Half-Price ...

 ... and still shitty. 

Lockheed Martin’s planned lower-cost Patriot interceptor comes with a consequential engineering trade: PAC-3 ACE is expected to cost roughly half as much as the PAC-3 MSE, but it will not use the MSE’s hit-to-kill technology. Instead of relying on a direct collision to defeat a target, the new interceptor will carry a larger conventional high-explosive fragmentation warhead.

But this is a tacit admission of a dead-end US military technological concepts find themselves in, because time after time the US military, aka "finest fighting force in history", thought that it was their, not others approaches, from technology to operations, that defeated Nazism. Such a simple thing as the probability of an intercept of aerial targets based on "hit-to-kill" idea which proved itself useless in real war  was ignored. Now, with utter humiliation of Patriot and THAAD in real war with UAVs, supersonic and hypersonic targets, this attempt at fragmentation warhead and developing an "intercept cone" may help somewhat against older types of targets, but it is still useless without real integrated (no, not in PR BS from Pentagon) multi-layered (echeloned) air defense, the US AD technology will remain in the rut it is today, unable to defend anything in real war. 

As They Say ...

 ... no shit. 

Japan formally refused to transfer anti-ballistic interceptor missiles to Ukraine on August 24, 2026, even as Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly disclosed for the first time that annual Patriot interceptor deliveries have fallen 61 percent — from 675 in 2023 to a projected 264 in 2026 — while Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities continue to escalate. The refusal came on Ukraine's 35th Independence Day, as the Coalition of the Willing convened in Kyiv with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham for his first overseas visit as prime minister.

This drivel in Tech Times is written by people who think that writing code and talking about new 2nm chip in iPhone to watch gay porn is tech. Reality is--majority of the strikes on 404 are done by cruise missiles of all varieties and long-range drones. Ballistic missiles strikes are but a small portion of reparation Russia pays to 404. But that's not the point--the point is that US-made so called air-defense is a joke, it can be stated now confidently, and the only thing it is good at, and you have guessed it already, is PR covering up its massive failures. 

In related news, Russian special forces visited UAVs operators in Druzhkovka and disposed of them silently and with knives only. 

In related news, CIA Director visits Moscow. Let me explain: there is nothing Mr. Ratcliffe can bring to the table in Moscow. He can only ask for some favor from Russia. Recall, that to his great credit he was the one who openly laughed at military amateurs such as POTUS and Marco Rubio when these two Adelson's and BiBi' cabana boys decided to "defeat" Iran. Now, we can see how it worked out and the only image which comes to mind is ... when things go bad, they can get even worse. That's the position of the US now. 

Or for lovers of an alternative version--there are always step-mothers or step-sisters who get stuck in couches, driers, under the tables and are "helped" by their step-sons, if you know what I mean. 

As We All Know...

 ... Ukies do not operate Patriot PAC3. Those systems are operated by US personnel, including making a decision on its use. 

The US and its citizens are complicit in the deaths of the Ukrainian POWs who were killed last week when the Russian Il-76 military aircraft transporting them was shot down by Kiev’s troops, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has said. On Thursday, Russia’s Investigative Committee released a report stating that the cargo plane was destroyed using two US-made MIM-104A missiles fired by a Patriot air-defense system. The Il-76 came down in Russia’s Belgorod Region last Wednesday. All of those on board – 65 Ukrainian POWs, three Russian troops, and six crew members – were killed. Russian investigators stated that Ukrainian troops fired the missiles from a staging area in Kharkov Region, not far from the village of Liptsy, some 10km from the Russian border. They based their conclusion on 116 missile fragments found at the crash site bearing inscriptions in English. Responding to the report, Zakharova said in a Telegram post that US citizens “need to know where their money is going,” arguing that President Joe Biden and his administration have made Americans “complicit in a bloody tragedy.”

I am sure those guys will get Bronze Star for shooting a defenseless aircraft carrying POWs. Not the first time the US shot down civilian aircraft. 

Somehow, I am not surprised--the rage and hatred is boiling in Pentagon after it was exposed as impotent and those "servicemen" couldn't miss such an opportunity to shoot down essentially a civilian aircraft whose arrival was... coordinated with Ukrainian side. Well, this is about the level of "operations" they can conduct nowadays--shooting civilian aircraft from the AD ambush. Hollywood should make a movie about these "heroes".

Confirmation By Russian MoD.

