That Is Why It Is Called ...

 ... VKS (Air-Space Forces) which Air Defense forces (PVO) are part of--system of systems. Armed Forces are system of systems and they fight as such. This, obviously, is unknown to "experts" from RUSI because they cannot properly assess ... well, anything. 

Russia's war in Ukraine has made its formidable air defenses an even tougher challenge for NATO, airpower analyst warns. Russia's air defenses may pose a more significant threat to NATO air forces than they would have before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a top air defense analyst warned in a recent report. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has been able to destroy numerous Russian air defense systems. Justin Bronk, an air power expert at the UK's Royal United Services Institute, warned that not only does Russia still maintain a large arsenal, but it is also still producing its most powerful systems. And its ability to use these weapons has improved through combat experience.

I have news for readers of this drivel, Royal United Services Institute doesn't have air defense experts, let alone "top" ones, as it doesn't have any military experts at all--mostly white board consumers of 404 Kool Aid about combat and who wouldn't be able to pass entrance exams, let alone graduate, Yaroslavl High Military Officer School of Air Defense or something like Air Force Academy of Mozhaisky. Moreover, NO NATO combat pilot ever operated in the environment even remotely approaching the level of threat which VKS present to any combination of self-proclaimed "best air forces". The "level" of officer corps of NATO (specifically US and UK) has been demonstrated to a devastating, to their self-proclaimed inflated egos, effects for US and UK in 2023 "counter-offensive" and in 2024 Kursk respectively. 

But then, of course, we have the situation with this "hypothetical war", in this "hypothetical war" UK ceases to exist as military-political entity one of the first and not by nukes, nope--civilian population of UK will be untouched physically, but the clowns from UK "services", together with those who guide them--they will disappear. Especially when one considers this simple fact--UK doesn't have functional air defense (forget about real anti-missile  one). But then again, how else can you explain to them what real war is. 

Yes, yes, "sleeping giant", the fact that this giant is impotent and as dumb as fuck went missing on these clowns in Munich. 

When You Have 8,000+ Kilometers...

 ... range missiles you don't need no stinking stealth or to look cool, albeit TU-95 does look cool. 

If the air frame holds--no, this thing is not going to retire any time soon. Stick new avionics into it (done), new targeting system (done) and 8 X-BD missiles and you can fly for another 50 years. TU-160Ms are already flying with X-BD (in Russian). I am not some kind of warmonger, but this simple picture tells one everything one needs to know about old Bears launching X-BDs from the safety of Russian airspace.

You just need to be a good platform in this case. I completed today the chapter on air operations and the way USAF feels itself--it doesn't feel itself well, to put it mildly, after it saw Russian VKS operations.

Short Note On Russia's ASAT and Iran.

1. Let's remember that both USSR and USA were into ASAT (anti-satellite) business really early (since 1960s) and first.  

2. This latest mass-hysteria as usually fanned by US establishment and its media is not accidental. Once one discounts a normal (for the US) practice to spin anything Russia does into some propaganda BS, this hysteria has a lot more to it than mere completely unfounded concerns about the safety of ISS etc. 

3. The main reason for hysteria is the fact that it was A-235 Nudol which destroyed an old recon Tselina-D satellite (a symbolic message for professionals) which was at the 645+ kilometers high orbit and judging by Shoigu's obvious satisfaction (in Russian) with this, we may assume that Nudol is ready to go big time, including its mobile versions. 

4. This whole thing is about Starlink and, in general, US space recon assets. For people who still believe that Elon Musk is a genius, stop reading here. For those who do not think so, it is no secret that Starlink's main purpose is to place as many recon assets into orbit as possible at, and you may have guessed it already, of 550 kilometers or lower. 

That is the main reason for hysteria because Russia will not allow the wet US dream of controlling space and thus monitor launches of all serious Russia's weapon systems to come to fruition. This latest launch was a message that the "envelope" is covered and if Nudol itself is an expensive machine (which, btw, reaches Mach=16 in first 3 seconds) which is capable of reaching way higher than 645 kilometers for expensive recon assets of STSS or comms such as Iridium, it merely shows that missile technologies to mass-shoot Starlink spies and everything else in case of war are already in place. Well, S-500 for once, and things of other nature such as laser weapons plus who knows what. That is why such a hysteria. Recall this:

Can this thing fly to 1500 km? Why not? So, this also means the end of the US low orbit system for monitoring launches of hyper-sonic weapons. I have been writing about Russia getting into the revelation mode for years, here is one of the latest ones from 2019. I called that a Real Revolution in Military Affairs for a reason, because it is, and when we talk about ASAT weapons recall what is the full name of this Russian service--Air Space Force (VKS), it wasn't just a new cute title, it was a new force structure designed to fight everything that flies be that in atmosphere or in space. As a saying, a very popular and widely used, for Russia's Air and Space missilery goes: сами не летаем и другим не даём--we don't fly ourselves and do not allow others (c). A classic case of Dog in the Manger. 

