UKRAINE WAR - 1 YEAR AND GOING.

[LadyTevar]

Both sides have been mounting cage armour on the roofs of their vehicles as a means of defence against such attacks.

That and camouflage netting with wire cable or mesh threaded through it strung up high in trees helps catch the larger drones.
There was footage of a Ukrainian T72 under a tree that had 5 suicide drones hung up in the branches and netting above it.

Huh...
I wonder if the captured drones could be safely reprogrammed and reused against Russia?

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Both sides have been mounting cage armour on the roofs of their vehicles as a means of defence against such attacks.

That and camouflage netting with wire cable or mesh threaded through it strung up high in trees helps catch the larger drones.
There was footage of a Ukrainian T72 under a tree that had 5 suicide drones hung up in the branches and netting above it.

Huh...
I wonder if the captured drones could be safely reprogrammed and reused against Russia?

I imagine they would be treated more like UXO, one going off might trigger the rest.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

British defence firm BAE sets up Ukrainian base

LONDON (Reuters) -British defence company BAE Systems said on Thursday it had set up a local entity in Ukraine and signed deals with the government there to help ramp up Kyiv's supply of weapons and equipment.

The move will enable BAE to work directly with Kyiv to explore potential partners for a plan to ultimately produce 105mm light guns, a kind of artillery weapon, in Ukraine, and to better understand Ukraine's capability requirements.

As the UK's biggest defence contractor, BAE has manufactured much of the equipment that Britain and other governments have provided to Ukraine as it fends off Russia's invasion.

Britain is a key defence supplier for Ukraine and in May became the first country to start supplying Kyiv with long-range cruise missiles.

"The best weapons that are currently helping our warriors defend Ukraine should be produced in Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X, formerly Twitter, following a meeting with BAE Chief Executive Charles Woodburn.

"The development of our own weapons production is a top priority," he said.

Zelenskiy had said in May the two sides were working on opening a BAE office in Ukraine.

Kyiv is eager to boost its arsenal, from drones and munitions to tanks, while also trying to boost job opportunities in an economy ravaged by war.

BAE, which has benefited from increased defence spending as a result of the conflict, is already providing training and repair services to Ukraine's armed forces.

"Signing the agreements and establishing a legal entity in Ukraine builds on our existing trust and support and paves the way for us to work together to provide more direct support to the Ukrainian armed forces," BAE's Woodburn said in a statement.

The announcement comes days after Ukraine signed a statement of intent with Sweden to strengthen cooperation in the production and operation of the CV90 family of armoured vehicles, made by a Swedish unit of BAE.

Western defence companies have been weighing opportunities to make weapons in Ukraine against the possible security risks, Reuters reported in June.

[LaCroix]

Shoigu apparently has ordered the biggest AA system producer in Russia (Almaz-Antei) to work around the clock shifts...

Very nice of Shoigu to specified the most damaging target in the RU production chain.

So far, the bookies do not yet have the odds published for a some classic "Smoking Ivan" due to a work incident as people are taking shortcuts to meet quotas, or an Ukrainian airstrike.

[LadyTevar]

The last airstrike on a Russian airport was done WITHIN RUSSIAN TERRITORY, so that factory better not be too close to Moscow.

[The_Saint]

That and camouflage netting with wire cable or mesh threaded through it strung up high in trees helps catch the larger drones.
There was footage of a Ukrainian T72 under a tree that had 5 suicide drones hung up in the branches and netting above it.

Huh...
I wonder if the captured drones could be safely reprogrammed and reused against Russia?

I imagine they would be treated more like UXO, one going off might trigger the rest.

They would be. I imagine the warhead/payload might get adhoc reused, explosive is explosive (there's footage of Ukrainian troops using a grinder to cut open a cluster bomb to access the submunitions for drones).

Some pictures of Ukrainian anti drone screens:

[Lord Revan]

I dunno how real this is but I read an article that said that Russia made propaganda movie painting themselves as the undisputed heroes of this war and it became a box office bomb even in Russia.

[wautd]

I dunno how real this is but I read an article that said that Russia made propaganda movie painting themselves as the undisputed heroes of this war and it became a box office bomb even in Russia.

The Witness/Svidetel? .
From what I heared in an interview from someone who saw it, it makes nazi propaganda from Joseph Goebbels looks more subtle and less hateful by comparisonn as it both dehumanizes Ukrainians and justifies the Russian invasion

[Lord Revan]

I dunno how real this is but I read an article that said that Russia made propaganda movie painting themselves as the undisputed heroes of this war and it became a box office bomb even in Russia.

