Posted on 12/12/2022 9:13:09 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Five examples when the Ukrainian warriors proved there is nothing impossible for Ukraine
Since the first days of the russian full-scale invasion, Ukrainian defense forces have not only been deterring russian offense against multiply overwhelming force, but also doing it the way that writes the modern history of warfare.
Defense Express has gathered five examples of when the Ukrainians made what'd been seen impossible.
*Read more: [The russians Brought the Most Powerful Artillery Systems to Bakhmut, But They May Run out of Ammunition- https://en.defence-ua.com/analysis/the_russians_brought_the_most_powerful_artillery_systems_to_bakhmut_but_they_may_run_out_of_ammunition-5115.html]
The Terms of Mastering New Weapons
Nowadays it is taken for granted: the allies give some new weapons or equipment, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine put them to use. All seems simple and logical, there are even complaints about the unreasonably long periods of time established by some countries for the Ukrainian servicmen to learn new systems, for instance, for the PzH 2000 artillery gun, it was 40 days.
However, in most cases, it takes only a few weeks to master operating high-precision HIMARS rocket launcher or advanced NASAMS air defense system, teach artillerymen to handle NATO-standard howitzers and so on.
We should not also forget, that in addition to operating a weapon, one needs to learn how to transport, maintain and repair it. Even in this regard, the AFU managed to establish a support hub for foreign equipment, repair it in Ukraine and only send it abroad when it needs an overhaul or special works provided exclusively at the manufacturing plant.
For example, the United States created a center for "remote repair", basically a call-center where Ukrainian military seek consult from American specialists when needed and place orders for some required spare parts via the internal logistical network of the U.S. Army.
To add some contrast, let's recall all the talk by some skeptical Ukraine's partners this spring about how sophisticated western arsenal is, that it cannot be mastered in just a few weeks.
Elon Musk Couldn't Imagine...
The artillery fire proved once again to be the decisive factor of any military action, be it offense or defense. Given that, it's only logical to increase the effectiveness of artillery strikes with fire adjustment using UAVs and creating a reconnaissance-and-strike contour overall.
It's all simple in theory: a UAV operator sees a target, impacts around it and gives feedback to the artillerymen on whether they should "take 200 to the left" or briefly reports "overfly 100" for adjustment, just like in the movies. Of course, it would look that simple in the movies; now let's consider a situation: there is a Bayraktar TB2 hanging in the air, a Bohdana howitzer on an island in Dniester's delta, and a russian base on Zmiinyi island for the howitzer to fire at. Ukrainian Bohdana howitzer shooting on the Zmiyinyi island Ukrainian Bohdana howitzer shooting on the Zmiyinyi island, approx. October 2022 / Photo credit General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The UAV operator is hundreds of miles away, on the other end of the country, direct communication with the artillery unit is impossible because it would be spotted by enemy radars and reveal the howitzer's position. Other countries spent lots of money to solve this kind of situation, created special portable terminals for receiving visual data from the drone through an encrypted channel, deployed networks for automated C2.
What did the Ukrainian military do? They took a Starlink antenna for satellite internet connection and received the image from the Bayraktar TB2 drone right on the artillery spot via an ordinary messenger.
Western Missiles Under Soviet Aircraft Wings
Is it possible to fit a cutting-edge American missile under the wings of an aging Soviet fighter? If we answered the question back in 2021, most experts would say without a hint of doubt: barely so without an expensive deep modernization of the on-board systems.
The Ukraine's answer though: give us the AGM-88 HARM missiles, and we'll manage to integrate them into our MiG-29, we only need a special sort of "transitive pylon". What was the technology of this adjustment, we can yet only guess. Perhaps it was the standard pylon used by the U.S. Air Force which already had everything needed to launch the missile and somehow attached to the Ukrainian fighters, or pre-programming of the missile's target on the ground, or due to the missile's inherent algorithms.
Anyway, this innovation was a change in paradigm and apprehension of the interoperability potential of absolutely different weapon systems. This precedent opens the door for the integration of more air-launched missiles into seemingly incompatible aircraft and brings a new statement into the argument of whether or not to supply western technology to Ukraine.
Flagship Destruction
Retrospectively, Ukraine is not known for rewriting the history of naval warfare that often. But in the last nine months, the country has done exactly that already twice. For the first time history was written when Neptun missiles hit "Moskva", the flagship of the russian Black Sea Fleet.
This was the first time ever in multiple ways: a coastal anti-ship missile system hit the biggest warship – a missile cruiser; furthermore a fleet flagship was hit this way; and the hit was effective, resulting in the destruction of the said target. No flagship was destroyed since WW2, and no missile cruiser ever until that day.
In addition to the epithets "for the first time" we can confidently add "for the last time" as well, and "put to an end", too. Because "Moskva" is likely to become the last warship of the cruiser type destroyed during this war.
