41 Russian strategic bomber was destroyed today deep in Russia by Ukrainian drones. The operation took 1,5 years to plan and coordinate and is the first in the world of this kind.
The loss of the bombers is an irreparable blow to the Russian air fleet because these aircrafts are no longer manufactured. They are too complex and there’s no capacity in Russia to make any new ones after the Soviet-era supply of the planes is exhausted.
TACO….. meet UNCO.
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This is poetry.
Poem, btw, is Catullus 16
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Totally.
I’m heaving with laughter.
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There is no one today doing drone warfare nearly to the same level as Ukraine. Once this is all over, Ukraine could have one of the strongest military industries in the world.
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Exactly. NATO, with its zero military wins, can go ef itself.
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A few days ago the new German chancellor made that statement about restrictions on “long-range fire” being lifted… Hard to think it’s a coincidence (regardless of where the drones were made). It shows some strategic coordination.
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These bombers are cold war tech dating back to the 1950s, much like their American equivalent.
https://www.jetsprops.com/bombers/battle-of-the-giants-b-52-vs-tu-95.html
Drones, on the other hand, are a product of 21st-century globalized supply chains, specifically semiconductor and battery tech developed for cell phones and mass produced in Asia. Access to this technology allows smaller nation to leapfrog their larger neighbors in technical capability.
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I also want to say that the b-52 looks really scary, while the tu-95 just looks vintage.
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Most of Russia is Asia. It has North Korea openly fighting on its side and China sending supplies. Why is Russia losing the drone war if it’s such an Asian thing?
I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, so I won’t say. But we all know where real innovation and real technology come from.
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China completely dominates in mass produced tech like batteries. This doesn’t mean that smaller countries like Ukraine can’t develop expertise in specialized areas like drones, while using generic Chinese components.
Competing with China in batteries is going to be hard work even for the US.
https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/10/winning-the-battery-race-how-the-united-states-can-leapfrog-china-to-dominate-next-generation-battery-technologies?lang=en
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