Not Again!

Please. This constant reference to the Gulf War 1.0 is nauseating. It is Al Bandy's four touchdowns in the game for his Polk High school. 

It is not just strategy, however important it is, it is a combination of many factors, including foundational ones, the cultural DNA of the US confabulated military history turned into mythology based primarily on a very cautious choice of weak enemies. Here is a reminder from Atkinson about US major hero, who was nothing more than an average army commander. 

The creeping arrogance, the hubris, which would cost the American Army so dearly in Vietnam. Summing up the achievements of his troops in crushing the German counterattack of December 1944, Patton with pardonable pride claims to have “moved farther and faster and engaged more divisions in less time than any other army in the history of the United States—possibly in the history of the world... No country can stand against such an Army.” These memoirs are valuable not least in showing, however unwittingly, that a disastrous presumption of invincibility took root in the ranks of officers who led the American military after World War II. 

Nothing changed since then, period. In fact, things got worse, much worse. Especially in educational level of the US officer corps and very low level of operational planning and execution. The problem is manifold and it is vertical in nature--from lowest tactical level way up to the political top and, in the end, technological obsolescence of the US military, especially when compared to Russia. But Mearsheimer knows very little about it. 

Yes, Now It Is Too Much ...

 ... winning and turning the tables. 

The intelligence-sharing relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine has bounced back to previous highs, according to long-time Ukraine watchers — a welcome boost during a critical window of opportunity for the Ukrainian war effort. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the intelligence committee’s ranking member and a longtime proponent of more U.S. assistance to Ukraine, told POLITICO he sees evidence of an improved intel-sharing agreement — and believes it’s helped Kyiv gain an advantage in Moscow’s four-year-long war.

Moreover, the advantage is so huge, that ...

Republican Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), another member of the intel committee, and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, agreed that intel-sharing between the U.S. and Ukraine has increased at a moment of strategic importance. “It sure seems like that,” Cornyn said. “Everybody loves a winner and looks like Ukraine has turned the tide.”

Fact is, these operations should be taught in the US Army War College, because that's the cutting edge of war fighting known only to US military and US senators.  Keep in mind, there are still people in the US who strongly believe that the US was triumphant in Vietnam and Afghanistan. It also defeated Third Reich single-handedly. 

I Have Been Saying This ...

... for years. It is not just "lobby" influence, it is a complete subversion of a political system and hence possible disintegration of a country--the parasite almost consumed the host. US IS NOT a sovereign country. Good that Tucker talks about it. 

Oligarchy, Corrupted By ...

 ... Israeli and other lobbies who own Washington D.C. from Knesset 2.0, to CIA, to Pentagon, to media. This is who governs the US. 

I disagree with Colonel on many things and I don't hide it, I speak about it openly (not gaining many friends in the process), but he is an American patriot and his views matter. 

Sure, Let The Acrimony Begin.

 And yes, we all here are morons who cannot see obvious things/s. 

Who really dragged whom into the war with Iran? Did Netanyahu persuade Trump to attack Iran? "That narrative rests on a mistaken assumption." Did the Mossad assess that the regime could be toppled? In fact, it was the US war secretary who believed that more than anyone. Diplomatic and security sources tell Israel Hayom, in an exclusive investigation, what really happened in these decisive meetings. 

Well, it really takes some ass-kicking to expose a degree to which the US is filled with so called "Christian" Zionists and military amateurs whose loyalty is to Israel, not to the US. And no, Zionists: 

Moreover, reports published, among others, in The New York Times and The Washington Post, claiming that Netanyahu had "dragged" Trump and the US into war, partly by arguing that the regime could be brought down, are plainly wrong. The conversations I held indicate that at least some senior Trump administration officials, and Trump himself, were the ones who assessed that the regime could be toppled, while the Israeli team presented a far more cautious assessment on this issue. 

As much as every slimebag (that is the majority of them) in NYT and WaPo elicits a vomiting reflex, they are, surprisingly, not wrong. It was Israel and its bootlickers, POTUS and most of his cabinet, who have been convinced through the blackmail (Epstein Files et al) and other means of manipulation, such as selling utter bullshit of Christian Zionism to feeble-minded cretins like Hegseth, that it will be easy. Well, since then, Israel and the US have been paraded as military paper tigers (didn't I warn about it?) and other than nuclear option, neither has anything remaining with what to fight a real war. 

I also have news for these Israeli spin doctors--Trump cannot "assess" anything, he doesn't have a tool kit, neither does Mossad, IDF or Pentagon. So, let the acrimony begin, but it has to be understood that Israel and its government in the US fucked it up so royally, that the tectonic shift has manifested itself. But in the end--the failure is systemic and it is vertical, from metaphysical, to cultural, to social, to military, to technological et al. One can BS only so much before reality kicks the door and it flies off the hinges. Let Israel and Israel 2.0 (they are joined at the hip) start the blame game. There is no difference--both are culpable, both debased themselves. US likely will survive in some form, Israel, likely, will not. 

Araghchi Meets Putin.

And that is not random, of course. 

Pakistan, April 27 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Moscow, where both leaders discussed regional tensions and ongoing efforts to restore stability in the Middle East. The meeting focused on diplomatic developments linked to stalled Iran United States negotiations and broader security challenges across the region. Putin expressed hope that the Iranian people would overcome what he described as a difficult period. He also emphasized that peace remains a shared priority for regional stability. During the discussions, Putin stated that Russia would continue to support Iran and other regional countries in line with its diplomatic interests and long standing partnerships. He highlighted Moscow's role in encouraging dialogue and maintaining communication channels during periods of heightened geopolitical pressure. According to Russian state media, Putin also mentioned that he had received a message from Iran's Supreme Leader. He further praised the resilience of the Iranian population amid ongoing challenges.

But, obviously, Araghchi met Vladimir Putin not for the exchange of diplomatic pleasantries but to discuss mechanism of fixing the political results of a now obvious military defeat of the US and Israel. It is always a critical phase of any war. And when even this moron states obvious: 

Iran "humiliates" the United States, which does not know how to get out of the war. This was stated by German Chancellor Fradrich Merz, n-tv reports. "The Americans, obviously, do not have a strategy. At the moment, I don't see what strategic exit path the Americans will take, especially since the Iranians are obviously negotiating very skillfully — or very skillfully not doing them," he said. According to the head of the German government, the Americans are being subjected to "humiliation by the Iranian state leadership, primarily by these so-called Revolutionary Guards."

One has to inevitably arrive to the conclusion that the US simply ran out of military options because grand and military strategies are all about resources which the US doesn't have. NYT today declared Trump a hostage to Iran. One of a very few times when I agree with this tabloid. 

A Profound, Mighty, Unrestrained ... LOL!

 Gotta love this. 

This is so typical of Gulfies. Yes, we all saw how good you are "defending" yourself. Exactly, "with distinction", because you are ... defenseless, as is the US. But, yes, in a typical Gulfies' manner a humiliating defeat must be wrapped into hyperbole and self-praise. UAE, however, does have experience with good air defense, it even helped to finance it in 1990. I am talking about this:

Yes, first versions of S1 Pantsir bought in 2000. They have been upgraded relatively recently but the nature of this upgrade remains uncertain and they are not Pantsirs operated by Russian Air Defense. There have been certainly successful intercepts of Iranian drones and missiles by Pantsirs, but what passes for "layered air defense" in US AD parlance is not layered and not real defense as a sad fate of PAC3s and THAAD demonstrated, with them being incapable to provide REAL AD with at least moderately acceptable intercept rate. It is not acceptable, of course--it is dismal. 

Meanwhile, Yaroslavl Air Defense Academy.

404 and its NATO terrorists tried to strike this academy 100 times (it is described in video)--all 100 targets have been shot down. NATO air defense is not in the same league and it doesn't have own dedicated military academies in the field where for 5 years, 6 days a week you prepare full blown high end engineers with massive STEM background and tacticians with the step into operational planning. UAE knows that and they know that THAAD, let alone PAC3, ain't no S-400. But the best way out of it for them is to do what Iran demanded--remove US presence. Looks like the message was received. Details of future contracts will be discussed later. 

It Has Been Posted ...

 ... in comments, but it is worth repeating by Dmitry Medvedev. 

