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☆ 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.

☆ Former F-16 pilot says he would not want to fly missions over Ukraine right now, arguing 'there is no fighting chance'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ukraine has repeatedly asked the US for fourth-generation fighter jets like the F-16. A former F-16 pilot said these jets don't have a fighting chance given Russia's air defense systems. One former F-16 pilot told Insider he wouldn't want to attempt to fly missions over Ukraine right now, asserting that the aircraft can't outmatch Russia's air defense systems. Fourth-generation fighters "have no business in a modern-day battlefield," John Venable, a 25-year veteran of the US Air Force, told Insider in a recent interview. F-16 fighters would likely be outmatched by Russian air defense systemsThe airspace above Ukraine remains contested after 14 months of war.

☆ Details in the drone incident the Kremlin says aimed to assassinate Putin 'don't quite add up.' Experts have 3 theories on what happened.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Sophia Ankel | Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Russia claimed Wednesday that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin with a drone attack at the Kremlin. James Patton Rogers, a military historian and adviser to NATO on drones and warfare, said that "there's a few things that don't quite add up in this situation." Its ability to fly comparatively low, and slowly, would potentially help it evade some radar, Patton Rogers said. Claiming that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin would potentially "open up a new norm in the war," Patton Rogers said. Patton Rogers said he hasn't "seen any indication" that such groups have the capacity to use drones in their attacks.

☆ Ukraine's fight to fend off Russia's superior air force hinges on its surface-to-air missiles, expert says, but leaked top secret documents show it may be running out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia's air force has an edge over Ukraine's aircraft, requiring Ukraine to rely on other capabilities. Fighting off Russia's air force is dependent on Ukraine's surface-to-air missiles, a new report says. One document in particular that was obtained and reviewed by Insider details Ukraine's air defense capabilities and the risks it faces. Soldiers of the German Armed Forces stand on a trailer with launching pads for guided missiles of the Patriot air defense system on a snow-covered field in southeastern Poland. "Our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said last week.

☆ Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries killed each other in a shootout after blaming each other for their war failures, Ukrainian government says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian and Wagner troops opened fire on each other in Luhansk over an argument, Ukraine says. The soldiers and mercenaries had been blaming each other for their mistakes in the war, per Ukraine. "As a result, a fight between Russian Armed Forces and PMC Wagner mercenaries broke out in the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska recently." It's thus unclear whether the alleged firefight represents wider conflict or discipline issues among Russian forces on the frontline. However, multiple reports have documented Russian troops being plagued by friendly fire in Ukraine, though the Kremlin rarely acknowledges any of these incidents.

☆ NATO's newest member means Russia's 'unsinkable aircraft carrier' will be even more isolated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Finland also extends NATO's border along the Baltic Sea, which has been called a "NATO lake." That further isolates Russia's Kaliningrad region, which is surrounded by NATO member countries. Kaliningrad is a major military outpost, hosting Russia's Baltic Fleet and other forces, and has been called an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" that allows Moscow to project power deep into NATO and EU territory. However, some Baltic Fleet units were redeployed to Ukraine where they have reportedly suffered very high casualties. Russia's Baltic Fleet is based in Baltiysk and is composed of warships — mostly corvettes and a number of support ships — infantry and armored units, and aviation and air-defense forces.

☆ Russian jets, some flown by Wagner mercenaries, are making risky attacks to test Ukraine's defenses around Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russian aircraft, some operated by mercenaries, are also being used in fighting around the city. Yet the Russian Air Force is still conducting airstrikes with limited success, including around Bakhmut. Russian aircraft "are bombing in Bakhmut, particularly at night so that they can avoid most types of MANPADS. A retired Russian air force general named Kanamat Botashev may have been one of them. In addition to its other struggles, Russia's air force has been plagued by a shortage of fully trained pilots.

☆ Ukraine is forced to recycle unexploded bombs amid serious ammunition shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian troops are rationing their shells as they face ammunition shortages, The Washington Post reported. Western allies are struggling to keep up ammunition production to aid the country. "The current rate of Ukraine's ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production," he added, saying allies should invest and expand in the ammunition production for Ukraine. While the Biden administration promised to send Ukraine over 200,000 rounds of artillery, rockets, and tank rounds, the US is facing extremely high production shortages, Insider reported. Similarly, the European Union has created a plan to send one million rounds of ammunition but is facing challenges in meeting Ukraine's needs.

☆ After the next round of major fighting with Russia, Ukraine may be living 'paycheck to paycheck' with Western gear, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US and its NATO partners have provided Ukraine with heaping military aid to start the year. But after the next round of fighting with Russia, Ukraine could find itself hamstrung by support. With more intense fighting on the horizon, there are doubts about whether Western countries will be able to maintain that level of support. "However this offensive goes, Ukraine is going to lose personnel, it's going to lose equipment, and it's going to spend a lot of ammunition," Kofman said. After a future offensive, Ukraine's military will have to replenish its stocks of artillery ammunition and replace its troop losses.

