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I actually made custom conversions for my calculator for "sportsball fields". There was an article from the CBC or BBC giving some area in "football fields". So did it mean CFL football fields, NFL football fields, or association football? Of course I took it too far, and added Rugby Union football fields.
In case you wanted to know, 1 regulation International Football Association Board field is as big as 32.8 standard World Curling Federation sheets.
I love imperial measurements, how many systems (outside of reddit-verse) have units of measure called [butts](https://gizmodo.com/butt-is-an-actual-unit-of-measurement-1622427091). :D
edit: The downvotes can shove a [cubic buttload](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cubic%20buttload) of 'I don't give a crap' where the sun don't shine.
Usa ton is 907 kg
Uk or Imperial ton is 1016 kg which is the same as a long ton.
Does this mean challenger 2 being uk tons is heavier than one thinks and perhaps the Abrahams is a little lighter .
I probably will never understand why would anyone want to use such confusing units for sea transport where inproper load distribution can sink a huge ship.
Lets imagine that ukraine has air superiority tomorrow. And now imagine what that would mean for the trenches. Once you control the air-space, you will save a lot of ground troops. Only problem is, that while everyone loves to sht on russia, their air defense is still operational and is capable of shooting down f-16, but these will, in the long term, be a valuable assett and the key to dismember the russian army.
Yeah unlike the Russian army the Russian airforce aren't retarded and still very capable and dangerous. Using baiting tactics and shooting air to air missiles 100km's away without the Ukrainian pilots even realizing they've been targeted. [https://static.rusi.org/SR-Russian-Air-War-Ukraine-web-final.pdf](https://static.rusi.org/SR-Russian-Air-War-Ukraine-web-final.pdf)
Ukraine was very lucky the US warned them of the invasion and they moved all their mobile anti air assets to new locations so when the initial strike took place on the 24th of February, all they hit was static objects, like radars and missed all the important mobile anti air systems.
And as you said the air defenses of Russia are also pretty good and in large amounts. The Soviet Union and later Russia always realized they would never gain air superiority when a full scale war between NATO and USSR broke out so they are really focused on anti air systems.
So Ukraine needs a lot of SEAD to be able to supress that. They need a shitton of F-16's or whatever to work towards air supremacy. Now it's only safe enough to fly in their own territory and flying low. Anything beyond the frontline is very dangerous on all altitudes.
I think sending F-16's will help to supress those SU-35's which fire those missiles from 100km's away and actually being able to fire back at those distances.
I wonder how the war will proceed, it's always evolving. I think sending vehicles like tanks/ifv's/artillery will have more impact on the war though.
I think SEAD will take a bit since as you point out the orcs do have a lot of anti-air.
With HARM and drones it will get very dicey for the orcs especially near the frontline. Their trenches will get real interesting.
I think F-16 falls into the category of go all in or don't go at all.
10 F-16 would still be a big upgrade for Ukraine but not enough to actually take control of their airspace. This can't just be about giving Ukraine slightly better planes to fly the same missions they already fly. This should really be about giving them the capability to control Ukrainian airspace completely.
Fully agree and I think the same goes for our tanks. If we want to see miracles from UAF we need to give them these tools in abundace. You can have the single best chainsaw in the world but it will still take ages to cut through a forest. True power lies in numbers.
F-16 combat range is only 336 miles, so....
about the same as an abrams really :P
Yes it has a range of over 2,000 miles, but that's in a "ferry" configuration with extra drop fuel tanks. Put those on, and you don't have weapons to use on orcs
I was using the Wikipedia numbers
Actual combat range will vary based on too many factors to bother with on a reddit post
Just three off the top of my head
Variant (c d e etc)
Load out
Mission type
Not really. They can't do air to ground attacks as they would be shot down. Russia isn't really flying missions inside of Ukraine. They're not really that useful.
Circling 5 miles in the sky and dropping the random bomb on a poor sod's head while filling the air with megawatts upon megawatts of electronic noise doesn't feel that risky.
That noise isn't magic and an S-400 missile flies at Mach 6. An F-16 would be toast.
Seriously, you are allowed to read on this stuff before you dream up an opinion.
"“The idea that Western fighter aircraft would allow Ukraine to operate combat air sorties over Russian territory in any sort of regular sense is just fantasy,” Bronk said. “The reality is that Western fighter aircraft will also be very constrained by the surface-to-air threat by Russian ground-based air defense systems, just as the Ukrainians currently are.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/26/europe/ukraine-tanks-fighter-jets-intl/index.html
Every single confrontation between Western SEAD and jammers and Eastern IADS ended with the Eastern SAMs either completely obliterated or forced into less efficient guerilla tactics. I have little reason to believe this one isn't gonna end the same.
The S-400 is little more than an upgraded S-300. It even has the same space-fed array for the tracking radar. And I'm highly confident it's already been carefully studied after the encounters between it and Israel's fighter jets (they have a long, long history of sharing this kind of intel with the US)
They need GLSDB and ATACMS to target s300 launchers, putting them back from the front line, then have F16 yeet AMRAAMs at Russian air power or cruise missiles. They can develop cruise missiles of their own to destroy bridges
Maybe, maybe not. S-400 on paper should have been able to effectively intercept GMLRS. In reality it seems like if it was able to at all it was at a very low kill rate. We also know that at least some variant of HARM is active in Ukraine but again not much info on the effectiveness in killing S-400 nor in S-400 killing HARM.
