Texas already thinks it is independent. California acts that way. The native population of Hawaii seriously wants independence. The Texas panhandle would prefer to be separate from Texas. Half of Washington state and Oregon really wildly wants to be part of Idaho. Scotland and Wales want out of UK. Lots of Belgians would prefer to split the country in half and merge with Netherlands and France. Before France got serious in 1946 about forcing Parisian French on the rest of the country, Britany and Provençal spoke their own dialects and really wanted independence. Western Canada is really tired of being looted to pay for social programs in Eastern Canada. Quebec has had an independence movement for a century. We could all name a few more.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 08:57 am: Edit

An Indian HAL Tejas (single-engine, delta-wing, Gen-4.5 multirole fighter) crashed during a demonstration flight last Friday at the Dubai Air Show, in front of the prospective customers HAL was wooing.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 11:17 am: Edit

Did the pilot get out?

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 11:19 am: Edit

He did not, sadly.

By Carl-Magnus Carlsson (Hardcore) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 12:36 pm: Edit

China is building multiple gen 6 fighters, but India is still struggling with gen 4...

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 01:30 pm: Edit

Is there such a thing as a gen 6 fighter? The references I've seen indicate that the current most advanced fighters are fifth generation (and also only starts counting with jets, I will assure whoever came up with this that there were multiple generations of prop based fighters in WW-I alone).

The "generation 4.5" for some Indian fighters would also bear out the use of the 5 generation list with sixth generation being whatever comes after things like the F-35.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 01:56 pm: Edit

Is there, somewhere, a list of these generations, what defines them, and examples of mass production fighters in each? Is an F15 Gen 4? 3? Is an F22 Gen 5? Is an F35 Gen 6?

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 02:15 pm: Edit

Rechecking, there's a Wikipedia page on Jet Fighter Generations which gives 6 different lists in a nice table, two of them are identical on the table and have 4.5 as a thing, and those two both top out at 5. No one else has a 4.5, but my earlier check showed a list with a 4.5 and 4+, and none of the lists on Wikipedia have both. Wikipedia does give examples, but it doesn't look like there's an accepted common list.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 02:16 pm: Edit

Morale: Can Europeans Fight?
November 24, 2025: For the first time in 80 years, Western Europe faces the possibility of war on their own territory. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine is threatening to escalate into a Russian invasion of Western Europe by 2030 or sometime in the 2030s. Once that became a popular meme, there followed questions of whether Europeans could fight.
While there has been no war in Western Europe since 1945, hundreds of thousands of Europeans have fought in wars outside Europe and, since 2014, over 50,000 have volunteered to fight in Ukraine or Russia. Currently, Ukraine maintains a Foreign Legion that largely consists of volunteers from Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. Ukraine actively seeks foreign volunteers for some technical jobs like network security, code breaking and so on.
It’s not a question of whether or not any Europeans would volunteer to fight in wartime, or under threat of war, but how many. There is also the fact that in modern armies, only about ten to twenty percent of the troops specialize in fighting. The rest provide support services like medical, supplies, engineering, communications, air defense and so on. Support troops carry weapons and are trained how to use them. This is because many support troops operate some of the time in a combat zone and must be able to defend themselves. Members of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion are paid, but those with combat jobs are paid about nine times more than those in support jobs.
Because of the Ukraine War the German government is once again considering compulsory military service, i.e., a draft to address current recruitment shortfalls and anticipated military personnel needs over the next several years, with three to five years being the likely planning range. The government has made it clear that providing Ukraine with security guarantees requires increasing military manpower. The conscription bill would draft 110,000 men and assign them to Bundeswehr reserve units. The bill must still be approved by the German parliament. German media indicate that the government would prefer to rely on volunteers. However, a draft will be politically unpopular among young Germans. Germany ended compulsory military conscription in 2011, although suspended is how the government refers to the 2011 decision. Defense officials have concluded that voluntary recruitment will not meet Germany’s current defense requirements and doesn’t meet NATO and EU defense requirements.
In 1991, after the Cold War ended and West Germany absorbed East Germany, the reunited Bundeswehr had nearly half a million troops. Currently, Germany has about 175,000 to 180,000 active-duty military personnel, supported by 30,00 to 50,000 trained and qualified reservists. Germany has the EU’s largest economy and population. In an EU-led Ukraine Security Guarantee scenario, German military forces should reflect Germany’s economic and demographic capabilities. They don’t, and raw numbers matter. The German defense ministry’s mobilization plan calls for 260,000 active-duty personnel and 200,000 to 250,000 reservists who train annually to maintain military skills. The German government knew military expansion was necessary but, until this year, was slow to make the economic and military commitments. After Russia’s February 2022 all-out attack on Ukraine, German leaders said Germany would expand its military forces. Currently, it is agreed that Germany should have Europe’s largest conventional army. OK. The ide
There’s no doubt that Europeans will fight. Nearly all European nations have increased their defense spending and the number of their military age men that undergo military training. Most of these men end up in reserve units. Many countries regularly call up reserve units for some active duty training and military exercises. The main problem is how long it will take to recruit/conscript enough civilians and arm, train and organize them into combat and support units.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 02:17 pm: Edit

