Patrick Senft Profile picture
Research Coordinator @Arms_Research | Previously @Vredesinstituut | MSc. @UniLeiden. I tweet in 🇬🇧 & rarely in 🇩🇪, but always my personal opinion.
Sep 9, 2023 10 tweets 4 min read
🇨🇳
Test footage emerged of what seems to be the #Chinese Sunflower 200 sacrificial UAV - the copy of the Iranian Shahed 136 drone.

These drones were previously shown at the Armiya-2023 expo in #Russia and could be used against #Ukraine.

A brief 🧵 Image The Shahed-136 (and the smaller 131) have been used by Russia against Ukraine since about September 2022 (also under the name Geran-2 (and 1).

The UAVs' avionics and navigation systems are primarily based on commercial-grade products with a warhead of 20-40kg (estimated). Image
Jun 18, 2023 7 tweets 6 min read
🇷🇺⚡🇺🇦

Interesting observation from the war in #Ukraine️:

#Russia may be experiencing substantial supply issues of Kontakt-1 basic explosive reactive armour (ERA).

ERA is a vital component of Russian armour protection and was generally believed to be readily available. Image Several telegram channels are looking for Russians who can produce the metal containers for Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armour (ERA) or spare some materials for them.

They post the machine drawings and of these containers, and recruiting machine shops who could produce them. ImageImage
Apr 22, 2023 9 tweets 6 min read
🇷🇺⚡🇺🇦

Fascinating image of an improvised truck-mounted remote mining system used by #Russia|n forces in #Ukraine.

This seems to use the launcher from a Universal Minelayer UMZ - which deploys several scattered mines while driving, thereby creating a minefield.

A brief 🧵 Image The UMZ holds six of these angled honey-cone launchers, each containing 30 K-cassettes.

The truck drives along and fires the K-cassettes sequentially.

The depth (or width) of the resulting minefield can range from 15 to 240m, with the launch truck driving as fast as 40 km/h. Image
Mar 23, 2023 15 tweets 12 min read
🇷🇺⚡️🇺🇦

Recently, @CITeam_en documented #Russia pulling ancient T54/55 tanks from storage and potentially moving them to the frontline in the #UkraineRussiaWar.

Some, like @RyanMcbeth, have suggested the T54/55s could substitute artillery.

My thoughts plus a twist at the end🧵 Image What does using a tank in an indirect-fire role rather than a direct-fire role mean?

The idea: tanks don't fire at targets they can see in a relatively flat arc (as they were designed).

Instead, they fire at targets they don't see, at a steep angle (like howitzers). Image
Mar 9, 2023 12 tweets 7 min read
🇺🇸 - 🇨🇳

The #US @DeptofDefense just announced that #Russia was supplying "highly enriched Uranium" to #China.

Now, why would China do that?

A brief 🧵

Source: defense.gov/News/News-Stor… What is highly enriched Uranium?

Basically, Uranium comes in many atomic configuration. U-238 is the most common & U-235 is the one we get the energy from.
Depending on the concentration of U-235 we call it: natural, low-enriched (for energy) or high-enriched (for weapons).
Feb 27, 2023 9 tweets 6 min read
🇺🇦⚡️🇷🇺 - 🇨🇳

Der Spiegel (@derspiegel ) reported that #China's Xi'an Bingguo Smart company may support #Russia with sacrificial drones - the ZT-180 - against #Ukraine.

All we know is that the drone can carry 35 kg to 50 kg of explosives.

spiegel.de/international/…

An #OSINT🧵👇 The company name "西安冰果智能航空科技有限公司" gives us a marketplace website: 81uav.cn/com/bingouav/

As the company does not have its own website - very China.

Thanks to @stoa1984 for finding the website!! Image
Feb 26, 2022 6 tweets 5 min read
There've been numerous sightings of #Russian TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers in #Ukraine, albeit they've not been used yet.

Seeing TOS-1As in the #UkraineWar is significant as they cause immense damage when used in urban warfare - as we have seen in #Chechnya in 1999

A quick🧵 The TOS-1(A) fires 30 (24 A version) 220mm thermobaric rockets. One salvo can "annihilate" an estimated area of 200x400m.

Thermobaric rockets function by dispersing a fuel (powdered tetranite) into a cloud that is then ignited. The resulting shockwave destroys buildings & people