The U.S.–Iran conflict has been put on hold. Predictably, both sides are claiming victory. So who won? First of all, common sense did – though faith in it was badly shaken when the White House started talking about wiping out Iranian civilization in one day. Still, the very fact that Trump agreed to discuss the 10-point plan is a win for the Iranians. The question is whether Washington will accept it, since it includes, among other things, compensation for the damage inflicted on Iran, the continuation of its nuclear program, and Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz. The answer is clearly no. That would be humiliating and would amount to a real victory for the Islamic Republic. So what then? Back to war?

That’s possible. But there is also another option. Trump neither wants nor can sustain a long war, and he won’t find support in Congress for one, either. This means he must maintain the fragile ceasefire and pretend that everything is fine. Because every step on this board pushes the situation closer to zugzwang. But this is a game of chess with three players, not two: there’s also Israel, which is not playing on the U.S. side. It has no use for a ceasefire, and it has not achieved its objectives. It could very well make its own move: simply sweep all the pieces off the board. That makes the situation highly uncertain. Which also means the pigheaded European Russophobes will have to live in austerity mode for a long time. Because there is no cheap oil in sight…

Highlighted is the crux of the matter. I want to remind you:

A particular strategic policy must be devised for every war; each war is a special case, which requires its own particular logic, rather than any kind of stereotype or pattern, no matter how splendid it may be. The more our theory encompasses the entire content of modern war, the quicker it will assist us in analyzing a given situation. A narrow doctrine would probably confuse us more than guide us.

That's Svechin. The US "strategic policy", strategy and operational art is the always the same--launch whatever you have in stand-off weaponry (long range fires) and see what, like that proverbial substance, sticks. Svechin continues:

The first duty of the art of politics with respect to strategy is to formulate the political goal of a war. Any goal should be strictly coordinated with the resources available to achieve it. The political goal should be appropriate to one’s war-waging capabilities. To meet this requirement, a politician must have a correct conception of the relations of friendly to hostile forces, which requires extremely mature and profound judgment; a knowledge of the history, politics and statistics of both hostile states; and a certain amount of competence in basic military matters. The final statement of the goal would be made by the politician after an appropriate exchange of views with strategists, and it should help rather than hinder strategic decisions. 

As you might expect, it is not a secret, American politicians do not know what resources are, how they affect operational issues and, of course, average American politician thinks that he (she) is the brightest, most powerful and knowledgeable strategist because he (she) graduated Harvard or similar degree mill's political science or law school, while denying the same to their opponents. The fact that most people in US decision circle are highly uncultured, primitive uneducated hacks who know only apparatus games and staying elected (or appointed) doesn't occur to them. 

Rephrasing old military truism that "while amateurs discuss tactics, professionals discuss logistics", while amateurs discuss capitalization and stocks, professionals discuss tons, units, kilowatt-hours and correlation of forces and means (COFM). So, Medvedev is spot on here and if hostilities resume (it may happen), they will resume with Iran dominating the battlefield even more and being able to inflict much more pain on the US and that chihuahua in Levant which without its nukes and American welfare is a third rate power. 

This guy, however, was pushed to sue for ceasefire by his Israeli masters because neither could take it anymore. So, will wait and see what comes out of it in the long run. 

Morons, Get The Hell Out Of Profession ...

 ... losers. 

In Major Win For Putin, US Grants Russia License To Sell Oil To India While Strait Of Hormuz Is Blocked

US cannot "grant" anything to Russia because Russia doesn't care and will do as she deems necessary and the US will pound sand. India, on the other hand, in a humiliating move for India, WAS "granted" a license to BUY Russian oil. Cope harder, fanboys. 

Scott Gives Some Good ...

 ... rundown on the US "stocks". 

My today's video talks about US air "defense"--or rather lack thereof and it is NOT just lack of numbers, it is a technological failure, simple as that. My video should be up shortly. 

Larry Makes Good Points.

