1/ Final thread on stored Russian engineering vehicles. This times we'll take a look at a miscellaneous mix of engineering vehicles, such as minelayers, mine clearing vehicles, trench diggers... and see whether they're being used or not.
2/ As with the other two engineering threads, this won't be an in-depth analysis, just a overall glance at their storage stocks. Re: ARV and pontoon threads:
4/ So, first of all, as you can guess, engineering vehicles are meant for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. For example, breaching vehicles such as UR-77s are intended to overcome enemy defense lines.
6/ But are they really used? Those numbers look smaller considering the overall 18,250 pieces of equipment lost by Russia, specially in a positional war such as this one.
7/ So far it doesn't look like they're really used, as with the coming of new technologies such as remove mining, many of these sytems aren't needed anymore.
8/ So let's take a look at a bunch of storage bases (not all of them, by a long shot) to get a clearer picture. We'll start by the 7021th:
9/ Before the war there were 44 UR-77s here. They haven't been moved in all this time.
10/ Another site that stored UR-77s was a base called Alkino-2. Once again, not pulled out from storage:
11/ This place also holds other engineering vehicles:
12/ Including some GMZ-3 right next to the UR-77s. Some of these were taken:
13/ Another post, another base: the 230th in Sakhalin island.
14/ There were also many apparently GMZ-3s here, most of them removed by now from this base:
15/ I mentioned Novaya Stanitsa a while ago when it was updated with new public footage, and how barely any equipment remained there, but that the engineering equipment hadn't been moved, including 2 BAT-2s.
17/ There's also the depot near Syzrandkaya. Once again nothing had been touched here, tho the last available footage is from winter 2022:
18/ Then the 96th at Mashkovo. Among other things, some IMR-2s, again not pulled out:
19/ The 2066th (like several other bases here, also mentioned in the pontoon thread), among other stuff, also had at least 10 GMZ-3s, of which only 1 was pulled out:
20/ Like I said, among other stuff:
21/ And finally, let's take a look at another base: a depot near Sosnovets. Updated for the last time in late 2022, the Russians had also not taken anything from here by then:
22/ This is just a quick glance at some bases. The conclusion is that, for the most part, they haven't really touched that equipment. They have mostly used civilian equipment to dig trenches.
24/ Either because they're not as useful as one would expect, or because they were left rotting in storage for decades and most are broken now. Only small quantities are pulled out from storage here and there.
25/ I'm aware this thread feels lackluster, but that's because 1) these types of systems are stored in small quantities in who knows how many storage facilities (for example, there are cranes everywhere), 2) I'm a bit out of my depth here, I lack knowledge to ID many systems
26/ and 3) writing up these last two engineering equipment threads has been a drawl, I just didn't really enjoyed it (and this is probably part of my recent demotivation).
27/ So I really hope this thread has been useful anyway to some of you. Next week there should be some actual content worth posting... See you then!
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It's about time to realize Russia has a shitton of equipment. Just because they lost 2k BMP-2s and still use them amptly does NOT mean they're getting them abroad.
They started the war with 3k in active service and probably 1-1,5k more in storage. Just like MT-LBs, we'll see them for a long time even after stored ones have been depleted for replenishment.
1/ One last thread to end 2024! Let's take a quick look at Russia's towed AA guns in storage: S-60s and KS-19s 🧵
2/ So it's no mystery that this war is full of stark contrats: Leopard 2s and self-propelled MT-LBs, Ladas and BMP-3s... And also old towed AA guns repurposed for ground targets. The main Soviet systems in this regard were S-60s and KS-19s.
3/ Both Ukraine and Russia have been using them extensively since 2022. But while Ukraine at times modernizes them with targeting systems (not always tho)...
3/ So, in the previous thread I talked about how many stored armored vehicles that might look decent-ish were probably total write offs. This time I wanna delve a bit more into related stuff.
A little look into how Omsktransmash has changed. Back in 2021, the only T-80s you could spot were these 52 ones, parked there for years and clearly cannibalized. Nothing would change during 2022, either.
And in 2023, suddenly, T-80s everywhere, in massive numbers, waiting to be refurbished or modernized to BVM standard.
1/ A look into the state of many of the remaining armored vehicles in storage and how useless they are, along with their storage facilities 🧵
2/ I'm well aware that many people look at the spreadsheet at feel demoralized by how much stuff Russia still has in reserve. Alas, that's not entirely the whole picture. Let's take the stored BTRs as an example.
3/ If you look at the sheet, it appears they still have a bit under two thirds of the prewar stock. Is it true tho? docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…