steppewolfRO

this one really gives me the depression, swear to god, never stopped pouring down in the 90s, alot of tears lost in that rain 

The story of the Russian 81st Motor Rifle Regiment in Grozny in the first Chechen war is insane. Wikipedia has a brief summary, but there's also a longer article from the New York Times with more details.   Wiki:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grozny_%281994%E2%80%9395%29   By mid-afternoon, the first battalion of the 131st MRB occupied the train station, unaware of the 81st MRR's situation and separated from the second battalion which reached the freight station further to the west, and from the third battalion on the outskirts of the city. The unit parked its tanks and armored personnel carriers around the station and awaited further orders. Somewhere within that period of time, a Russian communications officer heard the words, "Welcome to Hell," on his headset. Shortly after, Chechen fighters, hiding in the depot buildings, the post office, and the five-story building surrounding the station, opened devastating automatic and anti-tank weapons fire. The surviving Russian soldiers took cover inside the station, which the Chechens soon set ablaze. Russian commanding officer, Colonel Ivan Savin, radioed for help and artillery fire, which never came   NY Times:   https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/gall-chechnya.html   Across town on Pervomaiskaya Street, a long, broad avenue leading in from the airport, another fierce battle was raging where the 81st Motor Rifle Regiment came under ambush as it drove into town. Strung out for a mile along the avenue, the whole column came under fire from Chechen fighters positioned all the way down. Fighters were suddenly on the attack, running out in search of more tanks, plundering what did not burn for weapons and ammunition. By evening they gathered in the centre of the town, swarming around the market-place and moving towards the railway station.    The Maikop Brigade had occupied Grozny's railway station by early afternoon, parking its tanks and APCs in the square in front, facing the Presidential Palace, several hundred yards away down Orjonikidze Prospekt. They were unaware that they were a target for a very hostile and fierce Chechen resistance. Some members of the Presidential Guard even remember one Russian soldier poking his head out of the tank hatch to ask them where he could buy cigarettes. The Chechens answered him with a bullet to the head.   The Chechens took up positions in the depot buildings behind the railway station, the post office to the right and the five-storey building opposite. Over the radio they called on the Russians to surrender, warning them they were surrounded, but the Russians replied they had their orders and would not. Ryabtsev was standing under the arch of the railway budding when a bullet nicked his uniform. It was early evening, still fight, he remembered. It began slowly, with sniper fire and machine-guns rattling from nearby buildings. As the Russians answered with the big guns mounted on their armoured vehicles, the Chechens blasted them from the side with rocket-propelled grenades.  
Within hours the square had turned into a horrific inferno of burning tanks and dead bodies. Ryabtsev was shot in the legs trying to haul a heavy machine-gun into the railway station building. He dragged himself behind the tanks and was pulled in through the window to a room that filled rapidly with wounded soldiers. Nikolai Zarovny, another young conscript, wag inside his light tank firing the gun when an anti-tank grenade seared into the side, bursting like a fireball. His clothes on fire, his face and hands scorched, he yanked open the hatch at the back and leapt out, stumbling over the dead bodies of his comrades as he dashed blindly into the station building. Badly burnt, he joined the growing number of wounded in the impromptu field hospital. As the fighting raged through the night, Ryabtsev remembers drifting in and out of sleep, hearing loud explosions and someone saying another tank had been hit.       The commander of the Brigade, Colonel Ivan Savin, radioed all night for reinforcements but none came. Kim's unit only made it to the station at five in the morning but was in no position to help. His vehicle was hit in the street by the Presidential Palace around three in the afternoon. His team leapt free and made it into the light tank ahead. Fifteen of them then took cover in a building until the early hours of the morning when they managed to duck and weave their way to the station buildings. At midnight the men stopped for fifteen minutes while their commander offered them a swig of vodka. It was by now New Year's Day but they had little to celebrate.   The end results of the New Year's Eve battle were devastating for the Russian side, with the first Russian armored column alone losing 105 of its 120 tanks and armored personnel carriers.   The entire first battalion of the Maikop Brigade, more than 50% of the 81st Regiment, and hundreds of men from the remaining units had been killed. A high-ranking Russian General Staff officer later said "On January 2nd, we lost contact with our forward units." According to Maskhadov, some 400 Russian tanks and APCs in all were destroyed.   Russian Colonel General A. Galkin reported 225 armored vehicles lost during the first month and a half of the war, including 62 tanks.   Most of the Spetsnaz detachment troops surrendered to the Chechens, "after wandering about hopelessly for three days without food, let alone any clear idea of what they were supposed to do."      Now many years Later Gronzy is a prosperous Russian city, and the army is new and reformed in mastery of asymetical deep battle warfare, but the lesion was hard to learn 

From the BBC news page;
 
One of the most famous British pilots, Capt Eric "Winkle" Brown, has died at the age of 97.
 
He was the Royal Navy's most decorated pilot and held the world record for flying the greatest number of different types of aircraft, 487.
 
During World War Two Capt Brown flew fighter aircraft and witnessed the liberation of Bergen Belsen concentration camp.
 
He died at the East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, after a short illness.
 
A statement released by his family said: "It is with deep regret that the passing of Captain Eric Melrose Brown CBE DSC AFC is announced.
 
"Eric was the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm in which service he was universally known as 'Winkle' on account of his diminutive stature.
 
