DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Inside the US Army's 'Stinger Dome,' scoring a kill with the weapons Ukraine got to shoot down Russian helicopters is harder than it looks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Taking out simulated enemy helicopters proved to be surprisingly difficult. Jake Epstein/Business InsiderInside a cubicle for Avenger training. AdvertisementDuring this simulation, I was once again tasked with taking out enemy helicopters. Jake Epstein/Business InsiderOutside the Stinger Dome. Jake Epstein/Business InsiderAfter making this determination and locking on to a target, I engaged the helicopter by squeezing the Stinger's trigger.

Persons: —, Jason Epperson, Jake Epstein, Pierre Crom Organizations: US Army's Air Defense Artillery School, Service, Mobility Multipurpose, NATO, US Army, FIM, Business Locations: Fort Sill, Fort Sill , Oklahoma, Crete, cubicles, Iraq, Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Bakhmut

☆ I shot at hostile helicopters in a US Army trainer with weapons Ukraine was given to do the same, and scoring a kill is harder than it looks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Taking out simulated enemy helicopters proved to be surprisingly difficult. Avenger training involves a simulator called the Institutional Conduct of Fire Trainer. Jake Epstein/Business InsiderInside a cubicle for Avenger training. AdvertisementDuring this simulation, I was once again tasked with taking out enemy helicopters. Jake Epstein/Business InsiderAfter making this determination and locking on to a target, I engaged the helicopter by squeezing the Stinger's trigger.

☆ Zelenskyy's aides kept an emergency escape train on standby for him at the start of the war. He never took it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zelenskyy's aides had a train ready for him to escape on in February 2022, a new book says. Zelenskyy refused to use the train and defiantly stayed to lead Ukraine's defense against Russia. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementAt the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's security service kept a train idling in Kyiv to enable a quick escape out of the city, according to a new biography. Ukraine's then-defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said that Russia was trying to make Zelenskyy panic and run, according to Shuster.

Persons: Zelenskyy's, Zelenskyy, —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's, Volodymyr Zelensky, Simon Shuster, Shuster, Ukraine's, Oleksiy Reznikov, Olena Zelenska, Pierre Crom, Viktor Yanukovych, Joe Biden —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Russia, Service, Reuters, Armed Forces of Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Kyiv, Kyiv's, Russia, Poland, Armed Forces of Ukraine

☆ Ukraine and Russia say they want the war to end. But military and political experts say they're nowhere near peace talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Fighting remains intense in southern and eastern Ukraine, where Russian units are deeply entrenched, preventing Ukraine's forces from making significant advances. They note that neither Russia nor Ukraine seems to be at a point where a political resolution is palatable, however. 'Red lines' firmly drawnBoth Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly said they want the war to end — but on their terms. For its part, the Kremlin said in December that it saw no current basis for peace talks, and called Kyiv's peace plan an "absurd process" as it excluded Russia. One big stumbling block in any potential peace talks now is their respective positions on territorial integrity.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, It's, Sam Greene, Pierre Crom, Stephen Twitty, Vladimir Putin, Sam Cranny, Evans, Putin, there's, Zelenskyy, Mario Bikarski, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Bill Clark Organizations: Anadolu, Getty, Economic, King's College London, CNBC, U.S, Army, U.S . European Command, Economic Forum, Royal United Services Institute, Kremlin, Kherson —, Anadolu Agency, CIS, Senators, Capitol, Cq, Inc Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Switzerland, Davos, Kyiv, Malta, China, Crimea, Avdiivka, Europe, Moscow, Russian, Estonia, Belarus, Turkey, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Ky

☆ Watching Ukraine burn through ammo fighting Russia has the US Army rethinking how much it really needs for when war breaks out
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Both sides of the war in Ukraine have burned through insane amounts of ammo, straining stockpiles globally. AdvertisementWith both sides of the war in Ukraine burning through ammo at astonishing rates, the US Army says it's rethinking what it needs for a potential large-scale future fight. Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. Even in the face of heavy Western sanctions and a pariah status that have severely limited its ammo production, it's still been able to bolster its stockpiles. But in that roundtable earlier this month, Bush denied any shells intended for Ukraine had been given to Israel instead.