The thing is, cruisers as such are leaving the naval warfare arena and only remain in service with the USA and russia, while destroyers and lesser ships have long become the main carriers of missile-launching systems. That is why the Neptun strike has put a decisive end to the entire class of warships known as cruisers. Assessed photo of the Moskva cruiser on fire Assessed photo of the Moskva cruiser on fire / Open source photo
Heart-Piercing Attack
The second time Ukraine wrote its name in the history of navy was the attack of naval kamikaze drones on the most well-protected place of any fleet, the bay. On October 29, Ukraine attacked russian ships stationed at the occupied Sevastopol Bay, the base of the Black Sea Fleet of the russian federation.
The outcome is a hit of the "Admiral Makarov" frigate which had formally become the new flagship of the fleet and the "Admiral Essen" sea trawler.
Had there been sea drones before? Certainly yes. Had there been experiments with sea kamikaze drones? Maybe, yes. Yet it was a fully Ukrainian-made drone operated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine that made a statement by attacking the heart of the enemy fleet in the enemy's own bay and showed how prospective is this vector of weapon development.
These were the five most notable examples of Ukrainian resolve in the face of russian invasion and inventiveness in the approach to modern warfare shown by the Ukrainian defense forces. But there are more, such as the shooting down cruise missiles with MANPADS, destroying a helicopter with an anti-tank guided missile, and more to cover next time.
You sure love that term “globohomo” while you ignore boy-kisser pedophile Putin. Zelensky’s show was immensely popular in Russia BTW. Zelensky has led Ukraine to the liberation of a major metropolitan area and countless hectares of rich black soil areas.
My wife has high hopes that her hometown of Alchevsk near Lugansk will soon be liberated from the criminal invaders including the Mohammedan losers that you support.
The F-16 requires regular bases and more training and maintenance than the Grippen, which was designed for dispersed, improvised fields in combat against Russia. Sweden has already authorized military aid to Ukraine and is becoming a NATO member. They may also see success by the Grippen against Russia as a potent argument for more export sales.
Your summary, like many others on these threads is laughably naive and really thin on historical understanding. NATO, or more specifically the US, instigated this by throwing away understandings and agreements that go all the way back the the dismatling of the Soviet Union. How would you feel if a foreign power that has been historically hostile decided to set up shop next door? This war did not start in Feb 2022. Russia, or more specifically the Russian government, is not, has not, nor ever will be a friend to the West. It is a brutal klepto oligarchy. If it is a threat to the US, the case should be made to deal with it directly and forcefully, not through some shadowy globalist proxy war. The Ukrainian government that is in place was put there by the machinations of Western intellegence and is full of grifters It has willingly been used to launder the money of corrupt globalists in multipe ways, and it members have gotten filthy rich from it, while their people suffer.
When you look at the major players, there are no "good guys" in this whole mess. The only people I have sympathy for are the poor souls on both sides, being thrown in to a meat grinder of the rich globaists making. The people whose lives are being destroyed and loved one's killed. I also have sympathy for the US taxpayer, whose money has been used to line the pockets of corrupt individuals and finance a war where only the corrupt, immoral and power hungery will "win".
If anyone considers themselves a "Patriot", I suggest they go back and read the Constitution; relearn what the purpose of the US government should be (here's a hint, financing a globalist war is not it), and study what the founding fathers said about foreign entanglments. Our number one priority should be the US and it's citizens; not the Ukrainians, not the Russians. If they want i kill each other, let them do it on their own dime. It definitley shouldn't be defending the concerns of globalists, on both sides that hate who we are and only view us as cash cows and impediments to their plans. Finally, we shouldn't be bickering about which side is the "good guys", or "right" when there aren't any.
Poor Russians! They never get any praise. At least they can count on their friends here.
Your boys not doing too well?
Arguing with some people is useless.
The Moskva which was sunk, was designed to sink US aircraft carriers. The bombers recently destroyed at Engels Air Base in Russia were designed to launch nuclear armed cruise missiles into the United States (which was still their mission, for which they regularly trained). The huge stockpile of tanks and Artillery that has threatened Europe for over half a century, has now been well over half destroyed/expended.
The USA provided around two percent of our FY2022 Defense Budget in equipment to accomplish that (less than $20 Billion, out of $777 Billion). Something similar in FY23 seems to be about what it will take to subdue Russia’s Military for likely a generation, but at least a decade.
For more than a hundred years, and continuing under Putin, Russia has actively been working to subvert the USA internally, stoking racial and political divides, and working to undermine the values and policies that made us strong.
We are effectively demilitarizing and weakening that enemy for a trifling cost. Their aggressive war of conquest, and barbaric tactics of opppression cannot be tolerated, if we want to live in a civilized world.
