The Exhibit A Of A Severe Delusion.

Thanks to one of my patrons. He directed me to this piece of such a severe coping that one has to ask the question--if this dude teaches at West Point, especially air defense, I have to ask the question--what exactly does he teach? 

The May 4 interception of a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile by one of Ukraine’s Patriot air defense systems in Kyiv has caused a significant stir in the international missile defense community. The ensuing saturation attack against Kyiv on May 16, which according to Russian sources was specifically aimed at knocking out a Patriot system, has only further underscored the significance of advanced missile defense systems in today’s evolving security landscape. This dramatic first-ever engagement between modern Western air defense systems and the hypersonic weapons specifically designed to defeat them was marked by contrails streaking the skies over Ukraine, literally and figurately underlining the significance of this latest technological revolution.

I have news for this Captain Peter Mitchell--there was NO intercept of any Kinzhal on May 4. No US AD system is capable of that, what it was--it was Ukie BS spread by imbeciles at Bloomberg. The rest of the piece by this guy is one of the most fascinating exercise in confabulation I ever read. This also explains why the US gets its ass handed to it in war, after war, after war. Next thing you know, Captain Mitchell will be "teaching" that Patriot PAC3 in Saudi Arabia shot down all garage-made drones by Houthis. But then again, Mitchell, obviously, doesn't know the history of modern conflicts and that is fine. Judging by what people who teach at West Point describe, there are serious problems there with military history, modern technology and with studying strategy. I am on record--there will be many in US political top and military who will continue to cope to a complete cognitive dissonance and a completely confabulated version of the warfare. 

As per Air Defense, Mitchell better learn about academic abyss between 4 academic years at West Point, after a joke of US public education STEM exams, and 6 academic years Russia's dedicated Air Defense military academies. One fine example of this is Lieutenant-General Konashenkov, who graduated at that time Soviet Zhitomir Academy of Radio-Electronics of Air Defense. And then Zhukov Air and Space Defense Academy (2 year War College) of Air and Space Defense. Meanwhile, one can quote me--in terms of Air Defense the US is not even in the same league. As Larry Johnson stated clearly in 2018 when commenting on "performance" of NATO stand-off weapons:  

Do not believe a word you have heard from the Pentagon and the White House about the "success" of the cruise missile strikes on Friday last. A fraud is being perpetrated on the American people and the world at large.

The second issue concerns the imagined success of the U.S. TLAM strike. Before General Mattis (retired) approached the podium Friday night, he knew full well that a significant number of the inbound missiles had been shot down inside Syria. That is why Mattis closed his press conference with the following comment: Based on recent experience, we fully expect a significant disinformation campaign over the coming days by those who have aligned themselves with the Assad regime. Give the old boy his due. He was inoculating the ridiculous operation against legitimate criticism by simply being able to point out that any information contrary to what the Pentagon said was "propaganda." Of course, the enlisted and officers that staff the CAOC know differently. The Russians and Syrians were not lying when they claimed to have downed more than 70 of the U.S., UK and French missiles. I understand the reluctance of the U.S. military leaders to admit the truth about this debacle. It would undermine the confidence of the American people is our supposedly invincible weapon systems and would embarrass and enrage the man child that inhabits the White House. Better to tell him lies and let him believe the fantasy. 

 A friend of mine who has expertise in these matters wrote me: Any air defense engineer with a security clearance that isn't lying through his teeth will admit that Russia's air defense technology surpassed us in the 1950's and we've never been able to catch up. The systems thy have in place surrounding Moscow make our Patriot 3's look like fucking nerf guns.Finally there is the matter of the Russians as a second rate military masquerading as a world power. Another friend who has spoken with military commanders in the CENTCOM AOR told me: All of the knowledgeable aircraft commanders are usually scared shitless about the prospect of a legitimate air-to-air skirmish with a SU-30 or any Russian air superiority fighter. But that is not what blowhards, like retired General Jack Keane, believe:General Keane is confusing restraint with weakness and incompetence. That is a dangerous and potentially deadly error to make.

America's AD record is dismal and no amount of BS from 404 can hide anymore the fact that the US lost the arms race in this field. Well, not this alone.