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Well, this should be interesting to see how it plays out.Has the fight to succeed Putin already begun?
Wagner Group leadership in disarray amid "significant" war losses: ISW
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was reportedly in a recent "altercation" with former Russian army commander and nationalist rival Igor Girkin.www.newsweek.com
Didn't France play this game with the LeCerc MBTs, saying they were considering to send some to Ukraine, and then everyone else sent MBTs, but France.Maybe french fighters on the way to Ukrainia some time from now:
I was surprised to read that Canada's Leopards are neglected. We have a Canadian division of Rheinmetall that was supposed to be focused on Leopard maintenance, shown below.
View attachment 704459
Rheinmetall
Rheinmetall Canada is a longstanding partner of the Canadian Armed Forces and offers innovative defence and security solutions and systems.www.rheinmetall.ca
But if Ottawa doesn't pay them, they're not going to work. CAD$5.1 mil a year isn't going to keep 90 plus Leopards in good fettle.
Rheinmetall
The Government of Canada spent an estimated $45.4M in 2021-2022 on contracts with Rheinmetall. The average contract duration was 2.22 years, and the average contract value (not including contracts under $10k) was $5.1M. The longest contract was 8.05 years. The largest contract by value...govcanadacontracts.ca
The CAF needs a total refresh and strategic rethink. The Leopard 2s were bought for the Afghan war. We're never going to deploy MBTs overseas again in anything but penny packets, and they should be disposed of - I'd donote the lot, after refurb to Ukraine. I'd like to see us consider the US' new easier to deploy light tank, the MPF.The phrase "penny-wise and pound-foolish" comes to mind.
If that kicks off the training and transfer of western jets I think is as good as the actual transfer of Mirages & RafalesDidn't France play this game with the LeCerc MBTs, saying they were considering to send some to Ukraine, and then everyone else sent MBTs, but France.
I would worry about the Mirage 2000. I read an article a few month ago and it was with the assistance of the last unit flying the Mirage 2000. It was clear from the article that it had reached the end of its life and wouldn't be up to taking on modern Russian fightersIf that kicks off the training and transfer of western jets I think is as good as the actual transfer of Mirages & Rafales
Yeah, their soul will be free from their earthly body.Wagner Group promised Russian prisoners freedom if they fought in Ukraine — then buried them
Hundreds of graves on the edge of a small farming community bear the insignia of Russia's feared Wagner Group — yet some relatives say they did not even know their loved ones had been recruited.www.abc.net.au
Yeah, their soul will be free from their earthly body.
Also, many of the Ukrainians fled or even turned sides during the initial invasion, especially during Russia's offensive from Crimea into the Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts. Compared to Kyiv and Kharkiv those two folded quickly. Hopefully the UAF has weeded out those types from their ranks.
There's a political cost in that equation that might be glossed-over here.
This is old news from August, and I guess those declarations were influenced by both, the far-left partners in the coalition government who oppose sending offensive weapons, and the refusal of Germany to send leopards at that time.My understanding is that the Spanish Leopards are in such disrepair that they're essentially useless.
The retired 2000 were the C version, older and unupgraded, lacking long range AAMs but with a limited guided bombs capacity but the AdA still operates the 2000-5F, a much improved version with long range AAMs.I would worry about the Mirage 2000. I read an article a few month ago and it was with the assistance of the last unit flying the Mirage 2000. It was clear from the article that it had reached the end of its life and wouldn't be up to taking on modern Russian fighters
Any product that reaches its end-of-life has to be properly recycledI would worry about the Mirage 2000. I read an article a few month ago and it was with the assistance of the last unit flying the Mirage 2000. It was clear from the article that it had reached the end of its life and wouldn't be up to taking on modern Russian fighters
Well, Vlad has been very careful so far to utilise mostly village hicks from the sticks not conscripts from the metropolitan regions around St Petersburg and Moscow.
Its a Win-Win again for Moscow, rids itself of a whole generation of non slavic Urals and Siberian 'Russians'