"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (39 Viewers)

GrauGeist said:
But the Ukraine AF is constantly rotating their FOBs - so there is no one single fixed location.
This has been one of the UAF's saving graces since day one.
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Is the F-16 with its dainty nose gear rough strip capable? Maybe the Gripen with its twin nose wheel is more apt for roads and makeshift airfields?

intro_f-16ccipt.jpg


jas39-front.jpg


The Gripen above has nose gear more like the rough and tumble MiG-29.

mig-29-front.jpg
 
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is increasingly relying on irregular volunteer and proxy forces rather than conventional units and formations of the Russian Federation Armed Forces. ISW has previously reported that Putin has been bypassing the Russian higher military command and Ministry of Defense leadership throughout the summer and especially following the defeat around Kharkiv Oblast. Putin's souring relationship with the military command and the Russian (MoD) may explain in part the Kremlin's increasing focus on recruiting ill-prepared volunteers into ad-hoc irregular units rather than attempting to draw them into reserve or replacement pools for regular Russian combat units.

Institute for the Study of War

www.understandingwar.org www.understandingwar.org
 
Admiral Beez said:
Is the F-16 with its dainty nose gear rough strip capable? Maybe the Gripen with its twin nose wheel is more apt for roads and makeshift airfields?

View attachment 687726

View attachment 687727

The Gripen above has nose gear more like the rough and tumble MiG-29.

View attachment 687730
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Doesn't need to be rough strip capable. All it needs is a straight road.

Every autobahn in Germany for example is a runway. Strategy during the cold war was to disperse the NATO fleet throughout the country and use them if the balloon had gone up.
 
Jabberwocky said:
I feel like a single F-35 squadron, along with the sustainment that needs to be in place to support it, would probably end up as the world's greatest magnet for PGMs.

If Ukraine did get a squadron and then the Russians learnt what base of operations they were using, I could see every cruise missile and long range drone remaining in the Russian inventory heading that way in very short order.
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Well, on the other hand, Ruzzia will be out of missiles. Now, can you guys head to Ukraine and start building dummy F-35s? Don't waste time getting squadron markings right.
 
Ukraine and Lockheed were working on a deal for F-16s about a year ago.

Chris answered the question regarding improv ops for the F-16 - it can operate from highways.
It is necessary to conduct an FOD walk prior to it's taking off, but there are countless stretches of roadway where it can deploy from.

Where the MiG-29 is superior to the F-16, is it can operate from most hard surfaces and it's intake system is designed with that in mind. In other words, it's not confined to maintained airfields or highways.
 
Ukraine needs to be careful it doesn't repeat the mistakes the Russians have made:

www.bbc.com

Deadly Donetsk blasts hit separatist-run city in Ukraine

The Russia-backed mayor of the eastern city of Donetsk blames Ukrainians for the blasts that killed 13.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
GrauGeist said:
As far as Russia's nuclear arsenal is concerned, what shape are the missiles in? Judging how their equipment has performed so poorly in combat, I imagine their nukes are in a comparable state of fitness.
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While I could be wrong, I would assume those would be kept in tip-top shape even if most of the conventional arsenal was disintegrating.
And those 10 percent have to make it through the wall of interceptors situated around North America, the Atlantic and Pacific.
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From what I recall the whole idea of MAD was that even if one side knocked out 90% of the nuclear capability of the other side, the remaining 10% would be enough to bomb the other off the face of the Earth.

drgondog said:
One political comment here is now inserted "Except for the Release of Covid-19" which was the greatest Ever destroyer of free economy and prosperity across the globe for a non-kinetic weapon. China has not been held accountable by Any Nationstate.
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I'm leery to even touch this one, but wouldn't that have to be proven to have been intentional for a sovereign nation to be held to account?
1. Take NATO acceptance off the table and make it clear to Zelensky that we are NOT going (intentionally) to full blown war on Ukraine behalf. BTW we may get there anyway because not very many Western leaders are dealing with a full deck.
2. Engage China, Turkey and France to meet with Russia (not just Putin) to fully understand the hard red lines outside of NATO membership. I say engage China and France and Turkey- but not US, because I truly believe we have fucked this up beyond repair across at least four Presidents.
3. Under ZERO circumstances support any cross border activity from NATO military into Ukraine.
4. Be prepared with a de-escalation plan when Russia shuts down the grid and attacks all inbound shipments from NATO countries.
5. Make it clear to Russia that not only will we continue to arm Ukraine until a settlement is obtained, but also make it clear to Ukraine that they cannot use NATO as a negotiating lever to blugeon Russia.
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Has any of this been done?
 
GrauGeist said:
The Ukraine military is not known for shelling random civilian targets, they tend to be more conservative with their supply of munitions and save them for legimate targets.
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Agree...the problem is that we have 13 deaths from "something." If Ukraine says it was Russia shelling the areas it occupies, then Kyiv starts to sound like Moscow (the latter did claim, early in the war, that Ukrainian forces were shelling their own towns and cities).

Now, it's entirely possible that there were legitimate targets in the vicinity and the casualties were either collateral damage or due to some mistake on the part of the attacking force. As always, I'm trying to square the very partial (both in terms of limited quantity and in terms of bias) information we receive.
 
It could also have been an effup in adjusting the arty coords, too. That the rounds fell short near a bus station is a horrible result of incompetence (no matter which side screwed up).
 
GrauGeist said:
It could also have been an effup in adjusting the arty coords, too. That the rounds fell short near a bus station is a horrible result of incompetence (no matter which side screwed up).
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When I was stationed in Germany in the early Sixties there was an accident at Graffenwoehr (sp?). An artillery unit was training on the range and a round landed short or long (I can't remember which) and landed in a bivouac area, killing quite a few US troops. It happens.
 
drgondog said:
1. Take NATO acceptance off the table
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If there's any nation I want in NATO, a democratic, West-leaning nation that's both on the front line with autocratic/expansionist Russia and demonstrably capable of kicking its ass, it's Ukraine.

I'd expel the useless, fence-sitting Turks in exchange for Ukraine.
 
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Dimlee said:
South Korea, probably. I wish Ukraine to strengthen its military cooperation with the East. With the "western" East... Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore - there is a lot to share and to learn from each other.
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If you are thinking of things such as the T-50 family remember that they still incorporate significant quantities of US ITAR controlled material.
 
www.defense.gov

Aid Earmarked for Ukraine Includes Cold Weather Gear

The latest $600 million transfer of U.S. military assistance approved by President Biden brings the total given to Ukraine to $15.1 billion since Russia's unprovoked invasion, Pentagon Press Secretary
www.defense.gov
 
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