Belesarius

Spectacular short landing from MAKS preparations. Parashutes deployed while still in the air!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGyL_NJhCWU 

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The Patreon is now live.

Ship them to Houthis and test on Saudis or their mercs.

It seems very counterproductive to try to "pin" these attacks on one or more political groups. I don't think either the mainstream right or left wing are rushing to own either of them. So then we're down to talking root causes, and if the point of labeling a terrorist as left-wing is to try to imply there's something about left-wing ideology that makes its adherents very likely to kill people, well we've got lots of examples of right-wingers killing people so that kinda falls flat regardless of how you dice it.

Rabbit holes aren't helpful here. Redefining right or left or digging up archaic definitions that no longer have meaning in the public space just obfuscate the issue. Not only that, but they distract from the obvious root cause of these shootings: Mental derangement caused by a perceived lack of prospects, incentives, or status in society on the part of (usually young) men. With only one or two exceptions, every shooter has been male, and likewise with only one or two exceptions every shooter has been perceived to be low-status. Either young, poor, socially awkward, rejected by women, or a cocktail mix of the above.

The problem is with men. The problem is as old as time. Humans are animals and men as a sex are a particular variety of them that are prone to violence. If I were a feminist, I would take this in some kind of man-hating direction, but that's stupid and that attitude has actually led to a lot of these problems. In many ways young men are treated as second class citizens in a way that young women are not. This has not escaped them, even if it's considered impolite to talk about. Throw in the delegitimization of traditional monogamy, the direct competition of women and men in the workforce and in education (where women are winning, obviously), and at the fringes of cognitive normalcy you're going to find people that will take this barbaric route. Contrary to the idiotic psychological theories of the 20th Century, violence comes very easily to young men, and though these atrocious acts make little sense in modern society, they seem to highlight what's really going on here when considered in an evo-psych context. In the Bible, you have Samson killing an entire Phillistine army with a jawbone of an ass. Of course you do. That's the fantasy these people are indulging. They have projected their problems to everyone around them, see enemies everywhere, and have in their heads undertaken a heroic destructor role. "Murder is heroic", a la Plinkett. 

We've dealt with this male nature before. But we decided in the 20th Century that men were not actually intrinsically violent, and that they would just go quietly along with the liberation of society and the undoing of previously rigid social mores. Well, most did. Some shot up schools, though.

Fixing this will require more than our politicians can deliver, I think. We, culturally, will need to either reconcile postmodern liberalism with more classical techniques for managing the male population, or we will need to reject postmodern liberalism altogether. That has some distasteful implications. I doubt we'll figure it out.

Part of St.Petersburg parade took place near Kronshtadt - basically an island in the Gulf of Finland that worked as defence line and Navy military base for our city. Chinese ship participated, BTW.

 
 
   2 more photos from parade inside of city.

 
 

I like books about tanks so much that I even wrote one myself.
 
https://www.mortonsbooks.co.uk/product/view/productCode/15014
 

Researchers Capture First Imagery of Giant Squid in U.S. Waters
 
 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/science/dinosaurs-extinction-asteroid.html?action=click&module=Discovery&pgtype=Homepage&fbclid=IwAR2I4LZt5PKqNWhBEnm3kTigEWf26fG4T2fTHjH9RGVYUdSZ49tObjaQ-QA
 
Looks like a direct fossil record of the Chicxlub impact has been found in the Dakotas.
 
"In the deposit, the team discovered an ancient freshwater pond whose occupants had been quickly cemented together by waves of sediment and debris. The fossils include sturgeon and six-foot-long paddlefish, their scales intact but their bodies ripped and smashed; marine mollusks; leaves and tree fronds, and the burned trunks of trees. The fish carcasses were not bloated, decayed, or scavenged, suggesting that they were buried quickly — and that few animals were left alive after the cataclysm to come digging.
The fossil deposit also teems with tektites, tiny glass beads that are the telltale fallout of planetary-scale impacts. Fifty percent of the fossilized fish were found with tektites in their gills, as if the fish had inhaled the material. Also recovered were tektites trapped in amber. Their chemical composition was unchanged in 66 million years, and it closely matched the unique chemical signature of other tektites associated with the Chicxulub event."

