Russian special military operation in Ukraine #48

Ukraine was supposed to have at least a battery of those, back in 2021. With three radars formally delivered, and about two dozen of missiles officially produced.
How many you have spotted being used?

Actually, I have not recorded a single usage of those, while the whole "sinking Moskva" saga was obviously not caused by that.
And Russkie pummeled the production facility in Odessa that produced those turning it to rubbles.
So my first wonder is if they even get a single working missile, or was that a fraud from the beginning?
Kerch bridge was well in range since the very beginning, and the missile was capable to hit it in theory. Wouldn't they dare for such a juicy target having the range and tool?

JohninMK wrote:The bridge must even look like the superstructure of a ship!

Meanwhile, the arrogance and stupidity of the US continues as they try to pass the blame to their patsy.

Any single NATO army wouldn't stand a week under the Russkie barrage of this atrocious disparity.
No matter what we are saying about Ukrainians, they are brave soldiers deeply devoted to this mad twisted concept of defending homeland.
US arrogance will kill them once.

Zelensky demanded magic in the air from the West, 08.31.2023.

President of Ukraine believes that 160 F-16 fighters will eliminate Russian dominance in the air.

One hundred and sixty F-16 fighters were demanded by the President of Ukraine from the West. Only so many combat vehicles are capable, he says, of challenging Russia's air supremacy. How much does such a request cost, and does the Kyiv regime have even the slightest chance of getting such a number of fighters?

The head of the Kyiv regime, Volodymyr Zelensky, for the first time, announced the exact number of American F-16 fighters required by Ukraine. According to him, "we need about 160 fighters to have a powerful air force that will not give Russia the opportunity to dominate the airspace." Zelensky claims that there are already agreements on receiving "50-60" cars of this class. There are only about a hundred left.

Indeed, Ukraine has already been promised F-16s. On August 20, Zelensky, for example, visited the Netherlands and announced that he would receive 42 fighter jets from this country “after training our pilots and engineers.” Later, Denmark also announced the transfer of its F-16s to Ukraine, however, without specifying the number of vehicles and the timing of their transfer.

Where Zelensky is right is in assessing the critical role of manned aircraft in the current conflict. As well as the fact that it is thanks to the powerful Air Force that Russia dominates the air of Ukraine.

Air supremacy gives Russian troops several key advantages at once. Firstly, Russian bomber aircraft can bomb enemy ground positions with virtually impunity, especially with the use of air bombs equipped with UMPC (Universal Planning and Correction Module). But air bombs are a much more powerful and effective means of destruction than artillery. If only because an aerial bomb contains several hundred, and sometimes even more, kilograms of explosives, and an artillery shell contains only a few kilograms.

Secondly, it was the Russian army aviation (namely, the Ka-52 and Mi-28 helicopters equipped with guided missiles) that played the most important role in repelling the Ukrainian “counterattack”. Russian helicopters actively destroyed Ukrainian armored vehicles. Including "Leopards" of German production. This would be impossible if Ukraine could use fighter aircraft against Russian helicopters.

Thirdly, Russian aviation poses a direct threat to the Ukrainian fleet, or rather, to what is left of it. Ukrainian landing craft, along with their crews and troops, have been actively destroyed by Russian Su-30SM and Su-24 in recent days.

Finally, the "Russian AWACS" - A-50 aircraft are the most important tool for target designation and reconnaissance. With the help of the A-50, the headquarters of the Russian Air Force direct Russian fighters at targets, have the ability to detect and recognize air targets in the sky of a special operation, including enemy drones.

Thus, both air cover and air strikes are Russia's most important advantage over Ukraine in the current conflict. The Kiev regime complains about this advantage all the time and wants to eliminate it all the time.

The exact composition and combat capabilities of the Russian Air Force are, of course, a military secret. According to Mark Milley, head of the US Chiefs of Staff Committee, "the Russians have hundreds of fourth and fifth generation fighters."

Of course, the RF Armed Forces do not use all of their combat aviation during the NMD, just as not the entire army as a whole. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has never published exact data on the number of aircraft used during the special operation, however, indirect indicators of the combat use of aviation are regularly reported. For example, the number of sorties over a certain period of time or the number of targets hit. Based on these data, it can be assumed that Russia uses during the NMD a grouping of combat manned aircraft of approximately 100-200 vehicles, including both fighters and bombers.

