Free Republic

Violent graffiti calling for the hangings of health expert Anthony Fauci and billionaire Bill Gates was spotted during preparation for President Donald Trump’s military parade, The Washington Post reported. The Washington Post reported that the Army posted a now-deleted video of military tanks being transported to the nation’s capital on Saturday. One of the flatcars with tanks loaded onto it had graffiti that appeared to read, “Hang Fauci and Bill Gates,” the Post noted. The graffiti was shown in the video shared to X for just a few seconds in the 57-second clip. The report said the video was up...

Russia - Masque Of The Red Death Vladimir Putin has been hailed perhaps as the pivotal post cold war Russian leader. He has executed a skillful dog and pony show, convincing both the Bush and Blair administrations that the former Soviet Union was not only no longer a military threat to the West but was indeed now becoming a close ally. Obviously Russia's cooperation with the French and German UN delegation's intransigence in dealing with Iraq has done much to throw cold water on this heretofore-budding union. It's important to note that such a relationship offered hope, though ultimately unfounded,...

Columns of tanks have arrived in Washington DC ahead of an enormous planned military parade to mark the US Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with President Trump’s birthday and Flag Day. A mile-long line of tanks, some of the 150 military vehicles set to take part in Saturday’s parade, arrived in the capital by freight train over the weekend, video shared on X by reporter Benjamin Alvarez shows. M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles, and M109 Paladin howitzers were among the equipment that arrived this past Saturday, ending a 1,300-mile journey from Texas that began on May...

Russian army is embroiled in an embarrassing scandal after 200 of its tanks were found abandoned near a forest in central Russia, unguarded and unlocked. A news website near the city of Yekaterinburg posted a video of the forgotten tanks showing passers-by clambering inside the vehicles and playing with empty ammunition belts. The only items that seemed to be missing were live rounds and the keys to the tanks' ignitions. "There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned," an unnamed reporter on the video says. "If you need one, come and get it." Locals in a nearby village said the...

An article featuring statements from Ukrainian soldiers about American Abrams tanks was published on Business Insider. Although the war with Russia has shown that they are not invincible, their capabilities and equipment have been rated much better than Soviet-era and even newer Russian tanks. "It's better than T-72, T-62, and even Russian T-90," said a Ukrainian Abrams tank commander quoted by Business Insider. The Ukrainians pointed out that the Soviet-era T-series tanks are smaller and lighter than Abrams tanks. As a result, they are somewhat harder targets, but on the other hand, they have weaker armour and do not provide...

The Lebanese Al-Mayadeen network, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported early Tuesday morning that Israeli tanks are now positioned approximately 20 kilometers from the Syrian capital of Damascus. Reports also indicated the IDF has taken control of nine villages in the southern outskirts of Damascus, near the border with Lebanon. At the same time, there were reports of extensive strikes in the Damascus area. Earlier, Syrian media outlets reported Israeli strikes on the Al-Shuairat military airport, east of Homs, and on Syrian army targets in the provinces of Raqqa and Al-Hasakah. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition organization...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released footage Friday of a tank firing a shell at the building in southern Gaza where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was taking cover. He was killed by a sniper but the tank shell brought down the building. His body was discovered by soldiers the next day and sent to Israel for testing; his identity was confirmed hours later. The IDF said in a statement:

One modern tank that was supposed to end the stalemate was the vaunted German Leopard 2 tank. This modern beast has all the goodies that you would expect. It is arguably NATO’s best tank produced by a European member. The Leopard is fast, powerful, and agile, with great armor and a respectable gun. But how has it done in Ukraine? And what does that performance say about the overall future of the tank?

Ukrainian tank crews are struggling with their M1A1 Abrams tanks, the M1 Abrams variant Kyiv is now using against Russia. They believe that the Abrams is not suited for modern warfare in the Donbas region. The tanks are reportedly challenging to maintain, spare parts are hard to acquire, and the tank must be kept in the rear for fear it will be destroyed. M1 Abrams Tank: What’s the Problem in Ukraine? Ukrainians also believe that condensation from the humid, foggy, and rainy weather obscures instruments onboard. They have complained that the M1 Abrams gun is not effective against buildings and...

Well, is it or isn’t it? Is this a light tank or a reconnaissance/observational vehicle? The M10 Booker has raised some eyebrows because it is not clear what role it will play in the future Army force. It was formerly known as the vague-sounding “Mobile Protected Firepower” platform, prior to its unveiling in 2023. At that point Army acquisition honchos regarded it as a “combat vehicle.” Moreover, a U.S. Army general tried to put a finer point on the Booker during its public christening round table event, as reported by the Military Times last year. “[I]n the [U.S.] Army, the...