Putin had to be stopped.
BIG problem with Soviet Weapons/Systems (and we are talking Soviet equipment) is the difference between their excellent engineering and terrible production.
All during the 70’s and 80’s, as a member of the US Army stationed in the Fulda Gap, we were constantly being told of the newest fighter/bomber/HIND/Tank that would insure Soviet domination. The prototypes were impressive.
As we saw in Desert Storm the production models were crap.
Ukrainian recruits have proven to be among the top tier Internationally, for trainability on technical systems. It is a credit to their education system.
Well all that sure stopped his nuclear armed
submarines patrolling the water god knows where,
Not to mention whatever massive operation Russia had going up in the arctic before this war even started
They did the impossible alright…they made me dislike Democrats like you even more. I didn’t think it was possible.
Everything is not “going well” - not for Russia, nor for Ukraine, and definitely not for Putin.
What has happened is that Ukraine survived longer than the 2 weeks most analysts and even interested spectators such as myself expected.
The Ukrainians “won” in March by resisting Putin’s attempt to make it a vassal state. Their infrastructure is devastated and they have lost many people, but they are not slaves to the Kremlin. That is a victory - not a Pyrrhic one, but a victory.
The Russians are losing - and I’m not talking about Putin’s loss. Putin is not the equivalent of Russia, rather he has damaged Russia in his 22 years of dictatorship (like Chavez did to Venezuela) and now is destroying it.
Putin’s army lost it’s elite paratroopers in February/March in the battle of Hostomel when they attempted to capture the Ukrainian President and Kyiv. The Russian military failed.
Since March the Russian military has shown that it is not only not on par with the Soviet army of the 70s, it is not even in the top 10 military powers. Russia has been shown to be the emperor with no clothes. It’s military has been shown to be useless at logistics and strategy and terrible at tactics.
Putin’s failure to develop Russia over the past 22 years of his dictatorship, nay his whole-sale robbing of Russian wealth has been put on display.
Yes, HIMARS, anti-tank weapons etc. -
and to Any planes, tanks, helicopters, -- you know that the USA hasn't sent any planes or tanks or helicopters but has asked former Warsaw pact countries to send their Soviet era weaponry to Ukraine - why? Because the Ukrainians have those old weapons, so there is no learning curve to moving to US or NATO weaponry
Rahm Emmanuel? That tiny dancer?
“you know that the USA hasn’t sent any planes or tanks or helicopters but has asked former Warsaw pact countries to send their Soviet era weaponry”
Ukraine has asked for modern stuff. But Biden insists on sending 30 year old cast-offs. Likely someone in DC is being paid off by the Russians to prevent real aid from getting to the Ukrainians.
All their major WMD hardware is monitored and in the crosshairs of much stealthier US weapons before they even finish building (with as many parts looted and tests faked as humanly possible). All will be destroyed simultanously in seconds if they even talk about truly firing a WMD.
The best and brightest have been leaving Russia for a century and helping the US defeat them. Even their wealthiest oil/gas billionaires prefer to live abroad and invest elsewhere.
I’m originally from Russia and everyone who ever lived there knows they DO NOT take care of their citizens nor soldiers. Only the most absolute of morons actually want to stay and fight for this regime that will throw them away. Every decent capable person I knew has left that garbage behind long ago. Even the poorest of EU countries offered a better life from day 1.
America is not perfect by any means but actually living in Russia is a level of clownshow oppression nobody can even imagine until they do. Complaining too loudly can send you to jail so people just do the bare minimum work, steal from govt/business to survive, laugh at the clownshow and slowly drink themselves to death.
All the supposed pro-Russian freepers crack me up every time because we used to drink and laugh at exactly such clowns that bought the party line...
Have you seen many US weapons making it to Ukraine? Any planes, tanks, helicopters, missiles? Most of the money is being diverted and Ukraine has been forced to fight with scraps and cast-offs. Which makes it all the more remarkable they are winning.
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There is absolutely no evidence any weapon or monies have been diverted, and further is a line from Russian propaganda. Ukraine is not fighting with scraps, or cast offs, rather with whatever weapons countries donate. The US, UK, France, Poland have supplied them with modern advanced weapons which are being used to great effect; so your conclusion is not true.
There are no US Abrams tanks, F-16s or Apache copters, tactical or SRBM missiles - they are not necessary. Russia is doing a fine job of supplying tanks and IFVs, and has become Ukraine’s largest weapons supplier.
Perhaps in the future US tanks, fighters, missiles, and copters could be supplied when there is training in operation, maintenance, and spare parts, supplies, but don’t hold your breath.
>> Understood!
You’re such a sweetheart
You mean bilking American taxpayers out of tens of billions of dollars?? The demopoop gangsters you apparently work for had something to do with that...
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