In his latest post titled: Understanding Why General Caine Cannot Guarantee a Slam-Dunk Success if the US Attacks Iran.  The issue here is not just geography, however important, but also the idea of Pentagon on how to conduct SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defense). Even before China delivering her radar to Iran, during the 12-day exchange between Iran and Israel, IAF was rather "surprised" when one of Iran's radar "locked on" Israeli F-35. And here is the issue which many MUST understand--"stealth" myth is just that. In normal human parlance it is called "reduction of physical fields" of the platform or weapon and professionally is known as LO--low observability and even at that it totally depends on the rakurs (in Russian) which is essentially an angle to target where its LO diminishes radically once the frontal semisphere angles itself away from the source of radiation (radar). Add here modern advanced signal processing and voila'. In other words, your "stealth" counts for very little against serious modern and well-trained air defense. As USAF F-117 "stealth" bombers learned the hard-way during the aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999. 27 years passed since then.

I remind you that Iran has this:

This is Russian Over-The-Horizon (OTH) radar Resonanse (the range of 1,000 km), which Iran operates. This thing doesn't care if you have stealth, double or quadruple stealth. You will be seen and targeting data will be distributed to tactical AD units. Then, Iran has its own OTH. Here is the approximate coverage of Iran's OTH. 

And then there is Russian ISR which combined with China's Early Warning gives Iran a good time to prepare in case of a traditional first strike, primarily by stand-off weapons--yes, TLAMs and JASSMs. And here comes this critical issue--how deep are US stores and what are the chances that the US may lose a very expensive and reputation-heavy asset? The answer is known--those chances are very high while US stores for sustaining SEAD are not deep enough. Recall 1999 again, by the 50th-60th day of bombing the US started to run out of stand-off weapons. Comparison is not only inevitable but warranted. 

Serbia: area-88,000 sq.km. Population around 6.5 million. Older AD.

Iran: area 1,650,000 sq. km. Population 92.5 million. Modern air defense with combat experience. Support of allies. Critical strategic geographic location. A variety of strike means ranging from the ballistic to cruise missiles. Modern Electronic Warfare means.

Feel the difference? Yep, that's the difference. So, what's the plan? As always it is the same, as I repeat ad nauseam, hurl everything US got at Iran and then try to destabilize her from within. Regime Change trick. Always the same. Recall 2023 "counter-offensive" and instigation of Wagner mutiny. So, very few options for the US other than try to "shock and awe" the country which is in no mood to compromise and has wherewithal to stand her ground and shoot back. Iranians know what Patriots and THAAD's "capabilities" are--they are not impressed. Iranians are good engineers and better mathematicians, they know Operational Planning. So, here we are.

Ahem! Why? ;))

Granted, it is The Telegraph, but still: 

Some wondered if Benjamin Netanyahu had lost his mind. The Israeli prime minister had suggested that his nation be weaned off the American military aid it had relied on for decades. He wanted to do so within 10 years – a blink of an eye, in military planning terms – at a time when Israel could be dragged into a looming war between the US and Iran. “We very deeply appreciate the military aid that America has given us over the years, but here too we’ve come of age,” Mr Netanyahu told The Economist magazine. “We’ve developed incredible capacities.” The unexpected announcement posed fundamental questions: could the Jewish state survive without its long-term protector and to what extent could it rely on America in the Maga age? Israel receives $3.3bn (£2.4bn) annually in US military aid. On top of this is a separate missile defence assistance package worth $500m a year. For a small state with dangerous neighbours – including bellicose Iran, militarily ambitious Turkey and Islamist-run Syria – American support is crucial.

Well, apart from it being nothing but a pose (they love posing, showing off, making grandiose statements and chest thumping in the region) for the consumption of hoi polloi, reality is such that IDF is known primarily for being a genocidal police force with heavy equipment which is incapable to fight a modern war even against subpar opponent armed with will, courage and having access to modern tactical battlefield systems--such as tactical AD, ATGMs and good comms. Per modern missilery--forget it, Israel is essentially defenseless (and here it comes), because IDF is nothing more than a midget off-spring of the US military doctrinal thinking and obsolete TOE, based of fantasies about operations, military history and propaganda. While I doubt that Israel is capable weaning herself off the US support, IDF will continue to be what it is today--genocidal police force with heavy equipment. 

Meanwhile, here is again a demonstration of why US Field Manuals and desire to deploy into the company columns and smash ... whatever the backward peasants it may encounter is nothing more than Hollywood fantasies. It is also not a secret that the bunch of NATO "advisers" from NATO countries still run 404 so called "operations" and that 404 still uses NATO's tactical manuals written for the kindergarten kids who just watched Hollywood movie about war. 

