Much better than my idea of the drone exploding on contact. An exploding drone would just become "you shot down our plane".
Wouldn't that just be a missile?
Not that kind of contact. Just picture your drone flying along, bothering no one.
And a plane bumps into it to disrupt it. And at that point of contact, it explodes.
In reply to Noddaz :
I don't think you want to get into a war of semantic technicalities with the Russians.
"The Russian AA-12 Adder 'drone' was just flying along, bothering no one. The aggressor NATO aircraft recklessly flew directly into it's path and bumped into it, causing both to explode. We cannot rule out a nuclear response to this unprovoked attack on Russian sovereignty"
I'm not sure the ground crew attending to those drones would be too keen on the idea of equipping them with proximity and contact fuses, particularly after a turbulent flight and/or a bumpy landing....
In reply to 02Pilot :
That's what the weight on wheels (Wow) switch is for. All good until someone jams a screwdriver in it.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
That was some redneck hillbilly flying by that Russian pilot.
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to GameboyRMH :
That was some redneck hillbilly flying by that Russian pilot.
I'm not sure what's worse, that they were dumping fuel on it like morons or that they accidently ran into an aircraft flying straight and level.
Stampie said:In reply to 02Pilot :
That's what the weight on wheels (Wow) switch is for. All good until someone jams a screwdriver in it.
Why do I get the feeling there's a story behind that second statement?
Wow. Did you see how the drone jinked into them while they quite reasonably where releasing extra fuel!??
[BS Generator activated]
"You said the drone turned into the jets!"
"That is clearly a special effects shot, made up to make glorious Russian hero pilots look incompetent. We saw Maverick!"
"But you just said...."
"This is the new reality"
aircooled said:Wow. Did you see how the drone jinked into them while they quite reasonably where releasing extra fuel!??
[BS Generator activated]
"You said the drone turned into the jets!"
"That is clearly a special effects short, made up to make glorious Russian hero pilots look incompetent. We saw Maverick!"
"But you just said...."
"This is the new reality"
toats CGI
Poland's giving 4 MiG-29s to Ukraine:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/16/europe/poland-fighter-jets-ukraine-intl/index.html
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to GameboyRMH :
That was some redneck hillbilly flying by that Russian pilot.
Even before the video came out, that is what I was thinking. We've been conditioned to think of the Russian military as a bunch of Bond villains, whereas the reality is closer to the Austin Powers end of the spectrum.
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to GameboyRMH :
That was some redneck hillbilly flying by that Russian pilot.
Even before the video came out, that is what I was thinking. We've been conditioned to think of the Russian military as a bunch of Bond villains, whereas the reality is much more comic.
hey Yakov, hold my Wodka
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to GameboyRMH :
That was some redneck hillbilly flying by that Russian pilot.
Even before the video came out, that is what I was thinking. We've been conditioned to think of the Russian military as a bunch of Bond villains, whereas the reality is much more comic.
Can't remember if it was in this thread or elsewhere that I read being a fighter pilot in Russia is more of a "who your family is" thing than based on merit. This video is not dissuading me of that belief.
In reply to eastsideTim :
The Saudis are known for that. Probably most family -run businesses, er... second and third-world countries have similar recruitment practices.
I read an article this morning that said US intelligence reported that the "maneuver" in to the drone was approved at the highest levels of the Kremlin.
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to GameboyRMH :
That was some redneck hillbilly flying by that Russian pilot.
Unless he meant to clip it. In which case it was pretty impressive.
Hard to say how true this is:
Russian media ForPost reports Russian military undersea robot found MQ-9 Reaper near Sevastopol and near South Stream pipeline on the depth of 850-900 meters
Not sure I would call this "near" Sevastopol:
It was near the South Stream pipeline though. Geeeee.... I wonder why they brought up the pipeline? 
Of note: I believe there are no salvage rights unless the original owner releases them. This is the note for ships (I would imagine it still applies):
However, the same logic does not extend to warships and submarines belonging to the navy of a foreign country. Such vessels can be lent aid by other vessels, but cannot be salvaged under any circumstances. This is done to prevent espionage and illegal gathering of data from these vessels. They are off-limit to all salvage operations other than the flag nation of the vessel
Any salvage by the west would almost certainly have to be done by Turkey, if they even have such abilities.