Surface Forces : Combat Boat 90 For Ukraine
November 23, 2025: Sweden and Norway recently delivered half a dozen 20-ton Combat Boat 90 vessels. These boats cost $2.6 million each. Nearly 300 of these boats have been built since the first entered service in 1991. These vessels are 15.9 meters long and can operate in less than a meter of water. Top speed is 74 kilometers an hour. Range is 440 kilometers at a cruising speed of 37 kilometers an hour. The crew consists of two officers and an engineer. The boat can also hold 21 soldiers and their equipment, or 4.5 tons of cargo. Armament consists of three 12.7mm machine-guns, one Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher and a Saab Trackfire RWS/Remote Weapons System that allows a crew member inside the boat to operate the RWS machine-guns. The boat can also carry four naval mines or six depth charges. Ukraine says they have received enough of these boats to form a boat division.
The Ukraine Navy has undergone some changes since 2022. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States expedited the delivery of 35 patrol boats for river, port and coast patrol and protection. Most of these were 12 and 14-meter patrol boats that could be obtained and shipped quickly. Some of these are several of the twelve larger Mk VI patrol boats that the U.S. Navy is in the process of retiring. In 2020 the United States agreed to supply Ukraine with 16 new Mk VI boats. That order has since been increased to 18 but all of those will not be delivered until 2026.
After 2014 the United States agreed to provide assistance in rebuilding the Ukrainian Navy. In 2020, the United States agreed to sell Ukraine sixteen Mk VI patrol boats. The U.S. proposed that these boats each be armed with two 30mm autocannon RWS/Remote Weapons Systems operated from inside the boat, behind the armor that would protect the crew from machine-gun fire and shell fragments. Each boat would also have an IFF/Identify, Friend or Foe transponder similar to that used on combat aircraft. The U.S. also offered radar and an electro-optical FLIR/Heat Sensing radar that would make the boat capable of spotting and identifying anything within eyesight of the crew. There would also be a LRAD/Long Range Acoustic Device that would enable a crewmember to send a focused beam of sound out to five kilometers so that they could deliver verbal information or commands to anyone within range. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have found LRAD very useful. The MK VI can also launch inflatable boats from the rear for boarding parties and American sailors have demonstrated the use of small UAVs from the Mk VI. Also on offer is a two or four cell launcher for anti-ship missiles. That’s a lot of firepower for a 72-ton, 26-meter long boat with a ten-man crew, plus space for eight passengers, top speed of 82 kilometers an hour and an endurance of about 28 hours cruising at 45 kilometers an hour.
The Mk VI manufacturer also offers a maintenance, spare parts and tech support package that the Ukrainians probably know by reputation is good at keeping American-made vessels easily repairable with spare parts delivered quickly and tech support available long-distance via the Internet. This would be essential for these boats as they would probably be heavily used. Ukraine might substitute some of the American RWS with Ukrainian models, which are competitive in durability and effectiveness. Ukraine also has a local ship electronics industry which could also provide competitive items for what the U.S. is offering.
