Matthias Lehna’s Post

"Peace in Europe will not be restored before the West decides to intervene militarily and/or accepts Ukraine as a NATO member. After more than 200 attempts of negotiations since 2014 its time to stop talking and start acting. Enough already!" (Hans Petter Midttun 25/11/2023) Absolutely correct Hans Petter Midttun - Europe cannot expect peace with Russia unless it instigates the terms of peace. If NATO were to admit Ukraine today - Russia would not do anything because it knows what the catastrophic result would be. They also know they have no legitimate claim to a solitary grain of Ukrainian soil. Russia also knows only too well that they have waged an immoral, illegal invasion on a sovereign territory on the European continent. Russia has no right in this illegitimate war of aggression and attrition. The Article 5 legislation must be adjusted to allow Ukraine to join NATO as soon as possible. Moldova and Georgia should follow suit. Additionally, the International Criminal Court must hasten to commence concrete plans for the war crimes prosecutions. The sooner Ukraine is admitted to NATO and the EU the better.

Interesting new report by Conflict Armament Research examining debris from a #NorthKorean ballistic missile in #Ukraine. Upwards of 75 percent of the electronic components primarily related the navigation system are from U.S. companies. Not surprising, but it highlights how much North Korea's missile programs are dependent on finding ways to smuggle outside technology into their weapons programs: https://lnkd.in/eFGbAZQ2

JUST IN: President of Ukraine, Zelensky, writes, "I spoke with Speaker Johnson and thanked him personally, both parties, the American people, and President Biden for their critical support of Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. "I briefed Speaker Johnson on the battlefield situation, specifically the dramatic increase in Russia's air terror. "Last week alone, 190 missiles, 140 "Shahed" drones, and 700 guided aerial bombs were launched at Ukrainian cities and communities. "Ukraine's largest hydroelectric power plant has gone offline. In this situation, quick passage of US aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital. "We recognize that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to proceed, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor. "We also discussed the importance of cutting off Russia's sources of funding for its war as soon as possible and using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit. We also rely on the leadership of Congress in this regard."

Missile strikes in the rear of #Ukraine are probably carried out with the help of satellite images of #American companies, which Russia buys through intermediaries. The Atlantic writes about this with reference to a #Ukrainian military source. The Ukrainian side sees a regularity — satellites take pictures of places in Ukraine to order, they are bought, and after a few days or weeks a cruise missile arrives at the photographed place. Sometimes after that, another satellite takes additional images, perhaps to check the level of damage. The source says that the number of coincidences where a photo is followed by a hit is too great to be a coincidence. Clear satellite images of companies such as #Planet or Maxar Technologies can be bought through intermediary sites. Both companies provided images of Ukrainian facilities later hit by Russian missiles. The companies themselves assure that they carefully check their customers and comply with the US resolution, which prohibits transactions with Russia from the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. The companies say they provide images to "responsible entities" such as governments or government agencies. Experts interviewed by The Atlantic believe that Planet and Maxar are not interested in cooperation with Russia and have good contracts with the US Department of Defense, but they are unlikely to be able to very carefully check the customers of the pictures — this requires a huge resource. Today, the situation is such that it is very easy to order high-quality pictures through intermediaries, paying little money — from $1 000 to $1 200. https://lnkd.in/dmdHfweP

*Israel's New Tiebreaker:* IAI has revealed the Air Lora system, a ballistic missile that can be launched even from noncombat planes, well outside enemy airspace and detection range. The missile is guided by precise internal navigation systems to make it immune to jamming, and is stealthy enough to evade early warning systems. travelling at Mach 5 and striking from up to 90 degrees, it can be al but impossible to intercept and can neutralize critical assets with a single attack. In a war increasingly full of long-range missile attacks and defenses between Israel and Iran, such weapon could prove to be the deciding factor.

Today is Holodomor (famine) Remembrance Day in Ukraine. In 1932-1933, millions of Ukrainians were killed in a man-made famine engineered by the Soviet government. A joint statement to the UN signed by 25 countries in 2003 stated that 7–10 million died during what is increasingly being recognized as a (another) genocide. Today, researchers estimate the number at 3.5 to 5 million. The true horror is partly in the extreme numbers, the fact that the true scope and scale of the horror is intentionally covered up by the USSR and not least, that it is only one out of several genocides in which Russia is the perpetrator. Tonight - at the start of the Holodomor Remembrance Day - Russia launched a record number of "Shahed" type UAVs over Ukraine. In total, about 75 "shakhed" launches were recorded. Kyiv was the main target. Anti-aircraft defence worked in at least six regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Mykolaiv, and Kirovohrad regions. Anti-aircraft missile forces, tactical aviation, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units are involved in repelling an air attack. As a result of an anti-aircraft battle this night, 74 (update) Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs were destroyed. A Kh-59 guided air missile was also destroyed in Dnipropetrovsk region.” This horror will continue until the international community says "enough already" and acts accordingly. The sky should have been closed 640 days ago. Peace in Europe will not be restored before the West decides to intervene militarily and/or accepts Ukraine as a NATO member. After more than 200 attempts of negotiations since 2014 its time to stop talking and start acting. Enough already! #genocide #warcrimes #russia #airdefense #dronewar #supportukraine

Great Hypersonic analysis - TurboJet versus RamJet versus ScramJet physics.... each has an Achilles heel... also misconceptions include: 1. Some people might overestimate the PLA's technological advancement in hypersonic weapons, thinking they are far ahead of other countries. While China has made significant progress, it is still developing and refining these systems, and the gap with other leading nations like the United States and Russia may not be as large as believed. 2. There is a misconception that hypersonic weapons are invincible or unbeatable. In reality, while hypersonic missiles are challenging to intercept due to their speed and maneuverability, advancements in defense technologies are ongoing, and measures are being developed to counter these threats. 3. Some assume that having hypersonic weapons guarantees strategic superiority. However, the integration and effective use of these weapons depend on various factors, including overall military strategy, support systems, and readiness, which complicates the scenario. These misconceptions highlight the importance of balanced and informed perspectives on military advancements.

Back to the topic of air raids against Ukraine. A missile Х-47М2 Кинжал (NATO designation AS-24 Killjoy) was advertised as a hypersonic Wunderwaffe... In reality, it's nothing more than a modified  9K720 Iskander (SS-26 Stone) tactical ground-launched missile. The very idea of an air launch of a ballistic missile is not new and dates back to 1957 featuring the consecutive US programs WS-199B Bold Orion, WS-199C High Virgo, and WS-138A GAM-87 Skybolt, not to mention the successful Air Mobile Feasibility test with air-launching a Minuteman 1b ICBM from a C-5A Galaxy transport aircraft. As for the property of hypersonic flight... There are common issues that are still hard to overcome. To be able to perform a sharp maneuver a hypersonic missile has to rely on either auxiliary retro-engines or a nozzle with a variable thrust-vector. These are technically complex and expensive units on their own. Indeed, one can try to implement classical steering aerodynamic surfaces, but they being thin and edgy will burn out fast in the truly hypersonic flow in a dense atmosphere at low altitudes regardless of the materials (even tungsten will fail). So, an AS-24 Killjoy is not hypersonic during all stages of the flight. It decelerates to Mach 3 eventually. It's still fast, but interceptable by conventional means.