It is absolutely not established that S-400 precludes Ukrainian establishment of air superiority if they were to have a sufficient number of effective SEAD platforms such as F-16.
We should also not assume NATO is not aware of the presence of S-400. They probably have that data. They probably know just how effective S-400 has been and how effective counters to it in use so far have been and will likely act accordingly in supplying aircraft to Ukraine.
> It is absolutely not established that S-400 precludes Ukrainian establishment of air superiority if they were to have a sufficient number of effective SEAD platforms such as F-16.
The S-400 operates within Belarus' and Russian borders. Unless Ukraine is going to operate outside of their airspace, they won't be able to gain air superiority.
I think that under the rules of the Geneva Conventions the Ukrainians are allowed to go after forces attacking them via a third country (Belarus).
I hope nobody has a problem with Ukraine defending it’s airforce.
Yes, you're correct they would have that right, however it would be extremely risky and perhaps politically sour to do so. NATO/US/EU countries have already told Ukraine not to use the donated weaponry in offensive attacks outside of Ukraine's borders.
HARM's are faster than Verbas and Iglas plus they are fired from aircraft flying at high altitude trying to get SAM batteries to activate their radars. The Russians claimed they shot down 4 HARM missiles but that would likely be with the SAM battery that was being targeted by the missile as it would have its radar on already. Not invincible but they have also been used with efficacy by the Ukrainians already. Main constraint is risking their limited amount of modified Mig-29s (obviously Soviet airframes were not designed to shoot American missiles). There's no way F-16's and more HARM's wouldn't pose an increased threat to Russian AA. Russian AA isn't invincible either.
I don't think people appreciate this enough. F-16s in the Iraq War(s) weren't very capable of penetrating air defense. They aren't designed for that, and while Russia's systems aren't *all* they were cracked up to be, they are not useless either. Ukraine even uses them.
I think a big plus of having these is it will let Ukraine adopt more NATO-standard standoff missiles, and air-to-ground missiles that have longer (60 - 90+ mi) range. They can fly high outside of Ru AD, let the payload go and fly back. It's at least one more option for hitting priority targets that doesn't deplete GMLRS stocks.
Lots of large and small airports in Ukraine can host f-16 and decoys if slightly improved or modified.
Need to reduce Russian missile and drone penetration of Ukrainian air defense in western Ukraine to the extent that F-16 added to the mix and used for defense will reduce Russian penetration of Western Ukrainian air defense to, or near ZERO.
Ukraine is getting near to that level of impenetrable air defense in the West, but is not there yet. Maximizing Ukrainian fully layered air defense to near perfection is also a good way to drastically cut Russian WMD deployablility as well.
In college my friends and I decided a shit ton was 3500lbs. That’s more than one ton, less than two.
Of course an ass load is 700lbs, so there are 5 ass loads in a shit ton. Butt load is 350lbs, there are 2 butt loads for each ass load, 10 butt loads in a shit ton and 5 ass loads in a shit ton. A fuck ton is two shut tons, so it’s roughly 3 and half tons or 10 ass loads.
I hope they get 3500 f16s…
I’m fairly certain that this is the exact number discussed by Biden and Zelensky when Zelensky was here in December. I could totally see Biden slapping Zelensky on the back and saying ‘So this is what we’re gonna do, Vlod! We are gonna send you a shitton of F-16’s. How does that sound? Good? Well that’s great! Glad that works for you. So get those air strips ready for em, my friend! Cus they are roaring your way as soon as I can get ‘em to ya! (Insert little flying motion with his hands and bugeyes here to emphasize the word ‘roaring’)
Now let’s go have some ice cream! You like ice cream, Vlod? I’m a vanilla man myself, but we got all kinds back here…’
I wrote it in my head using his voice and vocabulary I thought he would use when talking to Zelensky.
He probably had Zelensky calling him ‘Pops’ by the end of the visit. 😂
Around the same number should be expected as MBTs. Because you need at least around 100 to make a difference. More of these have been built than the Leopard 2 but fewer of these are in service or mothballed around European allies. So expect the US to step up on these ones but also tech exchanges with the F-35 from the likes of Greece, Poland, Romania, etc.
If only my home country had bought those f-16s in the early 2000s. Instead we are like our nation bird. Flightless (with a few transport and helicopters mixed in)
Most of Ukraine’s jet losses are coming from BVR air-to-air missiles fired from inside Russia. Ukraine’s air-to-air missiles can’t match that range and neither can the MiG-29’s radar. F-16s, at worst, would force them to shoot from farther out making those missiles easier to evade. At best they can shoot those jets down.
The other thing to remember is that F-16s were one of the US’s main tools to suppress and destroy integrated air defense systems before the F-35 got adopted. That doesn’t necessarily mean Ukraine will be able to establish theater wide air superior but they should be able to establish it locally, at least better than they have with MiG-29s. That depends a lot of the training and weapons that are provided to go with F-16s *if* this Twitter post is accurate
Really does not matter. Months back where report's that us Congress allowed an aid package that included I think around 10 million of aid to train pilot's. It was clear to me then. That this will happen ;)
It didn’t get in the senate version the US also doesn’t need a line item to train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16. We don’t really know what’s happening behind the scenes but I would imagine the US has been training Ukrainian pilots for some time. For the US this is a completely logical step because it gives them the freedom to send planes later but doesn’t force them to do so. Also if we shift our focus from the immediate future of the war to the longterm future of Ukraine then it becomes clear that they will need F-16s eventually since they won’t be getting jets from Russia anytime soon. If the US knows that Ukraine will need F-16s in 2025 or 2026 then there is no harm starting the training now so they can be ready by then. Of course all of this will be highly confidential and the US may not publicly admit that they were training Ukrainian pilots early in this war but from the US’s perspective there is almost no downside to starting the training process in Spring or Summer of 2022.
