Category: Militarnyi-usa my life

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has established ten additional engineer battalions to demine the territories.

Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, First Deputy Minister of Defense, announced this.

Five engineer battalions were created as part of the Support Forces Command.

Another five battalions and three mine clearance companies are part of the State Transport Special Service.

The total number of personnel of the newly formed battalions and companies does not exceed five thousand soldiers.

The units have already started certification as mine clearance operators.

Illustrative photo of sapper training. Photo credits: ArmyInform

“The newly established units have already been staffed. Currently, we are in the process of completing the acquisition of vehicles and special equipment. This is extremely important, as it is the technical capability that determines the quality and speed of the inspection and protects the personnel,” Oleksandr Pavliuk said.

It is reported that the use of mechanized demining increases the efficiency of work by 30%. This is in addition to the 1,300 square kilometers of examined and cleared areas by the Ministry of Defense alone each year.

As of today, 397 mine clearance teams of almost two thousand people are ready to perform their tasks. By December this year, the number of specialists will be increased to 4,300.

M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle. Photo credits: Official website of the President of Ukraine

Militarnyi previously reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine received Ahlmann AS200 loaders.

These vehicles are equipped with a chain device for demining. The armor of the vehicle protects against fragments of various types of ammunition.

In addition, M1150 mine- and explosives-clearing vehicles that are based on the Abrams M1 chassis were put into service.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has won almost UAH 400 million in court against a foreign supplier of body armor and helmets.

The press service of the Ministry of Defense reported on this.

According to the decision of the International Court of Arbitration, the foreign supplier must return the money to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for the defective goods.

The total amount of the satisfied claims is approximately EUR 10 million and includes, in addition to the value of the goods, penalties, interest for one year, and arbitration fees.

Since the agreement is a foreign economic agreement, the amount of liabilities is expressed in euros. In hryvnia, this amount is almost 400 million.

Body armor and helmets, illustrative photo. Source: Metinvest

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ministry of Defense purchased bulletproof vests and helmets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine from this foreign supplier.

During the spring and summer of 2022, the supplier has been delivering products of good quality. However, subsequent shipments in the fall and winter of 2022 did not pass ballistic tests, and the Ministry of Defense did not accept them.

The Ukrainian side demanded that the supplier refund the money for the goods that were delivered without proof of ballistic testing and pay penalties. The supplier did not comply with the demand.

The Legal Service of the Ministry of Defense filed a lawsuit in an international arbitration court to recover the cost of the undelivered bulletproof vests and helmets, penalties, and annual interest.

According to the arbitration award, annual interest continues to accrue on the value of the undelivered goods until the money is returned.

Body armor and helmets, illustrative photo. Photo from open sources

In August, Militarny reported on Turkish fraudsters who were being tried under a Ukrainian lawsuit.

Six fraudsters were to be sentenced. Four suspects were facing more than 26 years in prison, and the other two – up to 31,5 years.

The fraudsters were supposed to supply personal protective equipment and weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After paying the first installment of $5.1 million, Ukraine did not receive the promised goods.

Russians published a video of a destroyed S-300 air defense system launcher near Berdiansk.

Journalist Andrii Tsaplienko reports on this in his Telegram channel.

The author of the video notes that the launcher was destroyed on the move, and the crew was killed.

In addition, he notes that a Tochka-U missile hit the launcher, although it could have been destroyed by M30A1, M31, or M31A1 missiles from the M142 HIMARS system.

It can also be assumed that a drone could have hit the system, although the characteristic damage to the asphalt suggests the use of a cluster warhead.

Militarnyi previously reported that Ukrainian artillerymen, together with the SSU special forces, destroyed a command post that could have been part of the Russian S-300 or S-400 air defense system.

The characteristic features of the destroyed Russian object visually resembled the Soviet-era 5N63S command post with an illumination radar of the S-300 system or its further development, the 92N6E command post of the S-400 system.

The multifunctional target illumination radar receives signals and works on air targets.

A few days earlier, Ukrainian special forces destroyed the Russian 48Ya6-К1 Podlet radar in the Belgorod region.

Destruction of the command post. Source: Gnila chereshnya

Elements of the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile system were hit in the area of the village of Molochne, located on the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea.

It is reported that the attack took place on October 30 at about 6 a.m. As a result of the attack, elements of the system were damaged, and a diesel generator was destroyed.

At the same time, a nighttime missile attack on an anti-aircraft missile regiment in the temporarily occupied Crimea was reported.

According to Russian sources, 17 Russian servicemen were wounded in the attack. Five cars were also damaged. One of the vehicles is beyond repair.

Satellite images of the Zalyv Shipbuilding Yard in Kerch after Ukrainian missile strikes have been published online.

The Schemes journalists published the satellite images.

Planet Labs’ images, dated November 5, capture the site of the damage at the plant and the Askold small missile ship.

“According to my data, as of November 4, there was only one ship in Kerch at the time of the explosions capable of carrying Kalibr class missiles, namely the Askold. I think that this ship, as we can see, was already at the dock and was being brought up to speed because it was supposed to be delivered in December. You can see that it is still afloat, but the upper part of the ship is noticeably damaged,” Andriy Ryzhenko, a reserve navy captain, commented to Schemes after analyzing the satellite image.

He added that Askold is a Project 2800 Karakurt small missile ship that can carry up to 8 Kalibr cruise missiles.

Zalyv Shipbuilding Yard in Kerch. Source: Schemes.

According to Ryzhenko, the destruction of such a vessel is very important for Ukraine’s security.

It is worth noting that the Schemes satellite images do show significant damage near the vessel, but the blackouts on the deck of the Askold could be either a shadow from the superstructures or damage.

As previously reported, on November 4, a missile attack took place on the shipyard in Kerch, where warships are built for the Russian Navy.

Cruise missiles were used to strike, as evidenced by the videos that eyewitnesses published on social media.

The Russian occupation so-called “authorities” indirectly confirmed the fact of hitting the enterprise but said that the wreckage of a downed Ukrainian missile fell on one of the dry docks.

A fire at a shipyard in Kerch, November 4, 2023. Image from social media

Later that day, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that a Ukrainian cruise missile hit a warship in Kerch.

Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine, reported that the Ukrainian tactical aircraft conducted the strike.

“Well done, it’s like using the SCALPel!” the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force wrote, hinting that the aircraft used a French cruise missile.

An ammunition depot of the Russian army exploded in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region.

This happened on the evening of November 5, in the village of Siedove, near the border with Russia.

Local residents published a video of a fire and a powerful explosion on social media.

The village is located in the rear of the Russian invaders, far from the front line, on the shore of the Azov Sea.

Petro Andriushchenko, Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, said that “almost the whole village was transformed into an ammunition depot and a parking lot for military vehicles.” According to the reports, allegedly only a third of the depot was destroyed at the time of the explosions on Sunday evening.

In the footage taken by eyewitnesses, secondary detonations of ammunition can also be seen.

Powerful explosions were heard in Mariupol and other settlements nearby.

Siedove is located near the border with the Russian Federation, more than 100 kilometers from the front line and 45 kilometers east of Mariupol.

It is currently unknown what weapon systems the Armed Forces of Ukraine used to strike this ammunition depot of the Russian invaders.

The explosion of a Russian ammunition depot in the village of Siedove, Donetsk region, November 5, 2023. A frame from a video from social media

According to Andriushchenko, the Russian military used Siedove as an operational base for the accumulation of ammunition.

He said that from there, the invaders delivered ammunition through the Granitne settlement to the north of the Donetsk region and through Mariupol to the Zaporizhzhia region to conduct hostilities against the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Siedove village of Donetsk region on the map

The village has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

The Israeli Defense Forces are using new Eitan armored fighting vehicles in combat operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Photos of these AFVs in combat conditions were published by the Israeli military.

This is the first combat use of this Israeli armored fighting vehicle.

The first mass-produced Eitan armored fighting vehicles entered service with the Israeli army this spring.

Israel is currently conducting a ground operation against the Palestinian militants of Hamas.

Eitan AFV in the war against Hamas, November 2023. Photo credits: Israel Defense Forces

Eitan armored fighting vehicles are used on the front lines of Israeli forces, along with tank units and infantry conducting assault operations in the urban areas of the Gaza Strip.