I mean, this is what you should expect from a guy who has never read a book. 
 
It looks like this stuff has hurt Rex Tillerson's old company more than anyone else so far: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-iraq-oil-exclusive/exclusive-exxons-53-billion-iraq-deal-hit-by-contract-snags-iran-tensions-sources-idUSKCN1TM0IZ
 

Nordic Feminist Design Division presents: P2055 “Gaupen”

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
Table of basic statistics:
Parameter
Value
Mass, combat
  65 metric ton
Length, combat (transport)
  7050mm
Width, combat (transport)
  3877mm
Height, combat (transport)
  2000mm
Ground Pressure, MMP (nominal)
  297Kn/m2
Estimated Speed
  60Kp/h
Estimated range
  400Km
Crew, number (roles)
  2 (Commander, Gunner/Driver)
Main armament, caliber (ammo count ready/stowed)
  200mm L40 gun. (40 rounds, 15 in first autoloader).
Secondary armament, caliber (ammo count ready/stowed)
  7,62mm GPM (1200 rounds).
 
12,7mm HMG (500 rounds)
 
Vehicle designer’s notes:
The P2250 was designed to be as heavily armored as possible, with the smallest weight and profile.  We tried to make use of the new experimental technologies and developed our own hydrostatic transmission and hydropneumatic suspension. This allowed much greater low speed mobility and some interesting arrangements. With the cannon mounted to the chassis, the autoloader became simplified and allowed a higher theoretical rate of fire and a reduction of crew to only 2. 

Mobility:
1. Link to Appendix 1- Not realized because of lack of weight value. 
 
2. Engine - Kharkov 5TD (increased to 6 cylinder), 16L, 800HP, water cooled, constant speed.
 
3. Transmission - Hydrostatic, 1 Forward, 1 Neutral and 1 Reverse, engine forward; motor and controls in the rear, is a continuously variable transmission, allow the engine to run at a constant speed with instant torque. It features hydraulic breaking and locking on top of normal friction breaks, also has a minor regenerative capabilities.
Appendix

Location of drive train components and their connections:

 
 
4.Fuel - Diesel, 1000L, sponsons, 400km, was planning to add optional fuel barrels for increased range, but scrapped because of time limit. 
 
5. Powerpack is set up as an open circuit hydraulic system, allowing it to power auxiliary equipment and other subsystems like the auto loader and suspension, or power tools.
Appendix
 
6. Suspension- Hydropneumatic (Nitrogen), 500mm suspension travel, 500mm ground clearance. The suspension is a fully adjustable in arm suspension using a slider crank design. Each arm has a built in shock absorber and can be either electronically or manually adjusted. Each unit has an overpressure valve to limit damage to the unit during very rough travel. Each unit is a bolt on unit, making replacements easy and fast.
Appendix
 
View of the suspension:


 
 
 
 
Survivability:


 
Red: Ammunition and cannon.
Blue: Composite armor.
Grey: Drive line components.
Green: Fuel. 
Brown: Crew. 
 
 
1.     Link to Appendix 1 - Not realized. 
 
2.     Link to Appendix 2- Not Realized,  has a 1000mm deep armor cavity at 1,79m^3 at the front, with a 900mm deep armor cavity at 180mm height on each sponsons. 
 
3. Non-specified survivability features and other neat tricks-
Very low profile vehicle with the ability to further reduce its profile by lowering its suspension. Very low profile while in hull down position.
Has blow off panels, light panels that are screwed in place to break off when ammunition ignites.   Fuel is used as side armor. 
 
