Current Affairs Ukraine

[Rita_Poon]

Ridiculousness of the day: Russian wins "alternative Olympics" in Russia, being the only one in the tournament​

Oleksandr ChekanovSport18.06.2024 09:44

Maltsev won the BRICS Games

Russian synchronized swimmer Alexander Maltsev has achieved a "phenomenal" result at the BRICS Games, which Russia organized in Kazan and calls an alternative to the 2024 Olympics. The swimmer became the first in the free program and took the gold medal, and he had no rivals.

Maltsev was the only one to compete in this event. He scored 211.654 points and climbed to the podium alone. After his "enchanting" performance, the athlete added that he was not embarrassed by the lack of rivals.

"I was more in tune to show the best possible performance of the program. The main thing is to be able to perform here at the BRICS Games," Maltsev said.

The Russian had a harder time in the technical program. Here he had only one opponent, a representative of Thailand. Maltsev outscored his opponent by 58.

Ridiculousness of the day: Russian wins "alternative Olympics" in Russia, being the only one in the tournament

The athlete was not embarrassed by the lack of rivals | OBOZ.UA

eng.obozrevatel.com

But how was he synchronised? He wasn't performing alongside anyone else, let alone competing with any others. He was effectively swimming about. And then given a score.

And what is the kitty cat mascot? endangered snow leopard? If so what an ironic precursor to this validity of this 'games'. Macron must be laughing his ass off.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

But how was he synchronised? He wasn't performing alongside anyone else, let alone competing with any others. He was effectively swimming about. And then given a score.

And what is the kitty cat mascot? endangered snow leopard? If so what an ironic precursor to this validity of this 'games'. Macron must be laughing his ass off.

Seeing the collection of lunatic states involved anything could happen. Remember that time North Korea win the world cup. It's all possible, and the potato people will love it.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

You will argue in support of the Putin regime on GOT. Speak English.

 

[davids]

Seeing the collection of lunatic states involved anything could happen. Remember that time North Korea win the world cup. It's all possible, and the potato people will love it.

Time to teach these countries a real lesson,any that have taken part in this travesty should be banned from the Olympics.

 

[dublinbluenose]

Totally agree. This is a war about fixed defensive lines, massed artillery, EW and drones.

Ukraine has determined that at this time it’s better for them to fall back to favourable prepared defences and wait for the Russian meat assaults to break on their positions. Russia was losing over 1000 men and hundreds of armoured vehicles every day during the Kharkiv offensive in May. Hard to see how any army even Russia’s with its massed mobilisation program and war economy footing can sustain those losses over time.

No wonder Putin’s in Pyongyang with his begging bowl.

In terms of drone warfare, I've seen it written that while Russia is drafting 30k per month into their infantry, Ukraine is producing over 34k FPV drones every month. That's more than one drove for every fighter Russia sends in.

This is attrition the like of which hasn't been seen in 100 years. Russia is of course producing similar levels of drones.

 

[Yarrgh]

In terms of drone warfare, I've seen it written that while Russia is drafting 30k per month into their infantry, Ukraine is producing over 34k FPV drones every month. That's more than one drove for every fighter Russia sends in.

This is attrition the like of which hasn't been seen in 100 years. Russia is of course producing similar levels of drones.

We need to be upping our drone production rates after seeing this war. Also, investment in anti-drone systems and drone-proofing our existing and future assets.

Obviously we should be engaging to make a situation were wars never happen but until then ... more drones.

 

[tsubaki]

We need to be upping our drone production rates after seeing this war. Also, investment in anti-drone systems and drone-proofing our existing and future assets.

Obviously we should be engaging to make a situation were wars never happen but until then ... more drones.

Maybe, but I hope actual studies are being done to determine whether the lessons of this war are necessarily applicable.

For example after the Spanish Civil War an awful lot of people came out of that conflict thinking that the bomber would always get through and that tanks were crap; neither turned out to be that true.

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

In terms of drone warfare, I've seen it written that while Russia is drafting 30k per month into their infantry, Ukraine is producing over 34k FPV drones every month. That's more than one drove for every fighter Russia sends in.

This is attrition the like of which hasn't been seen in 100 years. Russia is of course producing similar levels of drones.

I don’t think we can ignore the impact that drones have had on this and potential future conflicts. The lessons must be learnt and military tactics and strategies adapted to counter this very real threat.

I did note that the design of the latest German Leopard and French Leclerc main battle tanks released this week show them with remote controlled crewless main gun turrets (crew contained in ultra protected compartment) with additional 30mm weapon mounts for dealing specifically with the drone threat. These design features are a direct result of the war in Ukraine.

China has also been watching how things develop in Ukraine and has seriously ramped up its spending, development, production and training with drone based assets (airborne, sub-sea, and ground).

 

[dublinbluenose]

Interesting article concerning Russia's strength on the Finnish border (or lack thereof). Most troops and equipment has been transferred to Ukraine in the first half of this year.