Eitan armored fighting vehicle of the Israeli military, November 2023. Photo credits: Israel Defense Forces

Eitan is an 8-wheeled armored fighting vehicle weighing up to 35 tons. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 90 km/h and can carry twelve people, including three crew members. The armor of the vehicle is STANAG 4569 level 4. The AFV is equipped with the Iron Fist Light Decoupled active protection system.

The armored fighting vehicle can be armed with a large-caliber machine gun or automatic guns and ATGMs.

The Israeli military received the first production of Eitan armored fighting vehicles in May 2023. Before that, the brigade soldiers who received these vehicles practiced various scenarios for using the new armored fighting vehicles.

Eitan armored fighting vehicle. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Israel

Last December, it became known that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had selected Oshkosh Defense as a partner for producing hulls for Eitan armored fighting vehicles. The deal was valued at more than $100 million.

The first serial Eitan armored fighting vehicles, May 2023 Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Israel

Adapting the IDF to new challenges

For the ground operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military has equipped most of its heavy armored vehicles with cope cages.

The Israeli Merkava Mk.4M equipped with a cope cage, October 16, 2023. Photo credits: Gil Cohen-Magen

Such designs should further strengthen the protection of Israeli tanks, in particular, from drone attacks on the top of the vehicle, where their thinnest armor is located.

A new Ukrainian kamikaze drone with a range of 1,000 kilometers has gone into mass production.

Herman Smetanin, Director General of JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry (Ukroboronprom), stated this in an interview with Ekonomichna Pravda.

Domestic long-range drones are already being ordered by the Defense Forces of Ukraine for their combat operations against the Russian invaders.

“There are many state and private manufacturers in Ukraine. We have an analog of the Shahed, and there are more powerful models, because Shaheds do not fly that far. We are now focusing on the production of more complex and expensive projects with high performance,” Smetanin said.

According to him, the record combat range of the new Ukrainian drone is 1,000 kilometers.

An element of the Ukrainian UAV. Photo credits: Ukroboronprom

Last October, Ukroboronprom announced the development of a Ukrainian drone with a range of up to a thousand kilometers.

At that time, the following specifications for the new unmanned combat aerial vehicle were announced: range – 1000 km, weight of the warhead – 75 kg.

In January 2023, the spokeswoman of the Ukroboronprom State Enterprise reported that a new classified Ukrainian strike drone had successfully passed several tests.

It was reported that the new aircraft has a take-off weight of more than 200 kg. Currently, there is no publicly available information about the capabilities and appearance of the classified Ukrainian drone.

Already in June 2023, Ukroboronprom reported the successful use of a new Ukrainian long-range drone.

Nataliia Sad, a spokeswoman of the Ukroboronprom State Concern, published a photo featuring Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykola Oleschuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, and Yuriy Husiev, Chief Executive Officer at Ukroboronprom.

Screenshot from Facebook/Nataliia Sad

She captioned this photo as follows: “After the successful use of our drone for 1000 km.”

Ukroboronprom has mastered the production of FPV drones in its facilities to meet the needs of the Ukrainian army.

Herman Smetanin, Director General of JSC Ukrainian Defense Industry (Ukroboronprom), said this in his interview with Ekonomichna Pravda.

According to him, the licensed production of three models of FPV drones created by private companies has been launched.

“FPV drones are needed a lot now. We help private companies scale their developments. We have signed license agreements with three large companies to produce their models.

We have people, premises, [drone] components delivered to us, and we produce [them]. We help everyone who comes to us scale up their developments,” Smetanin said.

FPV drone in the Defense Forces of Ukraine. Photo credits: 35th Marine Brigade

In August, Yaroslav Oliynyk, Advisor to the Minister for Strategic Industries, said that three Ukrainian state-owned plants had already started producing FPV drones.

Ukraine is currently working to scale up and develop the UAV market. To do this, the state is looking for ways to partner with public and private manufacturers.

In addition, the localization of the production of parts in Ukraine is being continued, as is cooperation with international investors, funds, and manufacturers.

In October, the head of FPV drone production at Escadrone said that Ukrainian manufacturers of drones supply the Defense Forces of Ukraine with 12,000 to 15,000 FPV drones per month.

FPV drones manufactured by Eskadron. Photo credits: BusinessCensor

The Escadrone launched drone production in August 2022 with a batch of 20 drones. A year later, in August 2023, they reached a production rate of 2,743 drones per month. According to the plans, the monthly number will be increased to 4,000 units in December. It is worth noting that this manufacturer has a small share of the Ukrainian drone market.