We might have an answer as to why the Ukrainians have selected to continue defending Bahkmut (which is VERY close to being cut off):
----
The overall Wagner Group offensive on Bakhmut additionally appears to be nearing culmination. Ukrainian military sources have noted a markedly decreased number of attacks in and around Bakhmut, particularly over the last few days.[7] Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin has recently emphasized the toll that a reported lack of ammunition is having on Wagner’s ability to pursue offensives on Bakhmut and stated on March 15 that due to ammunition shortages and heavy fighting, Wagner has had to expand its encirclement of Bakhmut.[8] Prigozhin notably claimed that Wagner captured Zalizianske, a tiny rural settlement 9km northwest of Bakhmut on the east side of the E40 Bakhmut-Slovyansk highway, which indicates that Wagner forces are likely conducting opportunistic localized attacks on settlements further north of Bakhmut that are small and relatively easier to seize.[9] Recent Wagner gains north of Bakhmut suggest that manpower, artillery, and equipment losses in fights for Bakhmut will likely constrain Wagner’s ability to complete a close encirclement of Bakhmut or gain substantial territory in battles for urban areas.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to GameboyRMH :
That was some redneck hillbilly flying by that Russian pilot.
Unless he meant to clip it. In which case it was pretty impressive.
Zero chance. He's just lucky to have escaped Darwin's wrath... For now.
aircooled said:Most modern anti-tank missiles have a two stage warhead. The first explosives, meant to go off RIGHT before impact, is intended to set off any reactive armor the tank might have (which explodes into the missile, disrupting it), leaving the tank open for the second warhead. In this case the primary explosive would just punch through any covering. If the covering is light enough (like the chain link above), I don't think the missile will even notice it. A light drone of course will just hit the fence.
Also of note is I believe most of these anti-tank explosive are not necessarily contact explosives, they primarily work by shooting a tight spray of molten metal to penetrate the armor. In the old days (all the way back to WWII) these where called HEAT, high explosives anti-tank. Obviously it can't be to far away when it explodes.
Distance should be 6x the diameter of the shaped charge, IIRC
13 more MiG-29s from Slovakia:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/slovakia-jets-ukraine-russia-1.6781898
Little noted in the press, but Poland's initial announcement of the first aircraft transfer was nearly concurrent with its public statement on busting a Russian spy operation. One has to wonder if there is a bit of bilateral mini-escalation taking place between those two (not surprising, given their history), which has now spilled over. I don't know that every EU government is entirely pleased with the Polish decision to go ahead with the MiG transfer, and I suspect there are some in the US administration who are concerned as well. In the latter instance, we may be able to discern the US position by seeing how amenable it is to backfilling the Polish air force's requirements, as well as supplying the MiGs with US ordnance. Also a factor here may be the Polish deal with South Korea for a large number of FA-50 light jets signed last year, lessening reliance on, and thus the leverage of, both European and US partners.
In reply to 02Pilot :
I thought that early on the US had acted like they were fine with Soviet-era planes being transferred to Ukraine, but they were just unwilling to be an intermediary. I'm actually kind of wondering if they'll release something they've been holding back after the drone incident.
02Pilot said:Little noted in the press, but Poland's initial announcement of the first aircraft transfer was nearly concurrent with its public statement on busting a Russian spy operation. One has to wonder if there is a bit of bilateral mini-escalation taking place between those two (not surprising, given their history), which has now spilled over. I don't know that every EU government is entirely pleased with the Polish decision to go ahead with the MiG transfer, and I suspect there are some in the US administration who are concerned as well. In the latter instance, we may be able to discern the US position by seeing how amenable it is to backfilling the Polish air force's requirements, as well as supplying the MiGs with US ordnance. Also a factor here may be the Polish deal with South Korea for a large number of FA-50 light jets signed last year, lessening reliance on, and thus the leverage of, both European and US partners.
Part of me would love to see the Poles and the South Koreans coordinate on a mutual design/build of arms...
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