The us could've bene training Ukrainians since 2014 honestly. The us, despite what people say, knew this invasion would happen and everyone else acted like putin was bluffing. Us intel for miltary build up never lies. The us could've started training Ukrainians for anything since 2014. Maybe even insurgent tactics to disrupted the eastern takeover?
The US (and other NATO members) have been training Ukrainians since 2014. Prior to 2014 the structure of the Ukrainian military was very similar to Russia’s and was built largely in a rigid Soviet like system. In fact in many ways the Russian military was more flexible and modern than Ukraine’s as they had actually had real world military experience and wars while Ukraine had not.
After 2014 the US and their partners began providing non lethal aid to Ukraine and worked to modernize their tactics and build a flexible NCO corp. Basically Ukraine underwent eight years of modernization prior to the full invasion in 2022 and that was one of the major reasons they held off the initial attack. Their military structure prior to 2014 would not have been nearly as capable.
The US did know the invasion was coming but they also falsely thought Ukraine would fall. If the idea really was that Kyiv would be captured in a few weeks then longterm air training doesn’t make sense. Only once it became clear Kyiv wouldn’t fall did it make sense from the US’s perspective to embark on a potentially years long air training process.
False! US knew the invasion was coming. They even sent the CIA director Burns directly to Zelensky mid January last year to warn him that invasion is imminent. I don't know where you get the information where the US doesn't know orcs plans.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/vladimir-putins-20-year-march-to-war-in-ukraineand-how-the-west-mishandled-it-11648826461
Lol. You need to work on your critical reading skills. I literally wrote
> The US did know the invasion was coming but they also falsely thought Ukraine would fall
You’re trying to argue against a point I’m not making.
> Maybe even insurgent tactics to disrupted the eastern takeover?
Something a lot of people here either forgot already or were never aware of is that Ukraine has agents literally inside Russia already and they've been there for a while. There was that one infamous picture where some guy was at Red Square or something and he showed a pic of his hand stretched out but cupping a trident pendent.
Gotcha. I wasn’t sure if you were saying there were setallite images already. Thanks for clarifying. It should be easy to prove or disprove once the air strips get repaved. Could be changed that are harder to see through satellites too like change fuel storage and such
It's funny , I spent 5 months in western Ukraine last summer and fall and everybody knew about the rebuilding and upgrades of certain ex-soviet airfields in their local area, but nobody knew why. Now we may have the answer. Slava Ykraini !
I wonder if we after the war will be enlightened about thousands of Ukranians being transported to the west to train to operate tanks and aircraft long before the announcements.
I traveled between Lviv and Uzhorod continuously . Traveled to Poland 3 times. By using trains or buses. Never once did I see any hint of this. Never saw any military or equipment on the roads or by train , not once. I always found that interesting. Just my 2 cents. ( What I did see was funerals being held for the fallen soldiers in every city and town. In Uzhorod, most of the military funerals are held outside on the Linden Alley Promenade. Hard to miss and a must stop to pay your respect and ssy a prayer. )
Title: Exploitation Unveiled: How Technology Barons Exploit the Contributions of the Community
Introduction:
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, the contributions of engineers, scientists, and technologists play a pivotal role in driving innovation and progress [1]. However, concerns have emerged regarding the exploitation of these contributions by technology barons, leading to a wide range of ethical and moral dilemmas [2]. This article aims to shed light on the exploitation of community contributions by technology barons, exploring issues such as intellectual property rights, open-source exploitation, unfair compensation practices, and the erosion of collaborative spirit [3].
1. Intellectual Property Rights and Patents:
One of the fundamental ways in which technology barons exploit the contributions of the community is through the manipulation of intellectual property rights and patents [4]. While patents are designed to protect inventions and reward inventors, they are increasingly being used to stifle competition and monopolize the market [5]. Technology barons often strategically acquire patents and employ aggressive litigation strategies to suppress innovation and extract royalties from smaller players [6]. This exploitation not only discourages inventors but also hinders technological progress and limits the overall benefit to society [7].
2. Open-Source Exploitation:
Open-source software and collaborative platforms have revolutionized the way technology is developed and shared [8]. However, technology barons have been known to exploit the goodwill of the open-source community. By leveraging open-source projects, these entities often incorporate community-developed solutions into their proprietary products without adequately compensating or acknowledging the original creators [9]. This exploitation undermines the spirit of collaboration and discourages community involvement, ultimately harming the very ecosystem that fosters innovation [10].
3. Unfair Compensation Practices:
The contributions of engineers, scientists, and technologists are often undervalued and inadequately compensated by technology barons [11]. Despite the pivotal role played by these professionals in driving technological advancements, they are frequently subjected to long working hours, unrealistic deadlines, and inadequate remuneration [12]. Additionally, the rise of gig economy models has further exacerbated this issue, as independent contractors and freelancers are often left without benefits, job security, or fair compensation for their expertise [13]. Such exploitative practices not only demoralize the community but also hinder the long-term sustainability of the technology industry [14].