☆ Moscow is trying to play it cool, but its military moves hint at growing concern over NATO's newest member
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Finland's admission this month doubles the length of NATO's border with Russia and does so in a region with important Russian military outposts. But Putin's invasion of Ukraine scared not only Finland into joining NATO but also Sweden, which hasn't fought a war since Napoleon was alive. This boosts the alliance's military, political, and economic power considerably and confronts Russia with the prospect of even more NATO forces on its border. There is the possibility of NATO forces and infrastructure being deployed to those countries. Russia's Arctic forces also field an array of powerful weapons, including submarine- and land-based cruise missiles and air-launched hypersonic weapons.

☆ Wagner Group mercenaries are getting a lot more help from Russia's military than Prigozhin would like you to think
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia's Wagner Group, has been highly visible during the war in Ukraine. Prigozhin frequently casts his mercenary group as fighting on its own, without Russian military support. Indeed, Prigozhin has claimed over the past few months that Russia's military — the real military — is sabotaging Wagner's efforts. But Wagner is actually working closely with Russia's regular forces, which are supporting Wagner's fighters, according to a US expert on the Russian military. Misha Japaridze/Pool/ReutersThe dispute between Prigozhin and Russian military leaders was widely cast as a struggle between power centers seeking influence with the Kremlin.

☆ Western countries are speeding up tank deliveries to Ukraine, but tanks aren't what Ukrainian troops need to get around Russian forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Western countries are hustling to deliver main battle tanks to Ukraine's military. Tanks will be useful in taking on Russian tanks and fortifications in a counterattack this spring. But Ukraine needs other armored vehicles to counterattack Russia effectively, one expert says. "There is a lot of mechanized infantry and tank brigades in each" corps that Ukraine is forming, Kofman said. Without the ability to build bridges strong enough to bear the weight of armored vehicles, a Ukrainian offensive would stall.

☆ Ukraine's tank force shouldn't stand a chance against Russia's on paper, but dumb mistakes keep tipping the scales
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russia has more tanks than Ukraine, more updated tanks than Ukraine, and more tank options. All three Western tank models are larger than most Russian tanks and are "quite survivable" thanks to their advanced armor, according to Edmonds. It's still unclear when the Western tanks will arrive or what role they will ultimately play in Ukraine's future offensives. "This stalemated frontline where we are right now, this is not a good environment for tanks," Cancian said. But the number of incoming Western tanks — less than 150 — is unlikely to change the tides of war.

☆ Ukraine is getting older US Abrams tanks, but Russia's Soviet-era tanks still won't be a match for them in battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Instead of newer Abrams, Ukraine will receive older M1A1 Abrams tanks. According to some early performance reports from the first Gulf War, America's M1A1 tanks were a formidable and invaluable asset on the battlefield. Performance reports make similar arguments, noting that the inclusion of the depleted uranium boosted a round's ability to penetrate heavy tank armor. Allan Tannenbaum/Getty ImagesIn the Gulf War, the M1A1 was very successful at moving around the battlefield. During the Gulf War, tank crews complained about sand getting into the air filtration systems, as well as constant refueling, which the updated versions and the A2 improved upon.

☆ Ukraine is betting big on a bloody battle for a ruined town, but the gamble could break its ability to drive Russia back
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The bloody battle of Bakhmut continues to wage as Russia and Ukraine both face mounting losses. Ukrainian losses in Bakhmut could hinder a more strategically critical counteroffensive in the future. Yet, despite the resources committed to the battle from both sides, Bakhmut remains a minimally-important city, strategically speaking. "The best estimates we have are that the Russian military and Wagner Group are a spent force," D'Anieri said. A tank carrying Ukrainian soldiers who have returned from the frontline passes along a street in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine.

☆ Russia's new offensive in Ukraine has likely fizzled out after only a month, Western intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UK intelligence suggests Russia's new offensive is on its last legs, just a month after it began. Russian forces have depleted their "combat power," the assessment said. "Even local offensive actions are not currently sustainable," it added. The British Defense Ministry said this is likely because Russian forces have depleted their "combat power" to such a degree that "even local offensive actions are not currently sustainable." There's been an evolving debate between Kyiv and its Western partners over Ukraine's insistence on continuing to defend Bakhmut, which analysts have suggested could fall to Russian forces in the coming days.

☆ The battle for Bakhmut is getting so close that 'fistfights have been happening,' Ukrainian soldier says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian soldier told the Washington Post the fighting in Bakhmut is brutal and at close quarters. The soldier said there have even been fistfights as they fight off waves of Russian mercenaries. Bakhmut is widely expected to fall to Russian forces soon, but it will be a hollow victory. In some cases, Ukrainian troops have searched house-to-house for the enemy and been forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat, Dmytro Vatagin, a 48-year-old Ukrainian soldier, told the Washington Post. "This fight doesn't play to Ukraine's advantages as a force," Kofman said, warning that if Ukrainian forces continue to expend resources on Bakhmut "it could impede the success of a more important operation."

