I think that if someone can come with something better than the Warthog, they should put up or shut up. The A-10 is like the B-52 -- there's nothing that can fill it's shoes.

They need to warm up production lines for the A-10C.

I wonder If that will happen but for a singularly different reason. The Army is trying hard to abolish or circumvent the Key West Agreement and really does want the A10. There are something like 160 operational airframes and the Army would need them all to fill in the gaps in CAS that they have with the Apache.

All that being said, the A10 would be a good idea for three reasons...

It can operate from "austere airfields."

Its cost of operation per flight hour is the lowest you can get in a combat jet.

Its tech is very Cold War meaning you do NOT NEED lots of high-tech gear to maintain or fight with the jet.

Sadly though, it won't solve Ukraine's most pressing need... CAP (Combat Air Patrol)... Ukraine needs something to stop high-altitude bombers and standoff attacks from Russian jets.

I STILL believe that the easiest route to take is to have all our former Pact members give up their older Mig 29s, SU22s, and even their Mig 21s and then replace THOSE NATO aircraft with F16s.

Helos At War
 

Perun has done an analysis of the use of helicopters in Ukraine.

https://youtu.be/qnoKpXvj41A



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Here's an interesting counterpoint to the A-10s for Ukraine idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEQwlNeL0s

Those are fair points, and if the Ukrainians don't want A-10s, we shouldn't try to foist our unwanted Warthogs on them. I'm kind of surprised that the Ukrainians aren't interested, though, given that they're using SU-25s on a regular basis, but I get that the supply of trained, experienced pilots is limited, and that the greater need is for fighter aircraft.

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I am not some sort of A-10 hater or anything but I find the mythology around it a little tedious. It's got a relatively short combat radius, little air-to-air capability, and is fairly slow. In an environment without air superiority and little in the way of SEAD from friendly forces it would be a sitting duck.

For the Ukrainians in particular it would be nearly useless. It can't mount any weapons they might have in stock. The moment it supplied ammo is spent the jets are just taking up a hangar. The A-10 also has no sensors besides what comes in attached pods. Unless the US is going to also send those then the A-10 is a gun and dumb bombs aimed with iron sights. Ukraine would be much better off getting resources to keep their SU-25s operational.

The A-10 as part of US forces can be formidable because other weapon systems exist to let it do its job. It would be far less effective in other militaries that don't have as deep of a weapon systems bench as the US does.

This is probably true of the Ukrainian supply chain in general. Ukrainian logistics officers must be having nightmares about supplying their troops -- particularly spare parts. Western aircraft would turn that into fever nightmares.

Presentation on Ballistic & Cruise Missiles in Ukraine
 

Here's another video on the employment and also the logistical aspects of the cruise and ballistic missile use in Ukraine.

https://youtu.be/_F7mt4rNVY0


Swag.

Potential Escalations?
 

North Korea might be sending 100k "volunteers" to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...to-help-russia

US AG-88 HARM ARMs have made an appearance in Ukraine.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...ent-to-ukraine

I was under the impression that Cold War era Soviet combat aircraft would require significant modifications to employ advanced US/NATO weaponry.

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Same here I was in a discussion where I thought the only really effective ARM option was Israeli autonomous drones (or the secret DARPA/Skunkworks/CIA equivalent I am sure exists). "Death finds a way" Paraphrasing Ian Malcolm.

It is sort of addressed in the article.

Apparently an Under Secretary of Defense mentioned that we sent anti-radiation missiles that could be fired from Ukrainian aircraft.

https://twitter.com/OstapYarysh/stat...96165760081926

ETA: Also, Russia apparently lost a second BMO-T recently. Not many of those were built to begin with. They're a T-72-based Heavy APC intended for use by flamethrower troops, with 32 RPO-A Shmel thermobaric rocket launchers carried for use by the dismounts.

Armorcast has a video on the T90 that is pretty close to reality. I wasn't going to post this because it roasts the T90 pretty badly but it is kind of accurate. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/4Q83AIJCGaQ


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US Lend Lease Breakdown
 

Here's Cappy breaking down the newest US aid bill to Ukraine (the 53 Billion dollar bill) and it looks like the winner here is going to be the US...

https://youtu.be/sLkgRJqij4k

Swag.