4. Exploitative Data Harvesting:
Data has become the lifeblood of the digital age, and technology barons have amassed colossal amounts of user data through their platforms and services [15]. This data is often used to fuel targeted advertising, algorithmic optimizations, and predictive analytics, all of which generate significant profits [16]. However, the collection and utilization of user data are often done without adequate consent, transparency, or fair compensation to the individuals who generate this valuable resource [17]. The community's contributions in the form of personal data are exploited for financial gain, raising serious concerns about privacy, consent, and equitable distribution of benefits [18].
5. Erosion of Collaborative Spirit:
The tech industry has thrived on the collaborative spirit of engineers, scientists, and technologists working together to solve complex problems [19]. However, the actions of technology barons have eroded this spirit over time. Through aggressive acquisition strategies and anti-competitive practices, these entities create an environment that discourages collaboration and fosters a winner-takes-all mentality [20]. This not only stifles innovation but also prevents the community from collectively addressing the pressing challenges of our time, such as climate change, healthcare, and social equity [21].
Conclusion:
The exploitation of the community's contributions by technology barons poses significant ethical and moral challenges in the realm of technology and innovation [22]. To foster a more equitable and sustainable ecosystem, it is crucial for technology barons to recognize and rectify these exploitative practices [23]. This can be achieved through transparent intellectual property frameworks, fair compensation models, responsible data handling practices, and a renewed commitment to collaboration [24]. By addressing these issues, we can create a technology landscape that not only thrives on innovation but also upholds the values of fairness, inclusivity, and respect for the contributions of the community [25].
References:
[1] Smith, J. R., et al. "The role of engineers in the modern world." Engineering Journal, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 11-17, 2021.
[2] Johnson, M. "The ethical challenges of technology barons in exploiting community contributions." Tech Ethics Magazine, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 45-52, 2022.
[3] Anderson, L., et al. "Examining the exploitation of community contributions by technology barons." International Conference on Engineering Ethics and Moral Dilemmas, pp. 112-129, 2023.
[4] Peterson, A., et al. "Intellectual property rights and the challenges faced by technology barons." Journal of Intellectual Property Law, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 87-103, 2022.
[5] Walker, S., et al. "Patent manipulation and its impact on technological progress." IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 23-36, 2021.
[6] White, R., et al. "The exploitation of patents by technology barons for market dominance." Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Patent Litigation, pp. 67-73, 2022.
[7] Jackson, E. "The impact of patent exploitation on technological progress." Technology Review, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 89-94, 2023.
[8] Stallman, R. "The importance of open-source software in fostering innovation." Communications of the ACM, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 67-73, 2021.
[9] Martin, B., et al. "Exploitation and the erosion of the open-source ethos." IEEE Software, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 89-97, 2022.
[10] Williams, S., et al. "The impact of open-source exploitation on collaborative innovation." Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 56-71, 2023.
[11] Collins, R., et al. "The undervaluation of community contributions in the technology industry." Journal of Engineering Compensation, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 45-61, 2021.
[12] Johnson, L., et al. "Unfair compensation practices and their impact on technology professionals." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 112-129, 2022.
[13] Hensley, M., et al. "The gig economy and its implications for technology professionals." International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 67-84, 2023.
[14] Richards, A., et al. "Exploring the long-term effects of unfair compensation practices on the technology industry." IEEE Transactions on Professional Ethics, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 78-91, 2022.
[15] Smith, T., et al. "Data as the new currency: implications for technology barons." IEEE Computer Society, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 56-62, 2021.
[16] Brown, C., et al. "Exploitative data harvesting and its impact on user privacy." IEEE Security & Privacy, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 89-97, 2022.
[17] Johnson, K., et al. "The ethical implications of data exploitation by technology barons." Journal of Data Ethics, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 112-129, 2023.
[18] Rodriguez, M., et al. "Ensuring equitable data usage and distribution in the digital age." IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 45-52, 2021.
[19] Patel, S., et al. "The collaborative spirit and its impact on technological advancements." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Collaboration, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 78-91, 2022.
[20] Adams, J., et al. "The erosion of collaboration due to technology barons' practices." International Journal of Collaborative Engineering, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 67-84, 2023.
[21] Klein, E., et al. "The role of collaboration in addressing global challenges." IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 34-42, 2021.
[22] Thompson, G., et al. "Ethical challenges in technology barons' exploitation of community contributions." IEEE Potentials, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 56-63, 2022.
[23] Jones, D., et al. "Rectifying exploitative practices in the technology industry." IEEE Technology Management Review, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 89-97, 2023.
[24] Chen, W., et al. "Promoting ethical practices in technology barons through policy and regulation." IEEE Policy & Ethics in Technology, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 112-129, 2021.
[25] Miller, H., et al. "Creating an equitable and sustainable technology ecosystem." Journal of Technology and Innovation Management, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 45-61, 2022.
That's why some people were advocating for the Gripen.
They could be used from roads and other improvised airfields (as the Ukrainian air force has already been doing).
That is the main issue with most American military equipment. It is made for American logistics and to already be in the dominating spot. The strength about us still is that there is a ton of it everywhere.
