I've seen a video about a new CAS aircraft that's built on the fuselage of a cropduster. Can't remember its name, but could something like it be a useful tool in counter-droning?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 12, 2025 - 01:21 am: Edit

There needs to be a cheap solution to killing a lot of drones.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Friday, September 12, 2025 - 01:28 am: Edit

"The Army of Russia chain of stores is closing due to losses
The Russian Army retail chain will be closed soon. All 35 of its stores will cease operating due to unprofitability, the staff will be fired, product development will be completed, and the remaining clothing and dry rations will be sold off, Mash writes . The stores operated in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Engels, and other cities. The sign has already been removed from the former flagship store opposite the US Embassy on Novinsky Boulevard.

The "Army of Russia" brand was managed by JSC Voentorg, whose license agreement with the Ministry of Defense expired in March of this year. Last year, investigators arrested the former head of Voentorg, Vladimir Pavlov, in a case of fraud with defense contracts worth 400 million rubles. According to the investigation, Pavlov entered into a criminal conspiracy with businessman Timur Isakov in 2019. The purpose of the fraud was to steal funds from the Ministry of Defense allocated for the purchase of army toiletry bags - personal hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, razor, comb, towel, gels, lotions). The military department allocated about 1.2 billion rubles for them.

The head of Voentorg is not the first victim of the purge in the Russian army. In August, Major General Konstantin Kuvshinov was arrested. He is accused of embezzling over 57 million rubles during the purchase of medical equipment. He became the ninth high-ranking officer to be purged after the resignation of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Before that, a military court sentenced former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov to 13 years in a general regime penal colony for embezzlement, and Major General Denis Putilov received 8.5 years in prison for a bribe of 10 million rubles during a contract for the repair and maintenance of military equipment. Even earlier, security forces detained two more former deputies of Shoigu - Army Generals Dmitry Bulgakov (damages of 1.3 billion rubles) and Pavel Popov (embezzlement at construction sites in Patriot Park), as well as Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov (bribe of 80 million rubles). In addition to them, Major General Valery Muminjanov, Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, who was sentenced to 7 years in prison in April 2025, and other military personnel were arrested on charges of accepting bribes."

Source: MoscowTimesdotcom

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Friday, September 12, 2025 - 08:29 am: Edit

Jga: yup, that's the Air Tractor L3Harris OA-1K Skyraider II; entered service earlier this year. No guns (and sadly no repeating shotgun), but it does carry the AGR-20 (which is essentially the old Hydra rocket retrofitted with a laser-guidance kit).

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Friday, September 12, 2025 - 03:27 pm: Edit

Shotgun pod? I know we had machine gun pods for the longest time

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, September 12, 2025 - 06:41 pm: Edit

Should be esasy to put a Saiga in a pod.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Friday, September 12, 2025 - 09:59 pm: Edit

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Alexus G. Grynkewich have announced the launch of "Eastern Sentry," a military activity aimed to bolster NATO's posture along the eastern flank.

Commencing in the coming days, Eastern Sentry will involve a range of Allied assets and feature both traditional capabilities and "novel technologies", including elements designed to address challenges associated with drones.

By Rickyimpug on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 11:01 am: Edit

Authentication Error

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 01:19 pm: Edit

I guess we can put Putin in the Category, of instigating the exact scenario he says he is trying to prevent.....

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 01:34 pm: Edit

On Russia's drones going in to Polish air space.

The distance between Kiev and Chelm Poland is over 300 miles, why would there be so much excess fuel in decoys? Particularly in a country that has a number of attacks on their refineries.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 07:13 pm: Edit

These were decoy drones so they have the fuel to fly around and around until Ukraine wastes a weapon on them, so as such they would have lots of fuel.

By A David Merritt (Adm) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 09:28 pm: Edit

That makes sense, although I would expect modern air defense radar to notice that pattern at some point, and ignore decoys.

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 09:40 pm: Edit

You don't want to ignore a loitering drone until it decides to stop loitering, so a drone in a holding pattern is still a target.

Unarmed decoy drones don't make much sense to me. The drone is presumably much more expensive than a load of C4 and a detonator, so why not put a weapon in, just in case you get close to something you want to blow up?

Decoys are normally used when a decoy is much cheaper, much lighter, or much lower crew requirement (like none) than the system you are trying to protect. What is a decoy long range drone protecting that is a substantially higher investment system than the decoy?

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 09:45 pm: Edit

I don't recall if it's been mentioned here or not, but it looks like Russia is finally giving up on Kuznetsov, their sole carrier, which has been laid up since 2017. Reporting from Izvestia indicate that all work has been suspended and it is likely that the ship will be scrapped.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 10:14 pm: Edit

A decoy long range drone (replace warhead with more fuel) protects the warhead drones by circling around and attracting enemy fire.

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 11:01 pm: Edit

Sure, it's ability to protect other drones isn't in question. The question is, why is the drone being protected more valuable than the decoy?

Just carry a bomb instead of extra fuel, and rather than circle you can just hit something. Unless they are desperately short of guidance packages or something, why bother with decoys?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 02:14 am: Edit

Because they work? Because you get more hits with bomb drones if you protect them with decoys?

A single decoy can stay over the target for hours as wave after wave of bomb drones arrive.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 08:28 am: Edit

Pretty sure the decoys cost way less than the actual Shaheds.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 01:51 pm: Edit

They make little sense. The drones are all ready dirt cheap so the savings would be small.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 02:07 pm: Edit

Looking at the wrong thing.

The actual cost is not material.

It is vital to the mission, and as such worth far more than the actual cost in dollars, rubles or yen.

If Putin can survive long enough, his financial situation will improve with victory.

If Russia finds itself unable to prosecute the war against Ukraine, economic collapse of Russia will end it just as happened to the Czar in 1917.

The use of decoy drones, in theory, allows an increase in the number of successful drone strikes against actual military targets.

The problem for Putin, is what targets get hit.

If its on the actual battle field, all well and good.

If it is just to inflict a few extra civilian targets to be hit in Kiv, then it just infuriates the Ukrainians.

By Robert Russell Lender (Rusman) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 03:03 pm: Edit

---

Quote:

If it is just to inflict a few extra civilian targets to be hit in Kiv, then it just infuriates the Ukrainians.

---

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 04:48 pm: Edit

Rusman,

Not accurate.

Historically, populations subjected to large scale bombing attacks builds support for the respective war governments.

Post ww2 analysis for all of the main combatants showed the same results.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 05:59 pm: Edit

It is a maxim of air power that bombing will break the enemy’s will to fight. It has never turned out that way, but Douhet is still taught in air forces.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 06:03 pm: Edit

France has ordered all of the hospitals in the country to be stocked and staffed for a major influx of military casualties by March 2026.

Norway is reactivating Cold War bunkers.

Virtually all NATO countries are expanding forces and stockpiles.

A NATO-Russia War would cost $1.5 trillion assuming it lasts only six months.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 06:29 pm: Edit

Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have withdrawn from the Ottawa Accord (which banned anti-personnel land mines).

The EU has called for all households to have 72 hours of food and water, plus a serious first aid kit.