Russia Invades Ukraine pt XII

[crimsonaudio]

I love the sleek look of the Russian jets, but know that it's mostly window-dressing.

I literally wouldn't be surprised if I were told some electronics in Russian planes were still powered by vacuum tubes.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Going to war? Good news! The United States is 13 years behind in ammunition production, NYT reports

The Biden administration earlier this month proposed a record-breaking $842 billion budget for the Department of Defense.

news.yahoo.com

The Biden administration has promised — as part of $33 billion sent in military aid for the besieged country so far — a US Patriot air-defense system will be sent to Ukraine, along with over 200,000 rounds of artillery, rockets, and tank rounds.

In fulfilling those promises, The New York Times reported the US has sent Ukraine so many stockpiled Stinger missiles that it would take 13 years of production at recent capacity levels to replace them. The Times added that Raytheon, the company that helps make Javeline missile systems, said it would take five years at last year's production rates to replace the number of missiles sent to Ukraine in the last ten months.

Should we be concerned that we could be leaving ourselves vulnerable due to the diminishing stockpiles of ammunition? I knew we were sending a lot, but had no idea that we were cleaning out the closets. Is it possible we are sand-bagging this issue and that we're actually just fine for the purposes of national defense? I sure hope so.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

When I lived in West Omaha, I had a neighbor who had immigrated here from Belarus. He was in a tank division in the Soviet army, and had a lot of cool stories about those days.

One day, we got to talking about Russian fighter jets vs American, and his take was that Russia's jets were far superior. I responded, the Su-27 or Su-35 might be faster than an F15, but the F15 will shoot the Russian jet down from over the horizon.

I love the sleek look of the Russian jets, but know that it's mostly window-dressing.

He was frozen in WWII thinking - plane vs. plane at close quarters...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Going to war? Good news! The United States is 13 years behind in ammunition production, NYT reports

The Biden administration earlier this month proposed a record-breaking $842 billion budget for the Department of Defense.

news.yahoo.com

Should we be concerned that we could be leaving ourselves vulnerable due to the diminishing stockpiles of ammunition? I knew we were sending a lot, but had no idea that we were cleaning out the closets. Is it possible we are sand-bagging this issue and that we're actually just fine for the purposes of national defense? I sure hope so.

I know the armed forces command structure is concerned. We're ramping up production in all the categories being sent to Ukraine. However, that takes time. Factories have to be built, machine tools acquired, etc. I'm afraid we wouldn't be able right now to mount an effective response to armed intervention by China in Taiwan...

 

[Bamaro]

I literally wouldn't be surprised if I were told some electronics in Russian planes were still powered by vacuum tubes.

It gives them a 'warmer' sound

 

[Go Bama]

It gives them a 'warmer' sound

Russians and Chinese still manufacture most of the world's vacuum tubes.

I have a dental unit, an Ellman Radio Surge, that works very similar to an electrosurge to cut tissue. The advantage of the Ellman is you can make a cut with no bleeding and no burning. It uses a vacuum tube.

The only other thing I use vacuum tubes for is my guitar amps. I don't care for transistor amps, but amp modeling has gotten so good that last year I bought a modeling floor unit, and it's what I use for gigs now because stage setup is super easy, I use my floor wedge to hear it (no extra speaker to drag to the gig), and the tone is outstanding.

I've always preferred Russian tubes. I haven't ordered any since before the Russian invasion so I don't know if they are still available.

I have no idea what the Chinese and Russians are doing with all those vacuum tubes. One advantage though is when a vacuum tube goes bad, it's an easy fix to replace them.

 

[seebell]

Vacuum tubes are very resistant to EMP.

Why are vacuum tubes more resistant to electromagnetic ...

Stack Exchange
https://electronics.stackexchange.com › questions › wh...



Oct 21, 2016 — In the 1970's, it was discovered that vacuum tubes have about 10 million times more hardness against EMP than integrated solid-state ...
4 answers · Top answer: Most semiconductor devices are designed to operate at low voltage, and vo

 

[Tidewater]

This is pretty scary.
Moving the Goalposts: Russia’s Evolving War Aims in Ukraine (Part Three)
Migrants and refugees.
"By the European Commission’s count, however, a total of some 16 million Ukrainians arrived in the EU from the beginning of the war onward, with some 11 million having, in the meantime, returned to Ukraine, about one million moving on to other destinations and more than four million (see above) remaining on EU territory.... Russia, meanwhile, is currently hosting more than 5.4 million persons (including 744,000 children) who arrived from Ukraine between February 2022 and March 2023. ... The International Organization for Migration estimates the number of IDPs in Ukraine at 5,352,000 (“tracked IDPs”) as of January 23."
~14.8 million migrants.
This is a country that had ~44 million people in January 2022.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Russians and Chinese still manufacture most of the world's vacuum tubes.