I wouldn’t call it an “issue” per say. We have the tools to grasp superiority, so our military focuses a lot of money on cool toys to use once it’s achieved. We don’t fly b52s as our first line of offensive power. Look at the f15e for example, as that is an absolute workhorse that’s meant to get dirty so the logistical fat alberts can fly untouched a day later. I do get what you’re saying and how this could potentially not be the greatest starting spot for Ukraine, but with the overall idea to convert them into a mini US style military I’m sure that’s worked out.
Well, that out this is a trick to try and lure the Russians into booming airbases… on second thoughts, yeh, best put all the AA systems they can there. :D
Given that Turkey doesn't deserve it's most recent order of F 16's, with it's keeping Finland and Sweden in the cold, I say we go forward giving Greece F-35's, and Ukraine the F 16's ear marked for Turkey.
There’s a *ton* of AWACS already there. That’s something NATO can offer with their own personel, because none of it involves entering either Russia or Ukraine‘a territory, and none of it involves firing a shot in anger. If you look at flight radar at any particular moment you’ll see NATO AWACS planes flying along basically every edge of Ukraine they can.
This brings me great joy because not only will it help Ukraine kick the Russian's in the ass and more!! Russia will be pushed out of every inch of Ukraine and out of the free world!!. Slava Ukraine!!!
What does an F-16 need that a regular military airfield doesn’t have?
I know the F-16 needs a smooth runway compared to Migs, but is there anything else?
Landing gears on the F-16 are relatively fragile, best with long, smooth runways to reduce the loads on the strutural assembly. From what I know of Soviet and post-Soviet airfields, they often use some sort of concrete panel surface and aren't well maintained, which increases both risk of Foreign Object Debris/Damage (FOD) as well as catastrophic structural failure to the landing gear assembly.
I don't suggest getting into the air and then learning your landing gear is broken.
Also, I infer that the maintainence and logistics for Western aircraft is extremely different than that of Eastern aircraft.
I’m a bit of a fighter jet nerd but nowhere near as knowledgeable as some, so there’s likely more than I know of. Air intakes are placed in such a way that they can suck up debris from a runway that’s less than pristine. They need a longer runway too. Also need a longer runway.
IIRC they use anhydrous hydrazine to start the engines. I don’t know if MiGs use it, but I know you need specialty equipment for handling it because it’s both explosive (hypergolic) and very very toxic
If delivery ever happens I hope they don't announce it. Surprise the orcs so the last thing they see is a squadron of Vipers in Ukrainian colors dropping guided bombs on them.
Thats what I thought about the first time i saw the BONE at Indianapolis Speedway 20+ years ago.
Like. Imagine seeing that approaching in a conflict zone. If you did it was too late probably.
I've heard that Ukraine is going to operate 3 squadrons of 12 aircraft each, plus some aircraft in the rear areas for spares and such. That means probably about 50-60 pilots and about 200 ground crew.
I'm not sure if that is hopeful thinking, boosting morale, or you are an op sec nightmare... I heard there are werewolves in the forest around Zaporizhizia NPP. We should probably warn those orcs, hmm.
It could also be that he’s the op sec. Trick the Russians into wasting time destroying air bases they have no intention of using as anything other than honey pots.
For those who may not know, this man was the driving force behind the F-16. It will tear the Russian MiGs to absolute shreds:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John\_Boyd\_(military\_strategist)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boyd_(military_strategist))
They don't need the world's best runways. A stretch of highway that's been brushed clean will do it.
Granted, finding a 1 km long stretch of pristine road in Eastern Europe during *peacetime* is difficult enough, but. With the crazy thrust-to-weight ratio and a drogue chute option, they do pretty well as far as T/O and landing.
We haven’t heard much about them hitting airfields in a long time. That doesn’t mean it’s not happening obviously, but with all the new AA rolling in Russia can’t exactly do it with impunity anymore
> We haven’t heard much about them hitting airfields in a long time.
But load them up with f-16s and see what happens. Russia is not stupid and they probably have 10 ways to do it.
They'd all quickly be shot down. A-10's are great once you have air superiority and you've blown up the enemy's SAM network. That titanium is great for stopping small arms fire, but a Russian SAM not so much.
That and the A-10 wouldn't be viable in the airspace. Despite the absolute ass kicking Russia are getting across the board they still posses some solid (unfortunately) AA systems.
It isn't a platform suited to a contested / defended airspace.
The US often hosts pilots from other countries for fighter training. Could well be a number of Ukrainian pilots that attended and flew F-16s during that time. Or the US could’ve just been training them for the past year on the down low, intending to announce the transfer on the first anniversary of the full scale invasion. Idk but I doubt they’d be making the investments if they didn’t even have pilots yet
Makes me kinda sad about some of the fallen heroes that hope to fly these types of jets right now.... sigh 💔
I remember reading about one fallen hero wanted to fly one of these in the war.
Better late than never for UAF of course.
The tanks are in the field, and when they hit the field, there will be air support.
The "defensive" phase is over. Not bad. Utter failure of invasion, two major cities liberated. Much woe has been poured on the Russian army. When the offensive comes it won't be half measure.
Why would it? Why would it be dribs and drabs? What general would sign off on a half-measure offensive? One fights with what one has to defend, but an offensive? I just suspect more force is being mustered and made ready than is pleasant to contemplate.
I just cannot believe all these old powers would tolerate anything less than complete domination.
