CrappyHead

Looks like Russia might finally get a 3rd gen ATGM, @LoooSeR  

GeoPoliticalFutures which is a subscriber only site has its take on events keeping in mind it has multiple contributors from around the world but is American focused.
 
* Prior to invasion a rumour they heard Russia was offered a deal, the USA stays out of Ukraine but Russia must stay out of Belarus, it was declined.
* Russian strategy was politically driven to scare Ukraine into signing an agreement and to undermine Nato via the new German government wanting the invasion problem to go away, Germany caved under western pressure and Ukraine resistance was higher than expected when Russia rolled in.
* Russian armed forces were operating like something out of the cold war with large armoured formations and all the problems that incurs,  puzzled why the internet is still active etc (no war is clean and you definitely don't want it broadcast to the world of today), decisions may be have been politically made rather than what's best tactically.
* The Ukrainian armed forces have dispersed requiring Russian infantry units having to sweep areas clear before armour can push through, the west is flooding Ukraine with infantry anti-armour weapons.
* The Russian Air Force has not much to hit targets wise (not because its incapable).
* Russia needs a quick win and cannot let this drag on which is what the west wants.
 
Economics
* If Russia can survive the initial shock from global sanctions it will be fine in the long run, also sanctions sometimes can have the opposite effect and actually help domestic production and technology, Russia is self reliant in many areas but will loose access to high end technology and luxury goods from the west.
* Huge risks in wheat and fertilizer production, Russia and Ukraine are both major global suppliers, if conflict drags on it will badly affect North Africa the main customers which could in turn fuel instability in an already fragile part of the world.
 
What some in the west fear the most is that a Eurasian alliance forms with its own international finance institutions and technology it hasn't happened yet but this could accelerate its creation, the USA is going to be working overtime to keep China and Russia apart.
 
How things play out remains to be seen, the west has done as much as it can without direct war, either Putin gets a compromise deal with west (no way they allow it at this point but months from now attitudes may change) or Russia breaks Ukrainian morale and forces a surrender.
 
My own view on this talk of insurgency is made by people with not much understanding, Ukraine is not Afghanistan, if Russia were to occupy all of Ukraine;
* Ukraine is not a poor/undeveloped country its citizens have something to loose, bills to pay, going to school etc. they cannot afford to send their sons off to die.
* Ukraine is flat there is not many places to hide.
* Russia has a fairly effective secret police in putting down revolts once military occupation ends.
* Ukraine/Russia share language/culture/religion, Russians are not strangers to Ukraine something the Soviets and Americans failed to understand in Afghanistan.
* Entry points into Ukraine via EU can be policed by Russian "peace keeping" forces and resupplied via Belarus, Afghanistan was surrounded by unfriendly countries to USA.
 
This action by Putin defiantly backfired when it comes to Nato which was falling apart all on its own, as Macron pointed out much to the anger of western elites a few years ago. Now Nato is fully rejuvenated, Germany is going to re-arm which is going to be another problem (many in Europe are nervous about Germany with large military). The USA has gotten new military bases in EU countries Denmark/Romania and support for Nato has sky rocketed in Sweden/Finland, Turkey is being brought in from the cold. All anti-Russia hard liners are now politically untouchable in the west.

Lack of precision guided munitions , means lot of old fashioned CAS at low level with all the dangers it entails
 
 
 

As suspected the invasion is failing hard (it's a bloody shambles to be frank), and meanwhile the Russian economy is falling off a cliff and the anti war sentiment of the average Russian (but also the Oligarchs) is growing by the day.  It's becoming more and more obvious that the days of the little madman war criminal are numbered, and it's all by his own doing. 
 
Slava Ukraini! And a prayer of hope that one day the Russian people will be free of corrupt dictatorships, and become part of the free west.
 
