I simply didn't expect the LNR, DNR, & Russian Merc low standards of combat effectiveness to be the entire Russian Army level including the Regime Security units.
It isn't hard to run a truck around a motor pool once a month to see that they don't get sun bleached to death.
2/
Yet the Russian Army let that happen to $15 million anti-aircraft missile complexes.
I've known since 2018 the Russians in Syria had small drone problems.
But, goodness, Russia getting butt r--ed without lube by Ukrainian DJI drones skillfully directing artillery to get smart missile class accuracy was not something I expected in 4/
Another thing not in my 2022 playing cards was the "Emperor had no cloths" moment with Western intelligence over missing Russia's lack of mechanized logistics from 1943-2022. 5/
And my complete disgust with Western leadership for pretending not to know about LOGCAP, contractor logistic services, and private military corporation options to support Ukraine despite decades their use. 7/
Back in July 2024 the Russians had 250 km/h drones bodies for FPV work which has the power to weight performance to blast through a helicopter downwash.
This is another useful translation thread by @sambendett dealing with the Russian reaction to the downing of two Russian helicopters by boat-drone launched R-73 (NATO reporting name AA-11 Archer) missiles.
I've tried with an earlier thread to give this engagement both historical context and possible implications for Western naval helicopter operations in littoral waters going forward
Ukraine's use of boat-drones to shoot down a Russian crewed helicopter with a R-73 missile is as historically significant as Israeli destroyer Eilat (ex HMS Zealous) with a Styx missile by Egypt.
The era of the armed naval helicopter hunting submarines, small boats and spotting/screening for naval surface warships may be coming to a close.
2/
Small boat-drones as platforms for 20 km(+) range fiber optic guided FPV drones will become huge threat to merchant traffic in the littorals and will bedevil escorting warships denied low altitude helicopter cover.
The packaging for the FAB-500 is obviously made to be _rolled_on_the_ground_ by a mobik work gang or stacked in a gondola car of a Russian train by a crane.
The defence-blog -dot- com website reported a very important observation on the production quality of current Russian Shahed production.
It's individual quality is declining, _Hard_.
1/ Russian End Run Production 🧵
From the article:
“The Russians have adapted these drones to their needs, but due to a lack of components and efforts to reduce costs, their quality has declined,” Kulchytsky explained.
Earlier iterations of Shahed drones contained numerous foreign-made components,
2/
...including Japanese-manufactured bearings and precision-built servo drive rods.
However, recent versions have shown a transition to simplified bearings and direct rod assemblies, indicating a shortage of high-quality components."
3/