"He also held three absolute Guinness World Records, including for the number of aircraft carrier deck landings and types of aeroplane flown."
 
Rest of the read can be found at the source:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-35626854
 

I think is good enough for transport planes
 
Well, things are getting quiet lately. Legend promoted at Chisinau about Bucharest says that Moldovan citizens united against an oligarchic regime (criminal, mafia, corrupt, etc.) which is the puppet of Plahotniuc, a billionaire who (for obscure reasons) is backed by Romania, the European Union and the US.
  Naturally, you can only sympathize with  the demands of the people against corrupt oligarchs as Moldova is a country torn by corruption. It has a tiny rich class, and enormously many people who live like in an medieval  autarchy, way under poverty standards. The administration is on the verge of a resounding collapse and the economy is preparing for bankruptcy - Moldova has very little and returns to level 1999 when if you were working at the stewed fruits plant you received wages in plant's products.   And than is the legend of the stolen billion: From Chisinau was stolen a billion dollars from banks. Let me tell you a little secret, all politicians stole from all political parties (only about the Liberal Party has not appeared in the press evidence that anyone was involved in stealing from the billion). Many things are unclear in the story of one billion, but the fact is that was stolen and robbery was devastating for Moldova. Within weeks, the European Union's wonder student became a mess region, close to the disaster in Ukraine.   What's is left from pro-European parties in Chisinau tried to make a functioning government (in a year fell two governments) and return to the agenda of the European Union approach. Kind of resembles with what happened in Ukraine. They wanted to sign an association agreement with the EU,  then their political leaders were warned that is not good, people out in the streets, government fall and suddenly two  breakaway republics appeared in eastern Ukraine and started a civil war. Same in Moldova, just that is a little bit different. Breakaway republics (Gagauzia, Transnistria) and civil war were made in 1991, not  to unite with Romania. Now the protests are to break ground for corrupt government and to cancel the association agreement with the EU.   And the thing is complicated, because the political system which supports rapprochement to the EU is deeply corrupt - yet  the ones who want to take them down are from the same stock. I looked at the leaders of the protests and did a little research on the net about their biography. Dignity and Truth Platform (PDA) is a separate entity but only a part of the protests, which actually acts like a cover or a blinding device for these events. PDA is an association of people from the second line of political structures extinct or still active. PDA is pro-European agenda - but PDA was the last two days of protests engulfed by leading pro-Russian Igor Dodon and Renato Usatîi and risk losing identity.   Chisinau protests are not pro-European. It is the beginning of a counter-maidan where legitimate rebellion against a corrupt government diverted in favor of structures supporting Moldovan identity separate from Romanian identity and intends to restore Moldova's economic and political orbit of the Russian Federation. One can imagine any scenario, but the protests are now led by leaders whose agenda includes removing Moldova EU orbit. The rest are details of conjecture.

I think is good enough for transport planes
 
Well, things are getting quiet lately. Legend promoted at Chisinau about Bucharest says that Moldovan citizens united against an oligarchic regime (criminal, mafia, corrupt, etc.) which is the puppet of Plahotniuc, a billionaire who (for obscure reasons) is backed by Romania, the European Union and the US.
  Naturally, you can only sympathize with  the demands of the people against corrupt oligarchs as Moldova is a country torn by corruption. It has a tiny rich class, and enormously many people who live like in an medieval  autarchy, way under poverty standards. The administration is on the verge of a resounding collapse and the economy is preparing for bankruptcy - Moldova has very little and returns to level 1999 when if you were working at the stewed fruits plant you received wages in plant's products.   And than is the legend of the stolen billion: From Chisinau was stolen a billion dollars from banks. Let me tell you a little secret, all politicians stole from all political parties (only about the Liberal Party has not appeared in the press evidence that anyone was involved in stealing from the billion). Many things are unclear in the story of one billion, but the fact is that was stolen and robbery was devastating for Moldova. Within weeks, the European Union's wonder student became a mess region, close to the disaster in Ukraine.   What's is left from pro-European parties in Chisinau tried to make a functioning government (in a year fell two governments) and return to the agenda of the European Union approach. Kind of resembles with what happened in Ukraine. They wanted to sign an association agreement with the EU,  then their political leaders were warned that is not good, people out in the streets, government fall and suddenly two  breakaway republics appeared in eastern Ukraine and started a civil war. Same in Moldova, just that is a little bit different. Breakaway republics (Gagauzia, Transnistria) and civil war were made in 1991, not  to unite with Romania. Now the protests are to break ground for corrupt government and to cancel the association agreement with the EU.   And the thing is complicated, because the political system which supports rapprochement to the EU is deeply corrupt - yet  the ones who want to take them down are from the same stock. I looked at the leaders of the protests and did a little research on the net about their biography. Dignity and Truth Platform (PDA) is a separate entity but only a part of the protests, which actually acts like a cover or a blinding device for these events. PDA is an association of people from the second line of political structures extinct or still active. PDA is pro-European agenda - but PDA was the last two days of protests engulfed by leading pro-Russian Igor Dodon and Renato Usatîi and risk losing identity.   Chisinau protests are not pro-European. It is the beginning of a counter-maidan where legitimate rebellion against a corrupt government diverted in favor of structures supporting Moldovan identity separate from Romanian identity and intends to restore Moldova's economic and political orbit of the Russian Federation. One can imagine any scenario, but the protests are now led by leaders whose agenda includes removing Moldova EU orbit. The rest are details of conjecture.

BM "Oplot"
 

 

Ukrainian designers managed to make biggest panoramic sight i ever saw - overall weight of it is reaching 500 kg.
 
 
       Oplot-M, or BM "Oplot" after addoption to service in Ukrainian army, is Ukrainian MBT based on another Ukrainian MBT - T-84 "Oplot", which is Soviet-designed T-80UD with some modifications. BM Oplot was designed by Morozov Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau and produced by Malyshev factory. Chief designer of BM Oplot - Mikhail Dem'yanovich Borisuk (he was born in 1934, BTW).
 
 
       It have several features, separating it from T-80UD, T-90A and T-84. Engine is new 6 cylinder 6TD-2E 1200 HP diesel with lowered smokiness and exhaust toxicity (wich is a problem for Kharkov engines) in new engine-transmission compartment (which is 2 part - lower is for engine itself and upper part is for big airfilters, which are needed because of how much air 6TD "eats"), new sort-of automatical transmission. Tank is equipped with new navigation systems, FCS, panoramic sight for commander with day and night (thermal imager) capabilities, new remotely controlled KT-12.7 12.7 mm HMG for commander, new gunner sights, which bring it to modern level of how tank should be equipped. A lot of that equipment is made not in Ukraine.
 
 
From the side BM Oplot looks different from Soviet T-64-like MBTs.
 
      Main gun is not really different from 2A46 125 mm guns of T-72/ T-80/T-90 series of tanks, 125 mm KBA-3 L48 gun with autoloader for 28 shots (46 in total is carried). Main gun can fire HE, HEAT, APFSDS, GL-ATGMs (Ukrainian "Kombat" missiles). AFAIK part of ammunition is carried outside of the tank, in turret "basket", mounted to the rear part of it. Nothing really fancy here, 5 km range with ATGMs, up to 2.5-2.8 km effective range with APFSDS, which is standart for late Soviet and current Russian MBTs like T-72B3, T-80UE and different models of the T-90. 
 
     Vehicle is also equipped with Ukrainian version/local variant of Shtora system - "Varta", with additional laser-warning sensors on the turret sides. 

 
 
     BM-Oplot use somewhat unusual type of ERA (which is most interesting feature of that tank) - ~layered ERA named "Duplet". It is rumored that it can defeat tandem HEAT warheads like PG-7VR and PG-29V. Vehicle sides are also covered by Duplet ERA. 
 


      Note that the hull UFP is covered by differently shaped blocks of ERA (long and narrow). How much it is effective is unknown, but designers claim that it can defeat tandem HEAT warheads, EFP and APFSDS projectiles.  
 
Upper frontal hull armor layout:
 
Side ERA modules:
 
      Overall, BM Oplot is tank with better perfomance than T-80UD thanks to improvements in electronics and FCS, engine, transmission, driver controls, new ERA and better side armor, and in some areas this vehicle can be superioir to T-72B3 (latest Russian serial produced modification of the T-72 MBT, although it wasn't best proposed modification for it).
      But..., there is always "but" -  it is vehicle that Ukraine can not produce in any serious numbers, as their one and only contract with Thai army showed - out of 95 BM Oplot ordered in 2011 only 5-6 were delivered to this day. During trials in Thailand Kombat GL-ATGMs also showed not very good results - AFAIK out of 5 test firings, 2 missiles exploded before reaching targets. Another interesting fact about that tank is that no BM Oplot MBTs are presented on battlefields of Eastern Ukraine - T-64 and T-72s are primary tanks of the VSU. Seems to me Ukraine is either can't service them, or simply can't produce them in a first place.
 
Oplot-BM on trials in Pakistan. No accurate information on results, rumors say that Chinese VT-4 won that competition.
 
Oplot-BMs for Thai army on prooving ground.
 

Thats interesting in my experience the Romaians have never strayed away from Nationalism. Your national anthem kicks ass
 
 
There are a lot of myths about Romanian nationalism. But last year we elected German ethic president of Lutheran with a wide majority 54,43% from a presence of 62,04% while the Romanian demographics give an 88,2 % Romanian ethnic and Orthodox majority. But let's not hijack this discussion, if you want we can continue on RO_MANIA topic. Funny, we think here Russian anthem sounds much better. 
 
As I said there are a lot of myths about Romanian nationalism but there isn't any single party in Parliament (or near the limit of 5%) with such a platform or something to resemble with a nationalistic platform even remotely. There was a nationalistic candidate in 2000 (Corneliu Vadim Tudor) but he had 20% in presidential elections because of the fragmentation of right wing and the fashion of anti system voting, other than that he was perceived more as a clown and never got more than 7-8% which were mostly votes of the communist nostalgic communists. There are small extremists groups (but those are everywhere) but their impact is negligible, 99% of average citizen is not even aware such groups/platforms/organisations/parties even exist. 
 
If you are speaking about historical Nationalism than I think Romania does not evolve over the pattern of the newly created European modern states. Here you can find a brief history of Romanian nationalist, it's quite objective although a bit old:
http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1402&context=mcnair
 
But generally nationalistic political figures are now regarded as ridiculous and there's no serious sign that nationalism will be a theme in Romanian politics. 

