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

[Boac]

Anyone else experienced the billiard cue (kept in the back cockpit of a Chipmunk) in the soft bit at the back of an old bonedome?

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Russian missiles inbound, 30+ first wave.

Here goes one of them



There goes one of them



Second wave reported inbound.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Reports from Russian channels of a drone strike last night on the Engels air base from which Bears in the current raid were launched.



The base is nearly 400 miles from Ukraine.

Sounds to me like a cruise missile, jet engine noise just before impact.

Reports of a fuel tanker exploding on the bomber base at Ryazan also

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/12/5/7379273/

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

First reports are of 70 missiles launched, 60 intercepted.
86% interception rate
9 out of 10 launched at Kyiv shot down.

At 12 days since the last strike, this implies Russian missile production remains at about 44 per week.

This is absolutely not cutting it. Russia is going down.

..and if the reports on strikes by the Ukrainians on the two Russian bomber bases turn out to be true, it's very bad indeed for Russia.
This would be the Ukrainian dream version of today's events.
The actual effects may be much less - we shall have to wait and see.


Note especially that this strike range means Moscow is in the firing line.

Update:

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

This should really be in the Friday Jokes section

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Best rumour/suggestion I've seen so far is that the Ukrainians hit the Russian air bases with reworked Tu-141 drones.
Certainly sounded like a turbojet on that explosion video I pout up earlier.
Originally these were intended as high-level unmanned reconnaissance drones, introduced in the late 1970s.
Fitted with a warhead and precision guidance (which the Ukes have demonstrated the capability to do), they could do a one-way mostly low level mission at this range.
One crashed in Croatia on 10 March, likely a test flight that went wrong.
Unknown how many more they have, but likely not many.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Damage at Ryazan-Dyagilevo


This is not fire damage from a fuel truck accident, this is blast damage to the aircraft, and the fuel truck is in fact an engine/aircraft start truck.
Weather appears to match today's date.
The Backfire in the photograph would appear to be here:

54.64283934734371, 39.553638645271306

The Backfire has a Kh-22 (NATO AS-4 Kitchen) missile on board

This one isn't going anywhere for a few months!

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

This commentator also suggesting the Ukes used modified Tu-141 drones for the attack.

https://t.me/sashakots/37484

According to my information, at least the airfield in Engels was hit by the Soviet Tu-141 Strizh UAV.

That is, he freely overcame almost 650 km over the territory of the Russian Federation. Was stealth technology mastered in the USSR long before it became a fashion trend?

So, to Moscow from the Ukrainian border is less than 650 km ...

translated by Google from the Russian

If it reached Ryazan without being intercepted, The General Commanding PVO strany (or whatever they call it now - air defence forces) is about to take a long walk off a short high balcony.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Russian defence ministry has just confirmed my earlier supposition, that the drones came in at low level.

Also claiming that two aircraft were "slightly damaged". Pinocchio Rating 5/5.

[Pontius Navigator]

As Russia is not at war the IAPVO was probably at routine alert. Previously the FSB has had to up its game, then the police, now air defence.
The more homeland security has to come to readiness the greater the stress.
And on that photo, it is staggering the speed with which BDA becomes available.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

As Russia is not at war the IAPVO was probably at routine alert.

Yeah, but putin's not really the forgiving type, and somebody has to be blamed

Doesn't say much for their "routine alert" status, does it?
The Russies are only operating long range aviation from two bases, and the drone flight time was likely at least an hour, and the size of the Tu-141(47 ft long), if it was that, should make it a bloody easy target for just about any AD system, ground or fighter.

[Pontius Navigator]

I wonder if the Tu141 was on response the the Buffalo Hunter.

[Pontius Navigator]

We used to use the USAF Nike sites in the US. Each site had published 'vulnerability' hours
I think this meant at Defcon 5 sites would only operate for part of a day. Our own SAM, BH Mk1 did not have the firing cables connected.

[boing]

I suppose that if their aircraft were hit by "Russian made" drones this counts as a victory and shows Russian technical prowess?

.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

The Russians built the airframe and the engine.
Russian airframes are good. Their engines are good for a one-way trip.
The Ukes will have made the guidance and warhead - these originally had cameras, which you will recall were bloody heavy in the 1970s.

[boing]

Fox

We might as well say the improvements in the electronics will continue as far into the future as we can see. I see the comparison with military and civilian applications as fascinating. What it boils down to is that we will see reduced size, improved capability and more advanced peripherals to work with the more advanced hardware - all of these aspects held together by an ability to use more advanced software. It's an interdependent cascade of improvements and, because of the economics and mass-production capability, the difference between the core computer functionality of civilian versus military components will virtually disappear. The difference will be in the peripherals, the cameras, as you suggest but, of course, all of the rest of the useful sensors. Basically, trying to restrict export of advanced computational components will be pointless because, for practical purposes, everyone's products will have approximately similar and adequate capabilities. What does it matter if Country A's component is 1 cm. square while Country B's similar component is 2 cm. square? This does not apply to peripherals which still have a high novelty content. The one important consideration we have to deal with is the stupid exportation of production to such potential opponents as China or somewhat risky countries such as Taiwan. The West must regain it's own advanced semiconductor manufacturing capability.



.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I agree, however almost everything that every major government is doing is destroying western capability. Even the companies based in western countries are employing huge numbers of foreign workers on visas, and the previously unbeatable education system is now usually an expensive, ineffective joke.

Back at the war, sat photos of Engels show no visible damage. Also, the kitchen missile under the Backfire was presumably desired to go bang as a secondary explosion. This, like the Sevastopol airfield, would have taken out a bunch more.
So, I think the Ukes get 8/10 for artistic impression, but 4/10 technical merit for this strike.

Update: make that 5/10 TM. Looks like the left side of that Backfire may be toast


Update 2: Rumours that the Engels sat images being compared online are actually from yesterday and the day before. Jury therefore still out on this one.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Half of the Kyiv region will have emergency shutdowns, likely long lasting, over the next few days.
Don't know if this is the latest Russian missile effects, prior damage, or a way to get the system back up faster.
Weather is rising back above freezing for the next week, so may be the latter, with least risk of hypothermia for residents.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

An oil storage depot at Kursk airport, Russia, burns.
The Russians are saying it was a drone.
Report says no casualties.
Kursk is a joint civ/mil airport, which on Google Maps has Flankers and Fullbacks based there.
Russians not saying it's joint, thus attempting to imply the drone hit a civ facility, which on previous form means it hit the mil bit.
There are oil depots on both sides, mil is bigger.

[Pontius Navigator]

I believe the RUF has confirmed drone strikes. This give rise to a thought.

Firing one of our cruise missiles at a fixed installation is relatively simple. Firing a missile to identify and destroy a tank is more difficult even when aided by drone observation.

Launching a very old missile against a large target like Engels, even with GPS coordinates for the ramp and getting close to an aircraft looks like luck or its electronics are smarter than we think.