Underrättelsekälla till Yle: Nästan alla ryska marktrupper är nu i Ukraina

I ryska militärbaser återanvänds gammal utrustning.

svenska.yle.fi

 

[tantavisiteler]

 

[dublinbluenose]

The body language

 

[Noisy noise annoys]

Vlad now threatening South Korea if they supply Ukraine despite literally taking arms from North Korea.
Playground bully stuff this

 

[carlos21]

But how was he synchronised? He wasn't performing alongside anyone else, let alone competing with any others. He was effectively swimming about. And then given a score.

And what is the kitty cat mascot? endangered snow leopard? If so what an ironic precursor to this validity of this 'games'. Macron must be laughing his ass off.

Hiya bro.

 

[PhilM]

I don’t think we can ignore the impact that drones have had on this and potential future conflicts. The lessons must be learnt and military tactics and strategies adapted to counter this very real threat.

I did note that the design of the latest German Leopard and French Leclerc main battle tanks released this week show them with remote controlled crewless main gun turrets (crew contained in ultra protected compartment) with additional 30mm weapon mounts for dealing specifically with the drone threat. These design features are a direct result of the war in Ukraine.

China has also been watching how things develop in Ukraine and has seriously ramped up its spending, development, production and training with drone based assets (airborne, sub-sea, and ground).

FPV drones and the successful tactics employed to use them, noticeably by both sides but more so Ukraine, has changed military planning and strategy.

We are talking about mass-produced, versatile (infantry, vehicle and fixed positions) easily used and incredibly cheap compared to legacy munitions.

A javelin missile costs up to £200,000 once you've factored in the launcher, training etc - the missile itself is less than £100,000. While brilliant, it's very expensive.

If you're looking at an NLAW, you're going to £15,000 - £20,000, which is again a great weapon in terms of penetration. But, cost per kill vs FPVs, wow.

To put it bluntly, you can use a number of FPVs to attack a target multiple times and achieve the same outcome - stopping the asset - for a lot less.

The Ukrainians aren't trained to destroy a tank, APC etc, rather to attack it enough times to disable and/or force the crew to flee, when they become easy targets.

A spotter drone co-ordinates the attack, while the attack drones come in. This is why it's easy to confirm vehicles destroyed, but infantry figures are often inflated.*

Now, we have to be considered a couple of things here, specific to this conflict, when talking about their success, so it's important to not knee-jerk.

Firstly, Russian EW kit ain't what we thought it to be, and the vehicles often destroyed have been a) poorly protected legacy stock, and b) poorly operated.

However, we, like Russia (see below), will be putting a lot of effort into integrating an effective EW kit into the battlefield to help negate their success.

If this occurs, the impact of FPV drones may not be as large as some may seem: think of how the Signals quickly adapted to PIRA techniques in the 80s etc.

Another sizeable worry is how the technology and tactics learnt in Ukraine may be adapted by other undesirables here, which is giving the security services concern.



*A tank killed equates to 3/4 crew killed on the figures due to presumptions, when in reality the deaths may not have occurred.

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

FPV drones and the successful tactics employed to use them, noticeably by both sides but more so Ukraine, has changed military planning and strategy.

We are talking about mass-produced, versatile (infantry, vehicle and fixed positions) easily used and incredibly cheap compared to legacy munitions.

A javelin missile costs up to £200,000 once you've factored in the launcher, training etc - the missile itself is less than £100,000. While brilliant, it's very expensive.

If you're looking at an NLAW, you're going to £15,000 - £20,000, which is again a great weapon in terms of penetration. But, cost per kill vs FPVs, wow.

To put it bluntly, you can use a number of FPVs to attack a target multiple times and achieve the same outcome - stopping the asset - for a lot less.

The Ukrainians aren't trained to destroy a tank, APC etc, rather to attack it enough times to disable and/or force the crew to flee, when they become easy targets.

A spotter drone co-ordinates the attack, while the attack drones come in. This is why it's easy to confirm vehicles destroyed, but infantry figures are often inflated.*

Now, we have to be considered a couple of things here, specific to this conflict, when talking about their success, so it's important to not knee-jerk.

Firstly, Russian EW kit ain't what we thought it to be, and the vehicles often destroyed have been a) poorly protected legacy stock, and b) poorly operated.

However, we, like Russia (see below), will be putting a lot of effort into integrating an effective EW kit into the battlefield to help negate their success.

If this occurs, the impact of FPV drones may not be as large as some may seem: think of how the Signals quickly adapted to PIRA techniques in the 80s etc.

Another sizeable worry is how the technology and tactics learnt in Ukraine may be adapted by other undesirables here, which is giving the security services concern.



*A tank killed equates to 3/4 crew killed on the figures due to presumptions, when in reality the deaths may not have occurred.

Excellent post Phil. However we should be mindful given Russia’s deployment of tactical, battlefield anti-drone EW systems has been poor, almost knee-jerk in its approach, other serious players such as China are watching this conflict closely and honing their future military drone focused strategy accordingly.

Personally I think the advent and maturity of AI will have a massive effect on future UAV, UGV and USV based warfare with machine learning drone swarms being directed to attack targets on the battlefield, learning and adapting to enemy tactics in real time.

As with all wars this one will kick start a new generation of tech advancement and one that is dual- use (both civilian and military). But at the end of the day it still requires troops on the ground supported by tanks and armoured fighting vehicles to take and hold ground, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.