Russia parades advanced military equipment while Soldiers use Soviet era equipment
The Russian government is showcasing advanced military equipment around the world at military equipment fairs. For example, they displayed a system designed to protect armored vehicles. They argued that if you value your crews and armored vehicles, then you would need this system. However, the Russians have been pressing Soviet era military equipment into service. There appears to be a contrast between what the Russians are showing at these fairs, and what their Soldiers are using in Ukraine.
From the Business Insider:
The promotional material for the system says that it “defeats the threats that are most dangerous for armoured vehicles … if you value your armour and crews you need Arena-E.”
But, the MOD said, “there has been no evidence of Arena-E systems being installed on Russia’s own vehicles in Ukraine, where it has lost over 5,000 armoured vehicles. This is likely due to Russian industry’s inability to manufacture high-tech systems at scale; a problem which is exacerbated by the effect of international sanctions.”
Russian state news agency TASS reported last month that the company behind the Arena-E system would display it at the IDEX-2023 international weapons show in the United Arab Emirates in late February. TASS also said that other Russian defense companies were due to show off “more than 200 full-scale samples of weapons and military equipment, ammunition and gear” at the event.
The global presentations come as Russia struggles to replace tanks and other equipment being lost in Ukraine.
Russia has lost around 1,800 tanks since February 2022, according to open source intelligence platform Oryx, with the country losing about 150 tanks a month in Ukraine. Its only tank factory is able to produce just 20 vehicles a month.
The Business insider has more on this story.
YouTube’s Infographics Show provides a video addressing the quality of gear that Russian Soldiers have for fighting in Ukraine:
Category: International Affairs, Russia, Ukraine
I don’t think anyone actually believes that Putin values his crew or armor.
Expendibles.
Hey, just sayin’…
Russia only has enough in the inventory for parades and fairs. You don’t expect them to actually use it, do you?
He’ll use it when the people revolt and need to be put down.
I’m willing to bet that’s the intended use anyway.
Always been since Peter the Great…
Is it just me, or does our country do the same damn thing too many times?
Bingo…War is a Racket said someone long ago…
You should read the book America’s First Battles by Charles Heller. It’s an examination of first battles of every major conflict the US entered up to 1965.
Ask a Marine about using outdated, hand-me-down equipment. 😄
…I can almost feel sorry for the poor Gopniks at the front.
Almost.
And yet…Russia with an entire defense budget of $66 billion is doing fairly well against Ukraine with over $200+ billion of military aid from America alone.
The high tech crap breaks after about 2 weeks of combat.
Are you suggesting that we need to throw more F35s at all of the problems?
Because that’s what it sounds like… /hue-gah SARC
Russians send 120 men into an area thinking that they are clear… Just to get wiped out. Russians see 3 drones flying in vicinity of T-90 tank, they call to find out if those drones are Russian or not… They find out they are Ukrainian. They fired at the drones, no statement if they got any, but one of the drones dropped a grenade on the T-90. The T-90 failed to live up to what was advertised, its turret launched into the air then fell back down. The T-90 was totaled.
Stories like this are common in these intercepts. The second Russian pointed out that they have old equipment from storages while the Ukrainians have HIMARS (more than 2 weeks in operation). Nothing says, “doing fairly well” like only taking over a fraction of a country, then being pushed out and holding less, and having 2x the KIA as US KIA during the entire Vietnam War, at the 1-year mark.
Russkies with new gear in Ukraine…
I jest, but the truth is getting close to that:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-forces-resort-welding-war-190057713.html
So back during the Cold War, ‘experts’ used the parades and new equipment as examples of why the Red Army was unbeatable.
Turns out it was all bullshit.
Seems like China’s doing the same thing. Running a big Info Ops/Psy Ops campaign. “Oh look at the fierce new 6th Gen fighter we built.”