Persons: —, Douglas R, Bush, Kai Pfaffenbach, it's, Vladimir Putin, Kim Kong Un, It's, Pierre Crom, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Israel Organizations: US Army, Business, Army, Service, Acquisition, Logistics, Technology, REUTERS, - Mobility, NATO, North, Ukraine's Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Bakhmut, North Korea, Toretsk, Kyiv

☆ How Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman went from pariah to pragmatic diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to transform the oil-rich Persian Gulf kingdom. AdvertisementAdvertisementSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is on a mission to transform his country. Billboards show portraits of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) and his father and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz. US President Joe Biden (L) being welcomed by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) at Alsalam Royal Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 15, 2022. President Joe Biden gives Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a handshake at the G20 summit this September.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he's, —, Prince Mohammed didn't, King Salman, Fahda bint Falah, Saud, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz, AAMIR QURESHI, Muhammad bin Nayef, Prince Mohammed, Rash, Chris Doyle, GIUSEPPE CACACE, Doyle, he'd, Jamal Khashoggi, Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden, Prince Mohammed a, Grant Shapps, Vladimir Putin's, Sanam Vakil, Biden, Evelyn Hockstein, Vakil, Duaa, Pierre Crom, Dhainy, Prince Organizations: Service, Saudi, King Saud University, Saudi Arabian Crown, Guardian, Ritz, Carlton, Council, Arab, CIA, Royal, Anadolu Agency, Bloomberg, Washington, Chatham House, Associated Press, Fox News, European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, MBS, United Nations, Getty Images, Human Rights Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Riyadh, British, Istanbul, Jeddah, Ukraine, Iran, China, Israel, East, North Africa, Delhi, Neom, The Hague, Netherlands, Getty Images Saudi Arabia

☆ HIMARS changed the game in Ukraine, but a former US artillery officer says what they need now is a firepower boost with M26 cluster rockets
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

HIMARS rockets proved to be a game-changing weapon for Ukraine when they arrived last year. Now they need is a firepower boost from M26 cluster rockets, a former US artillery officer says. For this reason, HIMARS rockets aren't used against individual Russian artillery pieces and are instead fired sporadically at higher-value targets, Rice said. A top Pentagon official said last month that Russia's cluster munitions, by comparison, have a dud rate of up to 40%. AdvertisementAdvertisementLike he first did with the 155 millimeter cluster munitions, Rice is currently lobbying for Washington to provide the M26 rockets to Ukraine.

Persons: it's, Dan Rice, M777s, Ukraine's HIMARS, Pierre Crom, Rice, Serhii Mykhalchuk Organizations: Service, Artillery, Pentagon, Russia, HIMARS, Kyiv, Getty, Army Tactical Missile Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Washington, Russia, Kyiv, Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast

☆ Ukraine's most controversial weapons aren't a 'silver bullet,' but they are giving Kyiv's forces what they desperately needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ukrainian forces have been using controversial US-provided cluster munitions for several weeks. The remains of artillery shells and missiles including cluster munitions are stored on December 18, 2022 in Toretsk, Ukraine. Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty ImagesFootage of Ukraine using cluster munitions on the battlefield has emerged in recent weeks. Russia insists it does not use cluster munitions, despite documented use of cluster munitions by the Russian military in Ukraine in the past. But while cluster munitions are operationally effective, they alone won't prove decisive in Ukraine's counteroffensive or the war.

Persons: It's, Biden, Pierre Crom, George Barros, Barros, GENYA SAVILOV, there's, Serhii Mykhalchuk, Vladimir Putin, DPICMs Organizations: Service, Russia, White House, Pentagon, Institute for, Getty Images, Kyiv, Getty Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Toretsk, Donetsk, Russia, Washington, Avdiivka, AFP, Russians, Donetsk Oblast, Moscow, Russian

☆ The US isn't too concerned about creating a lasting nightmare for Ukrainian civilians with mines and bomblets because Russia already did it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US officials have broadly dismissed concerns around the indiscriminate risk of cluster bombs to civilians. Ukraine will use US-provided cluster munitions in specific situations, US officials said. The remains of artillery shells and missiles including cluster munitions are stored on December 18, 2022 in Toretsk, Ukraine. It could be near the soaring failure rate for Russia's cluster munitions, alleged to be as high as 40%. These include Russian antipersonnel mines, but also a variety of cluster munitions.

Persons: —, they're, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe Biden, Pierre Crom, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, they'll, YASUYOSHI CHIBA, Colin Kahl, I'm, Kahl Organizations: Service, US, NATO, MSNBC, Rights Watch, National, Ukraine, Getty, Cluster Munitions, Human Rights Watch, World Bank Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Lithuania, Toretsk, Izium, Zarichne, AFP, Lebanon, Crimea, Russian

☆ The US is finally giving Ukraine's military cluster munitions, deadly and controversial explosives that could be 'devastating' for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The US announced a new weapons package that includes cluster munitions for Ukraine on Friday. Cluster munitions are deadly and controversial, but they could boost Ukraine's counteroffensive. The White House and Pentagon announced a new $800 million security assistance package for Ukraine on Friday that, for the first time, includes cluster munitions. Cluster munitions can be dropped from the air or fired as artillery and deal damage over a larger area. Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty ImagesDue to their range and movement, cluster munitions can be unpredictable and hit outside their intended target.