☆ Putin's army can't figure out how to use tanks, and the battlefield in Ukraine is littered with burnt wrecks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

According to an open-source intelligence analysis by Oryx, more than 1,780 Russian tanks have been destroyed, damaged, captured, or abandoned since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022. Due to the design of many of Russia's tanks, a hit can cause the ammunition to detonate, killing the crew as the overpressure blows the top off. And it's "questionable" how well Russia's tanks are integrated into its overall operations. A destroyed Russian tank covered by snow stands in the village of Kamyanka, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, FileClearing a minefield is a slow, complicated, and deliberate process that involves several steps, but Russian tanks appear to drive right through them.

☆ Putin's top troops are being 'decimated' as Russia relies too much on so-called 'elite' forces to wage war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Several so-called "elite" Russian units have suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield in Ukraine. The 155th is only the latest so-called "elite" Russian unit to face serious setbacks on the battlefield. An abandoned Russian military tank left in the Ukrainian city of Balakliia after Russian Forces withdrew from the Kharkiv region on September 15, 2022. So I think it's much more of a blow to Russia's ground force's combat power than it is to their reputations." Russia's military leadership has at times faced criticism and even domestic outrage over its decision-making.

☆ How Ukraine uses high-tech anti-drone guns to down Russian drones and recover intelligence from them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine is using anti-drone guns to down Russian drones and collect intelligence from them. The Ukrainian company Kvertus Technology developed the KVS G-6, a long-range anti-drone gun that uses radio signals to jam Russian drones. While both Russia and Ukraine have used older anti-aircraft guns to shoot down drones, anti-drone guns disrupt drones without physically damaging them. It uses electromagnetic pulses to jam and down Russian drones. Samuel Bendett, an analyst and expert in unmanned and robotic military systems at the Center for Naval Analyses, told Insider that weapons like anti-drone guns are in high demand.

☆ Russia has spent 9 months bleeding troops to try to capture a city with limited strategic value, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia has spent nine months trying to capture Bakhmut in a slow and brutal campaign. Experts say the city does not even have that much strategic value. Ukrainians fighting in the city say it has been a "living hell" for months, while commanders on both sides have called the battle a "meat grinder." But ultimately, experts say, the city may not be important enough to justify the effort and expense Russia has put into it. A map showing the location of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

☆ U.S. arms left in Afghanistan are turning up in a different conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Junaid Kathju | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

At least six people were injured on Jan. 21 in two explosions in the city of Jammu. Though more than half of it was ground vehicles, it also included more than 316,000 weapons worth almost $512 million, plus ammunition and other accessories. The Defense Department report also pointed out that the operational condition of the Afghan army’s equipment was unknown. Manoj Sinha said the government was aware of the issue and that measures were in place to combat the infiltration of U.S. weapons into Kashmir. Kashmir police official Vijay Kumar also said authorities were fully capable of countering the militant threat.

☆ This is the M1 Abrams, the powerful US battle tank that Kyiv wants but can't have
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But German Leopards and American Abrams tanks are still off the table. "I just don't think we're there yet," Colin Kahl, undersecretary for defense policy, said this week, "The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment," he argued. Just over 2,000 Abrams tanks were deployed with combat units during the war, and only 23 were damaged or destroyed. In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the US military developed the M1A2 Abrams, which has steadily been upgraded over the past two decades. The Abrams tank also saw extensive combat early in the Iraq War and was used to some extent in Afghanistan.

☆ Here's the big deal with the German-made Leopard tanks and why Ukraine desperately wants them
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One tank Kyiv really wants is the German-made Leopard, but it hasn't been able to get them. These formidable main battle tanks would provide a massive firepower boost on the battlefield. Ukraine is getting many of the items on its wish list, but it hasn't been able to get its hands on the German-made Leopard tanks it wants. The country's president previously said he wanted to send the tanks to Ukraine as part of an "international coalition." Fast, mobile, and well-armedThe Leopard 2 is Germany's main battle tank developed by defense firm Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

☆ A Patriot missile battery from the US could create new headaches for Russia in Ukraine and throw a wrench into its terror campaign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ukraine is reportedly slated to receive a US-made Patriot missile defense battery. The US is poised to send Ukraine a Patriot missile defense battery that is already stationed overseas. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defense Project, it is the primary air and missile defense system that the US has in its arsenal. Patriot missile defense system at Schwesing military airport in Germany on March 17, 2022. A NATO Patriot air defense missile system stands at Slovakia's Sliac air base on April 27, 2022.

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