Contracting, currency, labor costs, fraud… This isn’t an issue of military operations, it is one procurement.
2M tops
They were at 250,000 per month (3,000,000 annually) last year. As Putin has moved Russian industry to a war time production standing he is converting plants to munitions productions and bringing new facilities on line. And the basic 152 mm shell isn’t exactly 21 century tech. It’s a 1940’s item with modern manufacturing methods churning it out. Same thing with new barrels for the artillery. 1940’s tech with modern manufacturing methods churning them out. And no country in the West has moved their economies and industrial base to a wartime footing. Wishful thinking is not going to change reality.
And it really looks like Kharkiv was just a feint. They got Ukraine to redeploy a bunch of troops and reserves and consume munitions. Then all of a sudden pull back, yet stay in the AO. Meanwhile the pressure in the center continues to build, but now Ukraine has fewer reserves to reenforce the center.
I should have worded that better I mean did America move away from making reliable gear (that wasn’t the apex of expense) for getting the job done in place of more expensive tech that doesn’t necessarily equal better performance in todays battlefield against a competent competitor not the Taliban. I mean on paper the Sherman wasn’t as good as the Tiger but if you lost a Sherman you could go grab another whereas the 10x more expensive Tiger there likely was no replacement. Seems we have all the fancy stuff but getting beat out on artillery production by Russia or NK.
I don’t think anyone would argue against having high tech air power but if they find out everything that flies dies in todays modern warfare against a peer competitor and wars will devolve to artillery and drones is America equipped for that type of war? I mean we can see whether it’s a 4 million dollar Russian tank or a 13+ million nato tank, swarming a tank with cheap drones will take them out over and over.
They even started putting those crazy looking cope cages on the Abrams tanks over there.
I could be far off and naive about the whole thing it just seems we might be at the top of military tech for a bygone era 90’s. Whereas today drones and artillery is everything. I still wonder if a one Chinese hypersonic missile could sink a billion dollar aircraft carrier before its even in operational range.
The Russian’s are averaging 10,000 rounds fired a day, which is 3.65 million shells fired a year. Ukraine is consuming 2000 rounds a day, a 730,000 shells a year rate, and their munitions supplies are stretched. We already know that promised supplies seem to just trickle in for Ukraine.
We have focused on accuracy, range and precision detection at range. In WW2 the qualitative edge enjoyed by the German Army wasn’t really that large. Japan and Italy didn’t enjoy the same edge with their equipment. Today’s equipment is very superior in what it takes to detect and kill targets. As for China, they are building the last war’s weapons to attack in the face of next war’s defensive systems. Fast missiles aren’t really that fast when targeted by an electron particle beam laser. The laser quickly alters the aerodynamics of the missile and its speed and atmospheric friction tears it apart.
so they claimed. and no
niether is russian propaganda. They are nowhere near 4.5M shells per month
This is what Western Intelligence is reporting, not what the Russians are claiming.
4.5 million per year, not month.
more like 8. which for them is starving. They were firing 60K a day when they were “successful”. Russia’s artillery tactics suck, area fires which means you have to fire a lot to actually do any damage. They fire 4 or 5 times more than Ukraine, yet they are losing the counter battery war (still). Their old crap and worn out barrels lack both range and accuracy.
I know you said that, its also way over estimated, like by 2X
and its still way over estimated. they were at 2m at the end of last year. They have not doubled it since then. I doubt its moved much at all.
Just the prospect of a Trump win gets Zelinsky to the peace talk table.
don’t really have to read much more
Good point. The source is lefty Bloomberg.
So… maybe.
Zelenski and his congress are no longer democratically elected. Looks like forever marshall law.
FDR ran for pres during war. So did Lincoln, but not the little Z man.
hint: Their constitution is not our constitution.
Say whatever you wish, anyone with a brain not supplied by the propaganda off Putin’s desk can see quite clearly that Zelensky has proven to be a great President for Ukraine. Anyone else would have taken the ride.
Our domestic political events have all but pushed Ukraine off the page. The war is still going hot, but the public has lost interest until some big change occurs. The Russians are still pressing all along the front, using slow motion attrition tactics. Their activity near Kharkiv in the North seems to be meant to stretch Ukrainian resources further. It is almost August and still no F-16s