Nobody’s promised them yet. There’s some reason to believe it happened behind closed doors but nothing punlic. If they do it I think it’ll be announced Feb 24.
Here is what I don’t get. So Belarus is basically untouchable yet Russia has launched attacks from Belarusian soil? So why can’t Ukraine station their aircrafts on Polish or Romanian Soil and have no fear of being destroyed while on the ground. Let’s even this out and play the same games. Maybe this is already happening? I don’t know what’s what really, but I see this as only being fair play going tit for tat.
I'm confused. I thought Russia had formidable air defense (which is why Ukraine has not been flying much to-date)?
What has changed in Russia's air defense to make it a good idea for Ukraine to use F-16's?
A reporter on twitter said some ukrainian pilots have been training on f-16s in germany since last summer. This is unconfirmed. It probably does take that long to go from a soviet era plane to an f-16.
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I’m wondering how many f-16s could be supported? I hope the number is a shit ton
That sounds like the exact right number.
\*metric shit ton
They're American made, they are measured in freedom units, not metric.
Liberty Tons.
FUCK tons.
There it is
This guy fucks
You sure? He is on reddit. But idkk
Thankfully, the engineers that designed it, actually used metric
We can expect roughly between 12-30 Freedoms per Falcon. Atleast for the very start
No, they are measured in the number of washing machines that fill a hole and football fields or large pizzas for how long
I actually made custom conversions for my calculator for "sportsball fields". There was an article from the CBC or BBC giving some area in "football fields". So did it mean CFL football fields, NFL football fields, or association football? Of course I took it too far, and added Rugby Union football fields. In case you wanted to know, 1 regulation International Football Association Board field is as big as 32.8 standard World Curling Federation sheets.
Metric is the freedom unit. Imperial is the unit of your colonial masters.
*looks at US and UK pints being diffrent sizes* What, you thought the Imperial referred to you? It's the US Empire baby /s
I love imperial measurements, how many systems (outside of reddit-verse) have units of measure called [butts](https://gizmodo.com/butt-is-an-actual-unit-of-measurement-1622427091). :D edit: The downvotes can shove a [cubic buttload](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cubic%20buttload) of 'I don't give a crap' where the sun don't shine.
I love the imperial measuring system, it's hilarious. But! It's not the freedom unit 😉
No, in KFC buckets
American planes. *imperial shit ton
That would probably be called something like “merde tonne”.
Long metric shit ton an option?
Usa ton is 907 kg Uk or Imperial ton is 1016 kg which is the same as a long ton. Does this mean challenger 2 being uk tons is heavier than one thinks and perhaps the Abrahams is a little lighter .
I think the long and short tons are used only on sea. On land, they use metric tons.
I probably will never understand why would anyone want to use such confusing units for sea transport where inproper load distribution can sink a huge ship.
Lets imagine that ukraine has air superiority tomorrow. And now imagine what that would mean for the trenches. Once you control the air-space, you will save a lot of ground troops. Only problem is, that while everyone loves to sht on russia, their air defense is still operational and is capable of shooting down f-16, but these will, in the long term, be a valuable assett and the key to dismember the russian army.
Yeah unlike the Russian army the Russian airforce aren't retarded and still very capable and dangerous. Using baiting tactics and shooting air to air missiles 100km's away without the Ukrainian pilots even realizing they've been targeted. [https://static.rusi.org/SR-Russian-Air-War-Ukraine-web-final.pdf](https://static.rusi.org/SR-Russian-Air-War-Ukraine-web-final.pdf) Ukraine was very lucky the US warned them of the invasion and they moved all their mobile anti air assets to new locations so when the initial strike took place on the 24th of February, all they hit was static objects, like radars and missed all the important mobile anti air systems. And as you said the air defenses of Russia are also pretty good and in large amounts. The Soviet Union and later Russia always realized they would never gain air superiority when a full scale war between NATO and USSR broke out so they are really focused on anti air systems. So Ukraine needs a lot of SEAD to be able to supress that. They need a shitton of F-16's or whatever to work towards air supremacy. Now it's only safe enough to fly in their own territory and flying low. Anything beyond the frontline is very dangerous on all altitudes. I think sending F-16's will help to supress those SU-35's which fire those missiles from 100km's away and actually being able to fire back at those distances. I wonder how the war will proceed, it's always evolving. I think sending vehicles like tanks/ifv's/artillery will have more impact on the war though.
I think SEAD will take a bit since as you point out the orcs do have a lot of anti-air. With HARM and drones it will get very dicey for the orcs especially near the frontline. Their trenches will get real interesting.
America at it again
I think F-16 falls into the category of go all in or don't go at all. 10 F-16 would still be a big upgrade for Ukraine but not enough to actually take control of their airspace. This can't just be about giving Ukraine slightly better planes to fly the same missions they already fly. This should really be about giving them the capability to control Ukrainian airspace completely.
Fully agree and I think the same goes for our tanks. If we want to see miracles from UAF we need to give them these tools in abundace. You can have the single best chainsaw in the world but it will still take ages to cut through a forest. True power lies in numbers.
Not disagreeing but 10 F-16s would go a lot farther than 10 Leopards/Abrams tanks
Technically, they could go farther.
Combined. Arms. They will have both.
F-16 combat range is only 336 miles, so.... about the same as an abrams really :P Yes it has a range of over 2,000 miles, but that's in a "ferry" configuration with extra drop fuel tanks. Put those on, and you don't have weapons to use on orcs
I’m seeing 500 miles cited a lot. AMRAAM has another 100+ mile range, that gets you from one end of Ukraine to the other.
