Russia-Ukraine War 2022

Reuters:

Boeing’s proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about a half-dozen plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and America’s Eastern European allies, industry sources said.

Reuters:

Boeing’s proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about a half-dozen plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and America’s Eastern European allies, industry sources said.

Sounds like it would be a very capable system, developed by SABB and Boeing;

A range of 150 km, the ability to hit targets from different angles, and a precision so high it can hit the target within a radius of one meter. Saab and Boeing have together developed the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) – the rocket artillery munition designed to meet the evolving needs of the armed forces.

Capable of reverse slope engagements and defeating defeating multiple threats ranging from hardened facilities to soft-skin assets, GLSDB adds another dimension to your capabilities.

GLSDB builds upon the proven and successful Small Diameter Bomb Increment (SDB I) and Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets. SDB is a 250-pound class weapon with an Advanced Anti-Jam GPS System-aided Inertial Navigation System, combined with a multipurpose, penetrating blast-and-fragmentation warhead and programmable electronic fuze.

GLSDB advantages:

• Increased range
• Guided artillery
• Accuracy to within one metre
• All angle, all aspect attack, even targets behind launch point
• Multiple rockets to act against many targets, with near-simultaneous impact
• All-weather, 24/7 capability
• Terrain avoidance, such as mountains
• Cave-breaching capability
• Launchable from hidden or protected positions to avoid detection
• Programmable impact and delay fuzing for deep penetration or proximity height-of-burst
• SDB Focused Lethality Munition (FLM) variant for low collateral damage
• Laser SDB variant for moving target capability
• The precision of GLSDB is so high it can hit within the radius of a car tire
• Since Boeing's SDB works as a standalone airborne solution, all necessary technology lies within the missile
• GLSDB is launcher independent, which means any launcher of the M270/M142 interface can be used

RUS source about drones and HIMARS:

T
To what extent has this war changed the idea of small drones - should we expect them to appear in all armies now? Speaking philosophically, this war has changed many views on the Armed Forces, not only in terms of drones, but also in terms of command and control. Flaws in the organization of communications, high-precision weapons became visible. I'll give you an example. For example, the American HIMARS themselves are rather mediocre multiple launch rocket systems, they don’t shoot well, they don’t hit so far, but when satellite-guided precision munitions are used in this system, it turns from mediocrity into a first-class tool for suppressing and destroying enemy rear lines. All this works when it can hit the given targets with high accuracy. We also have similar systems, like Uragan and Smerch, which have precision-guided munitions, satellite guidance, and so on. The problem is that the Americans, in addition to high-precision guidance, have a satellite reconnaissance complex. It allows real-time tracking of targets on the surface of the earth. We have the components of multi-domain integration, communications and control, but, unfortunately, the components of multi-spectral spatial reconnaissance have not been given due attention. We thought that the Americans were spending crazy money, sawing the budgets into some kind of meaningless toys. But we proudly open the 1980s ground force combat manual and everything is "fine" with us. But it turned out that these gadgets actually work.

It suddenly became obvious that our army also needed them. This is also a matter of worldview. It is necessary that generations of officers, generals, those who promote military science, change their worldview in terms of applying new modern technologies. We need gadgets that allow us to increase the effectiveness of conventional weapons, the speed of information processing, and combat control. Old weapons that could no longer be upgraded and effectively used, once equipped with "gadgets", can be very effective. In this sense, the war made it possible to look at these approaches with different eyes, to show that those approaches that dominated military science and the military-industrial complex for decades turned out to be outdated and inappropriate. Now it is necessary to develop new solutions that will allow Russian Armed Forces, our military-industrial complex to come together, and to rethink the national security...

Mythologizing the 'real-time' satellite IRS again. They are really good at finding excuses.

This shows nicely what has been wrong with Russian thinking about warfare and technologies involved. I agree that from the surface HIMARS looks rather mediocre compared to say BM30 Smerch. HIMARS is smaller and has significantly smaller weight of fire and doesn't have nearly similar range when using unguided rockets (now long since retired from service). BM30 Smerch fires 12 rockets which are over 3 times as heavy as the rockets used in HIMARS. So it has like 7 times the weight of fire compared to HIMARS. BM-27 Uragan has 16 barrels which shoot similar sized rockets as HIMARS, which has 6 barrels. So I can see why they thought HIMARS as "mediocre".