Ukraine was desperate to rebuild its fleet after 2014. The Ukrainian Navy initially, in 1991, consisted of nearly 70 former Soviet Black Sea fleet warships. The problem was that most of the officers on these new ships were Russians who did not want to change their nationality. Many simply went back to Russia, others accepted Ukrainian citizenship but that often proved superficial. In 2014 when Russia seized Crimea, they also grabbed most of the fifty ships of the Ukrainian fleet. This was aided by many of the ethnic Russian officers agreeing to return to the Russian Navy. The only major ship Ukraine held onto was a Cold War era Krivak class frigate and a few dozen smaller patrol ships that were stationed at other Ukrainian ports outside of Crimea. By taking Crimea Russia was now in possession of several major naval bases and shipyards.
With the loss of Crimea Ukraine not only lost its fleet but also most of its ability to build a new one. There were still several Ukrainian commercial shipyards that remained outside of Crimea and these were put to work producing the new Gurza-M class armored gunboats. Twenty of these 52-ton boats are to be built, though by 2022 three of these were in service with a fourth undergoing sea trials. Construction of more Guzra-Ms was halted by the 2022 Russian invasion. This increased the urgency and importance of obtaining the similar, but larger and faster American Mk VI boats. Three of these are arriving in 2022 with more to follow as fast as they can be completed or obtained from those the U.S. Navy is retiring.
Russia is building some new corvettes and frigates and a few of these are being assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. By the time of the 2022 invasion Ukraine had a few gunboats and support craft while Russia had about 20 warships and several functioning shipyards in the Crimean Peninsula.
The U.S. also offered Ukraine larger warships, including recently retired American ships that are refurbished for another decade or so of service with an allied navy. Ukraine, like Russia, had budget problems but Ukraine also has NATO friends and still wants to join NATO, something Russia threatened to go to war with Ukraine to prevent. Since 2014 Russia has been at war with Ukraine so threatening more war was not a wise move by Russia. That did not stop the Russians from invading in 2022 and that resulted in the loss of a Russian 10,000-ton cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea fleet and a growing number of smaller vessels.
After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Turkey invoked a 1930s treaty governing transit of warships into the Black Sea via the deep-water entrance, which is Turkish territory. The Mk VIs can be delivered via the Romanian port of Constanta, which has a river/canal connection with the North Sea. This port is near Ukraine’s Snake Island, which was captured by Russian forces soon after the invasion began. Since then, the Russian garrison and resupply ships have been under constant attack. The Russians finally withdrew from Shake Island on June 12th and Ukrainian forces reoccupied it. Snake Island is about 35 kilometers from the Ukrainian port of Odessa. NATO aircraft and satellites provide constant surveillance over the waters between Snake Island, Odessa and the Crimea. Delivering the Mk VI boats via Constanta could still be threatened by Russian Kilo class subs based on Crimea. Only one of the four Kilos in the Black Sea is operational. The other three underwent repairs and required maintenance in Crimea shipyards.

FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 02:17 pm: Edit

Information Warfare: Cyber Sanctions In Action
November 23, 2025: Malicious hackers are increasingly active. They are not carrying out many attacks, but they are probing and mapping internet networks they seek to eventually take down. Over the last decade America has been increasingly active in sanctioning individuals and organizations believed involved in supporting, or actually engaging in, criminal hacking activities. These sanctions are often difficult to implement because the individuals in foreign countries often have no assets available to sanction. This is often the case for hackers operating out of North Korea, Iran, Russia, some parts of China, Cuba and any nation with regions it does not control. Myanmar is a good example of this, with northern areas that are no longer under government control. The Chinese are selective about which areas they will allow North Korean hackers to establish operations in. Until recently some hackers hid out in remote areas of the Philippines. Russian GRU and FSB intelligence agencies, Iranian intelligence and Nor
Some of the more publicized hacking efforts are side effects of wars like the one in Ukraine. Since 2022 Russia has been hit with sanctions on Russian IT/Information Technology companies. This effort has had little impact because the Russian computer manufacturers continue to obtain western components smuggled in via third countries. Russian software developers still create software for Russian laptops and desktop computers and install western-quality software. One difference is the GPS tracking feature of most PCs, tablets and laptops. This enables foreign intelligence agencies to note that many Russian computers are still operating despite the sanctions that were meant to cripple them. When needed, Russian users can easily disable the GPS feature in their computers.
At the same time Russia is still engaging in Cyber War. These include disrupting GPS navigation in the Baltic Sea. This attack was aimed at one of the Baltic states, Estonia, because a World War II T-34 tank serving as a Soviet Communist war memorial in Estonia was removed. Estonia declared neutrality when World War II broke out in 1939, and spent most of the war occupied by neutral German troops. The Russians drove the Germans out in late 1944 and brutally occupied Estonia until 1991.
That was why the T-34 memorial was removed. The Russians responded by jamming Estonian GPS. There was even worse retribution against the tiny Caucasus nation of Georgia. Russian Cyber Warriors gained access to and sometimes disrupted operations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finance, the National Bank of Georgia, energy and telecommunications companies, oil terminals, and television networks. Russia could have also terminated Georgia’s power plant operations.
The situation is not completely normal for the Russian IT industry. Over ten percent of their IT specialists have left the country because the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Russian IT companies and banned Russian IT specialists from working for American clients. Some of the IT specialists may have left to avoid being mobilized into the army and sent to Ukraine.
The current Cyber War is not the first between Estonia and Russia. Back in 2007 NATO was called on by Estonia to declare Cyber War on Russia. This was because recent Russian Cyber War attacks on Estonia caused enormous financial losses. Estonia wants this sort of thing declared terrorism, and dealt with. NATO agreed to discuss the issue and make a decision. That's big progress in this area.
Cyber Wars have been going on since the 1990s and are getting worse. It started in the 1990s, as individuals attacked the web sites in other nations because of diplomatic disputes. This was usually stirred up by some international incident. India and Pakistan went at it several times, and Arabs and Israelis have been trashing each other’s web sites for years. The Arabs soon backed down because the Israeli hackers were much more effective. Chinese and Taiwanese hackers went at each other periodically, and in 2001, Chinese and American hackers clashed because of a collision off the Chinese coast between an American reconnaissance aircraft and a Chinese fighter.
After that these Cyber Wars have escalated from website defacing and shutting down sites with massive DDOS/Distributed Denial of Service attacks. There were also elaborate espionage efforts against American military networks. The attackers were believed to be Chinese, and some American military commanders were calling for counter attacks to deal with the matter.
The Russian attacks against Estonia were the result of Estonia moving a statue honoring Russian World War II soldiers from the center of the capital to a military cemetery. The Estonians always saw the statue as a reminder of half a century of Russian occupation and oppression. Russia saw the statue move as an insult to the efforts of Russian soldiers to liberate Estonia, and enable the Russians to occupy the place for half a century. The basic problem here is that most Russians don't see their Soviet era ancestors as evil people, despite the millions of Russians and non-Russians killed by the Soviet secret police. The Russians are very proud of their defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, ignoring the fact that in 1939 the Soviet government was just biding its time before it launched its own invasion of Germany and Europe in general.
While many Russians would have backed a military attack on Estonia, to retaliate for the insult by an ungrateful neighbor, this approach was seen as imprudent. Estonia is now part of NATO, and an attack on one NATO member is considered an attack on all. It's because of this Russian threat that Estonia was so eager to get into NATO. The Russians, however, believe that massive Cyber War attacks will not trigger a NATO response. They were so sure of this that some of the early DDOS attacks were easily traced back to computers owned by the Russian government. When that got out, the attacks stopped for a few days, resumed from what appeared to be illegal botnets, and maybe some legal botnets as well. Russian language message boards were full of useful information on how to join the holy war against evil Estonia. There's no indication that anyone is afraid of a visit from the Russian cyber-police for any damage they might do to Estonia. And the damage has been significant, amounting to millions of dollars. While no one was injured, Estonia is insisting that this attack, by Russia, should trigger the mutual defense provisions of the NATO treaty. That did not happen but the results of this incident were interesting.

FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 02:18 pm: Edit

Air Weapons: Where The Drone Revolution Began
November 22, 2025: In Ukraine, swarms of FPV/First Person View drones have revolutionized how wars are fought. There are few methods to defeat drone attacks. The primary defensive measure is electronic jamming of the control signal between the drone operator and the drone. Jamming is of limited effectiveness because active jammers are easy targets for drones programmed to home in on and destroy jammers. Depending on how they are programmed, drones will either land if jammed or return to where they were launched. Another technique is to equip an FPV with a kilometer or so of thin fiber optic cable. This cannot be jammed, although occasionally the cable breaks before the drone has carried out its attack.
Despite those defensive measures and the small explosive payload drones carry, most of the armored vehicles damaged or destroyed in Ukraine were done in by armed drones. Over 70 percent of all Russian casualties are now the result of drone attacks.
Drone warfare is increasingly common and dominating most combat zones. Tactics and techniques are also evolving as Ukraine and Russia both experiment with new tactics, and drone designs. Both nations are also increasing production of drones and the number of trained operators. Both Russia and Ukraine realize that drones provide unprecedented surveillance of the battlefield, but not all of it. That requires more drones and operators.
In 2024 Ukraine established its Drone Force to coordinate production and operator training efforts. By 2025 Ukraine was producing nearly 400,000 drone a month and expects to at least triple than in 2026. The Drone Force coordinated the production of drones by civilians. This was done in homes, barns, garages or any space where production of a few dozen or a few hundred drones could be carried out.
Ukraine also supported civilian drone building operations efforts to become commercial. Currently there are over 30 commercial drone manufacturers, many of them underground or abandoned tunnels to protect them Russian drone or missile attacks. Then there’s the Killhouse Academy, run by the Ukrainian Army 3rd Corps. They run a six to ten day course that is free to members of the 3rd Corps but costs everyone else about $200. The course includes the basics of operating, repairing and even building your own drone. This is not every difficult, because all you have to do is modify a consumer quadcopter or fixed wing drone. The course also features a large abandoned industrial space with mockups of typical battlefield obstacles and targets for drone operators to practice on. Students learn out to operate an FPV drone and how to avoid being spotted and attacked by a Russian drone. Students are also given demonstrations of what electronic jamming can do to an FPV drone and how to deal with that. Students are also sh
Killhouse also offers more technical, and more expensive, advanced courses. Graduates of these courses include teenagers expecting to be in the army eventually as well as those who want to start building drones for the troops, often soldiers they know. Many students are just curious about drones and their use in the Ukraine War. This has attracted journalists as well as elderly Ukrainians with grandchildren in the army.
In 2023, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainians were building their own drones, often at home or scattered workshops. By late 2024 Ukrainians were producing over 150,000 drones a month. In 2025 Ukraine aims to produce up to four million drones. By purchasing components in bulk, thousands of Ukrainian men and women are building these drones for the armed forces or for someone they know in the military. Troops at the front also build and modify drones to fit their immediate situations. For the soldiers, designing better drones is often a matter of life or death.
The Ukrainians have kept ahead of the Russians in drone technology and production. The Russian government discourages, or even outlaws, individuals building drones and centralizes drone production. This gives the Ukrainians an edge in drone quantity and quality. The Ukrainians are defending their homeland and Russia is having an increasingly difficult time justifying continued fighting and killing or disabling over a million Russians in Ukraine.
All these drone developments make combat more dangerous for the troops on the ground. Drones not only keep an eye on enemy troops but are always ready to go in and put them out of action, as in dead or wounded. Troops are still fighting each other on the ground, but now they have to worry about constant surveillance and attacks from the growing number of drones hovering over the battlefield. In addition to operators there are the drone maintainers, who repair damaged or otherwise disabled drones and service those needing a battery recharge or simply a fresh battery.
Ukraine’s military has established a Drone Academy to train drone operators in basic and advanced skills. There are courses for commanders on how best to manage and use drones. This is essential because now Ukrainian infantry battalions have nearly as many drones as troops. The American military likes to call this a force multiplier. That is, a battalion with lots of drones is more effective, and lethal, than a battalion without so many drones. The Ukrainian military is the first to go so far in this direction and appear to be benefitting from the massive use of drones. Other nations are closely following this development and preparing to adopt what works for Ukraine. Russia is more conservative in how they deal with this, even though they are also using massive numbers of drones. There are already dozens of Ukrainian companies offering training for drone operators and the Ukrainian military uses the services of these firms. Ukraine seeks to have more than 10,000 trained operators as quickly as possible. Dro