Ukrainian Mobilization
 

Perun has now downloaded a presentation on Ukrainian mobilization and it is certainly worth watching.

https://youtu.be/cVx3Nlifo4Q

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Taiwan's Revolver Drone
 

Here's Taiwan's gift to Ukraine... The Revolver Drone capable of holding EIGHT 60mm Mortar rounds...

https://youtu.be/kOHgVBtV3MQ

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Ukrainian Technical, more sophisticated than African Technicals
 

Here is a very Twilight2000 Ukrainian Technical...

https://youtu.be/onroLhwyj0o

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Gepards to the Front
 

Finally!

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...w-in-the-fight

I've long thought that an SPAAG of some sort would make an interesting PC vehicle- it strikes me as a bit more versatile, and less OP- in terms of armament- than an MBT. And what T2ker hasn't run across a Shilka or equivalent on campaign.

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My one issue with any AA is the fact that TWILIGHT2000 really didn't address the radars that many AA Gun Systems & Missile Launchers have installed in them. Without those rules, the GM is left to fumble about trying to figure out what each radar can actually detect.

MK VI Patrol Boats Slated for Ukraine
 

The MK6 Patrol boat is finding its way into the Black Sea. Here's a video on the MK6...

https://youtu.be/1Dxt0XX_330

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The Effects On Russian Arms Sales Due To Ukraine
 

Here's another presentation from PERUN on the effect of Ukraine on the Russian defense industry...

https://youtu.be/73hBbONvCN0

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Tactical Updates on Ukraine
 

Here's an easy-to-digest update on the war from June till now.

https://youtu.be/WS0D0X8V6rg

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Back in the 80s that was information impossible to come by. And even today with the Gepard SPAAG out of service in the Bundeswehr for 12 years, this is still obscure data and securely guarded data. From what I hear, the source is a former Gepard commander and officer, the latest Gepard could easily detect small drones ot to a couple of kilometers and successfully engage them.

It's just incredibly sad our conservatives dumped the Gepards, under the screams of the AA community, and sold them off across the world. This is one hell of a big cat.

That is a problem, but the solution (other than an RF bonus) would range from cumbersome to nightmarish -- radar detection and ranging is incredibly complicated, which is why the first production stealth designs didn't appear until the late 1970s. I've been trying to come up with something coherent for decades.

Has any checked if the traveller house rules has anything that can help ?

Everything over and above a simple search radar or ranging radar gets complex quickly. I think GDW took three approaches to simplify things: first, radar/lrf/ballistic computer, etc are rolled into a single modifier; second, remove most air assets from the game due to cannon circumstances; finally, limit availability of complex systems using availability and judgement.

That said, much of AD in the 90s was moving towards networked systems. This included linking forward search and cueing systems into non radar equipped fire units, using bridging data structure to merge the air and AD pictures, and expanding engagement envelopes to include non-air breather threats. Most of this structure is probably destroyed or needing repair by 2000, but allowing certain items to remain could help replicate the search and cue capabilities.

The convenient thing about SPAAGs in the T2k-verse is that players/Ref's probably won't ever have to figure out/use radar rules, as aerial targets are few and far between by the late stages of the war. However, those auto-cannons are still useful against ground targets. A SPAAG has a good chance of knocking out anything short of a modern MBT.

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Against an MBT their volume of fire would probably have a pretty good chance of getting a suppression or a mission kill by crazing vision blocks, hitting primary sights, destroying exposed portions of FCS (wind sensors, rangefinders), and knocking off antennas and exposed machine guns. The tank and crew will survive, but they may need to fight degraded or pull off for repair. Against anything less they’d be absolutely deadly.

That might again take new rules!

This reminds me the story out of Vietnam about a Cobra crew who needed to stop a PT-76. Unfortunately, they only had HE rockets, which did not penetrate the PT-76. But they kept firing, and the tank was stopped -- not by destruction or a mobility kill, but by the concussion from the HE explosions on the PT-76 killing the crew.

