The Ukrainian-made T-84 Oplot Tank Makes Debut in the Kharkiv Region
The 3rd Tank Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces showed us the T-84 Oplot main battle tank in a Facebook post, revealing that one of the brigade’s units is utilizing it to defend the northeastern Kharkiv Region from the russian invasion forces. This is the first official public appearance of this extra-rare combat vehicle since the outbreak of the larger war between Ukraine and russia.
This creation of the Ukrainian defense industry was adopted by the national military all the way back in 2009 yet remained but a limited export product, with only a few seen in use with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as evidenced by posts in social media.
The tank itself was one of the most advanced combat vehicles developed by Ukraine. The T-84 Oplot is a deep modernization of the T-84 stemming from the Soviet T-80, with a redesigned layout, new turret, improved mobility, armor (including domestic Nizh ERA), situational awareness and sighting systems.
F-16 Shields Ukraine From Cruise Missiles Better Than Any Ground-Stationed Air Defense System Could
In this article, we discuss what makes the F-16 multirole fighter head and shoulders above any peers among Soviet-standard aircraft and even ground-based air defense systems currently available to Ukraine. Mainly because of the mobility which allows them to travel across the entire country on demand and the absence of physical limitations pertaining to radars observing the skies from the earth's surface.
On Tuesday August 27th, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that F-16s were already actively engaged in air defense missions. Just a few days later, Ukraine lost one of the F-16s and the pilot operating it, Oleksii Mes, known by his call sign Moonfish, the information was confirmed by authorities and the Ukrainian Air Force Command.
JDAM-ER Launch Video and Its Effective Range Revealed by Ukrainian Air Force
Speaking of Ukrainian aviation, the Air Force Command also published some insights into the combat operations utilizing the JDAM-ER smart bombs for the first time. This American standoff attack guided glide bomb was integrated with Ukraine's MiG-29 fighter aircraft and shown in action: used for long-range strikes on russian river crossings in the Kursk region of russia.
Importantly, this video also contained details that allowed Defense Express to locate the release point of the bomb and thus figure out the effective range of this weapon. The thing is, in contrast to the JDAM's maximum operational range, which is the distance this munition can cover when launched from an optimal altitude, the effective range in the case of Ukrainian aircraft using them is much lower. The primary reason is that Ukrainian pilots need to fly low to avoid being detected and shot down by russian air defense, only ascending right before the launch. More details here.
Ukrainian Soldiers Have Been Seeing Green Light Rays on the Battlefield
A Ukrainian EW expert Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov started an open discussion about the unusual rays of green light observed by Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline exclusively at night, and they turned out to be quite a commonplace occurrence along the entire front.
Turns out, those are the rays produced by the laser designator of the Z-16IRQ-V/L night vision system for ZALA aerial drones. Why the laser is visible in the optical spectrum is unknown but regardless, this device poses a serious threat as it's used for guiding scarce yet precise smart munitions with semi-active homing heads employed by the russian invasion forces.
U.S. Official Reveals the Monthly Production of 155mm Shells
Monthly production of 155mm artillery ammunition in the United States should reach 80,000 rounds this fall, significantly exceeding the previously approved production expansion schedule, U.S. Army logistics chief Douglas Bush announced. For comparison, in early 2022, American factories produced 9,000 155mm rounds a month, increasing to 14,000 by the end of the year and doubling to 28,000 by September 2023. Now Bush expects that the industry will hit 100,000 shells a month by summer 2025.
However, this promising acceleration is still far from enough to supply Ukraine with an adequate amount of artillery ammunition to reach parity with russia. In a recent report, Ukraine's top commander Syrsky disclosed that Ukrainian Armed Forces fire about 450,000 shells a month, while the russian side spends almost 1.3 million on average each month.
Brief updates:
- Ukrainian Drones Target russian Strategic Bomber Base During the Attack on Ukraine
- Moscow’s Metro has acquired Chinese Dongfeng armored vehicle, raising questions
- Ukraine reports Belarusian forces and former Wagner Group personnel assemble at Belarus-Ukraine border
Longread of the week:
How Much Longer Will russian Tu-95MS Bombers Keep Flying With Current Maintenance Capabilities