Earlier in 2023 Ukraine revealed that it planned to spend over half a billion dollars on drones but did not reveal the extent of their efforts to add more capabilities to commercial drones as well as the growing number of drones being manufactured by Ukrainian companies. Ukrainian developers and manufacturers are often small groups of civilian hobbyists that proved capable of creating new features for drones, both commercial and hobbyist-created models. The Russian invasion spurred a lot of innovation, mainly among Ukrainian developers. Among the items available to commercial customers are a lot of digital video camera items as well as lighter, miniaturized computer components that can be assembled and programmed by users to perform essential tasks, like using AI apps and data from onboard video cameras of enemy forces, even if they are camouflaged or in underground bunkers. Constant combat use of these systems enables developers to address shortcomings and continually improves the hardware and software carried on these hunter killer drones. Earlier in the war two drones were needed for this but now all that tech and weapons can be carried and used by one drone. The Ukrainian military also holds competitions to find the most skilled drone operators and honor them with promotions and more challenging assignments.
Wartime developers are able to improve their tech and hardware more rapidly because there is continuous feedback from users. Ukraine has an edge here because many of these developers are hobbyists who know little about peacetime development, its bureaucracy and counter-productive over-supervision. Ukrainian developers are often creating these new drone techs for friends or family members who are now in the military and eager for whatever help they can get. The Ukrainian military sees this entrepreneurial spirit as an advantage, not some form of insubordination or recklessness the way the Russian military regards unauthorized innovations. Despite that, some Russian innovators have appeared and been allowed to work. Russian commanders and civilian officials are less willing than their Ukrainian counterparts to encourage individual initiatives. Another problem is that the economic sanctions have made it more difficult for Russians to obtain the commercial tech that Ukrainians still have access to and frequently
Such free access to Western and Chinese components means Ukraine can build very capable and lethal drones that are designed to carry out one or a small number of missions. That is why Ukraine and Russia are each losing thousands of drones a month. Cheap, useful, and expendable is now the rule with most battlefield drones.
This innovation explains the greater success of Ukrainian drones against Russian targets on the battlefield or deep inside Russia. Despite all the innovation, the majority of these drones are basically loitering munitions that can be sent out to areas where there is known or suspected enemy activity and kill it when they find it. In the past a separate surveillance drone was needed to spot targets, usually enemy troops, and vehicles. These drones have video cameras and a link to operators who view the video on a tablet or via goggles containing small video screens while the operators have a form of handheld game controller to maneuver the drone and select a target for the drone to collide with and explode. The video comm link was a vulnerability the Russian exploited as they developed new types of electronic jammers that could disable these comm links. The new Ukrainian drones that combine finding and killing capabilities on one drone that can also detect and destroy these Russian jammers, which are usually
You can see how this works in Ukraine, where the Ukrainian troops are better trained in the accurate use of rifle fire. It was Ukrainian troops who frequently used commercial quadcopters equipped with grenade or small bomb carry and release mechanisms. The Ukrainian soldiers often bought commercial drones for this and spent hours at a time sending out their quadcopter to search for targets. The quadcopter would have to frequently land to recharge. That demonstrates another 21st century development; the proliferation of electronic devices an infantryman can and often will take with him into combat.
Input from Ukrainian engineers was essential because many of the most effective Soviet-era weapons engineers were Ukrainian. That meant Ukraine had a tradition of pragmatic and innovative weapons development that was mobilized after the 2014 Russian seizure of Crimea and part of Donbas. The capabilities of the Ukrainian engineers were not exactly a state secret, just not newsworthy. Foreigners familiar with weapons development knew about the Ukrainian skills and those who visited Ukraine for whatever reason, like American and other NATO military advisors, got a closer look at what those Ukrainian engineers, as well as civilian hobbyists, could do.
Those skills became even more important after the invasion began and suddenly engineers and scientists in other fields began applying their skills to rapidly develop new weapons and equipment to protect Ukraine from the Russians. After the invasion began the capabilities of the Ukrainian engineers became part of the reporting on how the Ukrainians stopped and turned back the Russian attack.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 02:19 pm: Edit