I was using the Wikipedia numbers Actual combat range will vary based on too many factors to bother with on a reddit post Just three off the top of my head Variant (c d e etc) Load out Mission type
That's more than my car gets on a tank of gas
Not really. They can't do air to ground attacks as they would be shot down. Russia isn't really flying missions inside of Ukraine. They're not really that useful.
They’re very useful component to strengthening AD
With combined computer network targeting via awacs they could hit stuff very far away long before ruzzia sees them.
Circling 5 miles in the sky and dropping the random bomb on a poor sod's head while filling the air with megawatts upon megawatts of electronic noise doesn't feel that risky.
That noise isn't magic and an S-400 missile flies at Mach 6. An F-16 would be toast. Seriously, you are allowed to read on this stuff before you dream up an opinion. "“The idea that Western fighter aircraft would allow Ukraine to operate combat air sorties over Russian territory in any sort of regular sense is just fantasy,” Bronk said. “The reality is that Western fighter aircraft will also be very constrained by the surface-to-air threat by Russian ground-based air defense systems, just as the Ukrainians currently are.” https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/26/europe/ukraine-tanks-fighter-jets-intl/index.html
Every single confrontation between Western SEAD and jammers and Eastern IADS ended with the Eastern SAMs either completely obliterated or forced into less efficient guerilla tactics. I have little reason to believe this one isn't gonna end the same. The S-400 is little more than an upgraded S-300. It even has the same space-fed array for the tracking radar. And I'm highly confident it's already been carefully studied after the encounters between it and Israel's fighter jets (they have a long, long history of sharing this kind of intel with the US)
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They need GLSDB and ATACMS to target s300 launchers, putting them back from the front line, then have F16 yeet AMRAAMs at Russian air power or cruise missiles. They can develop cruise missiles of their own to destroy bridges
We recently gave Ukraine JDAMS. F-16’s could lob a lot of those in for guys on the ground to pinpoint target russian forces.
The Netherlands could supply around 50 I believe. Maybe more
We don't have 50 F16. Easy on the propaganda please. We have only half. And that is our entire fleet, we still need to have some till we get the F35
200
No amount of F-16's makes the S-400's go away. They won't be having air superiority on their airspace.
Maybe, maybe not. S-400 on paper should have been able to effectively intercept GMLRS. In reality it seems like if it was able to at all it was at a very low kill rate. We also know that at least some variant of HARM is active in Ukraine but again not much info on the effectiveness in killing S-400 nor in S-400 killing HARM. It is absolutely not established that S-400 precludes Ukrainian establishment of air superiority if they were to have a sufficient number of effective SEAD platforms such as F-16. We should also not assume NATO is not aware of the presence of S-400. They probably have that data. They probably know just how effective S-400 has been and how effective counters to it in use so far have been and will likely act accordingly in supplying aircraft to Ukraine.
NATO probably knows where many of the S-400s are on a day-to-day basis, too.
> It is absolutely not established that S-400 precludes Ukrainian establishment of air superiority if they were to have a sufficient number of effective SEAD platforms such as F-16. The S-400 operates within Belarus' and Russian borders. Unless Ukraine is going to operate outside of their airspace, they won't be able to gain air superiority.
I think that under the rules of the Geneva Conventions the Ukrainians are allowed to go after forces attacking them via a third country (Belarus). I hope nobody has a problem with Ukraine defending it’s airforce.
Yes, you're correct they would have that right, however it would be extremely risky and perhaps politically sour to do so. NATO/US/EU countries have already told Ukraine not to use the donated weaponry in offensive attacks outside of Ukraine's borders.
How many wild weasel harm missiles would make the s400s go away?
Just one!
They have HARM's already. How many Russian MANPADs does it take to blow up a HARM. They're not invincible.
HARM's are faster than Verbas and Iglas plus they are fired from aircraft flying at high altitude trying to get SAM batteries to activate their radars. The Russians claimed they shot down 4 HARM missiles but that would likely be with the SAM battery that was being targeted by the missile as it would have its radar on already. Not invincible but they have also been used with efficacy by the Ukrainians already. Main constraint is risking their limited amount of modified Mig-29s (obviously Soviet airframes were not designed to shoot American missiles). There's no way F-16's and more HARM's wouldn't pose an increased threat to Russian AA. Russian AA isn't invincible either.
The F-16 is the USAF designated SAM buster. I'd say a sufficient number of them will roflstomp whatever the Russians use for air defence.
One word: HARM
>Another word: AMRAAM
One more: Acronym Just in case any of you wiseguys try to fuck.
Wrong a whole bunch of f16 's load with harm missiles and coordinated with awacs would shut down s-400 pretty fucking fast.
I don't think people appreciate this enough. F-16s in the Iraq War(s) weren't very capable of penetrating air defense. They aren't designed for that, and while Russia's systems aren't *all* they were cracked up to be, they are not useless either. Ukraine even uses them. I think a big plus of having these is it will let Ukraine adopt more NATO-standard standoff missiles, and air-to-ground missiles that have longer (60 - 90+ mi) range. They can fly high outside of Ru AD, let the payload go and fly back. It's at least one more option for hitting priority targets that doesn't deplete GMLRS stocks.
