Ukrainians have figured out how to destroy Turtle Tanks

Ukraine heavily relied on $500 FPV drones to do most of the work during the lull between US aid packages.  The Turtle Tanks are designed as a counter to these drones.  What they don't counter is artillery/missiles and with Ukraine receiving renewed US aid, the Ukrainians have a lot more artillery shells and missiles to spare.  So when an artillery round hits the roof of the now much larger and less maneuverable target, it's not only a burning wreck, it's a burning wreck that also caves in on the tank crew and traps them when they most need to escape.  Not great for crew survivability, though the turret tossing wasn't particularly good either.

Fun fact: the turtle tanks require an external camera for any sort of visibility.  The Ukrainian drone operators figured that out very quickly.  So the first fpv drone hits the camera and suddenly it's completely blind.  It might be able to take a few more hits, but that sort of situation only ends one way.

Also, the Russians made sure to post the turtle tank creation process online for everyone to see and keen-eyed observers noted that the metal is welded directly onto the turret, so the gun can no longer traverse.  So if it were blinded or rendered immobile, it would no longer be able to shoot at anything that's not directly in front of it, even if the gun is completely operational.  That's a hell of a design flaw.

They're really earning that Remnants name.

Arsenal of democracy:  US-made ammo reaches Ukrainian defenders, bolsters Chasiv Yar defense

QuoteThe race was on—between Russian forces trying to capture Chasiv Yar and Ukrainian and allied logisticians rushing American-supplied ammunition to the embattled town.

The good news, for friends of a free Ukraine, is that the Ukrainians seem to have won the race. The garrison in Chasiv Yar is now flush with ammo, apparently—and wreaking havoc on Russian assault groups.

On Friday, a battalion of around 20 Russian armored vehicles emerged from Bakhmut and rolled toward Chasiv Yar. As recently as a few weeks ago, a Russian assault group might've traveled much of the three-mile distance from Bakhmut to Chasiv Yar relatively unmolested by Ukrainian attacks.

QuoteWith precious few anti-tank missiles and artillery shells, the Ukrainians relied on first-person-view drones to bombard the Russians. But those two-pound drones range just two miles or so, and pack just a pound of explosives—too little to pierce the layers of do-it-yourself armor the Russians have been adding to their vehicles.

By mid-May, the Ukrainians were much better-armed. So when that assault group tried to cross miles of open fields on Friday, it got hit the whole way—with 100-pound shells, 50-pound missiles and two-pound drones. The few Russians who reached the canal district didn't last long.

It's all about layered defenses.  Having only short-range defenses may be adequate against probing attacks, but don't fare well against heavy assault.  But if you add some medium and long-range defenses in the mix, the enemy attackers weather fire earlier, longer, and more intensely - incurring larger losses and much more likely to have their attack falter.  Basically, US aid (and aid from other countries) keeps the Ukrainian defenders' biggest guns firing longer, ultimately foiling Russian assaults.

Quote from: Hydra009 on May 19, 2024, 04:49:21 PMHow do you paint people as they are but also paint them as better-looking than they are?  🤔  Either you are painting them as they are, in which case you're not painting them as better-looking than they are.  Or you're painting them as better-looking than they are, in which case you're not painting them as they are.

It's a paradox. 😉

Simple,  you don't paint them ugly.