Apparently, Zelensky proceeds from information close to this assessment. That is why he requires 160 F-16 fighters. Such a number, with proper management and organization, is really capable of creating difficulties for Russian aviation in the performance of combat missions during a special operation. To create at least parity in the combat capabilities of the air forces of Russia and Ukraine, to challenge Russia's dominance in the air.

But what Zelensky is clearly wrong about is that he will get these 160 combat vehicles at his disposal. At least in such numbers and in the near future, well, at least in 2024. Moreover, combat-ready, equipped, having all the necessary types of services - and, of course, trained crews. Pilots, without whom all these machines are just beautiful scrap metal.

No, not just beautiful, but also very expensive. Let's return to the American General Mark Milley. Not so long ago, he spoke about the price of the issue of supplying the Kyiv regime with American combat aircraft.

“Just to do a quick math exercise: 10 [fighter-bomber] F-16s are worth two billion dollars,” Milley said . But Zelensky does not ask for ten - he asks for 160 cars. In other words, equipment, according to a very rough estimate, worth 32 billion dollars.

This is only a quarter less than Ukraine's budget deficit this year ($40 billion). Covered, by the way, by the European Union and the IMF.

What is 160 F-16 fighters and which countries have a comparable number of such machines? For example, Türkiye has almost three hundred such fighters of various modifications in its Air Force. About 150 F-16s are in Greece, a little more - in South Korea, more than two hundred - in Israel and Egypt. The air force, which includes 150-200 fighters (though of other models), has the largest countries in Europe - France and Germany.

All these countries received these machines from the manufacturer not at all in one sitting, but for decades, in small batches. For decades, they have been preparing systems for their maintenance, repair, training of pilots and technical personnel, and airfield infrastructure. Any Air Force is like the Egyptian pyramids in terms of complexity and production costs. They are created very slowly, very difficult and very expensive. Although, unlike the pyramids, they can be destroyed in a very short time.

And now Zelenskiy wants the Western partners of the Kyiv regime to magically recreate the Ukrainian Air Force. Moreover, they were created in a few months at a level - both from the point of view of technical and from the point of view of combat training - corresponding to the level of the Air Force of a number of leading countries of the world.

“It will take years to train [Ukrainian] pilots. Years to maintain [equipment],” says General Milley.

And most likely, the general voices the most optimistic assessment for Ukraine. Qualitative training of military pilots will take at least five years. With the most intense classes and workouts. With no language barrier. This means that most likely, not Ukrainians at all, but mercenaries will sit at the controls of the Ukrainian F-16s: for example, Polish ones. At least for the foreseeable future.

Maybe the Ukrainian Air Force will actually receive some F-16s before the Russian-led special operation is over. But they definitely will not receive one hundred and sixty such combat vehicles until this moment. And after that, even more so.

https://vz.ru/world/2023/8/31/1228317.html

High-precision Raptor rifles handed over to snipers participating in the NWO, by Alexander Stepanov for Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 08.31.2023.

High-precision tactical rifles BespokeGun Raptor Tactical .338 LM were handed over to snipers of the 155th brigade of the Pacific Fleet, the Viking special forces detachment and a separate unit of the 1st Slavic brigade, which are now participating in the battles in the South Donetsk direction.

These rifles were designed specifically for heavy snipers involved in military special operations. When creating them, almost all the wishes of the shooters who are now fighting in the NVO zone were taken into account.

According to representatives of the Moscow arms company, the transfer of rifles to representatives of the 155th brigade and the Viking detachment was not accidental. The heavy snipers of the 155th brigade are known as the most effective Russian shooters in the special operation zone. In turn, the commander of the Viking special forces, in addition to direct participation in hostilities, conducts combat training of volunteers from all over Russia in the DPR and trains units of UAV operators to participate in the SVO.