Model 89 SPG
 
This was probably the only serious SPG in Romanian armory. 
 
This Romanian self-propelled howitzer is basically the turret of the 2S1 fitted onto the chassis of a modified MLI-84. The vehicle is lighter than the 2S1, should be cheaper and with better manueverability to travel on the flimsy roads and bridges often found in Romania, as well as better handling on the mountain paths in southern Romania.  There were also some Gvozdika from USSR but they're delivered without FCS. 
 
The 2S1 turret fits perfectly into the MLI-84’s turret ring, though the 2S1 turret itself is a bit larger than that of the MLI-84.  The 2A31 122mm gun itself is not the same as on the 2S1, but is a Romanian ground-mounted gun that has several common components with the 2S1’s 2A31 gun.  The gun itself is actually a gun/howitzer, meaning that the gun has deliberately low depression and can function as a tank destroyer as well as a howitzer.  The gun on the Model 89 has a semiautomatic autoloader, meaning that the loader must affix the fuzes and place the round in the auto loading train for loading into the breech; the breech block is also semiautomatic, and the loader must close the breech.  The Model 89 seems to be also optimized for the tank destroyer role, as the fire control suite is marginally more advanced than the indirect fire computer. Max Depression is -3 degrees with elevation +70 degrees. A Model 89 normally carries a few antitank rounds (about 10% of its total), but mostly carries howitzer-type rounds. The gun turret has 360 degree rotation and can also fire from any angle.  The Model 89 does not normally have a commander’s machinegun, though an optional one it figured into the entry.  The commander has a manually-rotating cupola, with all-around vision blocks and a night channel is borrows from the gunner.

 
Following the BMP-1 design, the MLI-84 has a driver’s hatch on the front right hull, and commander’s and gunner’s positions in the turret; the turret has one hatch for the commander.  All three have night vision equipment. The Model 89 has a new engine, the Perkins CV-8V-1240 DTS supercharged diesel developing 360 horsepower; this is larger and heavier, but is more powerful than standard BMP-1 engine, and is also uprated slightly from the MLI-84’s engine.  The fitting of its engine and the associated automatic transmission required rebuilding and enlarging of the engine compartment.  The increase in the length of the hull also allowed small fuel tanks to be incorporated into the walls, increasing the fuel capacity.  The gaps between the roadwheels are also wider. Unfortunately, the suspension is still of the conventional torsion bar type with shock absorbers only on the first and last roadwheels on each side, so the ride can be even rougher than that of the BMP-1.  The heavier weight of the Model 89 also reduced its amphibious capability; it is slow in the water.  The crew and passenger are protected by a fire detection and extinguishing system, and the commander also has access to a Geiger counter and chemical agent detector, which can be operated with hatches closed.
 
The Model 89 retains the MLI-84’s doors in the rear, but has no firing ports.  From the 2S1 turret, the Model 89 inherits the long equipment box on the left side of the turret.  This is large enough to carry ancillary equipment for the Model 89, and little more.  At the rear of the turret are slotted covers used to retract a portion of the suspension during swimming and fording operations.  This of course requires that the turret be squared up with the front when swimming and fording deeply. The Model 89 has an NBC overpressure with a collective NBC backup. Model 89 is amphibious, and has waterjets and bilge pumps.
 
There is very little info available about this vehicle as it was phased out pretty fast after 1989. 
 
Not those SPG are stored or even phased out:
 

 
Same as T-72s Ural:
 

Well, I am not following very close these elections and besides I am foreigner but here's my 2 cents considering we had here a president who had about the same profile as Trump (Mr. Basescu).
 
Personally I'd vote Bush or Rubio.  Jeb Bush have something of a good guy in him. Rubio is more spectacular and is Cuban but that issue with the sound bite was awful for his chances and it's probably good that the public reacted in such manner, you will not see anything like this in Romania, where politicians speak only in texts learned. 
 
But Bush and Rubio have no identity. Or they have but it's very pale.
 
Trump says crazy stuff and it's the rebel which is struggling with the system (same Basescu in  2004).   Cruz is ultraconservative and radical ultra-Orthodox, who just follows Christian Teachings (America is Neo Protestant ). Both have well-defined brands. Rubio and Bush are, truth to be said a fairly ambiguous. Trump bets on "direct speech" in a world exasperated by political correctness. But that does not make him likeable, at least by me (if I were American, between Clinton and Trump would vote 1000 times Clinton - because on my own scale of sins xenophobia, racism and hatred on religious grounds is over high taxes and over-regulation - that talk of statism/socialism and like is just after we solve the most serious issues: racism, xenophobia, nationalism).   Clinton is sour and tired and lacks the necessary minimum of a leftist: proximity/empathy to people. Left has always had this brand: proximity/empathy to people. A decrepit old man has the empathy and is Sanders but not Hillary.   So to recap:   Trump - punk, brave and direct, he say real stuff, genuine, sincere, one-piece but I saw that here and there is little else to offer. Cruz - political correctness in terms of the right (not unlike the political correctness of the left - the same type of commissioners sad, unimaginative, humorless, uncultured and with low IQ but nervous) Sanders - close to the people, the revolutionary Clinton - bitter, tired, predictable and, from this point of view, reassuring Bush - a luckless Clinton, in a party that took hatred and conspiracy hysteria too seriously Rubio - a Trump / Cruz / Clinton / Sanders extremely soft - and it's new, it's moderated and reformer. That's all. It's the second choice of all. It's the first choice of none.   In June 2015 Hillary's chances of becoming president USA were minimal. In February 2016 are high. In March 2016 will be huge.    

