Posted on 07/10/2022 12:37:23 PM PDT by marcusmaximus
Russian forces are reportedly relying on Soviet-era munitions for certain tasks as the invasion of Ukraine labors on.
The Russian government has, in recent weeks, increasingly ordered its forces in Ukraine to repurpose outdated anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles for use on land-based targets, according to a Tuesday report from iNews.
In Mykolaiv, a city in Southern Ukraine, six strikes over the last weekend have been attributed to Russian S-300 missiles, anti-aircraft munitions introduced roughly 40 years ago with a range of 75 miles. Two Kh-32 missiles, originally designed to sink aircraft carriers, were also credited with the strike on a Kremenchuk shopping center that killed 20 people last month. A slightly older version of the same missile was also used to strike an Odessa apartment complex last week, killing 18 people.
In order to deploy these obsolete weapons on the modern battlefield, the Russian military has reportedly outfitted them with GPS technology allowing them to roughly target towns and cities.
-snip-
News of this reliance on repurposed, decades-old weaponry reinforces other recent reports indicating that Russian forces are facing hardware shortages as the Ukraine invasion lasts longer than anticipated. Intelligence reports from the United Kingdom previously revealed that they had become more reliant on so-called "dumb bombs" as their supplies of guided weaponry have dwindled. Unable to be precisely guided, outdated munitions have reportedly resulted in heavier civilian casualties and collateral damage.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
They learned that trick from the Krauts and their FLAKs
So?
Probably getting rid of their old stuff first and saving their more modern armaments should NATO become involved.
Makes sense to use them up if they work!
You are the first FReeper who seems to understand this.
History repeats itself when dictators are desperate.
I sold 11 boxes of Polish Tokarev ammo dated 1956 this past week. If it works, it works.
Hmmmmm....it’s a possibility
Great........
Yep, stuff doesn’t store forever, and if you have a place to use it, they are already a sunk cost.
Sure, and very specifically in this case : they are replacing older stuff with S-500 now anyway... why not use up the old stuff if it works?
Yep.
88mm at 2k can ruin a tank’s day.
5.56mm
Possibly, they used an awful lot of old T-72s and very few more modern tanks.
That’s assuming that the story is factual. Because it’s Newsweek, I doubt it.
Given the nature of the combined arms operation, there are essentially no tank battles. Tanks and infantry are sent in to mop up only after the artillery has smashed a UFA position.
Probably getting rid of their old stuff first and saving their more modern armaments should NATO become involved.
——
Exactly, fact is Russia has not mobilized, the Ukies are now conscripting females of child bearing years- immoral. Desperation - but Biden’s war cheerleaders see it as acceptable “ defiance “, when does America wake up and see everything senile Joe does is designed to weaken America?
T-90s and 80s are not “old stuff” hardware. The T-72s and 64s are old technology. If Russia is turning to old Soviet technology, they have burned up their A list units.
Love all of these military experts who never put on a uniform.
Correct, no tank battles, but a heck of a lot of tanks being smashed by antitank munitions.
Indeed. Armchair generals are real.
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