re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Thanks for the correction.

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The Israelis flew a pair of F22's

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Probably F35.

We don't export F22s.

Pretty sure the Israelis did fly the first combat mission in the F35 though.

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ISW previously forecasted that Wagner offensive operations would likely culminate after months of attritional urban combat, and it is unlikely that Wagner will continue fighting beyond Bakhmut at its current depleted state.

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Wonder how this plays out for Russia over the rest of the war.

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This is an interesting article about how the Russians are evolving their tactics. I don't recognize the source but the article seems legit.

Rusi.org

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Russian electronic warfare (EW) remains potent, with an approximate distribution of at least
one major system covering each 10 km of front. These systems are heavily weighted towards the
defeat of UAVs and tend not to try and deconflict their effects. Ukrainian UAV losses remain at
approximately 10,000 per month. Russian EW is also apparently achieving real time interception
and decryption of Ukrainian Motorola 256-bit encrypted tactical communications systems, which
are widely employed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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That is a staggering number of drones to lose every month. Also, the Motorola encryption is for the radios Ukraine is using which apparently are completely compromised as it delves into more detail later in the paper.

Could've been posted previously but I didn't see it.

Drop a load of pipes in a trench then roll right over the new bridge, or even roll and old tank into a trench then other tanks roll right over it.

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rhar61

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Lame

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What's the latest on getting anywhere near a complete accounting of where our money went?

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Where were these "fiscal conservatives" when their guy was in office

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Drop a load of pipes in a trench then roll right over the new bridge, or even roll and old tank into a trench then other tanks roll right over it.

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Normally under US doctrine, you would use Engineers to breach trenches or anti-tank ditches. My company never did any breaching of trenches since we didn't expect to deal with them but we did plenty of anti-tank building and breaching, which is the same just larger. You would generally use a M728 CEV Combat Engineer Vehicle (M60 chassis with a dozer blade, probably all retired by now except maybe in some Guard units), a M9 ACE Armored Combat Earthmover (evolution of the old ABC, the Engineers in the 82nd had them because they were air-droppable from even C-130s) or a small/mid sized dozer like the D7, lots of Corp Engineer units have them.

Any of those three can breach a tank ditch in 2:45 to 4:00 mins depending on the operator's skill, balls if under fire and the density of the soil and how long it has set. Sand is easy come clays get rock hard over time.

Germany has a cool one, I forget the name (looked it up:Kodiak) but it is an armored chassis with a dozer blade and it also has a long hoe on the front. See the profile picture below of a tank ditch. Part of the tank ditches effectiveness is when a tank or engineer vehicle is breaching it (tanks can actually grind their way up them in soil that slumps too much to hold a very upright angle ie sand or getting technical "angle of repose") it shows the defenders the soft underbelly. As we all know a counter-mobility obstacle is basically useless unless it is covered by direct or indirect fire so you expect it when breaching any counter-mobility obstacle.

The Kodiak is able to push spoil down into the trench just like any other breaching machine but instead of having to come out of defilade it can use the hoe to pull dirt back in remaining in defilade and prevent flat trajectory direct fire from connecting (ie the various RPGs).





Pics of the M278, M9 and AEV 3 Kodiak (Leopard 2 chassis) in order









Note any operator would rather have a dozer to do the job but they are sitting ducks. The 82nd's Engineers 307th BN during my day had D7s they would Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) drop. You haven't lived until you have seen a 33 ton dozer doing a barrel roll down the drop zone because the pilot didn't get low enough. I have seen that but never saw a Sheridan rolling.

Short video of a Sheridan LAPES if you have never seen one, the first one is perfect, on the second one the pilot was too low (much worse than too high), and instead of busting up the cargo the plane and crew take the brunt.

YT


A different view of a textbook LAPES

YT

The first 15s of this video shows a failed LAPES just a tad high

British Defence Intelligence
INTELLIGENCE UPDATE
UPDATE ON UKRAINE 22 May 2023

Russia is highly likely creating a new 'elite' attack aviation code-named 'Shtorm' to operate over Ukraine. The unit is likely to consist of at least one squadron of Su-24 FENCER and Su-34 FULLBACK fighter-bombers, and a squadron of attack helicopters.

The mix of aircraft types suggests the group will have a primary role of ground attack missions. Credible Russian media reports suggest that the Russian MoD aims to attract highly skilled and motivated pilots by offering large pay incentives and opening recruitment to retired aviators.

The creation of the group highlights how Russia assesses its regular air force squadrons have severely underperformed in their core function of conducting airstrikes on Ukrainian lines.