Paratrooper all day clothes (early 80s):

 
Caporal, 64th Para Regiment, Boteni, 1982
 

 
On the photo is written "With love" and a signature. Summer outfit, probably early 80s

 
Picture with Para training probably from an Army magazine, 80s:
 

 
Border guards shoulder patch:
 

 
Mountain hunters training 80s (probably Army magazine):
 

 

 
Evolution of Mountain Hunters equipment:
 

 
Guards and Protocol Regiment recruits during 1989 events, easily to recognize after their white belts:
 

 
Probably a signal unit, 1976:
 

 
1980, propaganda picture, infantry squad (red signs near neck, not sure how to call ém in English):
 

 
1983, MIGs during Unified Forces Exercises:
 

 
1989, probably infantry, hard to say without colors:
 

 
1989, PSL and scopes were quite common even in the armored/mechanized units:
 

 
1989, Infantry:
 

 
1980, Artillerymen
 

 
1989, Sergent-major, infantry:
 

 
Probably early 90s, Recon unit, Danube Delta:
 
 
 
Youth Defense of Country, propaganda picture:
 

 
middle 80s I thin, Patriotic guards propaganda picture:
 

 
80s, propaganda picture, Patriotic Guards led by Army officers during exercises:
 

 
1969, one Mountain Hunters battalion parade after receiving the honorific name "Avram Iancu"
 

Model 89 SPG
 
This was probably the only serious SPG in Romanian armory. 
 
This Romanian self-propelled howitzer is basically the turret of the 2S1 fitted onto the chassis of a modified MLI-84. The vehicle is lighter than the 2S1, should be cheaper and with better manueverability to travel on the flimsy roads and bridges often found in Romania, as well as better handling on the mountain paths in southern Romania.  There were also some Gvozdika from USSR but they're delivered without FCS. 
 
The 2S1 turret fits perfectly into the MLI-84’s turret ring, though the 2S1 turret itself is a bit larger than that of the MLI-84.  The 2A31 122mm gun itself is not the same as on the 2S1, but is a Romanian ground-mounted gun that has several common components with the 2S1’s 2A31 gun.  The gun itself is actually a gun/howitzer, meaning that the gun has deliberately low depression and can function as a tank destroyer as well as a howitzer.  The gun on the Model 89 has a semiautomatic autoloader, meaning that the loader must affix the fuzes and place the round in the auto loading train for loading into the breech; the breech block is also semiautomatic, and the loader must close the breech.  The Model 89 seems to be also optimized for the tank destroyer role, as the fire control suite is marginally more advanced than the indirect fire computer. Max Depression is -3 degrees with elevation +70 degrees. A Model 89 normally carries a few antitank rounds (about 10% of its total), but mostly carries howitzer-type rounds. The gun turret has 360 degree rotation and can also fire from any angle.  The Model 89 does not normally have a commander’s machinegun, though an optional one it figured into the entry.  The commander has a manually-rotating cupola, with all-around vision blocks and a night channel is borrows from the gunner.

 
Following the BMP-1 design, the MLI-84 has a driver’s hatch on the front right hull, and commander’s and gunner’s positions in the turret; the turret has one hatch for the commander.  All three have night vision equipment. The Model 89 has a new engine, the Perkins CV-8V-1240 DTS supercharged diesel developing 360 horsepower; this is larger and heavier, but is more powerful than standard BMP-1 engine, and is also uprated slightly from the MLI-84’s engine.  The fitting of its engine and the associated automatic transmission required rebuilding and enlarging of the engine compartment.  The increase in the length of the hull also allowed small fuel tanks to be incorporated into the walls, increasing the fuel capacity.  The gaps between the roadwheels are also wider. Unfortunately, the suspension is still of the conventional torsion bar type with shock absorbers only on the first and last roadwheels on each side, so the ride can be even rougher than that of the BMP-1.  The heavier weight of the Model 89 also reduced its amphibious capability; it is slow in the water.  The crew and passenger are protected by a fire detection and extinguishing system, and the commander also has access to a Geiger counter and chemical agent detector, which can be operated with hatches closed.
 
The Model 89 retains the MLI-84’s doors in the rear, but has no firing ports.  From the 2S1 turret, the Model 89 inherits the long equipment box on the left side of the turret.  This is large enough to carry ancillary equipment for the Model 89, and little more.  At the rear of the turret are slotted covers used to retract a portion of the suspension during swimming and fording operations.  This of course requires that the turret be squared up with the front when swimming and fording deeply. The Model 89 has an NBC overpressure with a collective NBC backup. Model 89 is amphibious, and has waterjets and bilge pumps.
 
There is very little info available about this vehicle as it was phased out pretty fast after 1989. 
 
Not those SPG are stored or even phased out:
 

 
Same as T-72s Ural:
 

I have many many pictures of Romanian armor from1989, if there is interest I can post them here. Also I can continue to post here too the stuff I am posting on Wargame Red Dragon if it is interest from you guys. 

