The Russian encampment is at 46.7627° N, 33.3847° E. The column of vehicles was headed southeast (away from the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam) on the R-47.
Some sort of BMD-base vehicle (possibly a command vehicle?), Nona 120mm mortars, and a BTR-80UNSh variant.
Airborne unit is heading towards the dam. They've stopped at the checkpoint, possibly to allow the column to catch up.
A couple BTRs cutting in line, and the BMDs are starting to rev their engines, probably getting ready to move. Also, a new fire in the far distance.
The airborne unit is moving forward towards the dam.
On the one hand, the BMD has tin foil armor - front protection against 30mm cannon, but the sides only protect against 12.7mm (50 cal) machine guns.
On the other hand, these are some of Russia's better troops, and this is at least an entire regiment.
Still moving through the checkpoint. I think someone said it took 40 minutes to move past the other camera.
Also, the distant fire appears to be extinguished.
Aaaaand traffic jam.
New unit making its way toward the dam.
Some interesting loads on/behind these trucks. Also, traffic jam again.
Not sure what the first two are, but the last one is a Pantsir short-range air defense system.
Adding more vehicles and men will definitely help fix the traffic problem here.
Ugh. I'm being way too flippant about this. In the back of my head, I know these are people's sons, that they're in Ukraine to kill (and be killed), and it's kind of soul-crushing to be watching this and unable to do anything about it.
More vehicles heading back from the dam. Also, the Maidan Square live camera in Kyiv is down for me.
Didn't we see these tankers not that long ago going the other direction?
Also a truck with a crane and a box with windows. I forgot what it's called.
Yes, we have seen them before. I specifically remember seeing that tanker truck towing another tanker truck.
The returning column is turning on to a side street that links up with Volytsya Promyslova (and thence Prospekt Dniprovskyy and Vulitsya Frantsuzka). Possibly headed toward Oleshky and the bridge to Kherson?
LOL stuck again.
Yes, it's war, but the traffic problems here are kind of hilarious. If it weren't surrounded by houses, this would be begging for an artillery strike.
Oh, hey, the Pantsir is moving.
Another Pantsir. Also, Frigorifique? Is that pronounced "Fridge-o-rific"?
Traffic back to low levels, though still some military equipment travelling back from the dam.
Aaaaand I think we pissed someone off. Fun time is over.
Fuckers.
I'm honestly kind of sad. Was that my fault?
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1/17 I agree with this assessment. Nonetheless, since I am apparently a masochist, I geolocated all of the nuclear weapons storage sites active in Belarus during the 1980s.
I'm pretty sure there were 22 of them, though I am open to corrections.
2/17 First, a few notes: In Russian and Soviet service, nuclear weapons (except those attached to deployed strategic missiles) are under the control of the 12th Main/Chief Directorate (12 GUMO), a separate branch of the military directly subordinate to the Ministry of Defense.
3/17 Thus, while a 12 GUMO unit might be attached to a nuclear-capable unit, the chains of command are separate.
Also, outside of the Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN), 12 GUMO bases are rarely co-located with the units responsible for delivering the nuclear weapons in wartime.
Oh, that's interesting. They uncoupled the locomotive prior to launch. So the 2-car set for the missiles is a self-contained unit and (similar to the Soviet RT-23) doesn't need to draw power from the locomotive.
Of the two cars, one obviously carries the missiles (and, based on the September launch, the generator), and the other (let's call it the support systems car) presumably carries electronics, tools, and whatnot.
I see the ghost of the R-27 has returned to haunt us again.
"Ampulization," referring to the fueling & hermetically sealing of a ballistic missile at the factory, was a Soviet innovation, developed by the Makeev bureau & first used in the R-27 SLBM. 1/12
2/12 For the Soviets, ampulization required the development of several technological advances. While no longer on the cutting edge, North Korea's potential use of ampulization has implications for where certain parts of the DPRK program are, technologically speaking.
3/ Makeyev described the technologies necessary for ampulization. Many of these can be seen in videos of R-27 missile production. This video is especially useful; I should do a separate thread later explaining other aspects of the manufacturing process:
1/18 Okay. Now let's talk about what can be done to defend against this type of attack.
This is sort of pushing the limits of my knowledge, so please chime in if I miss something.
2/18 The methods for countering drones and cruise missiles can be broken into two broad categories:
Kinetic (guns, missiles, and lasers)
Electronic (jamming and spoofing)
3/18 The CIWS concept is not new, at least not in the naval realm. Sea-skimming anti-ship missiles have worried naval officers since the 1960's.
First, updated maps of the air defense sites at Abqaiq. First one is April 2019 (the date of the image), the second is how forces were deployed as of this week.
This thread will by much more analysis, much less satellite imagery.
Let's get some misconceptions out of the way:
-The Saudis are not incompetent
-Patriot is not useless
-The attackers were not merely "lucky"
-I am not actually air defense expert
In fact, I don't think the Patriot battery, or any other system south of the facility (had they even been there), ever had a chance to participate.
Two words: ground clutter.
Also, the Patriot radar might not have been turned on.