Artillery: Philippine Army Missile Battalion
November 21, 2025: The Philippines recently established the 1st Ground-Launched Missile Battalion. This is the latest unit to become part of the Philippine Army’s Artillery Regiment. This unit has already acquired four Indian-made BrahMos batteries. Each battery has four launchers and each launcher has three missiles. A reloader vehicle carries four missiles. The Philippines is also considering purchasing the American HIMARS guided missile system and the U.S. Typhon missile system that can launch SM-6 sir defense missiles as well as Tomahawk land-attack missiles. Ultimately the Philippines wants to have fifty batteries of various types of missiles. These will be used to protect Filipino land bases and operations against Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea.
Eight Years ago the Philippines decided to equip the two British made AW159 Wildcat helicopters with the Israeli Spike NLOS missile. These missiles are used against surface targets. These two helicopters operate from the frigates the Philippines also ordered from South Korea. Each of these frigates carries an AW159, which is also used by the South Korean Navy and British army and navy. Similar in size and capability to the U.S. SH-60 Seahawk, the six ton Wildcat has a normal endurance of 90 minutes or 270 minutes carrying max fuel, and a top speed of 290 kilometers an hour. For naval service the Wildcat can carry dipping sonar and one or two anti-submarine torpedoes. In cargo mode it can carry seven passengers or half a ton of cargo.
The Spike NLOS/Non Line-Of-Sight is a long-range, 25 kilometers version of the Israeli Spike guided missile. Each one weighs 70kg, twice what the next largest Spike version. Spike is a series of general purpose anti-tank missiles with ranges from 200-25,000 meters. Spike NLOS can be fired at a target the operator cannot see, but someone else, with a laser designator, can see. Spike NLOS is usually fired from helicopters, which can also carry the laser designator. The Philippines wants to use Spike NLOS off their west coast to block Chinese efforts to seize Filipino islands and reefs. The Wildcats can carry four Spike NLOS missiles. A helicopter only has to be about 40 meters above the water to spot something 25 kilometers away. The Spike NLOS has multiple guidance systems, including a live video feed that allows the pilot to fly the missile into to the target, or use the image of the selected target to have the missile home in by itself in fire and forget mode. On the downside Spike NLOS is expensive, costing nearly $300,000 each.
FYEO

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 02:19 pm: Edit

Intelligence: Pakistan Steals Russian Military Technology
November 21, 2025: Russia recently discovered that the Pakistani ISI/ Inter-Services Intelligence agency was seeking to steal Russian military technology in the form of information on Russia’s S-400 air defense systems and helicopters. India has ordered ten regiments/battalions of Russian S-400 air defense squadrons. Deliverers will be completed in 2026. India currently has four squadrons, each consisting of sixteen vehicles. This includes missile launchers, radar, a control unit and support vehicles.
Pakistan uses air defense systems it obtained from China. These systems proved intermittently ineffective against Indian aircraft. For India, their S-400s proved to be a disappointment. Several other systems performed poorly. The brief fighting between India and Pakistan left India the net loser. Pakistan fought using 42 jets versus about 70 for India. Pakistan used several Chinese J-10C fighters which cost India three French Rafale jets and two Russian models, a MiG-29 and a SU-30MKI. Two S-400 missile launchers were damaged. This came after successful Indian airstrikes on over half a dozen Islamic terrorist targets on Pakistani territory in Kashmir as well as Pakistan air bases. India and Pakistan have been fighting over who should own all of Kashmir since 1947’.
The biggest surprise was the successful combat test of the Chinese J-10 jet. Since 1988 China has tried to get an original modern Chinese fighter design operational. The J-10 was the aircraft that succeeded. The J-10C version uses more composites in the airframe and has improved electronics. This includes a new AESA radar. J10s are the most widely used modern Chinese-designed jet fighter, and are still in production.
FYEO

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 04:39 pm: Edit

I find myself wondering if Trump's latest Ukraine plan might be some sort of deal (explicit or not) with Putin related to Venezuela. The timing fits, as does the fact that so many aspects of the plan are Russian wishlist items.