The Witness/Svidetel? .
From what I heared in an interview from someone who saw it, it makes nazi propaganda from Joseph Goebbels looks more subtle and less hateful by comparisonn as it both dehumanizes Ukrainians and justifies the Russian invasion

Yeah that would be it.

[LadyTevar]

Russia still going for civilians

Russia Drone Attack on Port

A new Russian drone strike has hit Ukrainian port facilities in the Izmail area on the River Danube, killing one person, the local governor says.

Port and agricultural infrastructure was damaged in the overnight attack, according to Oleh Kiper, governor of the surrounding Odesa region.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the reported new attack.

Izmail, across the river from Nato member state Romania, came under Russian drone attack earlier this week.

Ukraine alleged that Russian drones had landed on Romanian territory during that attack but Romania denied this.

Russia has been hitting Ukraine's port facilities along the River Danube for more than a month, trying to prevent Ukraine from using the river to export its grain.

Ukraine is one of the world's major exporters of wheat and corn.

The dispute between Romania and Ukraine came as Russian and Turkish leaders held talks over reviving a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain safely through the Black Sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had travelled to the Russian city of Sochi in an attempt to persuade President Vladimir Putin to restart it.

Mr Putin said the deal, which Moscow abandoned in July, would not be reinstated until the West met his demands for sanctions to be lifted on Russian agricultural produce.

But he did say that Russia was moving ahead with plans to supply free grain to six African countries "and even carry out logistics free of charge".

Also on Tuesday night, the Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under missile attack, the authorities said, but there were no casualties or damage.

All the Russian missiles were destroyed by air defences, a Ukrainian defence official said.

[vakundok]

The Ukranian losses (manpower) seem to be out of proportion compared to the gains. How long can they keep this up?

I was thinking whether there is any change in the Western military design to put the focus on quantity instead of quality (T-34, M4 anyone)?
I can fully believe that an XY tank is as much better than a say T-72 as it is more expensive but if they run into mines, both are dead, and if you have other two T-72s, you can keep advancing.
Also, re-usable drones, eider with gliding bombs or guiding the kamikaze ones (and then providing hundreds of them per day), outsourcing the control via internet (trying to protect the location of the actual controllers, but closing out the ones causing "friendly fire" incidents) - it would be an interesting situation Chinese people remote attacking Russian lines.

[bilateralrope]

If you're aiming for quantity, how about cardboard drones ?

How Australian cardboard drones became a critical innovation in the Ukraine war

The Conversation /
By Paul Cureton
Posted Sun 3 Sep 2023 at 2:44pm

Innovative design choices can have a massive impact in the theatre of war, so it is important to understand the principles behind their development. Recent use of low-cost cardboard drones by Ukraine, supplied by Australia, to attack targets in Russia is a good example of how this can work.

Australia has been supplying Ukraine with 100 of the drones per month from March this year as part of an aid package deal worth an estimated $30 million, following an agreement struck in July 2021, according to the Australian Army Defence Innovation Hub.

Emerging technologies tend to override current technologies, and in turn, this generates competitive counter-technologies. This circular relationship driven by innovation is often critical in warfare as it can provide key technological advances.

Drone technology was originally developed for military use. It was then seen to offer opportunities in the civilian sphere for logistics, delivery and disaster relief. This then in turn has offered new innovations that can translate to military applications.

Conflicts in the future will be particularly shaped by drones, which will have implications for international relations, security and defence.

The Australian firm Sypaq, an engineering and solutions company founded in 1992, created the Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) for use in military, law enforcement, border security and emergency services, as well as food security, asset inspection and search and rescue.

Ukrainian forces reportedly used the PDDS cardboard drones in an attack on an airfield in Kursk Oblast in western Russia on August 27. The attack damaged a Mig-29 and four Su-30 fighter jets, two Pantsir anti-aircraft missile launchers, gun systems, and an S-300 air surface-to-air missile defence system.

Design principles

The design principles behind the success of the drones revolve around several factors including the production cost, airframe material, weight, payload, range, deployment and ease of use. Other considerations include the reliability of the operating software and the ability to fly the drone in various weather conditions.