Yes, they still get themselves into columns and believe that they can breach whatever they try to breach. But as you can see yourself Russian drones and ROK operate just fine without Starlink. They always did. Do not file yourself into columns, kids. You still are going to get killed, you know, but at least you will live longer. Like 5-10 minutes longer. But what do Russians know about armor warfare. They should have learned from General Patton and Hamish de Bretton-Gordon--they would have won it in no time. I am being facetious, of course. 

Ah, Yes--Those "Magical" Exceptions ...

 ... to sanctions)) This is statistics from 2023, by 2025 Russia's supply to the US grew to $1.25 billion.

Russia supplies, the US pays. Meanwhile Russian lithography for 65 nm is ready, serial supplies start in 2028. 28 nm are coming soon by 2030. And I am not even talking about other developments. 

In Related News, I Was Busy ...

 ... yesterday and didn't have time to read about this loser. But lo and behold, the moment I got up in the morning--here it is, a typical French hot air. 

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed a “united and coordinated” response after his US counterpart Donald Trump threatened eight European NATO nations with tariffs for opposing his campaign to acquire Greenland. The tariffs, announced by Trump on Saturday, target Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland. They are set to take effect on February 1 at 10% and rise to 25% in June, remaining in place until a “complete and total purchase” of the Danish autonomous territory is achieved. “France is committed to the sovereignty and independence of nations, in Europe and elsewhere,” Macron wrote on X. “No intimidation or threat will influence us – neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world.” 

Putting aside Trump's intentions (and there is a lot to be said about those, read Larry's latest on Trump) and main engine behind his policy formulations, Stephen Miller, one thing remains absolutely clear. Europe is impotent and for anyone who thinks that France or anyone else in Europe will not be influenced by intimidation--I have a bridge to sell you. Cash only. Hearing this protestations from cowardly European vassals whose modus of existence was very simple in the last 60 years--milk the US for the "defense" from the ephemeral Soviet military threat, while milking USSR for energy, the main foundation of the vaunted European prosperity and "socialism" is rich--the time is up. 

It is a karmic historical justice here--the continent which gave us, apart from incredible achievements in culture, sciences, arts, industry and even humanism, evidently forgot that if not for its ambition and pugnacity mixed with imperialism, we may not have had, among recent events, two world wars which slaughtered in excess of 80 million people and spread misery globally. Rephrasing Huntington--West (original West) forgets it, the rest of the world does not. For French, moreover, the bright historic spots of Charles de Gaulle, Free French or Normandie Niemen, are just that--a two century long slide into infamy and national oblivion. So, when some pervert who French elected twice talks about not "being intimidated", I have news for French people as well as Europeans in general--you wanted it, you voted for that, because you cannot teach the old dog new tricks. Europe will surrender with the same speed it did when Hitler decided that it is time. Britain loved "peace in our time" show, while it lasted for a very short time. 

After that it was a matter of technique. But then again. I present to you modern French Army on its training exercise this 2026 year. 

and this:

The 1st Infantry Regiment of the French Republican Guard (Garde Républicaine) in a joint exercise with the 1st Infantry Battalion (1er BCP) and the 12th Cuirassier Regiment (12e RC) of the French Armed Forces, 2026. Don't show this to US Marines or any serious US Army formation. Per Russians, they sustained losses due to hernias after Homeric laughter while observing this "joint exercise". French, evidently, have a penchant for self-humiliation. So, they WILL be intimidated together with the rest of Europe because it is only natural for civilization which committed an act of self-immolation while laughing doing it. Good riddance. 

Give Pam A Credit ...

 ... where credit is due. 

Of course, nobody in Washington will do anything like this, after all--404 is the best SOB the US ever had. But for fanboys of "Delta-force" and Hollywood type "operations", I have news--it is being now openly stated that everything was sold out to the US by Venezuelans themselves and the title of this piece in RT is correct: 

Through centuries, the region has seen leaders who stood for independence, but also traitors willing to sell out to colonial powers

Which brings us to 2023 and "mutiny" by criminal Prigozhin, his Wagner and media empire he built on lies and whose supporters are still around. This is US Army MO in "operations": 2-3 weeks of hurling whatever the US can muster in terms of stand-off weapons at usually third world "opponents", then fifth column curated by CIA and CIA paras, does the mutiny thing and voila'--the regime changed. Well, they tried to do so with Prigozhin and his Wagner, thinking that NATO "counter-offensive" will do the trick. Poor, poor kids from CIA and Pentagon, with their level of warfare "knowledge" they failed to reach even the first line of Russian defense, killed 200,000 of VSU and failed miserably, while their "fifth column" has been exposed. Not all of it--some still hide behind Russian Constitution and much greater freedom of speech than in increasingly totalitarian Europe. 

