OldSarge

Thanks! That is very useful information! IIRC, the power plant on the T-64 has always been a pain point even in its heyday.

So there are operational losses to be considered? Due to lack of spare parts? Or maintenance crews and adequate facilities? Or a mix of all of the above? It isn't too surprising, these machines likely have a lot of tough usage hours on them. I would expect some priority being given to keeping them running and fully functional though. If that isn't the case it is fairly telling.

On this side of the pond, the U.S. Senate has approved (95-1) the resolution supporting Finland's and Sweden's decision to join NATO. The next step will be for President Biden's signature and the paperwork getting sent to NATO. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3586658-senate-ratifies-accession-of-sweden-and-finland-to-nato/ IIRC, that makes it 20 down 10 more to go.

It is always easy to begin a war, but very difficult to stop one. -- Gaius Sallustius Crispus I see your Machiavelli and raise you Sallust.

That sounds like a completely reasonable way to get new recruits up to snuff. Getting them up to the front for a few weeks, getting schooled by the veterans who've been there and are still alive to talk about it; the important stuff you need to know that doesn't come from a book, what to do, what not to do and how to stay alive. I can't think of a better way of quickly leveling up a bunch of green troops. How about the officers and NCOs? Are the recruits under inexperienced leaders? Or is there a cadre of experienced leadership that can keep their wits about them when things get hot and give the new troops a sense of confidence?

Its that time of the week again, another Perun video is out. Timestamps: 00:00 -- Opening words 01:33 -- What am I covering? 02:46 -- SPONSOR: GROUND NEWS 04:20 -- What's in a defence budget 05:56 -- People Costs 07:03 -- System Costs 09:04 -- System Sourcing 09:36 -- Example 1: Bring it in 12:29 -- Example 2: Domestic production 14:58 -- The make or buy decision 16:49 -- The hard decisions 17:58 -- Foreign Import 19:01 -- Kit Assembly 20:28 -- Licensed/local production 22:22 -- Domestic productions 23:07 -- Why not indigenise 23:28 -- Barriers to domestic production 23:56 -- Complexity and cost of entry 27:03 -- Indigenous fighter programs 29:16 -- Manufacturing scale 31:50 -- Development risks 33:59 -- Competitive advantage 36:55 -- Case Study: The US advantage 37:21 -- Dominant consumer & producer 39:59 -- Production costs 41:13 -- Scale 43:17 -- Learning curves 45:03 -- Risk mitigation 46:54 -- Accumulated advantage 49:40 -- American arms ecosystem 52:42 -- A tale of two aircrafts 55:26 -- A question for another time… 55:57 -- Conclusion 57:13 -- Channel update

Has there been any indication which version these will be, the NASAMS-2 using the AIM-120 (30lm range) or the NASAMS-3 using the AMRAM-ER (50 km range)? The usual sources aren't providing much in the way of specifics.

I haven't seen this interview with LTG (ret) Hertling posted here yet. No surprises, just more eyes waiting to see what UA does in Kherson.

"Loitering munitions" please, we don't want to upset the civilians.

Its that time of the week again and another relevant topic for conversation is available from Perun.

The_Capt defined his terminology in his post way, way, back in April. Hard to keep up with all of the excellent information in this thread!

Finally got a timeout to be able to watch it. Excellent presentation and a great job!

It just popped up on my YT feed, can't watch it ATM but looking forward to it. Thanks

The US Army has been experimenting with a hybrid Bradley for some time, we'll have to see if they decide to go with it in FY23. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2022/04/27/us-army-to-choose-whether-itll-pursue-a-hybrid-bradley-vehicle-in-fy23/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dfn-rss-zap

Another Perun video is now up and relevant to the current discussion.

The one exception to the 8 year term is in the event of a major conflict, then service contracts can be extended for the duration of the conflict under a "Stop Loss" mandate, it is buried in the fine print. That is exceedingly rare and would probably be only selectively applied based upon MOS or rank.

I'm a bit surprised that SI units aren't fully embraced and written into every DoD/MoD contract. It makes everything so much easier and eliminates embarrassing 'Oops' moments. But how to tell the 'Pointy Hair' ones that.

Interesting! I was wondering if that was going to end up being an issue. I have a re-branded Holden Monaro, fine car, but an international mix of parts. The drive-train uses good old SAE and everything else is metric. Always have to keep a proper mix of the tools in the go bag. For want of a nail (and the right tools)...

Different redlegs, these guys are the good guys. Its an old reference to US field artillery because their early 19th century uniform included scarlet piping on the trousers.

I haven't seen this posted here, an RFE/RL crew out with some UA red legs trying out their new equipment.

Grab your favorite beverage! Another Perun video has dropped!

Death by a thousand paper cuts works pretty well, while not risking the majority of the attacker's forces. As long as the UA preserves its core forces it can play 'Rope-A-Dope' for a very long time.

The UK/US, and don't forget Canada,Australia and New Zealand, most likely have more ISR assets directly employed watching the situation than either France or Germany. I wouldn't be surprised if they knew what Vlad had for dinner.

This is what I have on them. Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Vladimir Region Major General Vasily Kukushkin Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Altai Territory, Major General Alexander Laas Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Yaroslavl Region, Major General Andrey Lipilin Chief of the Operational Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Major General Alexander Udovenko Deputy Head of the Department for Logistics and Medical Support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Major General Yuri Instrankin

For the most part agencies run autonomously once they receive their funding. with competent leadership at agency level there is little need for the upper politicos to become involved in day to day affairs unless something becomes 'Breaking News'.