Generally, small drones offer high-resolution imagery for reconnaissance in a rapidly changing theatre of war. The Corvo drone has a high-resolution camera that provides images covering a large area, transmitting footage back to its user in real time.

The importance of real-time mapping is critical in modern agile armed forces’ command and control as this can direct ground forces, heavy weapons and artillery.

In some cases, the design of small drones is concentrated on adapting the payloads to carry different types of munitions, as seen in the attack in Kursk.

The cardboard drones can carry 5kg of weight, have a wingspan of two metres and a range of 120km at a reported cost of US$3,500 ($5,300). Waxed cardboard is an ideal material as it offers weather resistance, flat-pack transportation (measuring 510mm by 760mm) and, importantly, a lightweight airframe, which enables a longer flight range and a high cruise speed of 60km/h.

Fixed-wing drones also offer longer ranges than rotor-based drones as the wings generate the lift and the airframe has less drag, so they are more energy efficient. They can also fly at higher altitudes. The drones can be launched from a simple catapult or by hand and so can be rapidly deployed.

Low-tech material, hi-tech thinking

Radar involves the transmission of electromagnetic waves, and these are reflected off any object back to a receiving antenna. Cardboard is generally harder to detect by radar — but its components, such as the battery, can be detected.

But the Corvo drone is likely to have a small signature. Radar-absorbing materials are needed to have full stealth properties. These polymers have various absorbing qualities to avoid radar detection.

Another design principle is the swarming capability of the drone. Swarms of drones can overpower air defence systems through sheer volume or can be used as decoys in counterintelligence operations.

Swarms are highly reliant on the development of artificial intelligence, which is still an embryonic research area. But a recent drone race at ETH University in Zurich, in which AI-piloted drone beat drones controlled by world-champion drone racers, highlighted this potential.

All of these design principles and innovations have and are continuing to transform warfare and theatre operations. It is likely that small drones at low cost are likely to have further mission success in the future.

Paul Cureton is a senior lecturer in design (people, places, products) at Lancaster University. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

In more positive news, here's the dramatic moment an advanced Russian attack helicopter, dubbed the ‘Alligator’, is downed by Ukraine’s forces.

Footage shows the successful attack using a portable anti-aircraft missile launcher dispatched by the Swedish army.

A Ukrainian fighter can be heard ordering ‘Shoot’ and just seconds later a jubilant voice yells ‘Got him’.

Costing upwards of £12.5 million, the Ka-52 – hailed by the Kremlin as ‘the world’s best helicopter gunship’ – can be seen plunging to the ground in a fireball.

A video of the aftermath shows fire and smoke spewing from the downed aircraft.

The incident is reported to have happened in August at a field near the recently-liberated Robotyne, in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Footage from Telegram channel War Gonzo showed how – as the ‘Alligator’ was in flames in a field – a Russian transport helicopter flew close and landed.

The pilot was able to run with two rescuers intohelicopter even as thick black smoke poured from his aircraft.

‘Immediately after the crash of the helicopter at the site moved an Mi-28, which surveyed the area, established the location of the survivor and sent a signal for evacuation,’ said the channel.

‌’A short time later, a transport helicopter landed on the field and picked up the pilot.’

The Ka-52 is capable of eliminating ground targets such as tanks, armored and unarmored vehicles and slow-moving airborne targets, according to Airforce Technology.

As troops inch closer to the frontline as part of the three-month counteroffensive, their effectiveness has been thrust into the spotlight.

Ukrainian forces reported the downing of two ‘Alligators’, one near Robytyne, and the other in the vicinity of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region.

Altogether Russia is believed to have lost nine such strike helicopters in the war with Ukraine.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Russia still going for civilians

Russia Drone Attack on Port

A new Russian drone strike has hit Ukrainian port facilities in the Izmail area on the River Danube, killing one person, the local governor says.

Port and agricultural infrastructure was damaged in the overnight attack, according to Oleh Kiper, governor of the surrounding Odesa region.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the reported new attack.

Izmail, across the river from Nato member state Romania, came under Russian drone attack earlier this week.

Ukraine alleged that Russian drones had landed on Romanian territory during that attack but Romania denied this.

Russia has been hitting Ukraine's port facilities along the River Danube for more than a month, trying to prevent Ukraine from using the river to export its grain.

Ukraine is one of the world's major exporters of wheat and corn.