But the situation with Venezuela is ... helpful--in a sense of removing any illusions about capacity of Latin and Central America of getting out from under the US influence, reason being that building powerful, independent nations requires a removal of old "elites", often as a result of violent revolutions and brutal purging in order of the removal of opposition on the way to massive industrial expansion, with all that it entails. Exhibits A of that are Russia and China. To a certain degree--Iran, but it requires help. India too, but she has to overcome a number of serious issues, related also to being a main jewel in British Crown. So, is kidnapping of Maduro a crime? Hell, yes! But in a long run, it is a net positive for a world which was fooled for far too long with the idea that somehow "international law" can exist on its own. It cannot--laws of history and of human nature cannot be altered without CAPABILITY to do so. And that means, in the medium to long run that what is known as the Global South faces the choice, yes, if they choose the Dark Side or if they decide to stand up and fight. Will know soon enough. 

Foreign Ownership In The West ...

 ... means absolutely nothing. Russia learned it the hard way and will not make such a mistake again. China is learning it now. 

Dutch authorities took control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia following significant pressure from Washington, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing newly released court documents. The Netherlands-based company was seized earlier this month. The news comes amid escalating trade tensions between the US and China, marked by disputes over tariffs, export controls, and technology transfers. The production of semiconductors remains a particularly sensitive area due to its critical role in global technology and security, as they have both civilian and military uses. Officials from the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry and representatives from a US agency responsible for protecting critical technology reportedly met in June to discuss the Dutch-based chipmaker, which is owned by the Chinese group Wingtech. During the meeting, US officials reportedly emphasized that the company’s CEO, Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng, must be removed in order to avoid US export controls.

Nothing is sacred in the US anymore. It lost its competitive edge and the only thing which it retains is blackmail and dirty games. This is the price of deindustrialization and of the predatory instincts of the American ruling class (oligarchy) who lost any ability to create. That also applies to US military-industrial complex which increasingly looks like a laundromat. 

Meanwhile, the village idiot continues to embarrass himself:

This is what happens when one has zero statesmanship qualities and thinks that the world is a TV show of NYC real estate sewer. 

On the technological front, however, news for NATO are not good, to put it mildly--the indicators are everywhere and no more so than in the military sphere. Sweden used to be known for good subs. Not so much signal processing because they demonstrated inability to distinguish herring farting from Soviet subs--a result of paranoia after a famous incident with Soviet diesel sub ending on the Swedish shores due to navigational error, with this sub promptly humorously being named Swedish Komsomolets in the Soviet Navy. Embarrassing fact, no doubt, but since then Swedes never stopped being hysterical. Now, suddenly (not really) they have issues, big ones ...

Sweden’s next-generation A26 Blekinge-class submarine programme has been hit by another major delay and soaring costs, pushing the first delivery to 2031 and raising total expenses to 25 billion SEK (2.3 billion EUR).  

This is one of those You Have Got To Be Fucking Kidding Me news, since they are talking about building ... two (two, Karl!) SSKs like this. 

Ah yes, so menacing, so scary that Russians should quake in their boots, but they do not, especially when one considers the fact that a single sub of this run-of-the-mill class will cost more than $1 billion (More than ONE BILLION, Karl!) for a rather average AIP sub with rather mediocre strike capability and as is reported: 

Part of the delay is argued to be related to the poor state of the Kockums submarine yard, which has not built a new submarine since the Gotland-class delivered in the mid-1990’s. As such, while know-how has been retained to some extent thanks to design work on the Australian Collins-class, the upgrade of the Västergötland-class to the new Södermanland-class and to the Singaporean Archer-class respectively, and the Gotland-class MLU, a certain amount of delays and struggles with restarting production of a new class was to be expected. Still, the delivery time has now slipped from seven to 15 years between contract signing and first delivery, while the budget has more than doubled. This last delay is particularly difficult to swallow, as the political guidelines from the powerful Swedish Defence Commission (Försvarsberedningen) in their report on the future of Swedish defence in April 2024 took a stern view that further delays and cost overruns were unacceptable as that would impact both the submarine force and other naval development programmes. 