As the commander of a separate unit of the 1st Slavic brigade with the call sign "Ural" said, it is important for snipers that the sniper systems that are used in the NVO zone are reliable so that a trained shooter can be guaranteed to hit targets at certain distances. According to him, the Raptor sniper complex gives a full guarantee that at a distance of up to 1800 meters the target can be hit. "This rifle is of the highest level and is comparable to the best Western models, which are recognized as leaders among snipers," Ural stressed.

According to him, such rifles should fall into the hands of only highly qualified specialists so that they can reach their full potential.

The commander of the special forces detachment with the call sign Viking said that if a high-class sniper starts working in a position, the enemy immediately feels it.

“If we are talking about the Raptor complex, then this means that the distance to the target is at least a kilometer. The enemy does not understand where the shooting is coming from, starts to panic. do not stick out of the trenches," Viking stressed. He also noted that thanks to silent shooting devices, or, as they are called in the army, "cans", which are put on the barrel of a rifle, there is a strong dispersion of sound, and the enemy is not able to understand where the shooting is coming from. In addition, working on the enemy from a long distance in the first place allows you to save the lives of snipers.

"Viking" said that in one of the directions where his sniper group was deployed, the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine went without bulletproof vests and helmets. After the snipers began their work, the enemy dug trenches to their full height and immediately put on all the protective ammunition.

Good snipers can even decide the outcome of battles. A pair of snipers can stop a battalion from advancing if done right.
Speaking about his work on the line of contact, "Viking" emphasized that good snipers can even decide the outcome of battles. "I believe that a good pair of snipers can stop even a battalion on the offensive, if everything is done competently and correctly," Viking stressed.

"Viking" said that the training of a qualified sniper lasts for years. “I myself have been doing this for 10 years and I understand that there is no limit to perfection in our profession. I am constantly discovering something new for myself,” he said. In his opinion, one of the main features of a sniper is not the absence of fear. After all, anxiety is inherent in everyone.

"A sniper should not be afraid to die, he should not even think about it. If you have chosen the sniper profession, then you must understand that everyone will hunt for you. As soon as the enemy begins to understand at least approximately where the fire is coming from, you will be everything works - artillery, tanks, mortars, heavy machine guns, a drone will fly in and try to throw something at you.The enemy understands perfectly well what a sniper’s hunting is fraught with.I repeat, a well-trained sniper pair working on the enemy can really sow panic in his ranks ", - added "Viking". In such extreme conditions, he stressed, a good sniper must keep his presence of mind, not give in to panic, having completed the task, competently leave his position.

As the representative of the arms company Yaroslav Tabolsky said, the rifles are supplied to the fighters free of charge: “The Raptor is very expensive, and we understand that our snipers simply cannot pay that kind of money. Many people contact our company who are ready to pay the cost of the weapon and hand it over to the fighters personally ". According to him, now heavy snipers have more than 300 Raptor rifles in the NVO zone. "Our weapons are successfully used in many units in the NVO zone. And despite the significant number of samples supplied and active operating experience, we have not received a single complaint," Tabolsky emphasized.

Raptor is capable of effectively hitting targets at ranges up to 1850 m. The mass of the rifle without additional devices is 7.1 kg. Accuracy of fire does not go beyond 0.3 arc minutes. This means that an experienced shooter can literally hit the same spot twice. The main caliber of the rifle is .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6 × 70 mm). The mass of the bullet is 16.2-19.4 grams, and the initial speed is in the region of 900 m / s.

According to the manufacturers, the rifle has a number of unique characteristics. The first is accuracy and accuracy, which fully meets modern standards over the entire distance of a long-range shot. This allows you to maximize the full potential of the caliber used. The second is stable operation throughout the entire resource of the weapon and the possibility of hitting the target from the first shot - the absence of the so-called cold break. And, probably, the most important thing is the reliability of the rifle in difficult conditions. Another of the advantages of the rifle is the minimum impulse recoil.

"We have constant feedback from the users of our products and take into account all the wishes from snipers located in the NVO zone, and above all, this concerns the completion of rifle complexes with new additional devices and accessories," Tabolsky emphasized.

https://rg.ru/2023/08/31/vysokotochnye-vintovki-raptor-peredali-uchastvuiushchim-v-svo-snajperam.html