Paratrooper all day clothes (early 80s):

 
Caporal, 64th Para Regiment, Boteni, 1982
 

 
On the photo is written "With love" and a signature. Summer outfit, probably early 80s

 
Picture with Para training probably from an Army magazine, 80s:
 

 
Border guards shoulder patch:
 

 
Mountain hunters training 80s (probably Army magazine):
 

 

 
Evolution of Mountain Hunters equipment:
 

 
Guards and Protocol Regiment recruits during 1989 events, easily to recognize after their white belts:
 

 
Probably a signal unit, 1976:
 

 
1980, propaganda picture, infantry squad (red signs near neck, not sure how to call ém in English):
 

 
1983, MIGs during Unified Forces Exercises:
 

 
1989, probably infantry, hard to say without colors:
 

 
1989, PSL and scopes were quite common even in the armored/mechanized units:
 

 
1989, Infantry:
 

 
1980, Artillerymen
 

 
1989, Sergent-major, infantry:
 

 
Probably early 90s, Recon unit, Danube Delta:
 
 
 
Youth Defense of Country, propaganda picture:
 

 
middle 80s I thin, Patriotic guards propaganda picture:
 

 
80s, propaganda picture, Patriotic Guards led by Army officers during exercises:
 

 
1969, one Mountain Hunters battalion parade after receiving the honorific name "Avram Iancu"
 

Paratrooper all day clothes (early 80s):

 
Caporal, 64th Para Regiment, Boteni, 1982
 

 
On the photo is written "With love" and a signature. Summer outfit, probably early 80s

 
Picture with Para training probably from an Army magazine, 80s:
 

 
Border guards shoulder patch:
 

 
Mountain hunters training 80s (probably Army magazine):
 

 

 
Evolution of Mountain Hunters equipment:
 

 
Guards and Protocol Regiment recruits during 1989 events, easily to recognize after their white belts:
 

 
Probably a signal unit, 1976:
 

 
1980, propaganda picture, infantry squad (red signs near neck, not sure how to call ém in English):
 

 
1983, MIGs during Unified Forces Exercises:
 

 
1989, probably infantry, hard to say without colors:
 

 
1989, PSL and scopes were quite common even in the armored/mechanized units:
 

 
1989, Infantry:
 

 
1980, Artillerymen
 

 
1989, Sergent-major, infantry:
 

 
Probably early 90s, Recon unit, Danube Delta:
 
 
 
Youth Defense of Country, propaganda picture:
 

 
middle 80s I thin, Patriotic guards propaganda picture:
 

 
80s, propaganda picture, Patriotic Guards led by Army officers during exercises:
 

 
1969, one Mountain Hunters battalion parade after receiving the honorific name "Avram Iancu"
 

Paratrooper all day clothes (early 80s):

 
Caporal, 64th Para Regiment, Boteni, 1982
 

 
On the photo is written "With love" and a signature. Summer outfit, probably early 80s

 
Picture with Para training probably from an Army magazine, 80s:
 

 
Border guards shoulder patch:
 

 
Mountain hunters training 80s (probably Army magazine):
 

 

 
Evolution of Mountain Hunters equipment:
 

 
Guards and Protocol Regiment recruits during 1989 events, easily to recognize after their white belts:
 

 
Probably a signal unit, 1976:
 

 
1980, propaganda picture, infantry squad (red signs near neck, not sure how to call ém in English):
 

 
1983, MIGs during Unified Forces Exercises:
 

 
1989, probably infantry, hard to say without colors:
 

 
1989, PSL and scopes were quite common even in the armored/mechanized units:
 

 
1989, Infantry:
 

 
1980, Artillerymen
 

 
1989, Sergent-major, infantry:
 

 
Probably early 90s, Recon unit, Danube Delta:
 
 
 
Youth Defense of Country, propaganda picture:
 

 
middle 80s I thin, Patriotic guards propaganda picture:
 

 
80s, propaganda picture, Patriotic Guards led by Army officers during exercises:
 

 
1969, one Mountain Hunters battalion parade after receiving the honorific name "Avram Iancu"
 

Much ado about nothing, this is what is happening in Moldova. All parties are interested now in an appeasement.  Both sides politicians (pro-Russian, pro-EU) are thieves and known offenders and it's difficult to find somebody with whom you can have a dialogue knowing he/she have some sort of legitimacy.
 
Actually Russia is not in a good position to help Transnistria now with a hostile Ukraine in between so little interest for an escalation of the situation there. Will just try to induce insecurity feeling to Slav ethnics to keep a freezing conflict. 
 
Moldovans are in total confusion of identity for over 25 years. They have a long history with the other half of Moldova (In medieval principality of Moldova), 100 years of pure Russian rule and force Russification, a brief history with Romania in interwar and truth to be told Basarabia (as we call it) did not get the best treatment from Romanian modern stat and than another time with the Soviet empire (with same forced Russification, families who lived in Romania forbidden to even meet and so on).
 
Then, after the collapse of USSR, followed  for Moldova a 25 years of total collapse, misery and empty promises from all sides, local patriotism breathed on "Moldovan identity", which brought them finally to the bottom of this pit that is now.
 