New rule?

I don’t have my rules handy, so I’m winging it. That might be able to be replicated by rolling for hit and location then allowing for judgement on a non-penetrating hit. The 1st Edition rules with their more detailed vehicle damage would probably be easier to work with. Otherwise you’d need to have a copy of janes handy!

Artillery, especially HE/VT, is the same way. Even 60mm mortar fragments can effect an armored vehicle by chopping off antennas, damaging external weapons or sights, shredding external stowage (esp crew gear), etc.

For overpressure damage in V2.2, I take the Concussion Damage dice and subtract the vehicle's armor protection from that number. If the number is positive, that is the number of D10s you roll for occupant damage. This "blast damage" (like my actual concussion damage) is divided up and applied to ALL the locations with extra damage being applied to specific locations as follows...

Head first
Chest second
Abdomen third
Limbs (start with the arms) last

Personal body armor (other than a bomb suit) DOES NOT work for Concussion Damage.

Vehicle Damage:

I put electronics on the outside lines of my vehicle charts. So you can hit radio antennas, electronics, and optics by rolling that line on my location charts (these resemble the charts used by BATTLETECH the mech game).

I have been kicking around a chart like my Observation and Spotting Chart (yes I have posted that chart in this forum) where a DETECTION radar would have a Skill Difficulty column for...

Large Aircraft above NOA (Nap of Earth)
Large Aircraft at NOA or small aircraft (drones)
Large Ground Targets
Small Ground Targets

Non-Doppler Radars would give range and bearing (with two units needed for altitude triangulation).

Doppler Radars would give a range, bearing, and altitude. It's hard to believe, but before Doppler Radar (and now ESA) everyone needed two radars scanning to pinpoint exact range and altitude.

In addition to DETECTION RADARS, you'd also have a TARGETING Radar that could direct weapons fire. By the '70s, you could combine BOTH Radar types into one unified system.

War isn't Funny, but...
 

Kind of silly, kind of clever: In this parody mashup, HIMARS, representing Ukraine, makes an appearance on America's Got Talent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKJw1K3PA8Y

I read that the HIMARS video was created by the same folks that did the Sir David Attenborough BBC Planet Earth parody about the Javelin Missile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_INS-96zgNE

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I found this video today, it's an American foreign fighter in Ukraine recording his first mission on a helmet mounted GoPro. I found it pretty interesting. Also game-wise I see this as basically the day to day life of T2K characters.

https://youtu.be/5_HupFPE3io

Normal combat footage warnings apply, NSFW etc.

The Ukrainians have integrated HARMs onto their MiGs, with mixed success:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqY9CDsOpvk

I have been really amused by coverage about adapting US/NATO systems to Ukraine's equipment. Commentators act as if adapting NATO weapons to WP equipment is some brand new concept no one has ever tried before. Former Soviet satellites have been working to integrate old WP tech and NATO tech for thirty years.

I don't say that to disparage the Ukrainians at all, they obviously have the tech talent to do the work. I'm 100% sure they've gotten a lot of advice from all their Eastern European NATO neighbors about sticking NATO systems on their WP equipment. Between such advice and their own ingenuity they've pulled some impressive feats. I'm just amused at the breathless commentary from YouTubers.

One of the interesting items I noticed from the cockpit shots was the use of a Garmin commercial GPS receiver in a jury-rigged mount.

As far as mixing the use of Russian and Western equipment, look to the Indians, who do that on a regular basis. They buy systems from everyone, and mix and match as they see fit.

Perun's Weekly Powerpoint
 

Here's Perun's weekly PowerPoint on the Ukraine War discussing logistics and other issues.

https://youtu.be/ce5TR-qWCk4

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Strategic Aims of the Ukrainian Offensive
 

Here is Peter Zeihan's take on the strategic goals of the counter-offensive. While I don't always agree with Mr. Zeihan, he does make a lot of valid points and his economic expertise is far beyond my own.

https://youtu.be/Tb3U9Ydiw64

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