What the nuclear plant looked like before the war. The containment buildings are very robust looking
U.S. Helps Optimize Ukrainian Nuclear Reactor
U.S. Helps Optimize Ukrainian Nuclear Reactor
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Russia/Ukraine conflict
- Thread starter amolina
- Start date
thesmokingman
Active Member
Ok, now I've seen it all.
www.nbcnews.com
International Cat Federation bans Russian felines from competitions
Fédération Internationale Féline, which hosts over 700 cat shows a year, said it “cannot just witness these atrocities and do nothing.”
www.nbcnews.com
I hate it when things go to plan 
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Doubling down on the advantage of EVs in modern warfare.
So far this war has shown the limitations if tanks and armed personnel carriers.
Especially in cities, I would rather be in an "Armoured Cyberquad", the driver could wear a full-face helmet and body armour.
Slightly safer than being a regular foot soldier, a bit more protection and faster getaway, ability to fire in all 4 directions with cameras in all 4 directions
Starlink connection for scouting and remote monitoring ..
Compared to tank / armed personnel carriers:-
So far this war has shown the limitations if tanks and armed personnel carriers.
- Need fuel to run
- Often sitting ducks and very easy kills for drones and anti-tank weapons.,
Especially in cities, I would rather be in an "Armoured Cyberquad", the driver could wear a full-face helmet and body armour.
Slightly safer than being a regular foot soldier, a bit more protection and faster getaway, ability to fire in all 4 directions with cameras in all 4 directions
Starlink connection for scouting and remote monitoring ..
Compared to tank / armed personnel carriers:-
- Smaller target to hit.
- Faster get away
- Able to use specially constructed narrow paths.
- If hit, maximum of 1 soldier killed..
- can have self-destruct mode - which can be triggered remotely?
- swappable batteries can be stashed by the defence in good locations in advance.
- can recharge anywhere with electricity, including solar panels.
- May be cheaper / faster to make.
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_Redshift_
Member
I actually disagree. While EVs have some advantages, in a battlefield, they are quite a liability. especially in winters with sub zero temps, when batteries are both getting depleted to heat the vehicle and the batteries, themselves, AND the fact that Lithium ion batteries have trouble getting the charge out when temps are very low.
If you are stuck somewhere, the battery cannot be recharged currently. You talk about swaps as of they can happen today. Sorry, it happened for the internet viewing once, by Tesla as a stunt to get some government assistance at that time. Tesla has never operated a commercial battery swap facility for a meaningful length of time. They did open one in Harris Ranch, CA long time back, but it was just for show, and closed down soon after opening.
I’d submit that a person can walk to a fuel tanker/gas station that’s not yet bombed out and carry a small 2-3 gallon container of gasoline easier than a stuck EV in a broken down caravan.
I say this as a staunch believer in EVs.
In winter I agree, I more thinking of spring / summer, no need to have cabin climate control.
For battery swap I'm thinking a manual process, perhaps needing 2 strong men, but for a lighter more compact shorter range vehicle it doesn't need a big battery.. Batteries can be buried in gardens, hidden in forests etc, well in advance...
The weaponry would add additional weight, but foot soldiers carry it around.
For longer range it can drive up a ramp into a truck... perhaps with a battery swap available in the back of the truck.,
if electric doesn't work they could do a similar vehicle with a small ICE engine, again small amounts of fuel could be hidden in advance and not much fuel is needed.
It is more intended for insurgency / scouting than full on battle.
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Ok, now I've seen it all.
International Cat Federation bans Russian felines from competitions
Fédération Internationale Féline, which hosts over 700 cat shows a year, said it “cannot just witness these atrocities and do nothing.”
They clarified that it's cats coming from within Russia and not Russian breeds. We have two Siberian Forest Cats, but they are born in Oregon. It's a good hypoallergenic breed. My partner is mildly allergic. They are also more communal than average cats and tend to be friendly, even with other cats. My avatar is the two cats in my frunk when they were about 8 months old.
Anyway Russian breeds are not banned from cat shows, only Russians who bring cats. Not that Russians are going to be traveling much anyway.
Do you know how much a tank weighs? A T-80 weighs 46 tonnes, a US Abrams weighs 60 tonnes. A Model S weighs 2 1/2. Tracks have more rolling resistance than tires. The battery would have to be massive to have any range at all. Charging those batteries would take forever on a 220V circuit.
Vehicles with tires instead of tracks would still be less efficient because they need high rolling resistance off road tires. Having to carry extra batteries along offsets room for other supplies. Pre-staging batteries might work in the occasional unicorn scenario, but relying on supply situated behind enemy lines before you start is foolish. It's been tried a few times in desperate situations and it's usually been disastrous in the end.
