Russians sport new gear in Ukraine
The Washington Times reports that the Russian special forces soldiers they are sending to the Ukraine are wearing their new body armor which may be impervious to small arms ammunition like the 5.56mm rounds that our troops use in their M4s and the 5.45mm that the Ukraine troops use in their AK74s. They are also using new communications devices.
“What we saw and what was dangled in front of the West was a clear indication that Putin is on a roll,” retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales said. “It just seems to me from watching the films that their arrows are pointing up and ours are sadly pointing down.”
Weapons specialists such as Gen. Scales have been studying images of Spetsnaz, Russia’s ubiquitous special forces, and airborne troops since they conquered the Crimea region and mobilized to strike eastern Ukraine.
What they see are the fruits of a modernization plan begun in 2008, not just in tanks and vehicles but all the way down to the individual warrior. Russia now has the world’s third-highest defense budget, at over $70 billion.
The Russians have also been observed with steel core ammunition which the US BATFE considers armor-piercing. Of course, the Russians are increasing their military spending while we’re reducing our own. That shouldn’t cause any problems.
In all, Russian fighters, including Mr. Putin’s hired guns of ex-military commandos who wear civilian clothes, have displayed a new inventory of rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and rocket-propelled grenades. The Russians claim the RPG can kill a tank.
Photographs of masked Spetsnaz troops in Crimea show them with what might be U.S.-designed sights and silencers on their assault rifles.
They’re also probably ahead of us in shovel warfare as well (Giduck reference).
Category: Military issues
Okay I can answer most of their new technology. But shovel warfare? If there is a shovel warfare gap…it has to be addressed now! At the Joint Chief’s level. This is gonna get outta hand. It’s gonna get outta hand and we’ll be lucky to live through it!
/movie reference/
Got both references there.
“Well, boys, we got three engines out, we got more holes in us than a horse trader’s mule, radio’s gone and we’re leakin’ fuel and if we was flyin’ any lower, why, we’d need sleigh bells on this thing… but we got one little budge on them Rooskies. At this height, why, they might harpoon us but they dang sure ain’t gonna spot us on no radar screen!”
Hopefully we don’t end up with life imitating art.
Loved, Slim Pickens.
“Well, I, uh… I first became aware of it during the physical act of love. Yes, a, uh, a profound sense of fatigue…emptiness. Luckily, I was able to interpret these feelings correctly: loss of essence. I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake! Women uh…women…sense my power and…they seek the life essence. I, uh… I do not avoid women, Mandrake. But I… I do deny them my essence.”
Makes at least as much sense as anything the current administration has done.
The Other Whitey…at my age I can identify. I’m blaming it on “loss of essence”. That’s my story to the wife and I’m sticking to it. I do deny her my essence….I mean I only have so much left at this point in life and I have to “hand” it out sparingly. 😀 I got mine, she’ll have to get her own.
Just remember to keep fluoride out of those precious bodily fluids and things ought to be fine, Sparks (smile)
Mr. President, we cannot allow an E-Tool gap!
“Photographs of masked Spetsnaz troops in Crimea show them with what might be U.S.-designed sights and silencers on their assault rifles.”
The standing soldier is using an EoTech XPS-series sight while the kneeling soldier has an Aimpoint RDS of some sort.
unless they did their usual and reverse engineered what we invented and slapped a Rooshian name on it – claiming to have invented it first.
I remember hearing of a captured SAM (I think in ’73?) which we pulled apart – in it was a board with a TI logo on it. The logo had no function, the board was counterfeit, but obviously whoever reverse-engineered the board wasn’t sure – so they put the TI logo on their board, just in case it had some function they were too dim to understand.
Yeah, well okay. But really what’s important to our Perfumed Princes is a new camo pattern for each branch of service.
So true, and so telling …
MAJMike…Our Penyagon is busy driving nails…just all the wrong ones. Nothing says, ready for war like spiffy new camo for everyone. That will scare hell out of the Rooskies for damn sure.
Meant Pentagon.
Sparks,
I think you had it right….maybe misspelled.
Penny-a-gon…..
Just sayin’…….
Quit complaining and get to your sexual harassment training. This afternoon we will be holding a workplace violence class. This is the military, we know what’s important!
AND DON’T SHOW UP WITHOUT A CANTEEN AND A REFLECTIVE BELT!!
No elbow pads, no reflective belts. We win.
I agree, no reflective belts means we automatically win.
They look like a small town SWAT team to me. Which in and of itself is sort of fucked up.
MGySgtRet…I agree. Let’s see a Battalion dressed up like that.
If those two firing out in the open think body armor replaces hard cover, they’re in for a big surprise …
Are we still going around with that limp-wristed underhand I’m-peacekeeping-in-Northern-Ireland grip on our M4 carbines for “safety”?
At another web site, I saw photographs of a Spetznaz trooper who had invented a belt feed mechanism which allowed him to employ his machine gun continuously, with the weapon being belt fed from his backpack.
The highly flexible portable backpack belt feed mechanism looks very similar to what our helicopter door gunners use.
I think I saw it at the FREE NORTH CAROLINA web site.
Here’s the URL for that post:
http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2014/04/450-rounds-on-back-with-continuous-fire.html
Be sure and read the comments.
It may not be quite what it claims to be, after all.
JRM,
It’s a copy of what some guys from my former unit came up with in 2011:
http://www.redbullrising.com/2011/10/gunners-invent-ammo-carrier.html
Maybe we should have the fake C-130 pilot fly the fake Navy Chief-photographer over to Ukraine to snoop around as a fake SuperSecretNinjaSecretSquirrel-Chiefphotographer. The fake SEAL can launder the black-ops budget for this mission through his company …what’s it’s name? All Bullet Points … or something like that. During the flight, piloted by the fake C-130 pilot, the fake SEAL can give the fake Chief-Photographer a crash course on how to be a fake SuperSecretNinjaSecretSquirrel and the fake Ranger guy can give the fake Chief-Photographer a crash course on parachute operations.
That is if the fake C-130 pilot doesn’t crash and kill them for real.
Did I leave anyone out?
Yep. Shovel-man. He’s been to Russia before, so he can navigate for them.
Good call Hondo. I hate to leave out the tool navigator.
Errr, I meant E-Tool.
Ok .. so really I only meant that he’s a “tool.”
I sure hope not, because the thought of all of them being on a C-130 that crashes is delightful indeed!!!
We still have a few buckets or Scout Snipers, Rangers and SEALS, why not let them in on some action? We could hypnotize the Wound Wanger into thinking the Ivans are jelly doughnuts, and Chevy McCheesemunch into thinking they’re blocks of cheese, the Ivans wouldn’t last more than an hour!
Head and hips, boys and girls. Hips and head.
Russia training
And John Giduck nowhere to be seen.
Came looking for E-Tool combat skills.
Left disappointed.
THAT’S Calico Jack’s “jolly roger” on their helmets!!! Why … why … why, that design is Copy Writed!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico_Jack_Rackham
Keelhaul the lubbers, hang them in cages from the yardarms, and let the birds do the rest.
Peg-Leg Pete
late-Quartermaster,
Brigantine Ranger
Agreed, Pete, this is ridiculous.
Us privateers were raiding and pillaging far before Putin and his “pirates”.
Besides, we looked much cooler.
Edward Kenway
Captain
The Jackdaw
Post-Script: How the duece do you manage to put italics in this device? I see no options for it.
Arrrggghhhh, Cap’n!
Replace [i][/i] and [b][/b] with angle < brackets.
We pyrates wore head bandanas before they were cool.
Peg-Leg Pete
late-Quartermaster,
Brigantine Ranger