Posted on 10/13/2022 10:57:18 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
Despite all of his public bluster, is it possible that Vladimir Putin is getting just a bit desperate in his bid to find some sort of path to something he could call a “victory” in Ukraine? One hint could be found in the fact that he twisted Lukashenko’s arm to pull Belarus into the fighting at this late stage of the game. But another indicator of Russia’s military reaching the bottom of the barrel popped up this week. Yesterday, Tyler Rogoway from The War Zone sent out this alert on social media. It seems that Russia is “modernizing” some of their “vintage” T-62 tanks and taking them out of museum status so they can be sent to replace some of the hundreds of armored units that Ukrainian farmers have towed away for their own army to use.
(snip)
To be clear, the T-62 was hailed in its day as a top-rate, heavily armored Main Battle Tank (MBT) in the Soviet military when it debuted. Unfortunately, “its day” was literally in 1961. That was more than sixty years ago and military technology has moved on considerably, with lighter, faster tanks employing modernized shielding being the weapons of choice today.
As Trevithick points out, these T-62s are literally antiques. The rockets that the west has been supplying Russia with this year have been destroying Russia’s more modern T-80s and T-90s with abandon. One recent estimate claims that Putin has lost more than 40% of his operational tank fleet.
If the Ukrainians have been able to wipe out that many modern tanks, how well do you think these “vintage” tanks will fare?
(SNIP)
There is also a question of who will be operating these ancient tanks when they head toward the Ukraine border.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Insanity. The EU is arming its Ukrainian mercenaries with the most modern weapons available. Russia can’t win.
Tanks, no matter whose, no matter what technology, are obsolete in today’s warfare................
What I find interesting is the inability to change tactics. Tanks are being slaughtered by inexpensive, easy to operate weapons. It’s not just Putin and his generals. It seems historically common. Like calvary or infantry charges against machine guns in WW I. Keep using failed tactics until you run out of cannon fodder.
I’m guessing English isn’t the primary language?
Gee I was hoping I could buy on on E bay cheap.
No there’re not.
I don’t have anywhere to put it.
To be used by the LNR/DNR as assault guns or death traps which ever comes first.
OTOH: 800 refurbished Belarusian T-72s go to regular troops.
I’ve driven a T-62. They can’t be that old ;-)
I hope more and more Russians question serving the increasingly deranged Putin.
I expected this. “If the Ukrainians have been able to wipe out that many modern tanks, how well do you think these “vintage” tanks will fare?” is a good question, but another question FOR ME is “if modern defenses are useless for the modern tanks, would the neo-Soviets pause to use ordinary tanks?”
There’s something to be said for sheer numerical superiority.
The insanity is it will now take a $178,000 Javelin missile to knock out a $10,000 museum piece.
The invaders had numerical superiority when they started this back in February.
There’s a place in Brevard Coounty Florida where you can rent a tank by the hour and drive it around an enclosed area. IIRC, for an additional $1,500 you can even crush a car with it.
No KV-1s yet?
How about T-28?
Did I miss anything?
Well, yeah...
The good news for Putin is that Russian tanks have been critical in battlefield success in Ukraine.
The bad news is that they were being driven by Ukrainian forces. LOL!
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