I have a dental unit, an Ellman Radio Surge, that works very similar to an electrosurge to cut tissue. The advantage of the Ellman is you can make a cut with no bleeding and no burning. It uses a vacuum tube.

The only other thing I use vacuum tubes for is my guitar amps. I don't care for transistor amps, but amp modeling has gotten so good that last year I bought a modeling floor unit, and it's what I use for gigs now because stage setup is super easy, I use my floor wedge to hear it (no extra speaker to drag to the gig), and the tone is outstanding.

I've always preferred Russian tubes. I haven't ordered any since before the Russian invasion so I don't know if they are still available.

I have no idea what the Chinese and Russians are doing with all those vacuum tubes. One advantage though is when a vacuum tube goes bad, it's an easy fix to replace them.

Alibaba seems to have them, mainly for amps. IDK if they would fit your device. You have to plow through everything related to tubes or vacuum...

 

[JDCrimson]

Shameful failure on the West allow this as an eventual outcome. Russia needs to be defanged. It's amazing that small cabal of less than 100 people are the instigators of devastation felt worldwide. A civilized world should not allow such autonomy.

This is pretty scary.
Moving the Goalposts: Russia’s Evolving War Aims in Ukraine (Part Three)
Migrants and refugees.
"By the European Commission’s count, however, a total of some 16 million Ukrainians arrived in the EU from the beginning of the war onward, with some 11 million having, in the meantime, returned to Ukraine, about one million moving on to other destinations and more than four million (see above) remaining on EU territory.... Russia, meanwhile, is currently hosting more than 5.4 million persons (including 744,000 children) who arrived from Ukraine between February 2022 and March 2023. ... The International Organization for Migration estimates the number of IDPs in Ukraine at 5,352,000 (“tracked IDPs”) as of January 23."
~14.8 million migrants.
This is a country that had ~44 million people in January 2022.

 

[Tidewater]

Shameful failure on the West allow this as an eventual outcome. Russia needs to be defanged. It's amazing that small cabal of less than 100 people are the instigators of devastation felt worldwide. A civilized world should not allow such autonomy.

Well, two things. (1) The Russian people have no tradition of democracy. Except for Novgorod for a few decades in the 1400s, Russia has never experienced democracy. The concept does not resonate with most Russians.
(2) Russia today shows what is possible when the government controls the media. You can convince the majority of people that a Jew is a Nazi. Literally. That ought to scare the heck out of anybody.

 

[JDCrimson]

Not really, the Remnant will be hiding in basements from people they used to go to church with. The Jewish theocracy crucified Christ. True followers of Christ will be persecuted just the same in due time.

Well, two things. (1) The Russian people have no tradition of democracy. Except for Novgorod for a few decades in the 1400s, Russia has never experienced democracy. The concept does not resonate with most Russians.
(2) Russia today shows what is possible when the government controls the media. You can convince the majority of people that a Jew is a Nazi. Literally. That ought to scare the heck out of anybody.

 

[Its On A Slab]

Well, two things. (1) The Russian people have no tradition of democracy. Except for Novgorod for a few decades in the 1400s, Russia has never experienced democracy. The concept does not resonate with most Russians.
(2) Russia today shows what is possible when the government controls the media. You can convince the majority of people that a Jew is a Nazi. Literally. That ought to scare the heck out of anybody.

The interesting thing I find in Putin apologists is the constant theme that, because other countries have done bad or terrible things, Russia should have a green light to do what they are doing in Ukraine.

I had an interesting online debate with a Putin apologist about why countries like Finland and Poland are supportive of Ukraine's right to exist. He brought up Finnish concentration camps from the Continuation War, and some varied factors of Polish culpability before Stalin and Hitler divided up Poland with Ribbentropp.

Textbook examples of "bothsides". Under this notion, Hitler was completely justified since the Treaty of Versailles was heavy on punishing Germany.

I would argue that the Iraq War was a mistake. But I will also cede the reality that Iraq is much better off without Saddam. Was it worth the loss of lives and trillions of $$$ we spent? It's all debatable, but the Putin fanboys see the Iraq War as: See, you didi it, so we can too. Regardless of the fact that Ukraine has a democratically elected government, and has threatened no country around it. Unlike the tyranny of Saddam.

 

[dtgreg]

Going to war? Good news! The United States is 13 years behind in ammunition production, NYT reports

The Biden administration earlier this month proposed a record-breaking $842 billion budget for the Department of Defense.

news.yahoo.com

Should we be concerned that we could be leaving ourselves vulnerable due to the diminishing stockpiles of ammunition? I knew we were sending a lot, but had no idea that we were cleaning out the closets. Is it possible we are sand-bagging this issue and that we're actually just fine for the purposes of national defense? I sure hope so.

My sister is actually part of the team(s) working on this. We WANT to get rid our old ammo. There is a great possibility of shortages in the near term but it's being taken extremely seriously. Don't be surprised to see us ramp up production of new old-school ammo in places like Anniston. Everything old is new again.

 

[Tidewater]

We WANT to get rid our old ammo.

Ammo has a shelf life and when it gets to a certain age, you probably do not want to use it.
When I took my company to Guernsey, Wyoming (old National Guard base), we drew some 81mm illumination rounds. My Sergeant Major (great guy) was a big fan of mortars, so he fired a lot of the illum rounds. The ammo burned yellow (it is supposed to burn white) and had firing data card inside dated June 1945.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Ammo has a shelf life and when it gets to a certain age, you probably do not want to use it.
When I took my company to Guernsey, Wyoming (old National Guard base), we drew some 81mm illumination rounds. My Sergeant Major (great guy) was a big fan of mortars, so he fired a lot of the illum rounds. The ammo burned yellow (it is supposed to burn white) and had firing data card inside dated June 1945.

That sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[dtgreg]

Ammo has a shelf life and when it gets to a certain age, you probably do not want to use it.
When I took my company to Guernsey, Wyoming (old National Guard base), we drew some 81mm illumination rounds. My Sergeant Major (great guy) was a big fan of mortars, so he fired a lot of the illum rounds. The ammo burned yellow (it is supposed to burn white) and had firing data card inside dated June 1945.

My dad was having problems with armadillos at his home on Green Mountain. He tried everything, all the tricks and nothing worked. One night, he couldn't sleep and saw one tearing up their garden and got out his old 20 gauge and popped him one (i know, so illegal). The 40-year-old birdshot just bounced off it, haha. Truly, though, he might have needed a slug for that hide!

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Another good article by Nadin, explaining the virtual absence of a RFAF...

https://nadinbrzezinski.medium.com/nuke-threats-are-cynical-fe8e8bae71a9

My dad was having problems with armadillos at his home on Green Mountain. He tried everything, all the tricks and nothing worked. One night, he couldn't sleep and saw one tearing up their garden and got out his old 20 gauge and popped him one (i know, so illegal). The 40-year-old birdshot just bounced off it, haha. Truly, though, he might have needed a slug for that hide!

You can do them in with a hatchet. They're not very fast. Don't ask how I know...

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Another good article by Nadin, explaining the virtual absence of a RFAF...

https://nadinbrzezinski.medium.com/nuke-threats-are-cynical-fe8e8bae71a9
You can do them in with a hatchet. They're not very fast. Don't ask how I know...

I thought the main takeaway for the world as a whole came toward the end: A cease-fire under circumstances other than return to 1991 borders is a win for the Russians because it allows them to re-group and re-arm to fight another day.

These guys will not stop until they have no 20 - 35 year old males left and their industrial and civil infrastructure is pounded into the 19th Century.

Having Ukraine do that for us, with our only requirement being to give them the means to do so, is the bargain of the millennium.

I’m reminded of the old Fram oil filter commercial (the OFC will remember…the non-OFC can probably find them on YouTube) — Pay me now, or pay me later.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

Side note on NATO vs. the Russians (or anybody else for that matter):

We have an interesting dilemma. On the one hand, NATO helping Ukraine has highlighted the internal inconsistency of NATO weapons.

The poor Ukrainians are having to learn to operate and maintain German, Polish, French, and American weapons systems. Yes, I know it’s mostly American, but the point is still valid.

NATO countries are having to create export versions of their weapons systems that don’t give away too much proprietary technology that the developing nations want to keep secret.

So training, maintenance and supply of disparate systems is a real issue.

BUT……

If you standardize NATO weapons systems, you (meaning mainly us…the Americans) necessarily give up proprietary technology. The Abrams MBT and various anti-aircraft systems are the poster children, but there are other systems as well.

How long do you trust the French, Germans, Polish and Brits to not turn that technology on us, or our interests? Conveniently ”mis-place” a tank so it can be reverse-engineered?

More concerning (i.e., less reliably western) are some recent members: Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania and Montenegro, among others. Even Estonia, a prime target for Russia and a country you would therefore think would be hard-line NATO / western, has a faction yearning for the old Soviet days.

Right now, today, it’s not a huge problem. But agendas change and demographics of several of those countries aren’t positive. Will their short-term self-interest outweigh the collective good? What happens if Marine Le Pen (the French analogue to Donald Trump) makes a resurgence? Who knows what might happen in some of the countries admitted since 1999.

Not easy questions to answer, with pros, cons, good intentions and unintended consequences all over the place.

We live in interesting times.