Any batteries even for support vehicles would require portable shops to swap batteries. Facilities that would be better used to repair damaged vehicles. Armor units always have repair facilities that travel with the unit to keep the tanks moving. There are also battlefield recovery vehicles that are usually obsolete tanks with the superstructure modified to tow other tanks. Tank tracks don't have a long life and tend to break. Battle damage also needs to be repaired.
I have seen no evidence the Russians brought any of these facilities along in this war, but a competent army has them. The facilities are usually busy enough repairing the tanks to have to bother with battery swaps too.
And if the grid goes down where ever you're operating, the only way to charge batteries is by running diesel generators. That electricity can't be used for other things behind the lines.
The only place for military EVs right now is base support vehicles in permanent facilities with reliable electricity. Any other use is folly.
A question I had was answered today. My partner found something on Twitter from a tire expert. He explained why we're seeing so many Russian vehicles with blown tires. It's not enemy fire, it's bad tires. He can tell what tires they are using and he said they are cheap Chinese tires.
He also explained how tires are to be maintained when driving in these conditions and the Russians aren't doing that.
The Russians economized buying cheap tires instead of ones really designed for the job. Then the vehicles have sat outside for a few years in Russian winters, followed by the abuse of being fully loaded with a war load. And the tires give out right and left.
If the Russians admit to 500 casualties, I'm inclined to think that those numbers from ukraines ministry of defense are not that far fetched after all..
Probable, but when you look at the videos of crying soldiers calling their moms, it's hard to think it's all an act.
Putin must be tired of his Migs getting shot down. Now he's pulling out the BIG guns- biplanes!
www.thedrive.com
Russia Appears To Be Preparing Its Ancient An-2 Biplanes For War In Ukraine
A large number of the distinctive Cold War-era utility planes have appeared at an airfield close to the Ukrainian border.
www.thedrive.com
OK. just trying a bit of lateral thinking... Russian tanks are more or less cannon fodder in this war.
Artful Dodger
"Neko no me"
Totally missing two key EV battlefield advantages:
- First is electro-magnetic cannon. No need for separate logistics support for chemical propellant powder. 3x higher muzzle velocity = 9x higher KE impactor. Rapid fire. Silent / flashless impluse => little weapons signature => difficult to detect weapons delivery platform. Drone + indirect fire makes that doubly so.
- Second is magnetic armour / shields. This is 20th Century quantum physics (as opposed to 17th Century Newton's Laws classical physics). New technology has not yet been deployed operationally, but it is enabled by a 1MWh battery pack and active optics/AI. Read this teaser to get some inspiration for how this could protect a MBT from an incoming AT weapon.
A superconducting shield for astronauts | CERN home.cern › news › news › engineering › superconducting-shield-astronauts
Good hunting!
Totally missing two key EV battlefield advantages:
- First is electro-magnetic cannon. No need for separate logistics support for chemical propellant powder. 3x higher muzzle velocity = 9x higher KE impactor. Rapid fire. Silent / flashless impluse => little weapons signature => difficult to detect weapons delivery platform. Drone + indirect fire makes that doubly so.
- Second is magnetic armour / shields. This is 20th Century quantum physics (as opposed to 17th Century Newton's Laws classical physics). New technology has not yet been deployed operationally, but it is enabled by a 1MWh battery pack and active optics/AI. Read this teaser to get some inspiration for how this could protect a MBT from an incoming AT weapon.
A superconducting shield for astronauts | CERN home.cern › news › news › engineering › superconducting-shield-astronauts
Good hunting!
I like your thinking Dodger.
The military equipment Russia is using has changed little since WWII. Their basic strategy "demolish everything" is also dated.
I've seen comments that no tank can withstand that British Anti-tank wespon.
New ideas and technologies are the best way to give Ukraine an advantage.
Putin must be tired of his Migs getting shot down. Now he's pulling out the BIG guns- biplanes!
Russia Appears To Be Preparing Its Ancient An-2 Biplanes For War In Ukraine
A large number of the distinctive Cold War-era utility planes have appeared at an airfield close to the Ukrainian border.
Aircraft like that have been used as counterinsurgency aircraft (COIN). The American AT-6 trainer was converted to such a roe by the French when they were fighting colonial wars in North Africa in the 50s. But those aircraft can only operate safely when there is no significant anti-aircraft around. The An-2 has also been used to drop supplies to isolated pockets of troops, but they would need to be flying thousands of sorties a day to supply the starving units in northern Ukraine.
The An-2 also has good short runway characteristics and the Russians may be using them to ferry in special troops like the would be assassins. They could land on any straight stretch of road with no trees, drop off a couple of spies, and get out again in a few minutes. They may also be planning to evacuate the stranded assassins. Or somebody else considered important.
