October 17, 2022, #NATO started a 2 week long exercise in Europe to train aircrews in using U.S. non-strategic #NuclearBombs. The exercise, known as "#SteadfastNoon" is centered at Kleine Brogel AFB in Belgium, one of 6 airbases in #Europe that store U.S. nuclear bombs. 1/
SN exercises are held once every year, but this year is unique because the exercise will take place during the largest conventional war in Europe since WWII with considerable tension and uncertainty resulting from 🇷🇺’s war in 🇺🇦. 2/
Moreover, SN is expected to more or less coincide with a large Russian strategic nuclear exercise. 3/
According to NATO, in SN participating 14 countries (less than half of the 30 NATO allies) and up to 60 aircraft. That involves 4th gen F-16s and F-15Es as well as 5th gen F-35A and F-22 fighter jets. A number of tankers and surveillance aircraft also taking part.
4/
“My guess is it is aimed more towards NATO than Russia,” said Tom Collina, director of policy at the Ploughshares Fund, a disarmament group. “There are [older] B61s already there. The Russians know that. They work just fine. 5/
The new ones will be newer, but it’s not really that much of a difference. But it may be a way to assure the allies when they are feeling particularly threatened by Russia.” 6/
The accelerated time frame of upcoming shipment to Europe of upgraded B61-12 nuclear bombs confirmed by the people familiar with the issue. 7/
The B61 is a family of nuclear bombs first developed in the early 1960s and initially demonstrated in underground nuclear tests in Nevada. A dozen versions have been developed over the decades. 8/
The $10 billion B61-12 Life Extension Program is managed by the Department of Energy and is meant to replace several earlier versions, including about 100 bombs stored at air bases in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey. 9/
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The russian Army radio communication issue.
russian Army in AFVs uses three basic types of the radios:
- R-123 (Frequency range 27 - 51 MHz)
- R-173 (Frequency range 30 - 75,999 MHz)
- R-168 (Frequency range 30 - 107,975 MHz)
The first two can connected with the R-124 or R-174 tank internal phone. The third one is uses the R-184 AVSK (Аппаратура внутренней связи и коммутации - АВСК)
All these radios can't provide the good communication, first two are very old. The third one is the newest what the russian army has. It is digital and also has Frequency Hopping (FH) and this is the biggest problem of this radio - he can't use the FH to connected with the other old types of the russian army radios, for them it using open frequency, so it's the same shit with the old ones. In case the using the FH, it's also shit - is able to jump frequencies up to 100 hops per second. It's easily intercepted and jammed.
1/
For the last two years, the Russian army and volunteers have been trying to solve the problem with radio communications.
The army chose the R-187 Azart-BV radio (Frequency range 27 - 220 MHz; 220 - 520 MHz). As you can see on the image they trying to adapt these radio to the tank via these metallic construction and connection adapters for the headphones and antenna, but it's quite ineffective and army didn't get any result yet (radios aren't in service, or they are in very small numbers).
2/
The volunteers have choose the Chinese way. They have created the "Sotnik" and "Poltinnik" radios.
Actually these radios are the civilian Lira DM-1000, that is installed inside the metallic boxes and equipped with the adapters for the headphones and antennas and the tank power system.
P. S. the Lira DM-1000 is the Chinese Belfone BF-TM8500 (Frequency range 136-174 MHz; 350-390/400-480/450-520 MHz)
3/
#USArmy YPG tests cutting edge parachute system
The Rapid Rigging De-Rigging Airdrop System (RRDAS), which promises to get Soldiers out of a drop zone and into the fight with the equipment they need faster than ever. 1/
Conventional cargo payloads are typically cushioned with a honeycomb-like cardboard material between the vehicle or other heavy item and the steel palette that carries it from an aircraft to the ground. Even with good cargo parachutes and a perfect landing... 2/
...multiple layers of the honeycomb will collapse upon impact with the ground. RRDAS, however, dramatically reduces the amount of honeycomb necessary to dissipate the force of impact with 10 reusable airbag modules. 3/
It's not even very rare vehicle, it's the 🇷🇺 experimental Light Tactical Vehicle Scorpion LShA, that spotted in the 🇺🇦
The vehicle is manufactured by ZASHITA company and for the 1st time it's presented in 2012. Vehicle was equipped with Polish made diesel Andoria 0501 ADCR. 1/
A small treat about war logistics:
Because all comparing the war in Ukraine with WWI, I decided to provide a small data about the "Resources crisis" of the Entente. 1/
I just share the information from the great book "The Intimate Papers of Colonel House Volumes" by Seymour Charles.
Sadly I have only 3rd volume, in Russian, published in 1939 in USSR. 2/
Some small piece of what 🇫🇷 asked from the US.
André Tardieu, the French politician, served as Commissioner for 🇫🇷🇺🇸 War Cooperation in USA.
(arrived in Washington in 17.05.1917)
According to him, in addition to the planned one, he received additional other demands from France 3/