That reminds me of the 30-second bombs in Starship Troopers.
For those who don’t know, they were a programmable type of bomb. They had a loudspeaker, and they would be programmed to say in the local language, “I’m a 30-second bomb. I’m a 30-second bomb. 30, 29, 28. . .”
good context info:
the UKR does a formidable job of strangulating the russian’s supply chains
I learned some history about Crimea. Good article about a complicated relationship between Ukraine and Russia.
quite a worthwhile tweet - about the structure and location of russian defense lines in the south
https://nitter.net/Inkvisiit/status/1655584386601951238#m
not the most-up-to-date info - but then again, defense lines don’t disappear overnight
Perhaps more sanctions are needed against Iran? Building drones in Belarus will only prolong this war and increase civilian attacks in Ukraine.
The drone factory inside Russia would be a legitimate military target. Assuming that Ukraine can reach it.
Link Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 1, 2023 | Institute for the Study of War
This is tangential and should not be discussed but is still worth mentioning in this thread
“… Trump also urged a halt to Ukrainian military aid until the White House cooperates with congressional investigations into Biden and his family.”
In reality, it will probably amount to nothing. We can hope.
A drone factory in Belarus is also a legit military target. Russia invaded Ukraine partially from Belarus territory. That’s an act of war on Belarus’ part. Everyone’s kind of pretending that Belarus and Ukraine are not at war, but that’s technically not true.
From the MOD… Mines hiding in fresh weeds and brush would be a soldiers worst nightmare.
Its nasty stuff, and environmentally bad, but Agent Orange was a extremely effective herbicide. I rather risk exposure to a herbicide than get blown apart in a war. Die now or perhaps in 20 to 30 years. What a crazy choice.
X post
Ukrainians in occupied territory are being forced to take on Russian citizenship. I guess Putin is doing this as a way to show how “happy” the people in that area are to be under the “protection” of Russia. And if there are any troublemakers…well, Russian citizens are a Russian problem, aren’t they, and no one else’s business.
I wonder whether flamethrowers would be a good way to clear the weeds? Maybe set off the mines in the process? Maybe drop some good old napalm?
Warship in Russian port looks a bit tired after being hit by Ukrainian naval drone:
yes, seems a pretty intense night - and lots of egg-on-your-face for russia …
another ship destroyed by a country “without navy”.
I wonder - why don’t they rig those drone-boats to release 1-2 torpedos?
I assume that would be way more effective (energetically speaking) that exploding 500kg TNT next to a boat (not saying this is wrong, just not too efficient)
any thoughts?
A drone boat is cheaper to make than a torpedo, it basically is a torpepedo with more control.
I’m not sure that would be more effective in energy terms. The drone boats have a contact detonator on the front and then, presumably, shaped charge inside of them to focus the blast energy in one direction. So similar to a torpedo.
I guess a drone boat could launch torpedoes that, due to their being underwater, would evade detection and surface fire that might otherwise destroy the drone on approach to the target. There are already submersible drones that are mostly underwater for this reason, with just the communication parts above water.
NATO Navy officials must be concerned to see a multi million dollar ship successfully attacked by a fairly inexpensive drone boat.
Thankfully it was a Russian ship this time.
Off Topic and a strong potential Hijack.
If you want to start a new thread on it, it would be interesting I believe.
Hiding post under Detail spoiler.
I’m no expert, but… torpedos are more complicated to build than drone boats, and adding a launch system would compound the difficulty. The payload would be much smaller, the drone slower, and the cost much greater.
Torpedos do have a potential for greater destruction; the most effective explosions happen underwater, either under the keel or a short distance from the hull.
From Wikipedia:
“If the torpedo detonates at a distance from the ship, and especially under the keel, the change in water pressure causes the ship to resonate. This is frequently the most deadly type of explosion if it is strong enough. The whole ship is dangerously shaken and everything on board is tossed around. Engines rip from their beds, cables from their holders, etc. A badly shaken ship usually sinks quickly, with hundreds, or even thousands of small leaks all over the ship and no way to power the pumps. The crew fares no better, as the violent shaking tosses them around.
This shaking is powerful enough to cause disabling injury to knees and other joints in the body, particularly if the affected person stands on surfaces connected directly to the hull (such as steel decks).”
Ukrainian partisans used cyanide and pesticides during a Sunday Russian Navy Day event to poison the Russian military service members, killing two, Petro Andriushchenko said on Telegram.
The other 15 were admitted to the hospital in serious condition, he said.
The ship may be tired, but it’s not listless. 