Tanker aircraft are a requirement for any serious projection of airpower. And no one ever has enough of them. So let’s go get some. Previously, the standard in aerial refueling was the KC-135, a close relative of the classic Boeing 707. Today, there are two different airframes available for tankers. There is the Boeing 767 […]
For their Next Great Tank, France and Germany are currently proposing a team-up. Again. This didn’t work last time they tried this because of work-share arrangements. But, like Charlie Brown kicking a football, they’re ready to go again. This time they’re starting with a simple offering for the export market.
Let’s talk some more about the 140 mm tank gun, that late cold war weapon that never was. Perfect for killing Soviet Supertanks that never were. And making your new tank way cooler than everyone else’s. The fastest way to get more armor penetration is to just build a bigger gun with more muzzle energy. […]
It’s time for another head to head. Let’s look at two extremely popular light(ish) antitank weapons.1 In the blue corner, fighting out of Sweeden, is the Carl Gustav Recoilless Rifle. And in the red corner, fighting out of Russia, is the RPG-7. Let’s dig a little deeper into these two weapons and see what we […]
The tank platoon is the basic unit of armored organization. How you structure it will shape tactics and has a direct bearing on costs. One might think that tank tactics are an extension of infantry tactics. And that a tank platoon should have subelements that the platoon leader can use to perform fire and maneuver […]
While Borgundy agrees with the Russian view that the best weapon to combat a tank is another tank, and combined arms with plenty of tank-infantry cooperation are the keys to success, this does not mean that the infantry should not have weapons for killing tanks. It’s all the more important since most modern western IFVs […]
The DCS Su-25T Frogfoot is the only attack aircraft in my simulated stable right now. In the interests of cooperation, parvusimperator learned to fly it a few nights ago, and has recounted his experience with it here for your edification. -Fish As resident NATO-trained attack pilot, I took to the Su-25T without too much trouble. […]
The Quarterly Review? The Whenever-I-Get-A-Minute Times? Russia/Ukraine I fell off the liveblog wagon once it became clear that Russia was definitely not going to thunder run Kiev1. Vast quantities of NATO ELINT near Russia – Well, I suppose more than just ELINT. JSTARS is out there, too. Kremlinology 2.0: who’s in Putin’s inner circle? A […]
I think the Sunday Papers experiment is now definitively a failure, unless I start doing the posts at lunch on Friday. RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE … will be our headline, probably, the next time I do one of these. 12/20: US officials return from assessing Ukraine’s air defense needs 1/17: British aircraft ferrying anti-tank weapons to […]
Where do the months go? Merry Christmas from your Soapbox hosts. Defense Chinese hypersonic glide vehicle itself fired a missile over the Pacific – Financial Times story; use the Paywall Eliminator Firefox plugin. Sick burn from CDR Salamander – In response to “SOCOM commander says Taliban aren’t counterterrorism partners in Afghanistan. Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief […]