Millions of us might be **** if we ignore the Russian-Ukraine war

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The video being shown that is claimed to be an SU-34 crash outside Henichesk is in fact another view of the Mainstay crash.
Note the video here
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/02/24/7443460/
and here


Now compare with this Streetview I have geolocated from the Mainstay crash at Trudovaya Armeniya
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.1786879 ... ?entry=ttu

If you look very closely at 0:01 on the second video, you can make out that the house number, top left corner of the blue wall, is the same, 17.
The trees and power poles are different because the streetview is from 2013.

[probes]

So, when it says at the end-ish of the video: there's another one, it's just pieces of the 'spy plane'?

Well, it was too good to be true, so one has to be happy with just one 'craft!

[probes]

[probes]

What about the theory that the S-200 missiles (or what's they called) were fired in "passive regime" to the expected flight path, and were 'switched on' (pardon my tech French again!) when the A-50 saw them but had no time to actually do anything much, just set off the flares. The first missile missed (as Fox described), and the second one exploded so close that the aicraft lost its wing.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

This is perfectly possible. In fact it's been a tactic practically since the invention of guided air missiles (and torpedoes, for that matter).
The missile is launched 'dumb', either ballistically (which is more likely with simple/older systems like S-200) or on a computed path.
The illuminating radar is then switched on later, whilst the missile is still capable of locking on and correcting, from where it is at and pointed at, to where the target now actually is.
How close this is depends on how accurately the missile flies, how long the lock-on takes, how hard the missile can manoeuvre, and whether the target changes flightpath in the meantime, and how hard the target can manoeuvre.
In the case of S-200 vs Mainstay, those factors from unclassified sources and common sense are: Not very accurate, quite quick, not great, unlikely with good intel (e.g. tracking of earlier missions), and not much.
Nobody, including me, is going to reveal just how close that is for security reasons.
At the moment, the answer obviously is, close enough!
Notes:
The S-200 was originally designed to make engagements at this kind of range against this kind of target.
The illuminating radar need not be co-located with the missile launchers.
To repeat, a salvo launch would be standard in this kind of engagement.

Here's the simple explanation of missile guidance.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Hungary has officially ratified Sweden's accession to NATO, 188 voted for and 6 against. Hungary was the last country to ratify.

Sweden will now officially become a NATO member.

https://mstdn.social/@noelreports/111998590769685356

[tango15]

Hungary has officially ratified Sweden's accession to NATO, 188 voted for and 6 against. Hungary was the last country to ratify.

Sweden will now officially become a NATO member.

https://mstdn.social/@noelreports/111998590769685356

Vlad will probably have choked on his black tea at that news and has had to take a couple of clozapine tablets. I think Ukraine can expect a major attack any day now.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

If I was Orban, I wouldn't be drinking tea or going into underground car parks for a while.
And balconies are right out!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Russian troops, now they know they are being individually targeted by drones, are learning to dodge them and not stand together.
So, some drones are now being equipped with airburst warheads. Just fly near a soldier, or directly over a group, and detonate.
Works well against troops occupying individual shellscrapes/artillery impact craters.
Also better for the upcoming mud season.

https://mstdn.social/@noelreports/111998749861308676

Of course, the troops don't know which warhead type they are facing.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Hungary signed a deal with Sweden on Friday for four more Gripens, details not disclosed.
Hungary approves Sweden's membership of NATO on the next working day.
No connection, I'm sure.

Sweden has 24 of them sitting unused in hangars anyway.

So, what with Turkey agreeing for some US F16s, it would appear that the latest international currency is not Bitcoin, but fighter jets

[probes]

Yeah, jetcoins...
Btw, as the Mirage and Gripen are being discussed (possibly UKR getting them) - how different are the Western fighters, piloting and maintenance-wise? How complicated is it for a F-16 pilot to fly a Mirage?

[k3k3]

Everything would be labelled in French. I worked with Hellenic Air Force people who had previously been on Mirages, they said all the documentation (APs/T.O.s) would have been chaotic in any language, but with it being in a French that even French linguists struggled with life was very difficult.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Having Tornados all over Europe made things very easy. Turning up in Germany with a British Tornado was a non-event from a maintenance point-of-view.
Same applies to F16 as so many countries bought it.
However, every nation's design engineers and pilots have long-standing quirks, so there are things that one nation's jets do that others don't, and v.v.

If the pilot is taken off the end of pilot training, or engineers off engineer training, and the first jet they learn is the one they are going to operate, then it is not likely to be much of a problem.
You also need to take a few top guys to send to be their supervisors.
They all learn the language at the same time, preferably in-country.*
I believe this is the training model that is being adopted.
It is, however, slow.

However, trying to just ship in a few French aircraft to existing units will likely produce huge inefficiencies and quite possibly accidents.

*Bear in mind that this might be a third language for some. I expect the Ukrainians in Denmark are speaking English with their Danish instructors, which is only a second language for both, but leaning French or Swedish will be a problem.
God only knows what would happen if we end up with Hungary training Ukrainians on Swedish Gripens.

It can work out OK. I knew a pilot who had done an exchange tour flying Mirages in France. He liked the jet, it did a bunch of things his Lightning didn't, and the tactics at the time were similar. He was also a natural linguist. I knew another flying Tornados who had come from Norwegian F16s. He had no problem flying the jet, or with the language, but it didn't do what he was used to and he never got the best out of it operationally.

[Boac]

99.9% of single pilot operation of a fighter is done by 'memory muscle' and I cannot recall ever having to read a control 'label' in the Lightning or Harrier before operating it (that includes the 23 functions on the Lightning radar hand controller ). If there are any 'slow ones' in the UKAF (which I doubt) we could provide Dymotape.

[Dushan]

Yeah, jetcoins...

How complicated is it for a F-16 pilot to fly a Mirage?

That sounds like a Boeing/Airbus question.

[Dushan]

God only knows what would happen if we end up with Hungary training Ukrainians on Swedish Gripens.

There is only one solution to this. A Hungarian Phrasebook

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Yes, that very sketch was in mind!
"My hovercraft is full of eels!"

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Two more Su-34s claimed today by the Ukrainian Air Force
Clearly, the Russian Air Force has been told that wars are not expected to be risk-free, and to get on with it.
I would imagine this is will continue until putin's re-election in 3 weeks time.
The A50s will likely be an exception, since they have so few of them left.

There's one indistinct photo of an aircraft falling in pieces, but the UAF are not known for putting out false claims.

There's a note that implies yesterday there were at least 2 more targeted, but who managed to evade. It was not stated whether they avoided the radar, or the missiles.

[Groundgripper]

God only knows what would happen if we end up with Hungary training Ukrainians on Swedish Gripens.

Swedwn supplied Gripens to the South African Air Force so manuals, etc., in english would probably be available which might ease the problem, if only slightly.

GG

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Pop quiz: The problem with shooting down flying bombs with short range weapons like machine guns is......

https://mstdn.social/@noelreports/112005694299696601