Exactly, that was a defensive war, and this is an offensive war. Most Russians aren't going to fired up about conquering another country they've never been to or care about.
Russia-Ukraine war has begun
- Thread starter TheOriginalHappyGoat
- Start date
If any country wants to take on Russia, now is the time to do it. Reportedly all their combat ready capability for the entire country is in Ukraine.There is a story of hundreds of destroyed Russian armored vehicles seen on satellite around Avdiivka. Which dovetails with this one that Russia may run out of IFVs in 2 years even with their enhanced production.
The Russians Could Run Out Of Infantry Fighting Vehicles In Two Or Three Years
Analyst Andrew Perpetua on Monday counted a dozen destroyed, damaged and abandoned BMPs in a single day. That points to a monthly loss of no fewer than 300 BMPs.www.forbes.com
I think even the average Joe Russian might view Ukraine in NATO (or partnering deeply there) as an existential threat. They share a large border and it’s only 500 easily traversable miles from Kyiv to Moscow. That reality plus internal propaganda seems like a powerful mix. The fear of Western invaders is a deep part of Russian culture.
Interesting article from 2022 on this. Ya, polling Russians can be dicey but a non-insignificant chunk answer they mostly don’t support or flat out don’t support the war. Can’t find anything more recent.
Also found it interesting the author says the war is dividing friends and family. Hey, they aren’t so different from us after all! lol
It had some glaring weaknesses though that makes it unusable in anything but short range tactical applications. Compounding on it's short range it couldn't refuel in air, had a very poor radar, uncomfortable cockpit layout and IIRC no HUD or a poor one. It also had very poor unreliable missle system especially when beyond visual range..
fwiw the MiG has a 16:28 kill loss ratio. F-16 is 92:13, while the F-15 is 104:0 ... the F-15 would kill a MiG-29 before they ever knew it was there. That probably has more to do with how well western (and Israeli) pilots are trained but also has to do with radar and reliability of missles.
Plus with anything Russian .. or Chinese (protruding bolts on a stealth fighter - lmao) ... manufacturing standards are very very poor. Not only do they overhype their tech, our think tanks and military do also.
Russians are FOS. That is an absolute fact. The T-34 for example is often called the best tank in WW2, the design was by far the most innovative... but they were generally POS because the manufacturing was so poor. The armor would splinter sending shards all over the inside, it broke down constantly, IIRC 72 hours was the average run time Welded seems would crack from cold. They were so poorly made, common parts from one tank didn't fit the other even if from the same factory. But when you have 50,000+ of them ... that's a good way to compensate for all it's flaws.
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There was a guy in town who served in the Corps during Vietnam. One base he was at had a T34, he and some buds thought it would be fun to take it for a spin. He said they found it practically impossible to steer, it just took unimaginable effort.
Now he didn't say this, but I suspect it wasn't properly maintained. But it seems true that Russian tanks are not designed to make the crew's job easier. In heat, or over long periods, crew performance has to degrade.
Strangely, the Sherman was the worst MBT (except for Japan) but it may have been the best. Cheap, very versatile, easily repaired, little maintenance.
Those things are important. They're all logistical. . it was known as a death trap though. Yeah in some ways it was the best, just not one vs one against any Axis tank ..
Unless a Typhoon, Lighting or Thunderbolt was near by ....
I contend that the best tank used in that war was the British Comet Mk.I. It was the first tank to find a perfect balance between offense, defense, speed, reliability. A little late to have any impact .. it may have been the first true MBT. It influenced the Centurion which influenced the Chieftain, which influenced the Challenger which is a cousin to the Abrams.. lot of shared tech.
The things that set the T-34 apart was the slanted armor - which I still believe was born of cost and manufacturing savings and not intentionally as a superior armor - and the American designed suspension which the US turned down.
Germans and everyone else, eventually, had guns equal or better that the Soviet 76 and 85mm but they never matched that suspension and the mobility it gave the T-34. Check that ... maybe the Easy 8 is also worth mentioning.
The Comet was a fine tank, the Brits had a lot of experience to use in designing it and that paid off.
I wonder about the Pershing. It barely made the war, I wonder how it would have been rated if it had had a real chance in action.
You know, some of these updates sound rather unrealistic. Russia has lost 6000 tanks? Wouldn't that mean they've lost virtually every tank they put into service? Does that really sound right?
Think the numbers are clearly propaganda but they were rolling out mothballed Vietnam era tanks at one point so they were deep into their inventory.
