Earlier than 1990 their subs were noisy. Very noisy. Old P-3 guys I flew with would brag about tracking 2-3 at the same time. We could do this because they were so loud, a couple of buoys would hold contact for a long time. This makes the tracking problem easier. It's literally like a single DB covering multiple receivers. The son of a bitch John Walker gave the Russia's the codes to our TS communications. They could now read some of our communications. What they learned is that we could track their subs very easily. They didn't think we could because their ability to track our guys was very limited. As a result, they invested in quieting their subs. In a matter of years, the acoustic ranges dramatically reduced. We could still track them. It was just a lot more work.
Our sub guys are very, very quiet and good at what they do. Much better than the Russians or anyone else.
Russia and China hate each other. The only thing that drives them together is their mutual hate of us. Just know in that relationship, Putin will be Xi's bitch.
Yes - Russia used front line units for their initial assault. Many of them have been chewed up. They have lost a lot of equipment. The Uks have destroyed a bunch. The Russians have abandoned even more. Logistics is to a military as an OL is to an offense. If you don't have it, your stuff breaks down, and it's no good. Guns aren't good without bullets and vehicles don't move without gas. The Russian logistics have been very poor. It has hampered them pressing assaults. The Uk's have targeted supply vehicles and depot areas hampering Ivan even more.
Many Russian enlisted are conscripts. The Russian NCO Corps has never been seen as very strong. NCO's are the heart of a professional military. The quality of life in the Russian military is pretty poor. The guys don't stick around if they don't really need to. Thus a lack of good NCO's. My understanding is that part of the problem is the troops in the field weren't maintaining equipment like they should. As a result, it broke down. That's a training issue. It's a sign they don't get out in the field regularly and operate in combat conditions. Again, its a sign of a weak NCO corps (who are the SME's on their equipment.) My understanding is that Russia has taken to adding mercs and Chechens to replenish their ranks in Ukraine. They are available troops they don't have to train. They have used Mercs in Syria (we killed a bunch of them).
Russians can make good stuff. They just can't afford to make it in large quantities. I saw an unclass analysis of their fighter pilots flight hour program. Its barely enough to be safe flying let alone have a training regime that makes you proficient at air-to-air and air-to-ground. We use a lot of smart weapons on our planes. All our fighters can drop LGB's and GBU's. They are very precise and have a very high hit rate. Most Russian fighters can't carry smart weapons. They only configure a few to drop them. Why? They don't have a lot. They still rely on dumb iron. That's one reason why you see a lot of CIVCAS reports in Ukraine.
That's why the HIMARS we sent is a game changer. You could set one of those up in Death Valley and obliterate the Gamecock logo on Billy Brice with ease. Challenge with it is that the ammo is expensive.
Some folks have said, "Sell Ukraine F-16s." (or some other weapons system). It's not that easy. It takes months of training for a pilot to become proficient in the weapon system. It take millions and millions of dollars to build up supplies of parts, tools, testing equipment etc. It take YEARS to train young men to maintain the equipment right. We've been training the Iraqi's for more than a decade to fly and maintain a handful of F-16s. They still need contractor help to maintain them. Same goes for the former Afghan Air Force (hell we had to teach their guys to read first). They never got to a point they could really maintain the gear on their own.
When you see a pair of fighters overfly Death Valley it is truly an expression of national power. Our capitalist society drove investment and innovation for companies to supply these weapons. US engineers designed the aircraft. US scientists researched new weapons. Our schools produced young men and women capable of operating and maintaining these incredibly complex weapon systems. And our factories cranked them out. There's literally only a handful of countries in the world that can do this.
I worked with the Ukrainians in 2008 for a few weeks. Great guys. Very professional. But they were students of Russian military tactics and organization. They were very rigid, would not take chances, and decisions were made at the highest level. I came away wondering why were were ever scared of these guys. We'd have fought circles around them. At the outset of this conflict, I though Russia would steamroll these guys. Much like my prediction that Clemson would steamroll Ohio State in 2020, I was way wrong. Some of the things I have read lead me to believe Ukraine is playing chess while the Russians are playing checkers. Now let's be clear, Ukraine has gotten its ass handed to them too. They've lost a lot. But right now, they seem to have the upper hand. Winter is coming which generally means a slow down in fighting. It'll be interesting to see what happens next Spring. I don't know anything for a fact, but I'd be shocked is US SOF isn't there soaking up intel and training and advising Ukraine as well. I also have the strong suspicion that there are plenty of American Soldiers of Fortune over there as well. I know a Citadel buddy who is a former Ranger and is over there on a "humanitarian mission." Handing out Band-Aids and biscuits ain't his style.
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