Westerners are such idiots. Putin is draining NATO of its anti-aircraft missiles by sending crappy old aircraft flown by drunken convicts. Wait until Putin unleashes an armada of modern warplanes and helicopters flown by well-trained and experienced pilots. Then we will see who has the last laugh.
Update on the conflict in Ukraine for May 13, 2023:
- Russian media space panics over false claims of Ukraine’s offensive beginning;
- The trading of territory in Bakhmut is typical of urban combat operations and does not indicate a “momentum shift” until the vector sum of the fighting begins favoring Ukraine rather than Russian forces;
- Additional evidence has surfaced that Ukraine is using some of its best military hardware in and around Bakhmut including German-made self-propelled howitzers, indicating that Russian plans to draw in and destroy Ukraine’s best troops and equipment is working;
- Ahead of Ukraine’s offensive, both sides are conducting long-range strikes. For Russia it is about disrupting Ukraine’s offensive potential. For Ukraine it is about shaping the psychological and media landscape of the conflict;
- The Storm Shadow cruise missile is air-launched and for targets deep inside Russian territory to be under threat, Ukrainian warplanes must travel dangerously close ot the line of contact and expose themselves to Russian air defenses. The missiles themselves must circumvent Russian air defense systems and electronic warfare measures;
- The terrain mapping feature most likely will require intelligence sharing between Ukraine and the US-UK in order to make the missile’s use most effective;
- While Storm Shadow missiles and other long-range weapons Ukraine may have will inevitably make it through to their targets these are not capabilities Russia doesn’t already have and in greater abundance. If these are war-winning capabilities, Russia is going to win the war first;
What is Putin dying of today, Marcus?
The “unpleasant surprise” Zoe was talking about a few days ago.
The Polish MiG-29s that have been quietly upgraded with modern radar (Israel) and compatibility with modern Western fire-and-forget air-to-air missiles.
Definitely AIM-120A,B possibly AIM-120C7.
And they already have stocks of those missiles to use with their NASAMS.
Send more of your flying coffins, Ivan.
Burn, baby, burn!