Persons: —, Kurt Volker, Federico Borsari, it's, Wojciech Grzedzinski, Ben Hodges, Borsari, hasn't, Pierre Crom, Biden, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, willy nilly, Colin Kahl, I'm, Kahl Organizations: US, — Kyiv, Service, Pentagon, Ukraine, NATO, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Center for, The Washington, Getty, Army, Kyiv, Munitions, Amnesty, Rights Watch, National Locations: Ukraine, Hai, Lebanon, Russia, Toretsk, Izium

☆ Russia's 'least capable' troops aren't in Ukraine, but they're still causing problems next door, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Moldova, next door to Ukraine, has been under pressure from Russia for decades. Amid the war in Ukraine, Kyiv and Western officials say Moscow is stepping up its interference. As a result of a 1992 war between Moldovan forces and Transnistrian separatists, Russian troops entered the breakaway region to support the separatists. Following that war, Transnistria gained a form of autonomy. SERGEI GAPON/AFP via Getty ImagesMoldova declared a state of emergency after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, and it remains in effect.

Persons: —, that's, John Sullivan, SERGUEI VORONIN, Chișinău, Maia Sandu, Diego Herrera Carcedo, SERGEI GAPON, Moldova's, John Kirby, Kirby, Pierre Crom, Thomas de Waal, Dara Massicot, Massicot, Jamar Marcel Pugh, Sandu, Ursula von der Leyen, Constantine Atlamazoglou Organizations: Service, Georgetown University, Getty, Moldovan, NATO, EU, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images Moldova, White House National Security Council, Carnegie, RAND Corporation, US Army National Guard, European Commission, Fletcher School of Law, LinkedIn Locations: Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Transnistria, Kyiv, Western, Moscow, Soviet Union, Romania, Europe, Baltic, Poland, Bender, Transnistrian, Chisinau, May, Lithuania, Sweden, AFP, Russian, Carnegie Europe, NATO, Bulgaria

☆ A secretive SEAL-like unit is leading Ukraine's shadowy battle against Russia in a vital corner of the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations appears to be leading the effort for Ukraine. For Ukraine, the 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations, a secretive SEAL-like unit, is leading the shadowy battle against Russia. Therese PratsThe 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations was based on the Soviet-era 17th Naval Special Purpose Brigade. The 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations could play a significant role in future large-scale fighting. Roxana DavidovitsLike the 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations, most of the Ukrainian military emerged from the Soviet military.

☆ Ukraine wants F-16s to shoot down Russian strike fighters dropping bombs it can't beat. Airpower experts say give them the jets.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Its defenses struggle to counter the bombs, so Ukraine wants tools to take out the Russian strike fighters. "Guided bombs are tricky for air defense because they have short flight times and usually very little infrared signature," he said. "The air defense system with the longest distance available to us is the S-300, but it's Soviet-era weapons." That is absolutely unrealistic," he said, challenging the arguments against sending fighter aircraft. There are significant training, supply chain, and operational hurdles to overcome, making essential ground-based air defense a priority in the meantime.

☆ Even with F-16s, Ukraine's pilots still wouldn't be 'out of the woods' against Russia's air force, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s would add to Ukraine's fleet and be familiar to Ukrainian pilots but won't bring much more capability than Ukraine's current MiG-29s. 'The hard work'A pilot exits a Polish Air Force F-16 at an airbase in Poznan in November 2006. If the US or another NATO country elected to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Kelly said his first question would be "what sustainment depot are they going to use? "Again, that's just for the short-term of being able to launch or recover aircraft," Baum said. Ukraine's new jets would also be flying against Russian air-defense weapons that have claimed dozens of Ukrainian aircraft and continue to contest the airspace around the front lines.

☆ The biggest problem with Russia's tanks in Ukraine is the way Moscow tried to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

By September, the tally of lost and captured Russian tanks reached 1,000 — more than all the tanks in the British, French, German, and Finnish militaries combined. The first time these British tanks found a fight, only 25 of the 49 of them actually moved when ordered to commence the attack. Nonetheless, before the conflict was over, Churchill himself would decide tanks had, once again, run their course, declaring, "we have too much armor — tanks are finished." And that is the real lesson we can glean from the performance of Russian tanks in Ukraine over the past year. Maxim Shemetov/ReutersThis point becomes evident when you look at Russian tank losses recorded by the Oryx Blog between February and April 2022, when Russian tank losses were at their absolute worst.