Per MoD TG:

По достоверно подтвержденным данным, 16 мая в результате удара гиперзвуковым ракетным комплексом «Кинжал» в городе Киев были поражены и полностью уничтожены многофункциональная радиолокационная станция, а также 5 пусковых установок зенитного ракетного комплекса Patriot производства США.

Translation: According to reliably confirmed data, on May 16, as a result of a strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kiev, a multifunctional radar station was hit and completely destroyed, as well as 5 launchers of the US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.

Looks like the lives of NATO personnel in Command Post have been spared, for now. As per this:

and these: 

In plain language (after "damage assessment", wink, wink) it means it is a complete goner. So, now we know, and even inbreds from UK tabloids are getting the message. Next thing you know, they will acknowledge that the Red Army took Berlin in 1945.

Told Ya.

Not that this is any news, but still...

МОСКВА, 11 мая — РИА Новости. Американский зенитный ракетный комплекс Patriot не мог сбить российскую ракету "Кинжал" из-за своих технических характеристик, заявил высокопоставленный источник в Минобороны. "Дело в том, что скорость полета ракеты "Кинжал" превышает предельные боевые режимы поставленных Западом киевскому режиму зенитных ракетных комплексов, включая и Patriot", — объяснил собеседник агентства. Кроме того, как напомнил источник, на конечном участке полета "Кинжал" совершает противоракетный маневр и практически вертикальный заход на цель, что исключает возможность его перехвата зенитными ракетными комплексами. Он назвал заявления о сбитой гиперзвуковой ракете вбросом и подчеркнул, что это — "попытка выдать желаемое за действительное".  Ранее руководитель пресс-службы Пентагона Патрик Райдер на брифинге заявил, что Украина якобы сбила российскую ракету "Кинжал" с помощью переданного ей комплекса ПРО Patriot.

Translation: MOSCOW, May 11 - RIA Novosti. The American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system could not have shot down the Russian Kinzhal missile due to its technical characteristics, a senior source in the Ministry of Defense said. "The fact is that the flight speed of the Kinzhal missile exceeds the maximum combat modes of anti-aircraft missile systems supplied by the West to the Kyiv regime, including the Patriot," the agency's interlocutor explained. In addition, as the source recalled, in the final phase of the flight, the Kinzhal performs an anti-missile maneuver and an almost vertical approach to the target, which excludes the possibility of it being intercepted by anti-aircraft missile systems. He called the statements about the downed hypersonic missile a hoax and stressed that it was "an attempt to wishful thinking." Earlier, the head of the press service of the Pentagon, Patrick Ryder, said at a briefing that Ukraine allegedly shot down a Russian Kinzhal missile with the help of the Patriot missile defense system transferred to it.

 

You see, Physics is not taught to Western media personalities and the graduates of political "science" departments, and SMO exposed a complete inability of "influencer" class both in the West and in Russia to get anything right technologically, not to speak of operationally and strategically. Different war, people, different capabilities, different level of expertise is required, unlike it was in XIX century where one could relatively easily explain to dames at aristocratic soirees the nature of the linear tactics and the meaning of smooth bore guns. Which brings us to this:

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has confirmed that his government is supplying long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine. CNN previously reported that several Storm Shadow weapons have already been delivered. Wallace informed parliament about the arms transfer on Thursday, claiming it was a “calibrated and proportionate response” by London to the situation in Ukraine. He described the missile as a “long-range conventional-only precision strike capability,” but declined to provide details about the latest addition to Kiev’s arsenal of Western-provided hardware. “The use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory,” the secretary predicted. He downplayed the significance of providing the new capability to Kiev, stating that the missiles were “not even in the same league” as those available to Russia.

Ben Wallace, being a big honcho of toy armed forces of a backwater country, obviously, slept at all lectures on operations in Sandhurst thinking that attack on Sevastopol and Black Sea Fleet will "allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces"(c). But then again, the desperation with which UK tries to grasp for the last remaining straw of its long gone greatness is amusing. As T.S. Elliot once quipped: 

“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm; but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.” 

America is important, for many wrong reasons, but she still is, for now anyways. London--is not, no matter how it tries. And tries it does not even understanding that 10 Downing Street will not like the response. Many people still cannot understand that the side which has escalation dominance automatically has more options and UK (and NATO) is not this side. Well, I guess Sevastopol has to get ready--not the first time it will face perfidious Albion, Sevastopol faced down much more serious enemies. In related news, the CEP of Kinzhal or 3M14 is measured in centimeters and the whole territory of UK is well within the range. But then again, they don't teach Physics to British ruling class.