The dispute between Romania and Ukraine came as Russian and Turkish leaders held talks over reviving a deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain safely through the Black Sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had travelled to the Russian city of Sochi in an attempt to persuade President Vladimir Putin to restart it.

Mr Putin said the deal, which Moscow abandoned in July, would not be reinstated until the West met his demands for sanctions to be lifted on Russian agricultural produce.

But he did say that Russia was moving ahead with plans to supply free grain to six African countries "and even carry out logistics free of charge".

Also on Tuesday night, the Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under missile attack, the authorities said, but there were no casualties or damage.

All the Russian missiles were destroyed by air defences, a Ukrainian defence official said.

At least 17 killed and dozens wounded after Ukraine market missile attack

A Russian missile attack has killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more in a market in eastern Ukraine, officials have said.

Power lines, 20 shops, an administrative building and the floor of an apartment building were damaged in the blast, that was caught on CCTV.

At least 17 people were killed and 32 more were wounded in the blast, and crews continue to search the rubble for any trapped civilians, authorities said.

Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, Ihor Klymenko reported that emergency workers extinguished the flames that burned an area of 300 square meters (3,200 square feet).

The fatal attack came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv and was expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding.

Mr Blinken's visit was also aimed at assessing Ukraine’s three month-old counteroffensive and signal continued backing from the US.

It comes as some Western allies have expressed concerns about Kyiv’s slow progress in driving out Russian forces after 18 months of war, according to US officials.

"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent," Mr Blinken said.

"We’re also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that US assistance to Ukraine “can’t influence the course of the special military operation.”

Mr Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an overnight visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city.

He was expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials to discuss the ongoing counteroffensive and reconstruction efforts.

Overnight, Russia fired cruise missiles at Kyiv in its first aerial attack on the capital since August 30, according to Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv’s regional military administration.

Debris from a downed missile struck a business in the capital, causing a fire and damage, but there were no casualties reported.

In the Odesa region, one person was killed in a Russian missile and drone attack on the port of Izmail that damaged grain elevators, administrative buildings and agricultural enterprises, authorities said.

The war could stretch deep into next year and beyond, according to experts.

Both Russia and Ukraine will have to assess their supply shortages, with more battles of attrition likely over the winter.

Ukrainian forces are advancing without air cover, making their progress harder and slower, while Russia has launched its own push in the northeast to pin down Ukrainian forces and prevent them being redeployed in the south.

Ukraine has adapted its tactics in recent weeks, moving from attempts to bludgeon its way through Russian lines with Western-supplied armor to better-planned tactical strikes that make incremental gains, according to the think tank, Royal United Services Institute.

[LaCroix]

Tonight, Elon Musk declared for Russia...

This night, UA launched a huge drone attack on Sewastopol, sinking a Kirov Sub, a landing vessel and damaging some other ships.

Right when the thing started, Starlink went out, just like the last time.
This time, it did not affect the drones, tho - seems UA has learned their lesson not to rely on Starlink for drone command.

Good job Elon - no government (apart from Russia) will ever bother with your service now, after you showed your colors.

And yes - this was a covert attack - but we all know that Starlink antennas send positional data - if not, Elon could never have done his "no use in combat zones decree" that he had to be talked out of by the US government to stop his bullshit.

[LaCroix]

A crap - I meant Kilo Sub...

And it seems it was a combined drone&missile attack - most of the drones are said to have been intercepted, but the missiles went through.

Seems to be seem if the drones were sabotaged by the oh so convenient starlink outage. On the other hand - Russia also has a track record of counting drones that were stopped by a ship hull as 'intercepted'...

[Zaune]

How much do you want to bet that Russian forces aren't being affected? Because if he was being consistent about this and not allowing either side to use Starlink for military comms traffic then that'd be one thing, if he didn't want to make his company assets and employees a legitimate military target then fair enough, but somehow I doubt it.

[bilateralrope]

Tonight, Elon Musk declared for Russia...

This night, UA launched a huge drone attack on Sewastopol, sinking a Kirov Sub, a landing vessel and damaging some other ships.

Right when the thing started, Starlink went out, just like the last time.
This time, it did not affect the drones, tho - seems UA has learned their lesson not to rely on Starlink for drone command.

Good job Elon - no government (apart from Russia) will ever bother with your service now, after you showed your colors.