Yeah that’s nice Xi, what’s the production rate, how many have you fielded and what the Operational Readiness rate? 🤔
Commies gonna commie…
Same sh*t, different day:
Meanwhile, Redstate points out of own military readiness for fightin’ peer opponents issues:
https://redstate.com/streiff/2023/03/04/secretary-of-the-army-guarantees-a-lot-of-young-soldiers-will-die-but-has-the-right-thoughts-and-feelings-n711640
Yep.
I was in B, C, and HHC 1-21IN (Gimlets). When I was there I heard ACS Sullivan’s warning more than a few times.
In the CP of B co hung a picture of a Soldier, bound with commo wire, face down on the road, shot in the back of his head.
Can’t speak for all, but that image and the history of those men being ground up made some train that little bit harder.
If that ethos is in any way lacking, may God help those poor bastards not hardened to the realities of war.
I do believe this is the picture (see below. My how memory does fade…). It appears to be cordage, point stands.
Here is a link to an article on sipseystzreetirregulars.
I hope Mister Vanderboegh is watching us from on high, yelling his Fing lungs out.
It’s about appeasement of certain political and social factions while maintaining a facade of technological and overall military superiority. The “toxic” alpha male (overwhelmingly of Caucasian descent) needs to make room for those strong minority females and other genders. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are our strengths and sure to give us an edge on the battlefield.
I recently retired and watched the Infantry go from having self-motivated leaders of all ranks training and educating Soldiers, epitomizing “Be. Know. Do.”, to having extraordinarily combat experienced leaders who squandered that experience through laziness and lack of garrison leadership knowledge. It went from hip pocket training whenever there was downtime to everyone playing on their phones waiting for the next scheduled training event. I knew a lot of outstanding officers and NCOs but also knew a lot of ones who considered their deployment time as the end all, be all.
For perspective, my first squad leader had gotten off Active Duty a year or so before 9/11. After the planes hit he scrambled to go back to 3/187 IN and somehow managed to get back to Charlie Company, albeit without his rocker. So, he was outranked based on time in grade by some of his former Soldiers. He was a bit of a hard are, but once you’d proven your value to the Squad you were in.
Years later I had an E5 working under me who had deployed 4 or 5 times. He ended up getting RCPed despite having more combat theater time than nearly anyone else in the unit. One day, while arguing with a fellow E5, he asked how many deployments his debater had. That explained a lot to me, especially as the guy went on to fail the APFT at Drill Sergeant School.
That was a Brigade HHC, I later went down to a line company where my PSG was not only a former Marine, but had spent years in both 75th Ranger and 7th SF Group. The guy had gotten out to do contracting work, only to come back in when he found that wasn’t as lucrative as he’d hoped. He had to come back in as an 11B, and had little leadership experience, with zero Big Army Infantry experience. Let’s just say it was a challenge, he was about style over substance but within a year was sent up to Brigade and retired as an E7.
I spent my last couple of years in Acquisitions, working with a new system that has a contract worth over $20 billion dollars. Part of my job included going TDY and interacting with Soldiers (mostly from the 82nd) and many of them give me some hope as to the future. With steady deployments having died down, leaders can get back to basics. We just need this feel good DEI nonsense to stop being pushed by senior leaders.
I still wonder if Vlad may be purposely throwing his older equipment into this meat grinder and saving his new toys and front line troops back for when he needs them in a “peer” engagement. Jus’ sayin’.
Maybe, but the Russkie doctrine is all about having the enemy expend his good rounds on day 1. Apparently, Vlad and his stooges didn’t follow their own doctrine. It’s been very interesting to watch the Russians not follow their own doctrine (which is sound, by the way) and see them fall flat on their faces.
I truly wonder if the “equipment” that Putin has paraded is no more than stage props, much like a number of the missiles that Fatty ‘lil Kim-Cheese shows off in his military parades? Let’s not forget that what was supposed to have been one of Russia’s newest and baddest battle tanks BROKE DOWN during a parade in front of God, the media and everyone else while it had to be towed.
And this is the mighty host that has NATO fans all in a tizzy about their threat to Western-Civilization-As-We-Know-It?