This is why such a hysterical reaction and a pile of BS (because ISS measures were taken because of the old Chinese satellite which was threatening ISS), but at this stage Russians don't care. In related news of Russia declining especially strongly and having her economy in "tatters"(c). Some guy laments that Russians control now Iran's gas fields. He even cries that:

A deal finalized last week to develop Iran’s multi-trillion dollar new gas discovery, the Chalous field, will see Russian companies hold the major share in it, followed by Chinese companies, and only then Iranian ones, sources close to the deal exclusively told OilPrice.com. This is despite Chalous’s position unequivocally within the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea, over which the Islamic Republic has complete sovereignty. Billions of dollars in additional capital investment are scheduled to come from financial institutions in Germany, Austria, and Italy, as the indications are that the size of Chalous’s gas reserves are even greater now than initially thought. According to one of the senior Russian officials involved in negotiating the deal: “This is the final act of securing control over the European energy market.”

But even he admits: 

Although the IRGC has stated in a series of internal discussions within the Iranian government recently that the new terms of the Chalous deal that have placed Russian and Chinese interests above those of Iran are ‘the price we have to pay for Iran’s access to the technology and manufacturing capacity required for our missile program’, the ramifications of it are much greater than the size of future IRGC slush funds in Shanghai and Macau. 

I'll give Mr.Watkins, who penned this piece, a hint--he needs to read Iranian Constitution which explicitly states that Iran wants to be a developed country. Combined West will never allow this, while Russia, who is a close neighbor, will. Money is not everything and often they cannot buy technology in the West. Well, Iran tried, alright. In Russia? Boy, judging by the air-show in Dubai, many Gulfies would love to have things like that: 

I Hope Iran learned her lesson few years ago after the short "lifting of the sanctions". Russia was just waiting in the wings. Plus, of course, India also couldn't resist and sanctions do not really work, in fact, they often achieve the opposite effect.

200gs? Who Knows.

This is Russia's latest anti-missile defense. Just watch the start--this is how hyper-sonic missiles look like and I mean real hyper-sonic. Now imagine something like that (Kinzhal et al) going not up but down, in attack mode on some land or sea target. Good luck developing interceptors for that.

  

Mind you--the picture is not accelerated. But the other question is...drum roll...wink, wink...does Russia have already anti hyper-sonic weapons. As Bob sang: the answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind (c). But those who needed to know not in Russia, I am sure, they got the message. Remember, I told you that revelation phase now is going to proceed smoothly, without such dramatic announcements as it happened on March 1, 2018. This is one of those and yes, it is insane and confirms that systems and materials work at the insane speeds under mind-boggling dynamic loads, aka g-forces. Anyone wants to take a ride in that? I kid, I kid;))))

Fast Thoughts On Idlib And Some Other Business.

As I wrote in Russia As A Cat, Russia will continue to "eat chicken" at her own pace ignoring angry monologues from "democratic world" and will continue extermination of unicorns and humanitarian terrorists in Idlib apace. The process continued today with new airstrikes against those "rebels". It is symptomatic, then, that Russia's Ambassador to Syria gave this statement to TASS. I give this news piece in full and want to remind, that Russia's high level military and diplomat figures DO NOT make statements off the wall. Those statements are always sanctioned from the above:  

DAMASCUS,September 7. /TASS/. Russia is helping Syria restore and modernized its airdefense system, Russia’s Ambassador to that country, Alexander Kinshchak, toldTASS on Friday. "We are helping our Syrian partners to restore, modernizeand boost the efficiency of the integrated air defense system," he saidwhen asked how well Syria is protected against possible airstrikes by Westernnations. "Much is yet to be done because everything was in utterdevastation, but certain results can already be seen," he said. In lateApril, chief of the main operations directorate of the Russian General Staff,Sergei Rudskoi, said that Syria would soon receive new air defense systems andpromised that Russian specialists would help the Syrian military to masterthem. He refrained from details of the systems, saying only that the S-125, Osaand Kvadrat systems used by the Syrian army had been restored and modernizedwith Russia’s assistance. In late August, the Russian Defense Ministry warnedabout a possible provocation plotted in the Syrian Idlib governorate bymilitants under supervision of British special services. Thus, according to theministry, militants were planning to simulate the use of chemical weaponsagainst civilians by Syrian government troops to furnish the United States, theUnited Kingdom and France with a pretext to deliver an airstrike on Syriangovernment and economic facilities.

So, it is becoming increasingly clear that Russia is on the move. In fact, things are getting in the open very fast. Such as the situation in Donetsk after the murder of Alexandr Zakharchenko. As Andrei Babitsky noted from Donetsk--there are no vacancies left in any more or less decent hotels in Donetsk--all occupied by FSB people. This is not to mention some other interesting developments which need to be verified, but it looks like Moscow is moving in big time and openly. That is why this report, about Russia's Uragan systems being deployed, as MoD said "just in case", near Russian and LDNR border. The message is clear:

There will be no VSU "victory" under any circumstances and seems that Russia is about openly (before that it was hidden by a fig leaf) take charge in defense of republics with all that follows, which is, well... turn on your imagination. 

But the funniest, in a good sense, thing is that while the US imposes sanctions on Russia, it continues to buy Russia's hi-tech products such as rocket engines and now aircraft. As TASS reports (in Russian) at Gelendzhik exhibition of hydro-aviation, US (Seaplane Global Air Services) and Russia (Beriev Corp.) signed the contract for delivery of 4 of these excellent firefighting jets, plus option for 6 more is also envisioned. It is well known fact that US, especially southern states, suffers from serious forest fires and BE-200s are perfect planes to fight those fires. They already have shown their worth in Portugal, Greece, Spain, Russia, just to name a few countries.