Firepower:
 
A.    Weapons:
 
1.     Link to Appendix 1- Not realized.
 
2.     Main Weapon-
 
a.      Smoothbore cannon (510 MPa working pressure). 
 
b.      200mm caliber. 
 
c.      Ammunition:
         Common: 200 x 900 mm brass case, estimated 50kg. 
         HEAT: Not realized. 
         HE: Not relied. 
         AP: Not realized. 
   
 
d.     Ammo stowage arrangement- 15 rounds stored in primary shell conveyor, 25 rounds stored in secondary shell conveyor.  Entire system has blow off panels above it. The system is powered by the tanks hydraulic circuit. 
 
 
B.    Optics:
 
1.     Primary gunsight- two axis stabilized gunners sight.
 
2.     Drivers 3 vison telescopes. Commander features 360 degree coverage form the copula with a 4x sight connected to the RCWS. 
 
C.    FCS:
 
1.     FCS- Gun is rigidly mounted to the chassis. The gunner can select a firing mode to put the vehicle into precision mode.  Tracks turn to traverse the cannon, and the suspension adjusts to elevate to depress the gun. The gunners controls feeds into the suspensions control system, modifying the pressure in each individual suspension unit to accomplish the right elevation/depression. A gyroscope keeps track of the vehicles tilt and adjusts accordingly.  
The commanders station has duplicated controls and features a fully rotatable commanders copula with a range finder and 12,7mm remote operated HMG. The commander can measure the range and move the tank accordingly, giving a sort of hunter-killer system. 
 
2.     Link to Appendix 3- May be added in the future. 
 
Fightability:
 
1.     Ease of service and maintenance on the suspension units.
2.     Low maintenance transmission, hydraulic motors do not require a lot of maintenance.
3.     Reduced brake wear because of hydraulic parking break and minor regenerative breaking. 
4.     Reduced engine wear from running on a stable RPM. 
5.     It has a 200mm cannon. 
6.     Has a remote controlled weapons station, allowing the commander to avoid peaking his head out when firing on infantry.
 
Free expression zone:
The Nordic Feminist Design Division felt that there was a sever lack of special needs armored fighting vehicles which strives against our glories republics values. 
The team set out to make the most inclusive vehicle possible. The turret was quickly removed as it was seen as offensive to the crippled, gifted people of our republic.  Next was the issue with the height. The tank was too high to climb aboard for midgets little people, so a adjustable suspension was installed to allow the tank to lower itself. It was also of the highest importance that even our machines would bow to our Serene Highness. 
The gun was requested to be of at least 200mm caliber, which our lead engineer said was outrageous (our lead engineer has been REDACTED, and has been replaced by a more suiting, and diverse individual).  Our lead engineer agreed and work began to install the gun. Our female engineers noted that the ammunition was too heavy to be loaded manually for a woman, and was deemed discriminatory, so a autoloader was developed to accommodate the superior gender. 
 
As of currently our team failed to meet the deadline and has been REDACTED. 
Our team has been sent on a holiday in the North to sunbath in the north. 
 

 
A picture of our team of engineers going to work. 
 
 
All Hail Serene Highness.
 
 
 
(I will try to add the schematics tomorrow for the suspension and transmission, but it is 01:30 here, and I am taking the bus to work at 06:00. )

Hakika si Kundi la Dudes Nyeupe (HKDN) Submission: Object 426 "Stumpy"




 
Table of basic statistics:
 
Parameter
Value
 
Mass, combat
 
54.8 mt
 
Length, combat (transport)
 
6.2 m/9.7 m (gun forwards)
 
Width, combat (transport)
 
3.8 m
 
Height, combat (transport)
 
2.6 m (to top of commander's hatch)
 
Ground Pressure, MMP (nominal)
 
114 N/m2
 
Estimated Speed
 
60 km/h on road, 40 km/h off-road
 
Estimated range
 
400 km
 
Crew, number (roles)
 
4 (commander, driver, loader, gunner)
 
Main armament, caliber (ammo count ready/stowed)
 