Well, for comparison, Russia builds for the same money TWO of these:

Carriers of Kalibr family, or one of these:

Carriers of everything else. Including hypersonic Zircons. Or one of these:

As you might understand, it goes to demonstrate that combined West cannot produce anything militarily impactful without bankrupting itself and that is why I am constantly forced to explain the abyss separating Russia and the United States in terms of military balance, not to speak of all European chihuahuas who are scared shitless by the United States itself fading from the military mythology it created about itself only to be exposed as a paper tiger. 

In Related News ...

 ... water is wet, fire is hot and ...

The US has been assisting Kiev in carrying out drone attacks on energy facilities inside Russia for the past several months, the Financial Times has reported, citing unnamed American and Ukrainian officials. US officials previously made no secret of their data-sharing with Kiev, but never confirmed their involvement in targeting Russia’s energy assets. When asked earlier in October about Washington’s possible role in Kiev’s strikes deep into Russian territory, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was “obvious” to Moscow that “all of NATO and US infrastructure is being used to collect and pass on intelligence to the Ukrainian side.” The FT said in an article on Sunday that Washington started sharing this data after a call between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in mid-July, in which Trump reportedly asked his interlocutor if Kiev could strike Moscow with American-supplied long-range weapons. The White House later claimed that Trump was “merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing.”

This is not news--the US Armed Forces are generally not a real fighting force for real war. Let alone against Russia, but the US military does have some crown jewels, which in case of SMO exist only because the US hides behind backs of 404 cannon fodder and in the case of cowardice and casuistic legality declares itself not a belligerent of the West's war against Russia. Of course, it is and it uses its untouched ISR, primarily orbital grouping, to provide targeting and timing (that one is crucial) for ukrop drone strikes into Russia's territory. 

Now, that Russia demonstrated to the US what escalation dominance is, which the US doesn't have due to a primitive TOE from 1990s and a complete lack of strategic-operational real military expertise, cowards in D.C. are butthurting and coping big time and still cannot grasp the fact that they should go into REAL military-educational institution to get a feel of the model of AD battle and recognize that the only thing they can hope for are those pin-pricks by "leakers", which are inevitable in any missile-drone exchange. Obviously, for these guys the simple truth that even by 1980 Soviet AD could repel a massive missile-air attack at USSR's central industrial district is beyond their grasp since NATO has no serious military educational sector dedicated specifically to the issue of air defense. So, losers continue to drink Kool Aid provided to them by all kinds of info shysters both in the West and from Russia. 

Yes, Sure ...

 ... in related news, the US is also catching up in warfighting capability. Mantras are designed to make one feel better about oneself, about life, about what have you, they are not designed to alter physical reality, because unlike mantras physical reality is measurable ranging from quantitative to qualitative criteria. Bunch of morons from tabloids such as Foreign Policy, obviously, do not know that, nor do they know REAL criteria. 

China and Russia Are Winning the Hypersonic Missile Race: But the United States is catching up, with new weapons set to come online soon. At China’s massive military parade this month celebrating the end of World War II in the Pacific, Beijing showcased its line of anti-ship hypersonic missiles—an implicit warning that in a future conflict, the United States could see its $13 billion aircraft carriers at the bottom of the sea.

Foreign Policy is a neocon Russia-hating tabloid and they do not grasp basic things about hypersonic weapons. Now I have to rain on ... China's otherwise magnificent parade. The ONLY hypersonic weapon which is specifically designed to destroy surface naval targets is Russia's 3M22 Zircon. It IS NOT a quasi-ballistic anti-shipping missile such as Chinese YJ-21. These are two totally different classes of weapons and China doesn't have anything comparable to 3M22 Zircon which is a bona fide hypersonic anti-shipping cruise missile which continues to perform brilliantly both in tests and exercises and actual combat. The US is nowhere near in terms of technology such as YJ-21, it is not even in the same galaxy in terms of 3M22 Zircon. 