There is a lot of talk here about an eventual Union with Romania and for a reason that I don't understand it seems that Russia don't like this possibility, although it's the same people and Russian rule over Moldova was obviously an arbitrary act between Ottomans and Russian Empire with which Principality of Moldova (as constituent part of Romanian modern state) never agreed. This union will happen at some point and will come naturally. Younger generation that will want the union it only has now no more than 30 years, and therefore still can not count very much on time politically but obviously its influence increases every year. When this generation will feel natural and normal gesture to reunite with Romania than this it will come about peacefully and with complete peace of conscience for everyone.

Romanian MiG-17 at Mihail Kogălniceanu air base.

 
Romanian T-34 tanks on exercise, 1956

 
BTR-152 and GAZ 69 for military parade in Bucharest.

 
 Parade with air defence 52-K cannon (85 mm) in Bucharest.

 
August 23, 1955, Bucharest - Romanian Minister of Armed Forces, Army General Emil Bodnăraş.

 
August 23, 1955, Bucharest - Military parade in Bucharest with soldiers in ZIS-150's

 
August 23, 1956, Bucharest - MiG-15 UTI of the Romanian Air Forces

 
1957 - BTR-152 used by a Romanian troops

 
 Romanian soldiers.

 
 
 
Early 1960s - Romanian soldiers

 
1958, Alexeni air base - Romanian MiG-15 pilots

 
Romanian troops

 
Romanian military engineers

Just when you think the Mechandized Warfare subforum wasnt filled up with enough worshiping of Soveit military hardware, well, here i am
 
WARSAW PACT STRONK
 
BTR 40 in the Romanian Army

 
Soviet Marines in Bucharest

 
Romanian Maxim squadron, 1950s

 

 
Romanian soldiers, reading "Apărarea Patriei" newspaper.

 
Romanian military parade in Bucharest (Piaţa "Scânteii" - "Spark" Square).

 
1953 - Generals Nicolae Ceauşescu (left) and Leontin Sălăjan (right)

 
1952 - YAK 11 in Romania (Tecuci)

 
 Romanian YAK-23 at Caransebeş

 
MiG-15 and GAZ-63 in Romania.

IAR-99 Soim

This is probably the most successful plane project, it is still in service today and went trough various upgrades and variants. A new plane based on this one, with a new engine, for advanced trained/light attack but this isn't important for actual scope of this post.



IAR 99 "Șoim" (Hawk) is an advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft capable of performing close air support and reconnaissance missions.




Development of the aircraft began in 1975 and it entered series production in 1987. Until 1989 17 Soims were delivered to Romanian Air Force.

this is an early 90s plane, apparently without upgrades:



Basic IAR-99 went trough 2 upgrade programs:

First one was in partnership with Israel in 1992. IAR-109 Swift was equipped with HOTAS (Hands On Throttle and Stick) controls, wide angle head-up display and ring laser gyro inertial navigation system. This aircraft had integrated both Eastern and Western weapon systems. Its export variant was the IAR-109TF, which also had secondary light attack capability. However in 1994 this programme was interrupted.

Second one, which is now operational was an  upgrade programe and  first upgraded aircraft made its maiden flight in 1997. In 1998 the Romanian Government ordered upgrade of IAR-99s. These upgraded aircraft were designated as the IAR-99C. Here is a photo of a plane with Python AA missiles. Aircraft has Israeli avionics package compatible with 5th generation fighter systems:



Romanian Air Force operate a total of 12 upgraded IAR-99C Soim and there is an intention to add a new plane with a new engine, improved fuselage etc.



There is much available online information about this plane. First link is the page of the designing institute
http://www.incas.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=134&Itemid=125
Second link is the page of the producer:
http://www.acv.ro/products_en.php?m=1&s=1

Plane on display at the producer's premises with weapons:

 
 
So to summarize, these were the projects:
 
IAR-93 Vultur was a close air support, ground attack and tactical reconnaissance aircraft, with secondary capability as low level interceptor. Combat capable two-seat version used also for advanced flying and weapon training. Started to fly in later 70s and was withdrew from service in later 90s. Before 1989 it was decided to be upgraded with equipment that was researched for IAR-95 (radar, avionics, missiles).

IAR 95 Spey/ME/S was a supersonic lightweight multirole fighter which was meant to replace MIG-21 and MIG-23; it was never completed because a suitable engine couldn’t be procured or produced under license.

IAR-99 was a trainer/light attack plane which was supposed to replace L-29 and L-39ZA. It is in service today with an upgraded variant able to launch guided missiles.
 
Although little is known about the planning of RSR (Romania Socialist Republic) military, I think the aim was to make it selfsufficient and standard because also a lot of other stuff was built like IR AA RAV-RS, A-921 air-ground missile (enhanced Kh-23), SEBAv submunitions launchers, radars, active jammers, chaff, flares etc.
 
It is obvious to me that Romanian planners kept an eye on Western weapons and cooperated with China.

As far as know Romania did not wanted to make another joint project with Yugoslavia for mainly two reasons: Tito started later in his life an approach on Soviet Union, fearing that state will be dismantled after his death and also refused to share technological upgrades of IAR-93. Yugoslav Orao was much more developed, truly CAS fighter while Romanian one was only capable to launch iron bombs or submunitions (e.g. clusters) and ability to launch KH-23 for example was possible later than Yugoslav equivalent.
 