85 mm L/70 high-pressure gun (30 rounds in protected rack under blow-off panels in turret rear, 5 rounds in ready/emergency racks in fighting compartment)
Secondary armament, caliber (ammo count ready/stowed)
 
7.62 mm coaxial machinegun (1200 rounds)
 
12.5 mm machinegun (1200 rounds)
 
250 mm Large Universal Body (LUB) missiles (4 in armoured boxes on turret sides)
 
Vehicle designer’s notes:
 
HKDN's object 426 (provisional designation "Stumpy", provisional identifier "Xer") is intended to provide mobility, protection and firepower which meets or exceeds requirements at a low weight. It uses proven track, suspension, engine and transmission components, and combines them with innovations in firepower and protection to produce a superior fighting vehicle capable of taking on all comers. 
 
Vehicle feature list:
 
Mobility:
 
1.     Link to Appendix 1- RFP spreadsheet, coloured to reflect achieved performance.
 
2.     Engine- 2x V-10 diesel (based on V-46-6 engine), 32.3 l displacement each, 650HP each, liquid cooled, coolant piped through armoured conduit to radiators in rear.
 
3.     Transmission- planetary, synchromesh, hydraulically assisted (based on T-72), 7 forward gears and 1 reverse gear; engine forward; transmission to rear.
 
4.     Fuel- diesel, 1350 l total capacity, stowage in forward hull and fighting compartment floor, 400 km estimated range, acts as additional armour against frontal attacks and mine blasts.
 
5.     Engine bay is designed so that individual engines can be lifted out as power pack units. Transmission and engines are set up so that the tank can run even if one engine is disabled .
 
6.     Suspension- torsion bar with hydraulic shock absorbers, 20-32 cm travel, 50 cm ground clearance, based on proven design of T-72.
 
Survivability:
 

Layout of armour and protective components:
Dark red - mantlet
Red - frontal arrays
Orange - turret side arrays
Gold - driver's side array
Yellow - fighting compartment side arrays
Green - roof array
Black - fuel
Grey - Automotive components: engines, drive shaft, transmission, radiators
Not shown - 25 mm HHA side skirts, 45mm base armour, turret basket, armoured ammunition stowage, armoured boxes for LUB missiles
 
1.     Link to Appendix 1 - RFP spreadsheet, colored to reflect achieved performance.
 
2.     Link to Appendix 2- armor array details.
 
3.     Non-specified survivability features and other neat tricks - smoke grenades, use of fuel cells and radiators as armour, rear radiator housings double as large    escape hatches for crew.
 
Firepower:
 
A.    Weapons:
 
1.     Link to Appendix 1- RFP spreadsheet, colored to reflect achieved performance.
 
2.     Main Weapon-
 
a.      Smoothbore cannon (510 MPa working pressure)
 
b.      85mm calibre
 
c.    Ammunition -
       Common: 75 x 500 mm composite case (158 mm at base), combustible case wall and steel case stub, 19-21 kg total round weight.
       APHE-FS: 11.4 kg, 1000 m/s, 250 mm RHA penetration at 500 m, 210 mm RHA penetration at 2000 m.
       APCR-FS: 3.2 kg, 1900 m/s, 330 mm RHA penetration at muzzle.
       HEAT-FS (steel liner): 11.4 kg, 1000 m/s, 200 mm RHA penetration.
       HEAT-FS (precision-formed copper liner, precision-formed explosive, wave shaper, improved fuse assembly): 11.4 kg, 1000 m/s, 350 mm  RHA penetration.
       HE-FS: 11.4 kg, 1000 m/s, ~15 mm RHA penetration
 
d.    Ammo stowage arrangement- 30 rounds in 3 linear racks in turret rear. Racks are behind armour and under blow-off panels. 5 rounds in emergency/ready racks scattered around fighting compartment. Racks are motorised to bring rounds forwards to front of rack. Loader accesses rack using motorised door.
 
e.   FCS- gun is electro-hydraulically stabilized in 2 axes (based on T-72). Maximum gun elevation/depression is +20/-5 degrees.
 
f.    The high-pressure 85mm gun allows rapid-fire engagement of multiple targets thanks to its high velocity and lightweight ammunition. Penetration is sufficient to deal with most threats at combat ranges, with high-priority targets being engaged by LUB missiles. A standardised muzzle velocity simplifies aiming when switching ammunition types. The APCR-FS uses an aluminium body, 28x420mm maraging steel core and 13x51mm tungsten alloy tip to provide a high-penetration kinetic round for close-in combat (0-500m). 
 