The Chinese could be eyeballing that. There is Rilussian territory the Chinese view as theirs.
It becomes the Patton ... so .. probably pretty good? Israelis used them to good effect though they preferred the Centurian.
Here's some of what the Orcs are rolling with right now. Not everywhere, but some places.
Russians’ Lives Are ‘Temporary’ In The Drone Kill Zone Around Krynky: 90 Percent Of Vehicles Don’t Come Back
For every 10 tanks and fighting vehicles the Russians roll toward the Ukrainian bridgehead in Krynky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River, just one comes back.
www.forbes.com
Heating is systematically failing across Russia. Cities like Moscow are reportedly being hit the hardest
Romania has built a new highway to Ukraine border. The war has led to integration into Western Europe at a faster pace
Amazing to me they bunch up their tanks and motorized mortar/artillery so close together. I understand that might make sense when massing for an attack, but these are going out in two's and three's. Seems like it makes them easier to target.
And it seems to be the exact same tactic as 2 yrs ago. INSANE doesn’t even explain it.
Although the numbers have slowed a little in the last 3ish weeks, they’re still huge numbers.
I didn't watch yours, but rumor i read is Ukraine shot down 2. How is Russia screwing up so badly.
A pair of IFVs besting an advanced main battle tank is indeed telling … the M1A1 decimated T72s in Iraq ... By outranging, outshooting the T72, and with a better rate of fire.
Bradley’s have a 40 mm main gun ,,, I did’t see an antitank missile launch … I did see multiple impacts on the same vehicle armor panel in a close group.
How indeed … an AWACS asset is supposed to be at a stand-off range and should see a missle launch … on radar
That is the multi billion rubel question. You’re correct that it was 2 and I haven’t read yet, anyone who has a clue how. Potentially 14-16 crew on each as well.
You can see Henry Fonda hunt down a column of M-47Pershing/Pattons in the battle of the bulge … with black crosses painted on them.
And the Sherman had to be shipped across the Atlantic … where size and weight were a factor (In the Sherman’s favor).
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“The armor would splinter sending shards all over the inside, it broke down constantly, IIRC 72 hours was the average run time Welded seems would crack from cold”.
… says more to me about the quality of the steel in the armor plate … the production quota was met … but at what quality. … poor of quality control on the metallurgy of the steel before it got rolled can produce dramatic performance differences. Cold steel can be brittle … as the Titanic found out
I went to Seymour today, stopped and took a quick look at the M4 in Brownstown on the way. I had family in Brownstown when I was a puppy and I recall climbing on it. Today, I was thinking of that being inside that thing in the Bulge had to be cold.
And yes, I bet cold made tank metal brittle.
Ukraine shoots down two Russian aircraft in disastrous day for Kremlin
It is unclear how Ukraine succeeded in shooting down the command planes flying above the Sea of Azov
That's part of manufacturing and if the 20th century taught us anything Russian manufacturing sucks .. and still does in the 21st.. their goal is to overwhelm with junk ..
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According to the videos, Ukrainians (no doubt with our help) have figured out how to jam Russian electronics while Russians can't do the same to Ukrainians.
And without air superiority, those tanks are sitting ducks for drones.
As far shooting down AWACS, who know what long-range missiles Ukraine has got their hands on.
Orrr was it actually missiles? Isn’t jamming, over the horizon high value kills what the F-16 excels at?
Total speculation here, NOTHING but spit ballin.
I seem to not be the only one making total wild guesses.
As Ukraine Prepares to Get F-16s, US Provides AMRAAM Missiles
Ukraine will receive AIM-120 AMRAAM advanced air-to-air missiles from the U.S. use on its aircraft, Ukrainian officials said.
www.airandspaceforces.com
Shit's about to get real over there. Or even more real.I seem to not be the only one making total wild guesses.
As Ukraine Prepares to Get F-16s, US Provides AMRAAM Missiles
Ukraine will receive AIM-120 AMRAAM advanced air-to-air missiles from the U.S. use on its aircraft, Ukrainian officials said.
*25mm chain gun
They may or may not be using depleted uranium ammo. US does, not sure if Ukraine is.
They were testing bigger guns, 30mm same as the A10, and 40mm but I don't believe they picked one yet. Have they? In a quick search I couldn't find solid verification.
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There have been a lot of discussion that the US would not allow DU ordinance or shielding to be shipped to UK. That chatter (at least from what I've saw) is at least 6 months old, so who knows.
DU or not, I've watched dozens of Bradly videos that are......... impressive and very successful at putting pink matter to sleep.
