I have been informed this tweet I made about Il-76TD ST-EWX having crudely switched its registration on the side to 5A-EWX was used as a primary source in the final report of the UN Panel of Experts on Libya for identifying the aircraft as a violator of the UN weapons embargo.
It surprises me a bit that with all the focus on the Libyan National Army military parade in Benghazi on May 29th, this IL-76 (5A-EWX) & its redone registration number went completely unnoticed.
Note the 5 uses the bottom half of the S & the A uses the top of the T in ST-EWX.
The idea of alien First Contact getting obliterated by an F-15 because of an international balloon hysteria would be the chef's kiss for this timeline.
For you naval junkies, today was pretty much as significant in naval history as the raid on Taranto: the first mass combined UAV/USV attack on a fleet at anchor.
Brave new world.
Video of 🇺🇸 USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) coming in to Tromso, 🇳🇴 Norway yesterday.
Deck aircraft include Ospreys, Seahawks and Harriers.
(Video by Øystein Antonsen)
(Good)
#RUMINT
There is a story circulating that requires verification that a lone pilot flying an old Ukrainian MiG-29 is responsible for downing 4-6 Russian Air Force aircradt today alone.
Dubbed "the Ghost of Kyiv."
CNN published MAXAR satelite pictures form Engels' airbase which show in high resolution how Russians are trying to protect their strategic bombers with rubber tires.
Planet Labs 0.5m resolution pass via Skywatch for Sevastopol harbor yesterday (October 28, 2022) at 44.62266, 33.556237 showing 🇷🇺 Russian Navy Krivak FFGs, a Bora FFL, 3x Pr. 22160 Patrol Vessels, a Sonya minesweeper & 1 other large (auxiliary?) ship.
While the results of the attack on Sevastopol are anything but settled or determined, the future of naval warfare itself has been shaped today and should not be ignored.
Right now, every naval strategist is watching this very carefully... or should be.
Very odd.
🇺🇸 AC-130J Ghostrider 18-5886
#AE6201
made many very visible flight tracks around the time it was reported that there were airstrikes occurring in Iraq.
I feel like this is unprecedented: I've never seen an aircraft likely involved carry out a sortie. Publicly.
Update: can confirm this is the correct number expected to be aboard... 800 souls outbound USAF C-17A RCH871 from Kabul, Afghanistan!
Thank you to
@geoff_mcmaw
for providing me with the information! Thank you also to the crew of C-17A 01-0186 for their amazing work!
If you had told me at the start of this war that either the Nordstream pipelines or the Kerch Strait Bridge would be the target of explosions, I would have thought the level of escalation would have been insane.
We've had both in the span of 11 days.
Version 1.1 of Moscow Pantsir S1 range circles, now including the one to the north (where one was expected) at Petrovka, 38 (Ministry of Internal Affairs).
The Kremlin remains in the center overlap by all three 30mm cannon ranges.
Was toying with the range circles of the two known Pantsir AD systems being set up in Moscow. Assuming an 11 mile range circle for SAMs and 2.5 mile circle for 30mm autocannons.
The 30mm circles nearly overlap one another. The Kremlin would fall under the overlap of both ranges.
Russian Navy may need to make a choice soon. Considering the surprise achieved, how easily breached defenses were, plus having no idea how many more of these USVs Ukraine may have, the risks BSF take by staying in Sevastopol are a lot higher today.
Maritime unmanned systems could be a huge contribution to Ukrainian efforts to dislodge Russian forces from Crimea and to interdict Russian resupply efforts across the Kerch Straits...another way Ukraine is taking the initiative instead of waiting to respond to Russian attacks.
#Sudan
🇸🇩: Sudanese Armed Forces released a video of their attack on a position of Rapid Support Forces (
#RSF
) during the recent clashes.
The SAF seemingly operates an improvised technical with 80mm B-8M1 rocket pod (from MiG-29 fighter aircraft) and S-8 unguided rockets.
Global reach.
