Quote:
Originally Posted by CraigD6er
Whilst I like armoured trains, I wonder if these may prove vulnerable in a country that has by no means been pacified?
I too wondered at the lack of much modern kit in the Russian front line. We see a lot of light vehicles, Tigr's etc, and slightly older MBT's. I wonder if the better kit is being held back. Let the Ukrainians use up their stocks of ATGW's on the older kit and even on some conscripts 'accidentally' deployed forward, then roll in with the better units once the defenders are worn down. Of course that falls apart when the west, and even neutral nations, keep topping up the defenders stocks with modern and it appears very effective weapons.
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They ARE using the modern stuff with veteran troops in the South and West and those guys are doing moderately well. The issue is that even the newest Russian equipment is underperforming. Combine that with Russia's apparent lack of C3, and you have a recipe for disaster. Modern SU fighters are being shot down because Russia appears to be afraid to put their AWACS in the air (they are sitting in Belarus right now) forcing those fighters to fly low in order to acquire targets. Putin may also be holding back his best equipment in case of a NATO intervention but I think what we are seeing is the ACTUAL PERFORMANCE of the Russian army on whole.
In the 80s and 90s, we (the US Army) were tasked with being able to "Shoot, Move, & Communicate simultaneously" on demand. It took us MANY years of training to figure that third ability out. Russia seems to be still operating on a Cold War standard. I guess something had to give in the budget and new tanks and jets can be sold abroad. We now know that Kontakt and Relikt and SHORTA systems are completely WORTHLESS against NATO missiles and that many units are equipped with reactive armor "bags" or panels stuffed with egg crates or foam (indicating a budgetary issue). The cage armor (developed in the 2nd Chechen War) is useless against JAVELIN and Ukrainian fighters have flown explosive-laden drones right under the cage into the commander's hatch cover (which causes the tank to "pop its top").
In addition, Ukraine has not only utilized the intelligence they are getting from open Russian comms, but they are also concentrating their attacks on the Russian convoys, destroying Russian resupply. A Russian tank without fuel is just a target. We may also be seeing a STRATEGIC LOGISTICS issue. Airliners landing at Moscow airport are being denied jet fuel. Cars, trucks, and buses are being requisitioned. This speaks to Russia not having enough logistics left to keep a fully functioning army on the move. BUT... this is just "phase I" of the operation. The coming "counter-insurgency operation" in Ukraine will have to be massive. I wonder what Putin is thinking now? Will we see his "shirt allergy" reemerge as he tries to play tough?
Anyways LASER PIG the YouTuber has a funny video on Ukraine right now. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/ZPBU_MX1fYE
Swag