashed so badly the don't think about doing this again for ~fifty years.

ATACMS enormously increase the pressure on the Russians because it forces them to operate under threat so much further behind their lines. And a hundred of them, even at a million dollars a piece is not much more than a rounding error in what this war is costing. Additional trainig load is near zero, additional logistics load is near zero. This is some sort of strange hang up in the U.S. National Security Counsel, there simply is no other reason.

A well timed GMLRS or two might damage those railway troops morning.

Can we add the hedge hog as a specific count at the Hague? It takes less than ten minutes to go to your congresspersons website and type a paragraph in Support of ATAcMS to Ukraine. All U.S. readers, just do it! Steve already answered, this the THE simplest thing to give Ukraine logistically.

They still have the advantage of interior lines, they should use it. In fact with Storm Shadow they could probably REALLY delay the Russians adjusting forces if the were willing to use several of them. I mean the Russians could fix or reroute, but not instantly. If Ukraine decided the relocation of some large critical Russian units had to be slowed down by 48 hours that is probably possible, doubly so if they let them get started on a route before they interdicted it.

If they mange a complete breakthrough and sweep south, I would be tempted to "misread the map" and go all the way to Taganrog. Surely it was part of Ukraine at some point in the last thousand years.

If they have suckered the Russians AGAIN, and drive right down Donbas behind the Russians, and cut of the entire army I will die laughing. It will be worth it.

I have read many reports that both sides try to dig more trenches than they can really man, because that gives them some level of ability to conceal what portion of the trench they are in, at least until they have to start shooting. Most Russians have ben making bad decisions with awful information their whole lives. The vodka sales numbers re the only proof you need of that. Trying to out run a bullet, when they could have given up, is just the last one.

Trying very hard to just reconcile myself that we are not going to know much for a week or more. Then I scroll thru 27 twitter and telegram accounts.....again.

You kill the MLRS that are regenerating it.