3.     Secondary weapons-
 
            a.    7.62 mm coaxial machinegun, 1200 rounds
 
            b.    12.5 mm machinegun, 1200 rounds, mounted in rotatable pintle on commander's hatch.
 
            c.     4 x 250 mm LUB missiles (described further in Appendix 3)
 
4.    Link to Appendix 3 - Weapon system magic. This is where you explain how all the special tricks related to the armament that aren’t obviously available using Soviet 1961 tech work, and expand to your heart’s content on extimated performance and how these estimates were reached.
 
B.    Optics:
 
1.     Primary gunsight - stabilized gunner's sight in turret roof. Stabilization is 2-axis, with gun calibrated to sight (described further in Appendix 3)
 
2.    Secondary optics -
      Secondary telescopic mounted coaxial to gun.
      Observation periscopes for commander and loader. Commander's periscope is stabilized.
      Vision blocks in commander's hatch.
 
C.    FCS:
 
1.    Main gun fire control is fairly conventional aside from sight-slaving system. Missile fire control is via main or secondary gun sight, with radar/optical  aiming system mounted coaxial to gun.
 
2.    Link to Appendix 3 -weapon system magic
 
Fightability:
 
1.     Large commander's and loader's hatches improve ingress/egress. Rear hatches allow rapid evacuation and assist in reloading vehicle.
2.     Small size and weight of vehicle increases strategic mobility. Low ground pressure and high power-to-weight ration increases tactical mobility.
3.     Larger number of crewmen and design of engine bays improves serviceability of vehicle.
4.     Smaller main gun increases number of rounds which can be stowed, eases ammunition handling.
5.     LUB missiles provide one-hit-one-kill capability against any and all likely targets. The large, modular design of the missile body allows it to be upgraded over the life of the vehicle.   
6.     The use of known automotive, suspension, gun and optical components based on the venerable T-72 design eases development time and increases reliability.
 
Additonal Features:
 
Additional and optional features are detailed further in Appendix 3. These include a smaller-diameter missile to replace the LUB missile, a 145mm low-pressure gun to replace the 85mm gun, a commander's stereoscopic rangefinder and an addon ERA package.
 

 
Free expression zone:
 
"As leaves gently fall
so too will Cascadia,
thanks to our big stick."
- dedication by the design team of HKDN to Object 426 project
 

HKDN senior design team engineers on Object 426 project. Left to right: Chadina Blake-Smythe, Sora Jina-Bandia and Ukelele Brown-Davis.

A 'just for fun' version:
 


The Stumpy Twinblade modification uses two low-pressure 85mm/L61 guns fed by 8-shot autoloaders to drown an opponent in rapid-fire HEAT-FS warheads.
The drums are each fed by two 4-round secondary loading systems in the turret rear (when the gun is levelled), which in turn can be topped up by the commander from two 16-round ammunition racks located in the fighting compartment. Each gun has a fire rate of 60 rpm and can be raised/lowered +30/-5 degrees. The drums alternate between high-penetration HEAT-FS, HEDP-FS and HE shells, with each gun having a different shell. The shells are ballistically matched (each weighing 9.7kg and moving at 650m/s), and the guns sighted to converge at around 1.5km. The high-penetration HEAT-FS shell would achieve around 360mm RHA penetration, with the HEDP-FS shell achieving 210mm RHA penetration with much greater behind-armour effect. 
 
