Ukraine War Watch Thread

[andmar74]

How can Putin get out of this without loosing face?
When I was thinking about this, it became obvious:

The Russians will leave Crimea and the rest of Ukraine, and Putin will explain that Russia couldn't keep on fighting all of NATO, which is 30 countries. Now this is even mostly true. A huge amount of weapons and ammunition has been sent to Ukraine, to the point where the NATO members are running low on military equipment. Ukrainian soldiers and other personel are trained in NATO countries, and prior to the war the Ukrainian army was trained by NATO personel in Ukraine. Also, Ukraine is surely getting a lot of intel from the west.

Putin will also say that a lot of nazis have been tortured and killed, so under the circumstances it's a success.

[TaraAguilar]

For the things that nazis do to Ukrainian folk, it is not enough to kill them... I am still shocked by the Putin x2 aggressivity launched after the Crime bridge explosion.

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

U.S. To Rush Delivery Of NASAMS Air Defense Systems
by Howard Altman
October 11, 2022

Introduction:

(The Drive) day after a massive Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine that left at least 20 dead and its energy infrastructure damaged, Ukraine received some good news about badly needed weaponry. The White House promised to speed up delivery of two of eight promised National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS. In addition, Ukraine has received the first of four promised IRIS-T SLM surface-to-air missile systems from Germany, as well as four more M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) systems from the U.S.

"We think that we're on track to get those first two [NASAMS] over there in the very near future," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday. "We are certainly interested in expediting the delivery of NASAMS to Ukraine as soon as we can."

(See linked article for Twitter feeds).

It remains unclear how the NASAMS heading to Ukraine will be configured. A number of different versions of the system exist, made up of different combinations of launchers, radars and other sensors, and command and control nodes. Some NASAMS variants can incorporate missile launchers mounted on Humvees or other light vehicles. Tests have also been conducted of the HIMARS vehicle, which Ukraine has now received at least 16 of, as a launch platform for the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), which could be utilized with NASAMS.

Also unclear are the "munitions" the U.S. has said it will send along with these systems. NASAMS can fire versions of the radar-guided AMRAAM, including a new extended range derivative optimized for use in the ground-launched roles, as well as the AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missile, and more.

Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... e-systems

caltrek’s comment: I used to enjoy reporting on the latest gee whiz technology in this forum. In contrast, reporting on the latest weapon system deployment is positively depressing. We seem to be getting better at developing more and more exquisite means of killing each other. Reporting on essentially “defensive” weapons systems isn’t much better because of the need to mention the offensive systems that they are designed to counter, as well as the way defensive weapons become a part of a military force which is in large part offensive in nature. This is what Putin’s war has done to humanity. It has dragged us back to where we were fifty years ago, which in turn was no better than where we were one hundred years ago.

Edit:

A diagram showing the components of a typical Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) NASAMS 2 system, as an example of one possible configuration of a complete system.
Royal Norwegian Air Force

[caltrek]

Could Long-Range Iranian Missiles Be Next For Russia?
by Thomas Newdick and Tyler Rogoway
October 11, 2022

Introduction:

(The Drive) According to a statement from Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat, Russia launched “over 83 missiles” in yesterday’s attack on Ukraine — as well as 17 Iranian-supplied Shahed-136 ‘kamikaze drones.’ Of those 83 mainly long-range missiles, the air force claimed it shot down 43. While these numbers can’t be independently verified, the missile assault was clearly on a much greater scale than we have otherwise seen in recent months.

With the primary targets being of a civilian nature, including energy infrastructure, that also means fewer missiles of this kind are available to Russia for high-priority military targets, including hardened ones. Meanwhile, there are plenty of reports that suggest that the Kremlin’s stocks of precision-guided standoff missiles may be running low. With limited production capacity and sanctions hampering their direct replacement, and Moscow already being a customer of Tehran's drones, it’s possible we may start to see Iranian-made ballistic missiles employed by Russia in its war in Ukraine.

Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... or-russia

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

This Is Russia’s Electronic Warfare Helicopter Jamming In Ukraine
by Piotr Butowski
October 10, 2022

Introduction:

(The Drive) A rarely-seen Russian military helicopter is playing a discreet and potentially extremely valuable role in the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. Loitering deep inside Russian-controlled territory to avoid being shot down and flying at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet, for optimum effect, Mi-8MTPR-1 Rychag helicopters are waging electronic warfare against Ukrainian air defense systems.

The use of the Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare (EW) helicopter in the war in Ukraine is confirmed by imagery released by the Russian Ministry of Defense. In one video, shown below, a soldier (perhaps a pilot) standing next to the helicopter explains that the Rychag system is used “to suppress the air defense capabilities, of all variants, that are in the neighboring territory, both analog Western systems, and former Soviet systems” in order to enable Russian strike aircraft to penetrate deeper into Ukraine. (The soldier is speaking what I presume to be Russian - caltrek).

Further extract:

However, judging by the continuing heavy losses that are being inflicted on Russian tactical and army aviation, the Mi-8MTPR-1 can be considered generally ineffective, at least in terms of the bigger air war picture. Overall, Russia’s extensive EW capabilities appear to have had very mixed results in the war so far, as you can read about in our in-depth feature on the topic.

Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... n-ukraine

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]