"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (20 Viewers)

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Arguably a Fokker DR.1 would be better. Manoeuvrable as hell, good speed match for most drones, able to operate of rough fields, takeoff less than 100m, cheap airframe that is probably low observable to a large degree…
 
GTX said:
Arguably a Fokker DR.1 would be better. Manoeuvrable as hell, good speed match for most drones, able to operate of rough fields, takeoff less than 100m, cheap airframe that is probably low observable to a large degree…
Click to expand...
We couldn't use the colour red, though. Pity.
 
From an op-ed at the Hill:

While legislators debated, Ukrainian lives were lost on the front line. Each day's delay in receiving aid translates directly to more casualties and gives the Russian aggressor a continued advantage. The slow churn of the legislative process, while a feature of democratic governance, becomes a bug during times of urgent crisis.

Moreover, the rhetoric surrounding the aid often hints at a reluctance to fully commit to Ukraine's defense capabilities. Discussions about what weapons systems to send and in what quantities often come with cautions against provoking Russia further. This hesitancy is not just a logistical matter but a moral one. It sends mixed signals to both allies and adversaries and potentially emboldens further aggression from Moscow.

Has Ukraine just won a timely triumph, or lost due to a tragic delay?

Will the U.S. learn from the past, or is it doomed to repeat it?
thehill.com
 

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine, April 28 (Reuters) - Oleksandr Taran's mobile artillery unit isn't officially part of Ukraine's military, but that hasn't stopped his men from destroying Russian targets on their own dime.

"We ... get by thanks to the pension fund," the 68-year-old commander - whose call sign is "Grandpa" - said with a chuckle.

Taran's all-volunteer unit, the Steppe Wolves, is comprised of dozens of Ukrainian men mostly over 60 years old who are considered too old to be drafted but still want to fight.

Roving behind the front line with truck-mounted rocket launchers, they take orders from field commanders and work with other troops, contributing to the war effort despite lacking official support from the military.

The unit is funded by donations and stocked with faulty rounds they repair themselves as well as weapons captured from the enemy. Both are delivered to them by front-line troops.
When Reuters recently visited their base in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, they were preparing 122mm Grad rocket rounds that were later fired by troops from another unit.

"The commanders that provide us with targets are happy," said a 63-year-old fighter with the call sign "Zorro".

"They give us more targets (and) help us with ammunition however they can."

Taran, the commander, said his unit has been attempting to officially join Ukraine's armed forces to directly receive ammunition - and salaries - but has been unsuccessful.
The unit also includes younger men who have been ruled unfit to fight.

 
One thing this war has done is shaken the cobwebs out of US military production. Before the war the US was apparently producing about 10k 155mm shells per month. Now the US is producing about ten times that number. I wonder if the rate of F-16 production has increased. This old article suggests of added capacity. Outside of the EU, arms factories that had been on slow burn have ramped up production. The industry should thank Putin when this is done.
 

Lockheed Martin is expecting to significantly increase its production of the F-16 Fighting Falcon in the coming years, though it will struggle to overcome delivery delays to critical U.S. security partners such as Taiwan.

The company—twice sanctioned by the Chinese government for supplying weapons and equipment to Taipei—is aiming to ramp up its annual output of the latest F-16 Block 70/72 variant, or the F-16V, to 36 units by the end of the year, company officials told the specialist magazine Air and Space Forces. By 2025, they want to build 48 jets per year.

But orders at the defense contractor's plant in Greenville, South Carolina, are piling up—a testament to the remarkable popularity of the fighter jet, which last month celebrated half a century since its maiden flight in 1974.

Long-time customer Taiwan finds itself in the queue alongside Bahrain, Bulgaria, Greece, Jordan and Slovakia, and likely Ukraine soon. The island's air force is a major operator of the airframe, but its pilots and aging fleet continue to be strained by Chinese warplane maneuvers in its surrounding airspace.

China-sanctioned Lockheed Martin ramps up F-16 production for US allies

Taiwan, whose air force faces daily challenges from neighboring China, may not receive its full fleet of new F-16s for another three years.
www.newsweek.com
 
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