Here is a post about IAR-93 which I made on another forum, you may find it interesting:
 
IAR-93 VULTUR or J-22 ORAO (Yugoslav variant):



Yugoslav early loadout:


Romanian early loadout:



An extensive technical description is available here:
http://www.incas.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135&Itemid=118

Variants in service in RoAF:

IAR-93P1 (or A variant)
IAR-93P2 (or same A variant) – both pre-series variants.

IAR-93MB Vultur - 1982 (MB stands for “Basic Engine” which means this was the basic variants and first two were pre series);  2x 23 mm, 3 x 250 kg and 2 IR AA missiles load, 5 x 250 kg HE or 4 x LPR-57mm-32;

IAR-93B Vultur – 1985, entered service 1987; with afterburners; biggest number of built planes and used by RoAF was of this sort; increased internal fuel capacity, upgraded hard points and revised wing, including leading edge extensions. Also, the ventral fins, inboard wing fences and forward fuselage strakes were removed. This variant can be loaded with 5 x 500 kg iron bombs since its engines were more powerful.



The SEBAv submunition dispenser was developed for the IAR-93 and it was intended to be produced in 3 variants, SEBAv 1, 2 and 3 which were either clusters or anti-infantry submunitions. Also it was meant to incorporate Romanian made chaff, flares, IR traps, jammers who were incorporated in IAR-99 upgraded variant or MIG-21 upgrade Lancer A/B/C. Also, similar with Yugoslav ORAO it was meant to use guided missiles/bombs in later 80s/early 90s but eventually it was decided to be retired. Knowledge was used to upgrade IAR-99 with Israeli help.
Armament:
•    2 x 23 mm GSh-23L twin-barrel cannon in lower front fuselage, below engine air intakes, with 200 rds/gun; gun camera and GEC-Marconi D282 gyro gunsight
•    up to 2,500 kg (5,511 lb) on 5 pylons
•    BM 500 bomb
•    BEM 250 bomb
•    BE 100 bomb
•    LPR 122 rocket launcher
•    LPR 57 rocket launcher
•    PRN 80 rocket launcher
•    AA-2 Atoll / R-3S AAM (license-built in Romania as A-91) - only on some IAR-93B



Armament only on the J-22 ORAO
•    BL755 cluster bombs
•    AGM-65 Maverick TV guided AGM
•    AS-7 Kerry / Kh-23 Grom AGM
•    AA-8 'Aphid' AAM


It was used in Yugoslav wars:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soko_J-22_Orao




Few videos:

lHRSoCzAv2w

-PGOYC5KPCc

Jeg_MnUqfow


Various load-outs of Romanian version:

IAR-99 Soim

This is probably the most successful plane project, it is still in service today and went trough various upgrades and variants. A new plane based on this one, with a new engine, for advanced trained/light attack but this isn't important for actual scope of this post.



IAR 99 "Șoim" (Hawk) is an advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft capable of performing close air support and reconnaissance missions.




Development of the aircraft began in 1975 and it entered series production in 1987. Until 1989 17 Soims were delivered to Romanian Air Force.

this is an early 90s plane, apparently without upgrades:



Basic IAR-99 went trough 2 upgrade programs:

First one was in partnership with Israel in 1992. IAR-109 Swift was equipped with HOTAS (Hands On Throttle and Stick) controls, wide angle head-up display and ring laser gyro inertial navigation system. This aircraft had integrated both Eastern and Western weapon systems. Its export variant was the IAR-109TF, which also had secondary light attack capability. However in 1994 this programme was interrupted.

Second one, which is now operational was an  upgrade programe and  first upgraded aircraft made its maiden flight in 1997. In 1998 the Romanian Government ordered upgrade of IAR-99s. These upgraded aircraft were designated as the IAR-99C. Here is a photo of a plane with Python AA missiles. Aircraft has Israeli avionics package compatible with 5th generation fighter systems:



Romanian Air Force operate a total of 12 upgraded IAR-99C Soim and there is an intention to add a new plane with a new engine, improved fuselage etc.



There is much available online information about this plane. First link is the page of the designing institute
http://www.incas.ro/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=134&Itemid=125
Second link is the page of the producer:
http://www.acv.ro/products_en.php?m=1&s=1

Plane on display at the producer's premises with weapons:

 
 
So to summarize, these were the projects:
 
IAR-93 Vultur was a close air support, ground attack and tactical reconnaissance aircraft, with secondary capability as low level interceptor. Combat capable two-seat version used also for advanced flying and weapon training. Started to fly in later 70s and was withdrew from service in later 90s. Before 1989 it was decided to be upgraded with equipment that was researched for IAR-95 (radar, avionics, missiles).

IAR 95 Spey/ME/S was a supersonic lightweight multirole fighter which was meant to replace MIG-21 and MIG-23; it was never completed because a suitable engine couldn’t be procured or produced under license.

IAR-99 was a trainer/light attack plane which was supposed to replace L-29 and L-39ZA. It is in service today with an upgraded variant able to launch guided missiles.
 
Although little is known about the planning of RSR (Romania Socialist Republic) military, I think the aim was to make it selfsufficient and standard because also a lot of other stuff was built like IR AA RAV-RS, A-921 air-ground missile (enhanced Kh-23), SEBAv submunitions launchers, radars, active jammers, chaff, flares etc.
 
It is obvious to me that Romanian planners kept an eye on Western weapons and cooperated with China.