Iran sends first shipment of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine

Washington Post ^ | 29-AUG-2022 | Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick

[bert]

The malfunctions are the will of Allah

[NorseViking]

Okay, what is the difference in CEP between the American and Russian howitzers, if any?

[Gen.Blather]

Part of your answer on why American stuff is so expensive starts about 7:12 on this link. This video explains one heck of a lot about how accurate it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kux_4KGuj1w

As you can see, the rounds are landing dead on target.

I couldn’t find the equivalent for Russian rounds, but they say they are firing numbers ranging from seven to ten thousand rounds per day. If you see the targets in Ukraine, they look like the lunar landscape. If the Russians had equivalent targeting, then the damage would only be where the Ukrainian facilities are. They are also firing unguided rockets similar to Stalin’s Pipe Organs from WWII. As we learned in WWI if the target is dug in you can literally fire all day and never kill anyone. Logically, if the Russians are doing this, they have a large CEP.

Also, if you look at the HIMARS hits, they are taking out bridges. Which are impossible to hit with artillery from WWII. Similar accuracy but less range with the American M777.

[NorseViking]

Okay, you are thinking in terms of sub-nation state warfare and have little idea of how the artillery works.
In fact, the Russian artillery in similar calibers is as accurate if not better and it obviously can fire more rounds before rendered useless compared to M777. Just put two things together and you’ll see the difference. Find the Ukrainian reviews of M777 and it is going to be helpful as well. Take into account that the Russians invented precision shells and they are actually using them, unlike the other side.
Regarding their usefulness in tactical environment, take into account that it is not the war on Taliban but a maneuverable warfare over a thousand mile front involving thousands of pieces of armor and hundreds of thousands of troops. Also, accurate indirect artillery is only as accurate as its targeting data is, or in most cases useless unless fired on fixed stationary targets, which aren’t plenty.

The same is true regarding HIMARS vs Stalin’s organ. Take for example a tactical target like an entrenched company of motorized infantry squatting at the distance of 15 miles over an area of two football fields.

You have GMLRS with a CEP of 5 meters vs a volley of 122 mm rockets with the CEP 170 meters. Guess who is going to bring more damage to the enemy? Maneuverable warfare is getting won by such engagements, not by rare accurate hits at fixed locations when the enemy of not probably where anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, the accuracy of this sort is needed for some applications, and Stalin’s organs can be equipped to hit within CEP of 5 meters and they do when there are such requirements.

Regarding HIMARS and bridges, it is a good anecdote of course. If you want to see the bridges destroyed, look at what the Russian missiles are doing. HIMARS vs Antonovsky bridge East of Kherson is better described as $70 million in ordnance vs a bunch of Uzbeks and a cement mixer. The thing obviously lacks firepower to destroy strong structures like this.