Totally missing two key EV battlefield advantages:
- First is electro-magnetic cannon. No need for separate logistics support for chemical propellant powder. 3x higher muzzle velocity = 9x higher KE impactor. Rapid fire. Silent / flashless impluse => little weapons signature => difficult to detect weapons delivery platform. Drone + indirect fire makes that doubly so.
- Second is magnetic armour / shields. This is 20th Century quantum physics (as opposed to 17th Century Newton's Laws classical physics). New technology has not yet been deployed operationally, but it is enabled by a 1MWh battery pack and active optics/AI. Read this teaser to get some inspiration for how this could protect a MBT from an incoming AT weapon.
A superconducting shield for astronauts | CERN home.cern › news › news › engineering › superconducting-shield-astronauts
Good hunting!
This is humor right? First off nobody has been able to make a reliable rail gun. The Zumwalt class US destroyers were built to use them, but they never worked out the bugs. The rails wear out fairly quickly and each shot consumes more than 1 KWH of energy.
The best superconductors we have today require cryogenic temperatures to superconduct. The material used at Cern needs to be cooled to -234 C. there are some that work at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (I believe around -77 C), but there must be a reason they didn't use that material. The cooling plant to keep the superconductors cold enough would burn up even a 1 MWh battery fairly quickly. A 1 MWh battery pack would also add about 5 tonnes to the weight of the tank.
This is fine to entertain for a tank of the future after we have Mr Fusion to play with, but it's impractical today.
A lot of odd ideas have been entertained over the years. My ex-brother-in-law had a geologist buddy who was hired in the 50s or 60s to design a rock tank for the Marine Corps. He came up with a limestone tank design, but nobody ever did anything with it. Once he was on the government payroll they couldn't get rid of him so he spent the rest of his career as the base Geologist at the China Lake Naval Weapons Center in California. He found geothermal under the base and managed to get it adopted as a major energy source for the base.
Back in the 80s I went with my then BIL to the base for the opening of the plant. It was right on the edge of the weapons range. No photography was allowed. There were a number of observation posts on the ridges around the range and I had the distinct feeling there were people in each command post watching us.
Anyway, some good came for his hiring on by the Navy, but it wasn't what they had planned.
Putin is now talking of imposing martial law and closing the borders for exit apparently. Also the jail term for anti army protests has been increased to max 15yrs or a minimum 700000 Rouble fine …this equates to approx 50 times the annual minimum salary (source …my Russian wife who is ashamed to be Russian)
In southern Russia think Canadian seasons … winter as cold as -40 degC ….. summer up to +40 deg C Ukraine is probably slightly less extreme but I’d say climate control is not just a nice to have in a vehicle you can’t open windows in ….. ie. any armoured vehicle
petit_bateau
Active Member
Report that Russian troop losses (deaths) now at 9692, though I don't know how reliable that is
Some of you seem to completely misunderstand modern warfare. For example in the air just because the Ukrainians can pose a MANPAD threat at low level (Stinger etc) doesn't mean that they have a monopoly on the GBAD space. In fact the Ukrainians pretty much have to stay at low level because of the Russian S400 systems, which is what shot down some of the Ukrainian fighter aircraft.
or
mind you the Ukrainian GBADs such as their Bukhs have been returning the favour. However their Bukhs are very inferior kit which is why we hear requests to the West for (e.g.) the old UK Rapiers etc. (which simply is not going to happen in the time available, if only because of the equipment-specific training needs let alone anything else)
But at low level the Ukrainian aircraft are also very vulnerable to Russian GBAD systems, both the MANPAD threat and also the radar-directed 20mm ZSU, Pantsir, etcetc. The good news is a lot of this seems to go astray. But unfortunately quite a lot will stil be working.
Some of you seem to completely misunderstand modern warfare. For example in the air just because the Ukrainians can pose a MANPAD threat at low level (Stinger etc) doesn't mean that they have a monopoly on the GBAD space. In fact the Ukrainians pretty much have to stay at low level because of the Russian S400 systems, which is what shot down some of the Ukrainian fighter aircraft.
mind you the Ukrainian GBADs such as their Bukhs have been returning the favour. However their Bukhs are very inferior kit which is why we hear requests to the West for (e.g.) the old UK Rapiers etc. (which simply is not going to happen in the time available, if only because of the equipment-specific training needs let alone anything else)
But at low level the Ukrainian aircraft are also very vulnerable to Russian GBAD systems, both the MANPAD threat and also the radar-directed 20mm ZSU, Pantsir, etcetc. The good news is a lot of this seems to go astray. But unfortunately quite a lot will stil be working.
Sorry to tell you Vlad, but cutting off Russia's economy from the rest of the world is the new normal.
And lots of pictures are reposted from different angles of the same machine. That carrier has lost the tires on the other side, simple accident.
ZachF
Active Member
Looks like the head of Russia’s space program, Rogozin, is an actual neonazi…