 

Microfighter concepts.  https://ke.kz/en/press-center/defence-industry/1393/

Contract for the development and production of the Eurodrone MALE finally notified to Airbus
 

 
Even if the operational value of a twin engine, 10 tonnes / 27 m wingspan behemoth with performances barely above a MQ-9 Reaper is questionable at least it's a start :/
 

Soft ERA bags are haram

https://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/13716017.html
Yuri Pasholok's photos of Object 781 variant B. According to placard it had crew of 7 (!).

   Turret weapons same as on BMP-3 (100 mm 2A70 gun-launcher + 30 mm 2A72 AC+ PKT) + 30 mm Balkan AGL + PKT in RCWS. Add here AGL in hull + 2 MG gunners on hull sides, vehicle was capable of firing at 6 directions in the same time.
   Hull is modded T-72 chassis.
 
 

 
 

 
 

For a very long time, converted tanks were the only infantry carriers in the IDF worth a damn. They were used extensively in Lebanon for the 20 years the IDF was parked there, for moving troops and for route clearance - very important against an opponent who very much liked IEDs. 
 

Doing Jihad stuff in WW2

Photos of K1s from the ROK 1st Armored Brigade(as well as the photos of the ammo loading being from the 102nd Armored Brigade, at least if looking at the shoulder patch) during a live fire exercise. 
 

 

Grad-P is normal thing produced in USSR since 1960' for various guerilla or special forces. It was used in Vietnam war and nearly every other war which followed. 
 
There was a video from Syria where they fired it remotely even from a room inside a building (I think it was in Aleppo battle). 

Pretty neat close up look at Sovremennyy-class destroyer.
 
one of the guest of the show a former commander of the ship mention (take it with a grain of salt) that the main gun was able to shoot a P-15 termit cruise missile using the AK-630 FCS, cool to know the interchangebilty of the system
 

Pretty neat close up look at Sovremennyy-class destroyer.
 
one of the guest of the show a former commander of the ship mention (take it with a grain of salt) that the main gun was able to shoot a P-15 termit cruise missile using the AK-630 FCS, cool to know the interchangebilty of the system
 

From IDEX-2021 - what looks like updated model of that HIFV first demonstrated on IDEX-2019 (VN-50?) - now with somewhat different turret
No luck for me in finding better pictures, even using Chinese and Arabic. And unfortunately with nothing but rather slow phone at my reach, I can't use Topaz Gigapixel or other means to increase resolution and quality.
 

 

 

 

 

Indonesia bought a licence to locally produce RM-70 Vampire with Excalibur (after importing RM-70 Vampires and support vehicles since 2016). Vampire is a modernised variant of the original RM-70 on a new chassis. As everyboy knows RM-70 is basically an armoured Grad with two salvos instead of one carried by the launcher.    
https://www.armadninoviny.cz/spolecnost-excalibur-army-podepsala-dohodu-o-vyrobe-raketometu-na-podvozcich-tatra-v-indonesii.html?fbclid=IwAR1fbEski1ez8NS6e5f0QZP6CMOzjLdhYpzt7oSIGgJETOxB86I-ZnH8Mb8

A new K2 variant has made it's debut at IDEX 2021, the K2M.
 
From what I all can see it's an offshoot of the K2PL though with minor changes, the hard-kill APS has been replaced with the soft-kill APS system (similar to that of the normal K2, you have the soft-kill radar and the rotatable smoke grenade launcher). You also have additional cage armor applied to the turret bustle. 
 
Hopefully more and better images pop up.
 

Another CH-4 shot down
 

Azeri T-90S wreckage. 
 

Polish numerical simulations for the new APFSDS round against stacked RHA plates and complex targets:

1. stacked RHA
2 - 4. spaced armor arrays
5. spaced steel plates with rubber interlayers (no empty space)
6. ceramic tiles and RHA
 

Targets 4 and 6 cannot be penetrated, but the rest can be defeated.
 
 

Unusual mix of armor...
 

News from the real south. TAM 2C program sees light at the end of the tunnel. An agreement was reached between the Argentinian Government and Elbit to start the upgrade of 74 TAM to 2C standard.