The War in the Ukraine

Sinnavuuty

Captain
Registered Member
Today, the Russians bombed the Dnieper Hydroelectric Dam and power plant and took out the bridge across the river connecting to the city of Zaporyzhia to the west.
It appears the VKS deployed 11 guided bombs.

News:
This video analyzes the strategy used by Ukraine to carry out one of its largest drone and missile attacks against strategic infrastructure in Russia, including oil refineries near Moscow. Here are the main points:

Saturation Strategy (0:25 - 1:15):
The central objective was to overwhelm the Russian air defense network (such as the S-400 and Pantsir systems) by launching large swarms of hundreds of drones simultaneously. By attacking multiple targets in various regions, Ukraine forced the exhaustion of Russian munitions and defense radars.

Technology and Infiltration (2:44 - 3:51):
The success of the operation was based on the use of specialized drones, such as the N196 Ludvier. These drones were designed for:

Low-altitude flight: They fly close to the ground (20 to 50 meters), following the terrain to become virtually invisible to long-range radars.

Deception: Use of decoy drones equipped with radar reflectors to confuse Russian operators and waste interceptor missiles.

Engagement and Precision (6:25 - 7:51):
Ukraine used Starlink communication systems to allow manual control (FPV) in the final phase of the attack. To combat Russian electronic warfare, which attempts to block radio signals, the Ukrainians used a second drone as a "signal booster" to maintain a stable connection to the target.

Long-Range Cruise Missiles (8:03 - 13:09):
The video details the engineering behind the improvised cruise missiles, which utilize:

Propulsion: A solid-fuel booster for rapid takeoff, followed by an Ichenko 25 engine (derived from training jets) for cruise.

Autonomous Navigation: A combination of GPS and Inertial Navigation System (INS) for long-range navigation.

Infrared Seeker: In the final phase, the missile uses heat sensors to identify and lock onto specific thermal signatures, such as oil refinery tanks, becoming autonomous and accurate even without a GPS signal.
I've always wondered why Russian EW isn't eliminating Ukrainian drones, considering that most Ukrainian drones are likely within range of Russian EW, yet Russia is using numerous interceptor drones, which, compared to electronic warfare, is a very expensive tactic.

Regarding the situation in Crimea:

Not good at all!!!! With the complicated situation in Moscow and Crimea, some Russian channels are stating that Putin is considering reinstating Surovikin as head of Ukraine:
 

MortyandRick

Senior Member
Registered Member
It appears the VKS deployed 11 guided bombs.

News:

I've always wondered why Russian EW isn't eliminating Ukrainian drones, considering that most Ukrainian drones are likely within range of Russian EW, yet Russia is using numerous interceptor drones, which, compared to electronic warfare, is a very expensive tactic.

Regarding the situation in Crimea:

Not good at all!!!! With the complicated situation in Moscow and Crimea, some Russian channels are stating that Putin is considering reinstating Surovikin as head of Ukraine:
Russia should really try to bring down starlink satellites, wonder if they have the ability to do so or now.

At some point, consider scorched earth and blast the starlink satellites? Debris will more likely hit other starlink satellites along the sane LEO trajectory? I think if it was the US or other Western nation in their shoes, the US wouldn't hesitant to do it.
 

Sinnavuuty

Captain
Registered Member
Russia should really try to bring down starlink satellites, wonder if they have the ability to do so or now.

At some point, consider scorched earth and blast the starlink satellites? Debris will more likely hit other starlink satellites along the sane LEO trajectory? I think if it was the US or other Western nation in their shoes, the US wouldn't hesitant to do it.

The Russians are undertaking every possible effort to create a reliable and widely deployable drone defense.

Here is an example:

It is presumed that the Mi-28NM helicopter has begun to be equipped with electronic warfare systems to combat Ukrainian FPV drones.

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A new countermeasure for Russian helicopters appears to be the use of the new L-370 Vitebsk electronic warfare system.

The Vitebsk solution: The system uses small rotating turrets. When a missile is detected, this turret instantly rotates towards the projectile and fires a modulated beam of high-intensity laser or infrared light directly into the missile's "eyes." This beam blinds or completely confuses the missile's internal computer, generating false turn commands that cause the projectile to deviate and miss the target.

Anti-Drone Modules on the Mi-28NM: As the original Vitebsk was designed to detect thermal and radar signatures of fast missiles, it was ineffective against small, low-flying FPV guided drones. The Mi-28NM upgrades integrated additional microwave antennas connected to the Vitebsk architecture to create a short-range electronic jamming "bubble," knocking out the drones' control signal before they reach the helicopter.

Simply avoiding the loss of helicopters to drones is a very interesting and impactful solution for the Russian war effort.
 

Tam

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Russia should really try to bring down starlink satellites, wonder if they have the ability to do so or now.

At some point, consider scorched earth and blast the starlink satellites? Debris will more likely hit other starlink satellites along the sane LEO trajectory? I think if it was the US or other Western nation in their shoes, the US wouldn't hesitant to do it.

Ukrainians are complaining and reporting that the Russians are using Starlink jamming. There's two footage of conducting two strikes at trucks that are allegedly equipped with these jammers. Cost and mass production ready are question marks but I'm just completely guessing seeing other drone EW equipment and modules, that it's mass producible.

It also appears that the Russians have their own version of Starlink already going based on some of the footage, and the use of BM-35 Italmas drones. BM-35 drones have started appearing in the battlefield once again. The image quality isn't as good as Starlink's indicating a slower data stream but it appears to be combat usable.

Some information about the bombing of the Dniepre bridges connecting Zaporizhia.

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Russians hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure, probably a gas processing plant, and in another, a LMUR missile strikes a Ukrainian drone operators control point.

 

Soldier30

Captain
Registered Member
Official footage of a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber attacking a Russian fighter-bomber with a FAB-1500 bomb equipped with a UMPK module. The video demonstrates the force of the FAB-1500's explosion, which is often confused with the FAB-500. The strike targeted soldiers of the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, stationed in an abandoned boarding house near the village of Shchurovo.

 

Soldier30

Captain
Registered Member
Footage of a Ukrainian military pickup truck being pursued by the Russian FPV drone "Prince Vandal Novgorodsky." The video was filmed in the village of Druzhkovka, near the city of Kramatorsk. The operator carefully maneuvered the drone into the courtyard of a building and attacked the pickup. It's worth noting that the Ukrainian soldier was armed with a shotgun and could have shot down the drone, but he reacted too late.

 

Tam

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Ukrainian drone control point gets struck by an MSTA-B 152mm howitzer.


FAB compilations. Ukrainian military command posts gets struck by FABs hits at a power plant, and in a neat line at a forest line. An FPV drone witnesses a FAB strike first hand on a bridge in the Kupyansk region.


AFU command posts getting struck by FABs and FPV drones.

 
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