This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

I do too, but I also wonder how much stuff we have stockpiled that we could immediately give away. I assume we have piles of 155 mm shells, even though the war showed our manufacturing base had dwindled to an unacceptably low level. But, how many kick ass cruise missiles do we really have, especially if we have to keep China and North Korea honest? From the few articles. I have seen it's going to take 2-3 years unless we went to a war time footing to ramp up production of some of the high end weapons. You tell me, but I don't think the F-16 has a large capability for launching long range missiles. So, what are we giving them that can reach into Russian areas, and what platforms can they use? Certainly we need to let them have HIMARS and ATACMS, but how many do we need to keep? I have a belief that Biden is going to unload everything he can if Harris loses in November that is stockpiled in Europe, hopefully he doesn't wait until then to green light expanded usage.

You raise great points and I’ve thought about that as well.


I still think the primary mission for the f-16’s at least initially is going to be suppressing their air defenses with the AGM-88’s which will be SO much better in that mission than their MIG-29’s.
As far as stand-off weapon this article gives a great breakdown but I have no idea what we’re sending them.

Ukraine’s F-16s Could Come With These Weapons

A detailed breakdown of the munitions Ukraine is likely to get, and some it is less likely to get, with its F-16s.

www.twz.com

As far as our stockpiles I think we have to really be smart about the levels because if shit gets real in the Pacific well expend munitions at a extremely high rate.

 

[lucas80]

I haven't been following this thread for quite a while and I don't refer much to Twitter, so excuse my ignorance. What's the latest on the Abrams tanks? Are the Ukrainians still having trouble with them? Are they being used properly?

The problem with the Abrams tanks is we gave them 31 instead of 331 or more needed to flesh out a bunch of armored brigades. And, they aren't suited for a defensive war. I'd love it if we unloaded every Bradley we have in storage. Those have proved amazingly effective at torching Russian armor and infantry.

 

[seminole97]

I haven't been following this thread for quite a while and I don't refer much to Twitter, so excuse my ignorance. What's the latest on the Abrams tanks? Are the Ukrainians still having trouble with them? Are they being used properly?

Google AI sez:

As of April 26, 2024, Ukraine had lost five of the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks that the US sent to them in January 2023. The tanks were intended to help Ukrainian forces break through Russian defenses, but US officials say they have been vulnerable to Russian drones and anti-tank missiles. Some say the tanks are also easy to detect on the battlefield. In response to the losses, Ukraine has pulled the tanks from the front lines and the US is providing additional military aid, including counter-drone capabilities.

The U.S. spending millions to refurb old tanks might not be the best way to spend millions of dollars to help Ukraine.

 

[lucas80]

US banks will now have to report Russian assets as a pathway to seizure and sale. Western nations have seized $300 billion in Russian assets. Ukraine will need about $500 billion to rebuild if the war ended today.
https://apnews.com/article/repo-act...ssian-assets-9ecda7e3e799cdbfb564844ae89a144b

 

[lucas80]

You raise great points and I’ve thought about that as well.


I still think the primary mission for the f-16’s at least initially is going to be suppressing their air defenses with the AGM-88’s which will be SO much better in that mission than their MIG-29’s.
As far as stand-off weapon this article gives a great breakdown but I have no idea what we’re sending them.

Ukraine’s F-16s Could Come With These Weapons

A detailed breakdown of the munitions Ukraine is likely to get, and some it is less likely to get, with its F-16s.

www.twz.com

As far as our stockpiles I think we have to really be smart about the levels because if shit gets real in the Pacific well expend munitions at a extremely high rate.

So, no Storm Shadow equivalent, which sucks. But, getting HARM missiles on a platform designed for them helps, and Harpoon missiles on F-16s ranging out over the Black Sea will eliminate the hope of the Russian fleet ever returning to battle. Hopefully the crafty, resourceful Ukrainian aeronautical engineers are working on their own glide bomb kits

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

So, no Storm Shadow equivalent, which sucks. But, getting HARM missiles on a platform designed for them helps, and Harpoon missiles on F-16s ranging out over the Black Sea will eliminate the hope of the Russian fleet ever returning to battle. Hopefully the crafty, resourceful Ukrainian aeronautical engineers are working on their own glide bomb kits

It’ll be interesting to see what they come up. We’re giving them JDAM’s so I suppose they could modify them with glide kits

 

[seminole97]

US banks will now have to report Russian assets as a pathway to seizure and sale. Western nations have seized $300 billion in Russian assets. Ukraine will need about $500 billion to rebuild if the war ended today.
https://apnews.com/article/repo-act...ssian-assets-9ecda7e3e799cdbfb564844ae89a144b

Frozen, not seized.

 

[MitchLL]

I'm hopeful that in his last few months as President that Biden assumes the DGAF approach and supplies Ukraine with as much heavy machinery and aircraft as possible.

Kind of a goodwill effort.