24 hours of US and allied transport aircraft from CONUS to eastern Med/CENTCOM, including 🇺🇸 C-17A (49!), C-5M 🇬🇧 A400M & C-130 transports with RCH/REACH callsigns.
This is far from a complete list and does not include tankers or other types of aircraft.
Putting to rest the debate as to whether yesterday's turboprop shootdown was of an An-26 or Il-22M, it has been revealed that the tail number on the wreck is indeed 🇷🇺 Russian Air Force RA-75917 and thus an Il-22M airborne command post. None of the crew survived.
Just saw one of the most gruesome videos of at least four BMDs after direct hits from rpgs or Javelins near Hostomel.
Effective AT fire + thin aluminum/magnesium armor = carnage
This is the 12th Ka-52 Alligator known to be lost by the 🇷🇺 Russian Air Force.
Russia had ~119 to start the war with. They have now lost 10% of their Ka-52s in action in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the war, I've been drink-free. Tonight, however, was a time to celebrate! 🍉 🍷
For the Veterans.
For the fallen.
For the victors in
#Kherson
.
Budmo! (Let us be)
🇺🇦 Slava Ukraini!
The whole time it is on fire, I'm saying in my head "set it down before you lose control..."
But nah... rolling over, trapping everyone and burning them alive is what you chose.
As reported by
@CCharpentreau
, Russia's airlines industry about to take another step back as Sukhoi Superjets start to run out of key western-made parts.
By Autumn, it may become somewhat empty over Russian skies.
We may be looking at the remains of 10% of the Russian Su-34M modernized variant known to exist.
According to
@scramble_nl
there's only one 🇷🇺 Su-34 whose RF number ends in '90.' That is RF-95890 & it is an M - with improvements in avionics, radar, comms, EW & weapons systems.
Saw the NBC Nightly News segment on Americans volunteering to fight for Ukraine & I cannot help but wonder how many are Afghan vets.
The ghosts of Afghanistan still weigh heavily on a lot of minds. If there was a chance to "fight one more good fight"... I can see a lot going.
New thread. Bad ass mil pics. These will be my reposts only.
1) This is an F-15C of the 114th Fighter Sqn, 173rd FW at Kingsley Field ANG Base, Klamath Falls, OR for Oregon's 2016 International Air Show, painted for the 75th Anniversary of the Oregon Air National Guard.
Per CBS News, upcoming U.S. retaliatory strikes will also target Iranian personnel and facilities inside Iraq and Syria.
It was emphasized that there will be a series of strikes and what was referenced above is only part of the overall strike plan.
Important find. 👇
Turkish 🇹🇷 Bayraktar TB2 with registration T253 last seen testing over Turkish production facility March 21 - just 47 days ago.
Evidence the 🇺🇦 Ukrainians are actively being resupplied TB2s during the war.
In the upper right corner of this TB2 footage captured earlier today, we can see that this is being captured by TB2 Ground Control Station 12 (it is unknown if this is sequential or not) from a TB2 with registration T253. H/t
@vcdgf555
for the tip! 1/3
I had this discussion many months ago with a close friend about these kinds of mass plane spot posts. Prior to the war starting, a lot of it centered around how much was hype & how much was substance.
22 aircraft of the Russian Air Force and Rossiya - Special Flight Detachment.
🇷🇺 Aeroflot now only flies to 13 of 56 countries it flew before the war. It has lost its CEO, strategy chief & several top execs due to resignations.
It's also running out of spare parts for its Boeings & Airbuses, the majority of its 350+ planes.
This is a bit of a mystery for me.
They pulled the B-21 out to take a pic (presumably long exposure in the dark) when no one would suspect to look 3 days early, then put it back in the barn for the unveiling.
Slightly odd.
Not sure what to believe anymore. Reports are that Kyiv is surrounded and civilians can't get out, and the next thing I read is that the Russian conscripts in Chernihiv Oblast are ready to lay down arms.
I suppose both are possible, but more evidence is needed for either.
I started doing flight tracking - like many who have followed since - as a hobby.
