The Russian-Ukrainian War Thread

[Feanor]

It was in response to you saying Ukraine can't keep them emitting 24/7.

So far, given the circumstances, Ukraine managed to keep its Patriots relatively safe. Beyond my expectations at least. And advantages that either side can produce are a subject for a future debate. The only thing I can contribute to it right now is it seems Ukraine doesn't improve quickly enough in VSHORAD.

Sure, by operating mostly from ambush, and typically fairly far from the front line. They can definitely keep their new Patriots safe the exact same way. And they will contribute to their ability to maintain air defenses, especially as they truly exhaust Soviet SAM stocks, including re-exports from various countries. But it won't stop Russian gliding bomb drops. That's the tradeoff.

 

[Vivendi]

Sure, by operating mostly from ambush, and typically fairly far from the front line. They can definitely keep their new Patriots safe the exact same way. And they will contribute to their ability to maintain air defenses, especially as they truly exhaust Soviet SAM stocks, including re-exports from various countries. But it won't stop Russian gliding bomb drops. That's the tradeoff.

The US and Germany really need to remove some more red lines. Ukraine should be allowed to hit targets deep inside Russia, not just close to the border. Long range missiles could then be used to attack Russian military installations including Russian aircraft used to launch the gliding bombs.

And Sweden should be allowed to transfer some Gripen with Meteor. The long range of the Meteor missile would force Russian planes to stay further away making it harder to launch those glide bombs at targets in Ukraine.

 

[swerve]

The problem with Gripen is that there aren't many of them, so Ukraine could only get a few, & Ukraine's logistics are already too complicated.

 

[Feanor]

The US and Germany really need to remove some more red lines. Ukraine should be allowed to hit targets deep inside Russia, not just close to the border. Long range missiles could then be used to attack Russian military installations including Russian aircraft used to launch the gliding bombs.

It would certainly be a step in the direction of trying to win that fight, it's just not clear that mere permission gets the job done.

And Sweden should be allowed to transfer some Gripen with Meteor. The long range of the Meteor missile would force Russian planes to stay further away making it harder to launch those glide bombs at targets in Ukraine.

Is there any advantage in the Meteor vs the latest AIM-120 variant? As for "allowed".... is anyone prohibiting Sweden from doing this? I'm a bit confused. It seems to me that Swerve is spot on with his response as to why that's not what's happening. F-16s are by far the most logical western jet to supply to Ukraine.