S-400 Is In Turkey.

So, Erdogan did stand his ground:

Turkey has received the first shipment of S-400 air defense missile system equipment from Moscow, defying pressure from Washington to scrap the arms deal with Russia.The components arrived at the Murted military airfield outside Ankara on Friday, the nation’s Ministry of National Defense said in a short statement. Russia’s Defense Ministry has also confirmed that the shipment has started and will continue as scheduled.Both countries signed a contract for the delivery of four S-400 batteries in 2017. The contract earned Ankara the ongoing row with Washington, which strongly opposes the deal, claiming the purchase of advanced Russian-made weapons undermines the security of NATO and goes against American interests.

I want to clear the air from the very start: Turkey knows what F-35 is and that is why she will "survive" cancellation of F-35 deliveries. F-35 for Turkey, who produced a number of parts for this aircraft, was primarily of industrial interest. So, all this contrived BS about security issues is just that, BS. Modern Air Defense complexes, such as S-400, even in their export version, can detect, track and shoot down all those VLO (Very Low Observability) targets such as F-35. The only "security issue" here for the United States was the fact that having "live" F-35 and S-400 simultaneously by the key member of NATO would have revealed publicly (in professional circles it is known well already) all massive faults with F-35 in general and ONLY-VLO-centric combat aircraft concept in particular. 

There is a lot, as was expected, of butt-hurt right now. Such as this:

Washington has threatened to remove Turkey from its F-35 fighter jet programme, giving Ankara until July 31 to cancel the S-400 purchase or have its pilots kicked off the training course and expelled from the US. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting US counterpart Donald Trump last month that he was confident Ankara would not face sanctions for buying the Russian missile system. Erdogan told Trump during their meeting on the margins of the G-20 meeting in Japan that former president Barack Obama did not allow Ankara to buy Patriot missiles -- an equivalent of the S-400s. Trump sounded convinced and said: "You can't do business that way. It's not good." The Turkish air force changed the name of the base in Ankara from Akinci to Murted after it was the centre of a 2016 failed coup attempt.

For starters: Patriot is NOT equivalent of the S-400 with S-400 being superior in its key performance characteristics. Secondly, I agree with Trump in a sense that "you can't do business like that" and this has nothing to do with Turkey but with the United States which is now in full economic warfare and political bullying with most of the world. The inevitable question thus--who in their mind would do business with the country which is ungovernable and both has no competitive systems to offer and may stop (or disable) their procurement any moment? Only spineless Europeans, maybe. India was explicit in basically telling the US to mind its own business re: India's $5 billion contract with Russia for S-400. Pakistan, India, many others, including Gulfies want S-400 and other Russian weapon systems. We know what the United States will do--she will try to sabotage any Russia's effort across the whole spectrum of international economic activity, be that Nord Stream-2 or arms trade. 

For Turkey, however, it seems, S-400 is not just military or, inevitably, geopolitical reorientation issue, with Ankara beginning to understand where her real interests lie. In the end, Turkey sees on the horizon the access to technology transfer not only for S-400 (its export version, of course) but eventually for export versions of SU-35, SU-57 and, inevitably, S-500 and who knows what else. So, there is a lot to be taken in at this moment but as I said many times, Russia has the ability and instruments for defense of larger Eurasia, plus, in Turkey's case, deliveries and deployment of S-400 boost Turkey's regional standing, including in disputes with Greece and Cyprus. It is enough to look at the map of the region to understand why S-400 changes Turkey's status in Eastern Mediterranean. As stated by Russian MoD (in Russian) the second gigantic An-124 will leave for Turkey with another set of S-400 equipment shortly, the balance, which is 120 missiles, will be delivered by the end of this Summer by sea-route. Second group of Turkish officers will start its training for S-400 this July in Russia. This comes to mind, inevitably;-))

Mueller says: you see how I turned you? In 5 minutes and no tricks.

I guess next step will be US sanctions against Russia's sovereign debt--this will accelerate Empire's decline greatly. Zugzwang is a bitch.  

It Is Getting Tiresome, Really.

I mean a constant barely hidden butt-hurt.