As has been stated ad nauseam--there is nothing which NATO in general and the US Navy can counter Zircon with--zero, zilch, nada. As was stated by me also ad nauseam--new generation of Zircon extends envelope of Russian submarines and surface ships to such a degree that everything what is known about naval warfare simply ceases to apply. That's the REAL revolution in military affairs. Again, I will continue to post it until hell freezes over, a reminder what a single Zircon carrier and constantly growing Russian satellite constellation providing real time targeting, do:

Emphasis on "single". It doesn't mean that critical naval tasks such as ASW, anti-diversionary task and escorts are irrelevant, no--they are not and if anything else they only grow in significance and importance, but naval warfare as a whole is something new now, because surface fleets as we know them are over. When this thing sails (covered with additional AD by frigates and couple of SSNs/SSGNs), it can sink a whole Marine Royale, or couple of Carrier Battle Groups in a single salvo. 

The US is nowhere near these capabilities and repeating stupid mantras changes absolutely nothing. Let the US, for starters, get to the IOC of now becoming a meme LRHW (Long Range Hypersonic Weapon), which is NOT anti-shipping missile, the technology race the US lost long time ago, putting all its eggs in the same basket of the naval air power not understanding implications of the Soviet Union deploying a revolutionary weapons system such as P-700 Granit in 1980.  There is no catching up, especially in tactical-operational sense since ... oh, not again--Air Defense, and don't let me start on that. 

Most Likely It Is ...

 ... in final stages of completion, if not already and it was easy to predict. 

Russia and China are working to set up a securities depository to rival Belgium-based Euroclear and Clearstream, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said. In an interview with Izvestia published on Thursday, Siluanov said it is important to build “an independent payment infrastructure” in response to Western sanctions. Russian investors previously held funds at European clearing houses through Russia’s National Settlement Depository (NSD). Euroclear and Clearstream stopped transactions with NSD and froze its accounts after sanctions were imposed against it in mid-2022, preventing investors from accessing their assets. The Bank of Russia has estimated that around 5.7 trillion rubles ($66.8 billion) remains blocked. Siluanov said the role of a new depository would be assumed by a planned Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Development Bank, which would enable Russians to invest in foreign assets and foreign investors to finance projects in Russia.

Schizophrenic behavior of Trump's economic team could be explained, at least partially, by the recognition of the impact of this bank and clearing system, especially against the background of kindergarten child's sanctions tantrum by Trump against Russia's energy sector. India is under this constant pressure and we will see where it is all going soon enough, but if this bullying (and BS) by the US energy sector, which is behind this sanctions diarrhea, continues, the US will not be able to settle in any kind productive cooperative energy relations with Russia and will be limited only to LNG exports. It can forget about North Slope of Alaska because there is nothing on the horizon currently in the US which even remotely approaches Russia's (constantly growing) Arctic capabilities, which would allow developing that enormous field, and the nuclear ice-breaker fleet is just one out of many factors underpinning the US' (and EU) Arctic impotency. Any talk about Scandinavians having any real capability in Arctic--is for amateurs. 

Meanwhile, Bill Gates finally apologizes.

So, you know))

Gaza Genocide Is Also ...

... the United States' crime. The US is stained forever as a supporter of genocidal Netanyahu regime. It is simple as that. Israel owns the US, precisely because they have to because they are not good militarily.  

Can Russia destroy Netanyahu regime? Easily. But George is absolutely correct here--it is simple mathematics, saving 2 million Palestinians may result in killing a couple of billion people outright. As our friend Femi correctly pointed out--Arabs, where are you? Gaza and Palestine are ARAB issue, first and foremost, not Russia's. Anyone calling on Russia "to do something" about it are people who have no clue about the role Russia plays in the world and how corrupted by Zionist the US is. I will remind again that this piece of political art is as relevant as ever, in fact--even more so today than when it was created. 

Just substitute Soviet flag with Russian tri-color, and if you don't get the profound message in it, I have news for you--it is ONLY thanks to Russia's military and economic might that Washington's crazies didn't unleash a thermonuclear war. Simple as that.