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks reached the center of the town of Rafah on Tuesday. according to multiple media outlets, indicating that Israel intended to fight outwards toward the periphery rather than closing in from the outside. The Wall Street Journal reported: Israeli tanks advanced farther into Rafah on Tuesday, according to witnesses, as the Israeli military said it was expanding operations in the southern Gaza city amid growing international condemnation. The tanks passed near the Al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, Palestinians in the city told The Wall Street Journal. The Israeli military didn’t comment on the specifics of...

MADRID (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday secured from Spain a pledge of additional air defense missiles to help fight the about 3,000 bombs that he says Russia launches every month at Ukraine in the third year of the war. However, Ukraine still urgently needs another seven U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to stop Russia hitting the power grid and civilian areas, as well as military targets, with devastating glide bombs that wreak wide destruction, Zelenskyy said. “If we had these modern Patriot systems, (Russian) airplanes wouldn´t be able to fly close enough to drop the (glide) bombs...

This is getting a little creepy. According to one estimate, since last year the Department of Homeland Security has stockpiled more than 1.6 billion bullets, mainly .40 caliber and 9mm. DHS also purchased 2,700 Mine Resistant Armor Protected Vehicles (MRAP). (30-35,0000 drones are on order--being built in Starkville, Miss.) Modern Survival Blog reported: The Department of Homeland Security (through the U.S. Army Forces Command) recently retrofitted 2,717 of these ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ vehicles for service on the streets of the United States. Although I’ve seen and read several online blurbs about this vehicle of late, I decided to dig slightly...

Video footage showed the dramatic moment a SWAT team rammed its way into a North Carolina house after three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant were killed. The officers were serving a felon wanted for possessing a firearm Monday at the home, police said. The officers were first shot at by the wanted suspect as they approached the suburban home in Charlotte. Three officers were killed and five more were hurt. The cops were able to shoot dead the felon in the front yard, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said. A second person then fired on...

The arrival of the US M1A1 Abrams tanks in Ukraine was hailed as a turning point in the war. Coming in at roughly $10 million a unit, the Nato stalwart was supposed to provide the armoured fist that would punch through the Russian lines. But tactics evolve quickly in warfare, and Russia’s use of surveillance and hunter-killer drones has led to heavy casualties for Ukraine’s tank fleets. This is alarming for NATO. If Russia has found critical vulnerabilities in our armour, our borders are beginning to look very vulnerable.

Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines. But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and...

Footage showed numerous destroyed tanks, vehicles as well as multiple Russian casualties dispersed in a field. Ukraine has wiped out on of Russia's biggest tank charges since the start of the war, destroying 12 tanks in one day. Footage showed 48 Russian tanks and other vehicles coming under attack from Ukrainian drones, missiles and artillery. It shows the convoy of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles moving in the east of Ukraine alongside soldiers. Kyiv's forces then struck the convoy as it moved down a single road, taking out 12 tanks and eight armoured vehicles as well as several Russian personnel....

By a long shot, the enduring image of a NATO-standard modern main battle tank in the Russo-Ukraine War is a video of a stopped vehicle getting hammered by cheap FPV drones, before it gets set on fire and burns down to a six-million-dollar hulk. Combat video posted by the 79th Air Assault Brigade on Tuesday, reportedly from the eastern Avdiivka sector, was typical, showing a stationary US-made M1A2 Abrams tank hit with a detonation in the back of the turret, probably by a Russian FPV drone. Three crew hurl themselves from the main battle tank (MBT) as ammunition stored in...

British tanks are designed for military trade shows but not for the battlefield? According to this Sun report the biggest ‘challenge’ for the ‘Challenger’ tank are ordinary puddles by Ukrainian standards. “It keeps getting stuck.” Excellent video.

Soldiers of the 47th Mechanized Brigade showed the combat use of their M1A1 SA Abrams tanks in the Avdiivka direction. And while Russian invaders are trying to understand where Abrams tanks are, tankers of the 47th Mechanized Brigade have been “dismantling” Russian invaders and their equipment for molecules for more than a month,” the Brigade said. In the video, there is shown the presence of ARAT ERA protection on combat vehicles. As Militarnyi previously reported in January the SA tanks of Armed Forces of Ukraine had been equipped with an Abrams Reactive Armor (ARAT-1) protection.