But HIMARS was never about weight of fire or range really. It was supposed to be very mobile system and development of GMLRS rockets gave it long range (now really long with latest rockets) and very high accuracy. Ukraine has proven that this approach has been very correct one.

Yes, RUS has been very good at finding excuses for everything...

The point of HIMARS is being transportable by C-130. The point of M777 is being transportable by helicopters. This is based on the Vietnam experience. RUS didn't bother with such 'gadgetry'. Doctrinal differences.

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I counted 12 destroyed BMD/BTR-D/Nona in this video. Don't know what the last one is. Very close to the record. What is VDV doing?

VDV losses

The air-droppable vehicles are too thinly-skinned to fight proper armor and artillery. The performance of VDV near Kyiv was very poor. Another outdated doctrine.

Yes, RUS has been very good at finding excuses for everything...

Because at this point this is all they have and they are not very good ones.

Lancet hit a towed howitzer, but apparently didn't inflict much damage.

D-20 M1955 152mm

Turkish Kirpi MRAP heavily damaged by AT mine. Good performance.

Kirpi

No Shahed attacks reported recently. What happened?

Lancet hit a towed howitzer, but apparently didn't inflict much damage.

This is actually something that I've noted and observed a few times in the recent past. Lancet doesn't seem to do much damage. Even against unarmored trucks its effectiveness seems a bit limited.
Those images seem to back up my suspicions (about Lancet).

Turkish Kirpi MRAP heavily damaged by AT mine. Good performance.

I remember when MRAPS first came online for the US in Iraq, it was a game changer.

I remember when MRAPS first came online for the US in Iraq, it was a game changer.

IED was the biggest killer in Iraq and Astan. The emergence of MRAP was a product of necessity. The biggest killers in this war are mine and artillery. MRAP is very useful. The West has a large stock of such vehicles. Should put them into good use.

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Medvedev:

If, as (NATO Secretary-General Jens) Stoltenberg hinted, NATO were to supply the Ukrainian fanatics with Patriot systems along with NATO personnel, they would immediately become a legitimate target of our armed forces,

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The French LRU multiple launch rocket system has arrived in Ukraine, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced on Nov. 29.

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Reagan's speech in Fudan, 1984. Another actor president. Another critical historic juncture. When the US-China relationship was at its highest point pre-1989. When China urgently needed the money and technology from the West.
https://weibo.com/tv/show/1034:48385158 ... _videoshow

Reagan 1984

One can check which part of the speech was censored.
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/ ... ghai-china

After witnessing what happened in this year, in Russia, Iran, China, one can draw the conclusion: authoritarian regimes depend on external aggression, internal oppression, ideological fanaticism, personal cult, party loyalty, cynical corruption etc., no matter how strong and rich they appeare to be on the surface, will inevitably go nuts and descend into chaos, misery and disastrous failures. Rest for sure, they will consume themselves in the most spectacular ways. This may be a comforting note to the West, but also a warning.

Some interesting info (although most of this has been known) in this DoD background briefing:
https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3230937/senior-defense-official-and-senior-military-official-hold-a-background-briefing/

The attacks also show Russia's willingness to increase the risk of a nuclear safety incident, which could have harmful consequences not only in Ukraine but across the wider region as well. Russia has shown no sign of relenting in its attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. And as we have described previously, Iran is providing Russia with an alternative source of weapons as Russia's own supplies diminish.

In this context, air defense capabilities remain an urgent priority for the United States and for our partners, in support of Ukraine. As part of the 25th presidential drawdown package announced earlier this month, we committed missiles for Hawk air defense systems as well as Avenger air defense systems and associated Stinger missiles.

Hawk is a mobile, medium range air defense capability to deny Russian aircraft and missiles flying at high altitudes. The missiles will compliment Spain's recent commitment of Hawk launchers. Avenger is a mobile, short-range air defense system that will improve Ukraine's ability to protect Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure against unmanned aerial systems and helicopters.

Our allies and partners have stepped up in this area too. Secretary Austin highlighted some of the most recent contributions at the last Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on November 16th. Sweden announced its largest assistance package yet, which included air defense systems. Spain promised to send two more Hawk launchers and missiles. And Poland has committed short-range air defense capabilities. And a number of allies and partners have committed advanced medium range air-to-air, or what we call AMRAAM, missiles for the NASAMS air defense system that the U.S. has provided.