Speaking about the cost of drones, the head of Escadrone’s production noted that it depends on the model and ranges from 12-27 thousand hryvnias per one.

FPV drone, illustrative photo. Photo credits: heroesukraine.org

Ukraine is also developing FPV drones with a self-homing system. This should improve their combat capabilities and effectiveness.

Germany has not yet decided whether to provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles as part of its military aid.

The authorities also doubt that the use of Taurus cruise missiles can drastically change the situation at the front.

Boris Pistorius, German Defense Minister, voiced his thoughts at the NATO Talk conference in Berlin on November 6, 2023, according to the Ukrinform news agency.

“I don’t think the missiles will be a game changer,” Pistorius said.

He noted that he had nothing new to say on the issue of giving Ukraine these cruise missiles. The minister said that Germany should not ignore its own interests when providing assistance, without specifying what he meant.

Boris Pistorius, Minister of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany. Photo: Ministry of Defense of Germany

Pistorius also noted that the German federal government has to check every step in the supply of weapons systems, and such decisions are not easy.

“The ATACMS, which the U.S. sent to Ukraine, has a range of 160 km, and the Taurus has a range of 500 km. This is a completely different system,” Pistorius emphasized.

He also reminded that Germany is currently the second largest supplier of weapons to Ukraine after the United States. According to him, German weapons help save lives and protect infrastructure in Ukraine every day.

In September, Militarnyi reported that Germany had postponed the decision to provide the Ukrainian military with Taurus cruise missiles due to concerns of some German officials. Some German officials are concerned that the transfer of the missiles could bring Berlin closer to a direct confrontation with Russia.

According to officials, if the Taurus transfer is approved, the missile’s range will be shortened to “minimize the risk of using it to strike Russia”.

TAURUS KEPD 350 air-launched cruise missile. Photo credits: Saab

In late May, the German newspaper Spiegel reported that Ukraine had made an official request to Germany for Taurus cruise missiles.

Taurus cruise missiles, together with the French-British Storm Shadow/SCALP EG, which Ukraine is already using, will allow striking Russian military infrastructure in the occupied territory at long distances.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has placed an order to purchase over 10,000 Kestrel rocket launchers.

TV channel SET iNews reported about this.

The order is for the Taiwanese Armed Forces to purchase 10,962 Kestrel rocket launchers as part of the infantry’s anti-tank capabilities.

This contract is part of the country’s overall plan to order rocket launchers of this type from CSIST.

The weapons should be actively used by both officers and conscripts to improve their skills with rocket launchers.

The mass of the rocket launcher is 5 kilograms, the maximum effective range is up to 400 meters, and the maximum range is 1200 meters.

The rocket launcher is designed as a disposable weapon and is produced in two versions: an anti-tank version with a HEAT warhead and a version with a High Explosive Squash Head warhead against lightly armored targets, fortifications and manpower. The effective range is 400m with HEAT warhead rocket.

The cost of one rocket launcher is $3,100, which makes it a cheap anti-tank weapon and allows for mass production.

The Kestrel rocket launcher, and variants of rockets for it. Photo from the network

Currently, Kestrel grenade launchers are used by the Taiwanese Coast Guard, Marine Corps, military police and ground forces.

The Land Forces Command placed its first large order in 2022, for the production of 5,000 rocket launchers. In August of this year, the CSIST armaments bureau received a new order for the production of 5,962 rocket launchers. The orders are due to be completed in July 2025.

Taiwanese army soldiers with a Kestrel grenade launcher. Photo credits: Yahoo News

As Militarnyi previously reported, due to the threat from mainland China, Taiwanese companies are ready to switch to weapons production and cooperate with foreign companies in this niche.

For example, a representative of the company Hwameeimake is looking to change its direction to produce ballistic protective goggles and goggles for divers of the Taiwanese Navy.

The government responds positively to the desire of private companies to support the country’s defense capabilities and meets them halfway.

First of all, the country is relaxing the strict rules for purchasing foreign equipment for production. Currently, Taiwan spends tens of billions of dollars annually to purchase weapons from the United States, but this approach leaves local businesses behind.