And yes - this was a covert attack -

Yes, Starlink did have issues across the globe. I don't know if it was a complete outage or if some people still had connections. But I'm going to need more evidence to convince me that Elon was involved in it. All you have is a correlation between one outage and one attack by Ukraine. In a war where Ukraine is launching a lot of drone attacks. Why would Elon have picked this attack instead of the many previous ones ?

I'm going to wait a bit for an explanation of why the outage happened before I'll be convinced either way. Though the longer Starlink stays silent, the more I'll be leaning towards it being Elon's idea because I don't give companies the benefit of the doubt when they stay silent.

but we all know that Starlink antennas send positional data - if not, Elon could never have done his "no use in combat zones decree" that he had to be talked out of by the US government to stop his bullshit.

Starlink antennas need to send that positional data so the satellites know which cell to send data to. Anyone who looks at Starlink should know that. So, if you're going to be using drones that can operate without Starlink, including a Starlink antenna on them seems like a bad idea due to the increased cost and information shared.

[LaCroix]

Why would Elon have picked this attack instead of the many previous ones ?

He did the same thing the last time there was an Ua drone attack at the Black Sea Fleet. Said he did not want to escalate, so the Russians would use nukes...

Next big attack, again a internet outage - excactly during the attack? Coincidence is a bitch, eh?

Pretty sure he just used a killswitch to shut the system down to have some deniability - bla bla static discharge by plastic rulers, microsoft reboot, data loss due to LAN cable cure radius, sun flare, routine maintenance, service cycle software malfunction, blabla - there is a handy IT technician excuse calendar for all this.

And then his constant blatant interference on Russia's behalf to trow on the other scale...

[bilateralrope]

Why would Elon have picked this attack instead of the many previous ones ?

He did the same thing the last time there was an Ua drone attack at the Black Sea Fleet. Said he did not want to escalate, so the Russians would use nukes...

I can see how he could have figured out that the Black Sea Fleet was the target just by looking at how the drones were moving.

But how would he have figured out that Ukraine were going after a sub ?

At this point, I don't even know if the drones performing this attack were using Starlink. All we know is that they completed the mission after Starlink went down. If they weren't using Starlink at all, then Elon wouldn't have any information on where the drones were heading.

Even if we assume that they were using it and had a constant connection, that still leaves the question of how Elon identified a submarine as the target when I doubt Russia would be telling anyone where the sub was.

Pretty sure he just used a killswitch to shut the system down to have some deniability - bla bla static discharge by plastic rulers, microsoft reboot, data loss due to LAN cable cure radius, sun flare, routine maintenance, service cycle software malfunction, blabla - there is a handy IT technician excuse calendar for all this.

Also there is the matter of DOD getting involved after last time and striking some deal to keep Starlink operating in Ukraine, as well as having other contracts with SpaceX. I don't know the details, but I doubt they will be happy about unexplained downtime.

[LaCroix]

But how would he have figured out that Ukraine were going after a sub ?

He didn't - even Ukraine didn't - this was a harbour attack at Sewastopol - they simply attacked whatever they found, including submarines at anchor.

[Zaune]

Yes, Starlink did have issues across the globe. I don't know if it was a complete outage or if some people still had connections. But I'm going to need more evidence to convince me that Elon was involved in it.

That's a good point, now you mention it. It's entirely possible that they had a genuine outage due to technical difficulties arising from the same kind of manglement that comes up regularly in the thread about Twitter, but Musk decided to capitalise on the coincidental timing and claim it was intentional because he's under the impression that this would play better in the press.

Why he would want to be seen rooting for the side that's losing, you might well ask? Presumably the Ukrainians are less generous with their plain envelopes full of used notes.

[Solauren]

Why he would want to be seen rooting for the side that's losing, you might well ask? Presumably the Ukrainians are less generous with their plain envelopes full of used notes.

My theory: He thinks Russia will lose, and take infrastructure damage in the process. (i.e Ukraine retakes all their lost territory, and then pounds the crap out of Russia to make sure they can't do it again). He wants to be remember as a 'friend' to get in on the rebuilding efforts and $$$.

[Lord Revan]

Musk? could more of an ideological thing too, Russians are quite bigoted and so is Musk so it could be case of cheerleading the side that's closer to his own ideology and thinking he's too rich to suffer for it (and he might even be right).

[Ralin]

I suspect it's more his desire to be seen as the big brain peacemaker at some point. Though I'd be shocked if he doesn't also have financial interests that the Russian government can fuck with.