☆ At least 20 torture centers in Kherson were directly financed by the Kremlin, international lawyers say in a new report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A photo of a hallway in a building where Russian forces established a torture center in Kherson. In November, Ukrainian forces liberated the southeastern city, once home to more than 280,000 people. A photo of a cell used by Russian forces to detain Ukrainian civilians in the southeastern city of Kherson, Ukraine. A U.N. report previously outlined grisly accusations of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Pierre Crom | Getty ImagesSurvivors also said in interviews with lawyers that electric shock torture and waterboarding were common tactics used by Russian forces at the torture centers.

☆ Russia's air force is struggling to hit targets in Ukraine, but its missiles can still keep Ukraine's jets at bay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

However, more potent air-to-air missiles are helping Russian jets keep Ukrainian aircraft at bay. However, a potent mix of air-to-air missiles — some of which out-range their Ukrainian counterparts — have helped keep Ukrainian aircraft at bay. The Kh-38 is a Soviet concept dating back to the 1980s, but the Russian air force never procured them "in anything like operationally useful numbers," Barrie said. Russian air-to-air missiles have been "effective in limiting the Ukrainians ability to use their own air force," Barrie said. For now, the only blessing for Ukraine is that Russia doesn't have a lot of these long-range air-to-air missiles.

☆ Putin's favorite mercenary leader may be preparing to justify a failure in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A rivalry between Russia's military and Wagner Group mercenaries has come to the fore in Ukraine. Indeed, with curses and excuses, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group and President Vladimir Putin's favorite mercenary leader, may be preparing to justify a failure in one of the fiercest battles of the war: Bakhmut. Rivalry exposedA mural in Belgrade that praises the Wagner group and its mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. Prigozhin was quick to criticize them — another instance of the mercenary leader's long-running challenge to Russia's military leadership. But with tens of thousands of fighters in Ukraine, Prigozhin doesn't seem phased.

☆ Deadly HIMARS strikes show how Ukrainian forces are turning cell phones into 'force multipliers'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine has launched deadly long-range strikes against Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. Some of those strikes and other attacks have reportedly been enabled by Russian cell phone use. Those cases illustrate the growing use of cell phones as sensors on the battlefield. In addition, Ukrainians have used their cell phones to report on Russian military movements. Cell phones have also provided accountability, allowing observers to tally losses and to shed light on misdeeds.

☆ Dozens of Russian soldiers feared dead as Ukraine strikes Moscow-controlled region
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

DONETSK, UKRAINE - DECEMBER 30: Soldiers of the 59th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire grad missiles on Russian positions in Russia-occupied Donbas region on December 30, 2022 in Donetsk, Ukraine. A large swath of Donetsk region has been held by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)Ukraine killed dozens of Russian servicemen using U.S.-supplied artillery to hit a base in an occupied part of the country on New Years Eve, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday. Sixty-three servicemen died after 4 HIMARS artillery warheads struck a "provisional base," the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday in a Telegram post. "A significant number of dead and wounded," Daniil Bezsonov, said in a Telegram post on Sunday night.

☆ The death of an American soldier fighting in Ukraine exposes chaos and dysfunction in the foreign legion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The widow, alongside other soldiers, told Insider about mismanagement and dysfunction in the legion. A Foreign Legion fighter looks on at wreckage in Ukraine following a Russian attack. "When we were told to go out again, in my mind I knew someone was going to die," AJ told Insider. "How everything was handled, especially after his death, was scandalous," Lipka told Insider. Mavericks told Insider he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and still mourns the deaths of his comrades.

☆ How a tank the Soviets tried to keep secret became an icon of Ukraine's resistance against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Sebastian Roblin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

An Afghan soldier fighting for the Soviets sits on a Soviet-made T-64 tank near the Salang Pass on August 17, 1989. However, these systems were mostly exported, and it's unclear whether either is currently operational on Ukrainian tanks. Defending Ukraine, 2014-2015A Ukrainian tank in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk in July 2014. A burned Ukrainian tank in Uglegorsk, on the frontline near Debaltseve, in February 2015. A pro-Russian separatist stands guard near a T-64 tank in Donetsk in July 2014.

Search resuls for: "Pierre Crom"

22 mentions found