And that brings me to Wednesday's announcement of our 26th drawdown of equipment from DOD inventories. This package also includes additional AMRAAM missiles for NASAMS. Two of these systems are now operational in Ukraine and we have committed six more.

As the Secretary has noted, their performance so far in intercepting Russian missiles has been very impressive. Presidential drawdown package 26 also includes 150 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights to help counter unmanned aerial systems.

Now, beyond air defense, this latest package includes a range of other important capabilities, including additional ammunition for HIMARS, 200 precision-guided 155 millimeter artillery rounds, 10,000 120 millimeter mortar rounds, HARM, or High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles, 150 Humvees, and over 100 light tactical vehicles, 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition, as well as spare parts, as we always provide, in this case, for 155 millimeter howitzers as well as other equipment.

Now, with temperatures dropping in Ukraine, it will be a challenging winter but we expect that Ukrainian forces will continue fighting. In anticipation, our latest package includes over 200 generators for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and this is on top of the winter equipment in our previous package, presidential drawdown package 25, which included tents, heaters, and several thousand pieces of cold weather gear.

So now, in total, the United States has committed more than $19 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion on February 24th. We will continue to consult closely with Ukraine and coordinate with our allies and partners to provide Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression.

In terms of the maritime domain, we estimate around three ships that are underway in the Black Sea, including Kalibr-capable ships. Not a lot of air operations from the Russian side. You know, weather has been pretty limiting, I think, in terms of operations on both sides in the air, and we've seen a reduction in air sorties overall. We continue to train the Ukrainians in a number of ways, as do our partners.

This is actually something that I've noted and observed a few times in the recent past. Lancet doesn't seem to do much damage. Even against unarmored trucks its effectiveness seems a bit limited.
Those images seem to back up my suspicions (about Lancet).

It got a heck of a flat tire. Those things are expensive.

So GLSDB is next, then perhaps Patriot after that. The Russians must be 90% beat after just reading about this stuff, and these are only the systems we're hearing about. The technological mis-match on the ground is overwhelming, and many orders of magnitude beyond what I expected.

In the air, the situation isn't much better. It's clear the "modernization" that occurred over the past decade or so is largely superficial. SU-30's, SU-35's + even Mig-31's haven't been able to achieve air superiority, despite a nearly 10-1 numerical advantage (not sure what it is now) and Ukraine flying fighters last upgraded during the 1980's. And it turns out their heavy, expensive TVC/super-maneuverability has largely been a non-factor. What about the Flanker's supposed "reduced RCS"? Apparently, that was BS too as they've largely been relegated to staying in Russian airspace and taking hail mary shots with their larger, BVR AAM's. They've made some incredible claims for the R-37, but I'd love to see some numbers - like how many have they had to shoot to bring ONE Ukrainian fighter down? SU-34's? Forget it. They're buying more, likely because so many have been reduced to brilliant fireballs in the night sky, the result of having to drop dumb bombs from low altitude. I can't think of one Flanker variant that's serving them well. Not a single one..

They made this bed though, now they need to sleep in it. They can largely forget about foreign orders beyond perhaps Iran and will be stuck flying whatever Flankers are left after Ukraine, vs. NATO F-22's, F-35's and soon B-21's. I wouldn't want to be them...

Big screen in the bunker of Bakhmut.
https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/20 ... 60-vpx.cnn

UAV operator

"Here, Russian tanks are mostly fodder."

https://ukrainevolunteer297689472.wordp ... ly-fodder/

Another interesting post from Ukraine Volunteer.

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What happened to the gun?

BMD-2

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Mamba APC with the mark of Kraken got destroyed. Don't know what happened.

Mamba

Preliminary Lessons in Conventional Warfighting from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: February–July 2022
Mykhaylo Zabrodskyi, Dr Jack Watling , Oleksandr V Danylyuk and Nick Reynolds
30 November 2022

https://static.rusi.org/359-SR-Ukraine- ... -final.pdf

It got a heck of a flat tire. Those things are expensive.

https://twitter.com/SignMyRocket/status ... 8828977152