The guns retain a fume extractor to prevent fouling building up behind the breech. In addition, their thermal sleeve includes a water circuit for cooling purposes. The water tanks double as the fighting compartment ammunition racks - minimising the chances of a catastrophic ammunition explosion in the fighting compartment. The turret composite armour package consists of a block of turret  frontal armour ahead of the commander and gunner's stations, with the sides being protected by the guns and their armoured housings. The hull configuration and armour remains the same as the base-model Stumpy.
 
The Twinblade would be intended to act as an ambush predator - launching a salvo of shells at targets of interest before backing off into cover to reload. Targets could be bracketed if the range was uncertain, with known ranges allowing smaller salvos to be fired per target. Although 360mm RHA is just barely capable of getting through a standard Norman turret front, the lower velocity of the shells would mean that arcing shots striking the top armour would be pretty common. In addition, a rain of 16 shells launched in quick succession would be almost certain to result in at least a mission kill so long as a few strike home. The Twinblade's high gun elevation also allows it to do service as a self-propelled artillery piece, with proximity-fuzed HE shells providing credible anti-aircraft capability against slow or low-flying threats. Finally; in urban environments the high elevation angle allows the Twinblade to sweep multistory buildings with fire.
 
 

Called off strike has been officially confirmed
 

Trump vs Repub. Hawks... Hmmm.
 

Banshees over USS New Jersey and USS Lake Champlain.
 

Banshees over USS New Jersey and USS Lake Champlain.
 

I don't know that the US has the political willpower to deal with an extended conflict with Iran.  I would also expect a Trump government to have significant difficulty in building an international coalition to fight with Iran. He's pissed off a lot of allies. And on a personal level, I wouldn't waste a single American/Canadian/British life for anything to do with the middle east. Let the shithole rot.
 

Sorry for being almost a day late with it. This is the I-Dome. A completely independent and mobile Iron Dome system with 10 interceptors.
 
Together with the Drone Dome, this system will become known as the Gideon's Shield (because it was devised under the Gideon multi year plan), and will enter service in the IDF soon. Its structure is not yet revealed - whether it will be deployed in numbers per battalion, or as an element within a specific battalion per brigade, is unknown.
 
 
Also said in the video that the US is interested in this version as well, and not only the static version.

http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2019/June 2019/Air-Force-Developing-AMRAAM-Replacement-to-Counter-China.aspx

"rofl-stomping" doesn't fit in the usual list of goals in conflict. Iran's likely goal is to be the biggest pain in the arse possible, and they have the deck stacked in their favour:
 
21% of the worlds oil flows through that strait, and it'll take anywhere from a week to a month to clear the mines (a week for a narrow, sort-of-safe channel, but what insurer would accept a 10% chance they lose the ship?). That's without iranian forces interrupting the MCM, or targeting tankers in other regions near the iranian coast (ASM launchers won't last longer than their first salvo, but that's a lot of missiles in the air. You can't reliably get them before they fire either, as iraqi scuds proved - and scuds are larger than ASMs). For reference  the 1979 oil crisis only involved a 4% drop in oil production, and lead to a doubling of the price of oil.
 
The US options to respond are pretty short of a rofl-stomp - they can muster a small air & naval campaign at best with the forces available. The first gulf war involved thousands of aircraft (compare to the few squadrons moved to the region recently), and even with a ground campaign saddam wasn't replaced. They could sink most of the iranian naval assets, probably enforce air superiority over the important bits, pop most of the ASM launchers, and might as well strike the nuclear facilities, but what's the end-state? How do they get the iranians to stop fighting, short of a total occupation (something that would be several times larger than gulf war 2)? ASMs have shown up in the hands of non-state actors, so a bloodied state actor like iran could dangle the credible threat of ASM strikes on nearby shipping for the foreseeable future even with a constant US fast jet presence.
 
Autonomous mine countermeasures has the potential to greatly improve MCM speed, but it's not ready today in the numbers needed and doesn't solve the ASM issue.