Russian special military operation in Ukraine #42

Just sounds like a way to throw away a lot of lives, gain a few miles, maybe a settlement or two and theb wind up on the losing end of a Russian counterstroke

That's right. But all that matters to them is that they can make some propaganda win out of it. So that they can keep drumming up interest in the war , so that they can do it all over again.

Just sounds like a way to throw away a lot of lives, gain a few miles, maybe a settlement or two and theb wind up on the losing end of a Russian counterstroke

I think one of the main reasons why Ukrainians still believe that a so-called counteroffensive will be successful is because they were able to take back areas previously liberated by the Russians. I understand the difficulty/ risks of establishing logistic routes in Kherson across the river, but perhaps Russia should take back areas that have been re-occupied by Ukraine in the Kharkov direction. If Russia is able to reverse territorial gains by Ukraine, it will serve as a big blow to Ukrainian morale.

GarryB wrote:

The main weakness of the Su-34 is the lack of MAWS.

MiG-21s have a Missile Approach and Warning system...

You are thinking about RWR which is radio frequency receiver and does nothing about non-radar guided missiles.
MAWS in its core is an IR/UV suite which can detect physical objects around the craft.

RWR is quite limited. It "works" best against active missiles because it knows the heading and it can presume the distance via signal strength, but missile going active acquiring the target is not the situation you want to find yourself in. In case of semi-active missile, it will not show the bearing to the missile but to the radar guiding it. In case of passive missile it's dead as in that F-18 guy that got bonked with R-40TD

While IR MAWS is not something that modern, the UV part seems most interesting because it can detect emissions from the heated aerodynamic surfaces of the missile. So you don't need to see the engine aspect to detect the missile.

This is all cool for choppers but idk about effectiveness in the real 21st century battlefield. Choppers operate over frontlines, as support, you can be sure there'll be missiles flying at them. But strike fighters? Ensuring that they're out of range of anything that can fire at them is the preferred option.

ECM/ECCM is also one of the highly overrated things to put on a (strike)fighter. If it has to use it it's either used against some goatfuckers WW2 style radar controlled AA gun, or its already dead. You want fleet to have central ECM from ground, airborne and satellite assets.

So anything that Su-34 does or does not have is not as relevant as pattern of tactical usage inside a greater air power strategy. Paper comparison of fighters is useless because they operate just as a piece of framework. If Su-34 had greater than expected losses, then it's down to planners, and not to designers and engineers, certainly not the ones from mid-80s when the design started.

The small-class UAVs and bombers joint attack method engaging the enemy AD systems from the article published in VKSTO (Воздушно-космические силы. Теория и практика), September 2021... very actual today and in the future (excellent publication but very hard to access now).

Mike Mihailovic

Oil depot in Kirovograd hit by Geran-2 drones

Victor vicktop55
@vicktop55
The Russian army has carried out a series of attacks with kamikaze drones and gliding bombs on Ukrainian forces concentrated to attack.
On the territory of the Sumy region, the points of deployment of the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit. Near Kiev, Geran-2 kamikaze drones were able to destroy several enemy anti-aircraft missile systems. Communication centers and accommodation facilities for the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the right bank of the Kherson region were also destroyed.
mass media
http://t.me/vicktop55/14980


The developers doubled the firing range of the TOS-1A Solntsepek
1 May 2023
3

One of the main threats to the enemy's fortified positions, the TOS-1A Solntsepek heavy flamethrower system, has become even more dangerous. The special operation zone began to massively receive new shells for this equipment. According to the developer, the Solntsepek can now hit targets at a distance of up to 10 km.


Previously, the effective firing range of the TOS-1A did not exceed 5-6 km. The new missile was developed at the Tula enterprise NPO Splav, well ahead of schedule. The first tests of long-range missiles for Solntsepeka took place last year, and it was planned to put them into service at the end of this year.

However, footage from the line of contact shows that new ammunition is already being used in the NVO zone. The characteristics of the missile are strictly classified, so far only an increased range is known. Thanks to this, the crews of the "Solntsepekov" can burn out enemy positions at a safe distance from them.


Heavy flamethrower systems "Solntsepek" are one of the highest priority targets for the enemy. In the case of firing from a distance of 3-5 km, the crew has to leave the firing point within a few minutes, since Ukrainian UAV operators are actively hunting for TOS-1A. Obviously, the new missiles will increase the survivability of these combat vehicles and their crews.

https://en.topcor.ru/34701-razrabotchiki-udvoili-dalnost-strelby-tos-1a-solncepek.html

https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/59745
Drone attack on Kremlin, apparently Presidents residence targeted.
Attempt on Putins life pretty much. A direct result of doing **** all about previously set red lines
If Russia doesn’t  escalate this to a war now and take out Zelensky, they are complete idiots imo.

Putin is an imbecile, he has become a liability to Russia

What a bad joke this has become and it's not dooming

This clownshow has been going on for long enough

Embarrassing.

CCTV cameras across the street capture the exact moment when the drone struck the Kremlin. Once again ground based EW systems prevented it from hitting the target. GPS should immediately be banned across Russia. There was already talk about it last year, but I hope Kremlin will act now.

I can confirm Putin, Medvedev, Shoigu were not at the Kremlin when the drone struck

Doesn't look like EW work to me. Looks like the wing clipped the flagpole causing the drone to detonate, to me. Wreckage landed on the roof and burned for a while.

Edit: After watching a few times, I am not sure.

And immediately the worms on duty from the forum come in with their messages like that stinker who works for Ukroshitstan.

There is no victory without military boots..
For God's sake, the Russians have fired thousands of cruise missiles so far, so it didn't win the war again. Cruise missiles and precision-guided aerial bombs cannot win this kind of conflict.
Cruise missiles, Sukhoi, EF-2000, American F-planes cannot conquer a city, it must be done by soldiers on the ground. When you add it all up and subtract NOTHING humanity has progressed since the end of WW2 except that today we have video surveillance and everything is clearly visible.
And this should be a lesson to Western Europe, which is left with less and less important aviation and small navies, with the exception of a few countries.
I have written several times that the conflict between two states that border is the worst possible conflict, especially a conflict between Russia and a "state" that wants to show that it is older than the Milky Way galaxy.
The West wants the Russians dead and the West will not stop with diversions and attacks on Russian bases or warehouses, bridges, etc.
It is a long-term Western plan to weaken the Russian economy, I am convinced.

I think that the Russians have known for a long time that the West is preparing for a bigger conflict.
I keep feeling that there is some greater evil yet to come.

flamming_python wrote:What's so embarrassing?

It's not about embarrassment, it's about the severe threat. These drones will detonate on impact. Meaning even if EW prevents it from hitting the intended target it will still fall somewhere close and the resulting blast will kill several people.

Do you realise how close the Kremlin is to the Ploshchad Revolutsii or Okhotny Ryad metro station or the access road that lead to the Red Square? The entire central Moscow area would have been shut down.



If the drone fell on any of these areas hundreds would have been killed. Just that the operators couldn't release it during peak rush hour.

To Ucmvulcan...

The Russians could have done it A LONG TIME ago and razed all of Kiev to the ground, but they didn't want to and they obviously think that it won't give the desired result.
The Russians know that a good part of the population (which is not the majority though) of Ukroshitstan is powerless and that they have the Nazi regime against them and the entire West that protects that regime - a difficult situation for that people.
The West is indirectly or more or less directly at war with Russia and shows open indications that it wants to contain China as well.
This is shitshow with no end in sight.