At least 13 countries are interested in buying a Russian missile system instead of platforms made by US companies, despite the threat of sanctions

When I am outraged by this butt-hurt I am not being facetious, self-righteous, chauvinistic or suffering from the acute case of schadenfreude. I am literally enraged by alleged professionals spewing an obvious utter bullshit for whatever reasons. In the end, when you come home in the evening you have to live with yourself. Here is what I am talking about:  

"It's the geopolitical aspects of the S-400 offerings that are the most interesting," said Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Karako highlighted that despite the appetite for the Russian-made system, the S-400 has yet to see combat, unlike America's Patriot missile defense system.

Here is an example for people who proclaim (or are being proclaimed) the experts and for those who are not. In any weapon system its evolution from basic legacy versions to advanced ones matters a great deal, hugely. In fact, this evolution is what defines latest version of the systems. Lessons, combat experiences, new technologies--all coalesce in latest versions of any weapon system. Record also does matter a great deal. And here is the issue: what combat performance of Patriot (of any PAC version) can even remotely touch a colossal combat experience of Soviet/Russian air defense complexes? Unless Mr. Karako wants to sell us a bridge about US air defense systems having a "record" (an underwhelming one, I may add, even against ancient SCUD ballistic missiles) in combat, he should recall that Soviet legacy systems, when manned by properly trained personnel, were a nightmare for many Air Forces in 1960s, 1970s and even 1980s. The sample space which was and still is available to Soviet designers of Air Defense (and anti-missile) complexes is on several orders of magnitude greater than any US designer and manufacturer of air defense systems could ever dream about. 

It is akin to US Navy (we will omit here operational necessity and viability today) having a sample space in carrier aviation--even Royal Navy's considerable carrier experience is dwarfed by that of US Navy's. US simply produced, operated and learned about carrier aviation more than anyone else. As an example, Russians are not butt-hurting about it--they know that Americans are on orders of magnitude better at this and Russians actually try to learn instead of coming up with lame excuses about combat. Patriot saw combat and it performance was lacking, to put it mildly. The record was set. Soviet AD systems, to which S-400 is heir saw much-much more combat than Patriot, let alone THAAD, and they performed extremely well including having a strategic impact on operations both in Vietnam and Middle East. 

We also should not forget an astounding performance of Soviet legacy and modern short-range systems in Syria this April. The result was a shock to the system with 70% of TLAMs intercepted by the technology of 1960s and 1970s, granted with some upgrades. I guess Mr. Karako should ask himself a question--is it reasonable then, that nations which are in line for S-400, instead of THAAD, do not read PR spins on "being in combat" but understand that April 2018 performance by old Syrian Air Defense was to a large degree thanks to sensor capabilities of this very S-400. If less capable S-300 PMU2 can shut down Israeli Air Force operations over coastal Syria and, most likely, Lebanon--how is it called, "combat" or not? So, straight question--are Russian air-defense and missile-defense systems superior to American ones? Yes, they are and no amount of PR spin by all kinds of self-proclaimed "experts" nor pretending that Patriot's combat use matters against a gigantic combat experience of Soviet and Russian air defense systems, it does not--different capabilities, different designs and combat use philosophies realized in Russian weapons. Russian weapons are not panacea; as any very complex technology they are prone to malfunctions, breakdowns, in the end they could be overwhelmed and defeated under some very strict conditions, but they are simply the best in what they do. This is precisely why S-400, as well as SU-35, as well as ANY versions of 3M54 or 3M14 and many other things are the hottest items on the international arms market. The biggest economy in the world, China, buys them.

Russians are not that sublime or, altogether, stupid to not recognize a potential for an immense commercial boost of Russia's weapon systems showcased in Syria. Everyone knew that the show was coming once Russian VKS' first units started to arrive to Khmeimim in 2015. That is why Mr. Ralph Peters went hysterical stating that Russia wanted to humiliate US military--what a load of crap. Russians merely showcased their real military capabilities and one of the centerpieces of this show was traditionally immensely impressive Soviet/Russian air-defense weapons. They are simply the best in the world, S-400 is one of such systems. S-500 which is already in IOC is altogether a change in anti-air and anti-missile weaponry paradigm. So it is reasonable to assume that people want to buy those from the vendor which, speaking in Amazon's or Hotels dot Com lingo, has all 5-star rankings. So, Karako's "combat" argument is not an argument at all but the last butt-hurt straw to be grasped in a feeble attempt to avoid stating the obvious--Russia's claims for eventually becoming the number one international weapons vendor may not be that far fetched after all. In the end, it is just business, nothing personal, and former Soviet, now Russian, weapons makers surely love being shrewd capitalists by doing what original expanding capitalism did--by making a better more affordable product.