I thought it was amazing the 1st time I was able to see the flights my family was on in real-time, or the 1st time I was able to see a military jet in real life from data I got from an app.
1/
Russian MoD:
"Four Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft were shot down in an air battle in the Zhytomyr region today, a Su-25 was shot down by air defense forces in the Nizhyn region, a Mi-8 helicopter of the Ukrainian Air Force and a Bayraktar TB-2 drone was also shot down."
It just so happens I ordered 0.5m imagery from Skywatch a few days ago of
#Belgorod
international airport.
October 6th, 2022, pass of Mezhdunarodny Belgorod Airport (50.644283, 36.581383). It reveals 7x Russian Air Force Mi-8/17 helicopters present.
Belgorod in Russia today, which is gradually turning into a frontline city in this war. Reports that the airport has been heavily damaged in strikes this morning.
Life comes at you fast: pundits on Russian TV realize that their military is failing and their country is in trouble. They are starting to play the blame game. Some of them finally understand that their genocidal denial of the Ukrainian identity isn't working in Russia's favor.
If this really is a war to end Hamas as a military fighting force, know this: there are an estimated 15,000-40,000 fighters, and if their survival is truly on the line, those ranks could swell with volunteers.
This is the fight that awaits. A ground war promises to be massive.
I've lived in China for 30 years, and I've never seen such a brazenly open and sustained expression of rage against the PRC govt. WeChat is exploding with protest videos and furious vitriol, and civil disobedience is becoming rampant. This is a serious test of CCP governance.
Morale is the gateway to success. It starts with loving & valuing people, and requires giving people mission & purpose. Without this, the organization will fracture. Many of us have seen that.
Now some of those Rossiya flights are returning to Moscow or have already arrived.
This behavior happens EVERY DAY. The only thing that has changed is their direction, starting off towards the east, due to air restrictions.
In short, I wouldn't run off to your bunker over this.
A lot of you have been asking if I planned on going anywhere if Twitter goes kaput.
I'm not. I'll go down with the ship.
It's been a fun ride. I'd be content ending on a high note.
Y'all have been like family to me. I could never replace this.
Thank you for being part of it.
I can’t stress this enough to my fellow OSINTers.
DO NOT SHARE UKRAINIAN TROOP MOVEMENTS, DON’T HELP A HOSTILE STATE WITH IT’S ILLEGAL ACTIONS ON SOVEREIGN TERRITORY. Instead share as much Russian movements as possible!!
#osint
Um, thanks 🇲🇩 Moldova?
Not sure if this is a transmitter/receiver error, but if in fact true, would be the first time a Rivet Joint has been allowed to operate over Moldovan airspace during the war.
🇬🇧 RRR7201 is RC-135W ZZ664 43C38C
I suppose as a symptom of growing older, I am reminded once again this Mother's Day that I have no kids.
Instead, I have plants I tend lovingly & work I focus on diligently.
Before anyone sneers at this, I often work to save other people's kids.
And so, in this, I am content.
This is leadership. Facing the toughest duty a leader can: looking in the faces of the loved ones of the dead whom he has commanded, knowing every day he has to send more men and women into battle so that their country can survive.
A true leader for the ages.
From a precision manufacturing POV, this went through a visual inspection, a borer, an assembler, a stenciler (if one was available), a washer, a certifier, a shipper, and I'm probably leaving at least 2 other positions out. And nobody caught this.
Thread. Sudan clashes.
There is a crazy amount of footage coming out of Khartoum showing fighter jets across the sky, continuous gun battles and explosions across the capital as the Sudanese Army fights with the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
1/
That's why Russia has saturated their lines with dragons teeth because of how not worried they are about armored breakthroughs.
Just because Russian-made tanks put on firework displays the second they get a hangnail doesn't mean the concept overall is dead.
🍿🍿🍿 Ukrainian drone commander who fought Wagner forces in Bakhmut and Soledar appears to be thoroughly enjoying the insurrection unfolding across the border.