I have zero evidence of this. Just trying to make sense out of it.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 07:53 pm: Edit

Russian wishlist, you aren’t going to get Putin to agree to less.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 08:03 pm: Edit

Problem lies, in that countries/governments, need an outside foil, keeps the peasants from focusing on the local government most already dislike.....

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 09:17 pm: Edit

I am still willing to go with Jessica's plan: Europe pays for it, war continues, US gives F16s and sells other stuff but no cash.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 09:52 pm: Edit

SVC, you are not going to get Ukraine to agree to a Russian wishlist.

Therefore, there is no peace at this stage. You choose between defeat and victory.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 10:08 pm: Edit

Putin keeps raising the pot, in this geopolitical poker game.

Until or unless someone calls, he has no choice but to keep pouring money and lives into the abyss.

Between the population loss (notably of people smart enough to abandon the Russian ship of state…) and the loss of Russia’s economy and war machine, it is looking a lot like the last days of Czarist rule in Russia back in 1917.

If I were a betting man, I’d wager that Putin knows better than to surrender to the mercies of whoever takes over.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 11:00 pm: Edit

I am not going to get anyone to do anything. I just comment on the situation. Zelinksi may ultimately be forced to agree when the US and EU get tired of paying for the war. I said before I think bankrupting Russia is a good investment.

Two things can be true at the same time. Putin won't take less. Zelinski won't give this.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Monday, November 24, 2025 - 11:31 pm: Edit

Right, but the EU, like Ukraine, understands its own self interest. They figure that if Ukraine loses, or makes an unfavorable peace, they may be next on the menu. Bankrolling Ukraine is good insurance for them.

The only realistic prospect for peace would come through bankrupting Russia. That worked in 1989, through the combination of an expensive war and low oil prices.

Meanwhile, "peace" talk like this has harmful consequences.

It's a distraction for the Ukrainians, who ought to be allowed to think about how to win the war, without worrying about what they call a "capitulation plan".

It gives the Ukrainians a whole series of worries, in addition to the ones imposed directly by the Russians.

It surely increases Xi's assessment of the probability he might get away with a move on Taiwan.

It encourages Russia to continue with atrocities such as the recent Ternopil attack. After all, this (peace or capitulation) plan got US support immediately after the Ternopil atrocity.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 01:22 am: Edit

I think there is a lot more going on here than any of us suspect.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 02:40 am: Edit

I agree with SVC...

After all behind closed doors both Russia and Ukraine WILL want to end the war - as it's not good for them.

But who 'wins' if the war goes on?

'World' gets cheaper Russian Oil/Gas

Nations get to build and sell massives of Military stuff (mainly to Ukraine, but Iran and North Korea make afew $$$'s too).

It Weakens Russia
It keeps Ukraine off the International Trade Scene

So - 'you and him fight' is a Win Win for several natioms.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 11:53 am: Edit

Quote:“‘World’ gets cheaper oil / gas.”

There is a sanctions program in place.

Only other rogue /pariah nations that choose to ignore the sanctions get to benefit from the lower prices.

That list includes Iran, China, (certain factions in India, if you choose to believe certain Main Stream Media reports.) North Korea, Cuba. A few others.

Recently, a number of nations have seized Russian ghost tankers, (the Netherlands, Spain have both recently taken Russian tankers.) I have not seen a comprehensive list, jusr anecdotal reports.

I have seen several articles that have suggested that the world spot price of oil is lower because of sanction Russian oil being sold, but there are contrary reports that even with the number of Russian ships involved, is not enough to make a significant difference.

Seems like the cheaper oil price is more of an ideological talking point than confirmed or verified fact.