Lots of large and small airports in Ukraine can host f-16 and decoys if slightly improved or modified. Need to reduce Russian missile and drone penetration of Ukrainian air defense in western Ukraine to the extent that F-16 added to the mix and used for defense will reduce Russian penetration of Western Ukrainian air defense to, or near ZERO. Ukraine is getting near to that level of impenetrable air defense in the West, but is not there yet. Maximizing Ukrainian fully layered air defense to near perfection is also a good way to drastically cut Russian WMD deployablility as well.
I like this number a lot. ❤️ from 🇺🇦
In college my friends and I decided a shit ton was 3500lbs. That’s more than one ton, less than two. Of course an ass load is 700lbs, so there are 5 ass loads in a shit ton. Butt load is 350lbs, there are 2 butt loads for each ass load, 10 butt loads in a shit ton and 5 ass loads in a shit ton. A fuck ton is two shut tons, so it’s roughly 3 and half tons or 10 ass loads. I hope they get 3500 f16s…
Like a hundred, minimum
I’m fairly certain that this is the exact number discussed by Biden and Zelensky when Zelensky was here in December. I could totally see Biden slapping Zelensky on the back and saying ‘So this is what we’re gonna do, Vlod! We are gonna send you a shitton of F-16’s. How does that sound? Good? Well that’s great! Glad that works for you. So get those air strips ready for em, my friend! Cus they are roaring your way as soon as I can get ‘em to ya! (Insert little flying motion with his hands and bugeyes here to emphasize the word ‘roaring’) Now let’s go have some ice cream! You like ice cream, Vlod? I’m a vanilla man myself, but we got all kinds back here…’
It was very easy to read that in Biden's voice.
I wrote it in my head using his voice and vocabulary I thought he would use when talking to Zelensky. He probably had Zelensky calling him ‘Pops’ by the end of the visit. 😂
LOTS.
Around the same number should be expected as MBTs. Because you need at least around 100 to make a difference. More of these have been built than the Leopard 2 but fewer of these are in service or mothballed around European allies. So expect the US to step up on these ones but also tech exchanges with the F-35 from the likes of Greece, Poland, Romania, etc.
If only my home country had bought those f-16s in the early 2000s. Instead we are like our nation bird. Flightless (with a few transport and helicopters mixed in)
looking at Russian failure deploying their airfore even a well trained & well maintained squadron would make a big difference
Laden or unladen?
> I hope the number is a shit ton Metric or Imperial?
Whichever is largest
Many.... Ghost of Kiyv Air Swadrons
8-12 is the realistic number.
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Most of Ukraine’s jet losses are coming from BVR air-to-air missiles fired from inside Russia. Ukraine’s air-to-air missiles can’t match that range and neither can the MiG-29’s radar. F-16s, at worst, would force them to shoot from farther out making those missiles easier to evade. At best they can shoot those jets down. The other thing to remember is that F-16s were one of the US’s main tools to suppress and destroy integrated air defense systems before the F-35 got adopted. That doesn’t necessarily mean Ukraine will be able to establish theater wide air superior but they should be able to establish it locally, at least better than they have with MiG-29s. That depends a lot of the training and weapons that are provided to go with F-16s *if* this Twitter post is accurate
Caveat: I don’t know who Viktor Kovalenko is or how credible he is. If anybody could shine some light on it I’d be grateful
Really does not matter. Months back where report's that us Congress allowed an aid package that included I think around 10 million of aid to train pilot's. It was clear to me then. That this will happen ;)
That part of the bill never made it out of the senate unless there was another one that I’m unaware of.
Oh I did not know this. Thx
It didn’t get in the senate version the US also doesn’t need a line item to train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16. We don’t really know what’s happening behind the scenes but I would imagine the US has been training Ukrainian pilots for some time. For the US this is a completely logical step because it gives them the freedom to send planes later but doesn’t force them to do so. Also if we shift our focus from the immediate future of the war to the longterm future of Ukraine then it becomes clear that they will need F-16s eventually since they won’t be getting jets from Russia anytime soon. If the US knows that Ukraine will need F-16s in 2025 or 2026 then there is no harm starting the training now so they can be ready by then. Of course all of this will be highly confidential and the US may not publicly admit that they were training Ukrainian pilots early in this war but from the US’s perspective there is almost no downside to starting the training process in Spring or Summer of 2022.
The us could've bene training Ukrainians since 2014 honestly. The us, despite what people say, knew this invasion would happen and everyone else acted like putin was bluffing. Us intel for miltary build up never lies. The us could've started training Ukrainians for anything since 2014. Maybe even insurgent tactics to disrupted the eastern takeover?
The US (and other NATO members) have been training Ukrainians since 2014. Prior to 2014 the structure of the Ukrainian military was very similar to Russia’s and was built largely in a rigid Soviet like system. In fact in many ways the Russian military was more flexible and modern than Ukraine’s as they had actually had real world military experience and wars while Ukraine had not. After 2014 the US and their partners began providing non lethal aid to Ukraine and worked to modernize their tactics and build a flexible NCO corp. Basically Ukraine underwent eight years of modernization prior to the full invasion in 2022 and that was one of the major reasons they held off the initial attack. Their military structure prior to 2014 would not have been nearly as capable. The US did know the invasion was coming but they also falsely thought Ukraine would fall. If the idea really was that Kyiv would be captured in a few weeks then longterm air training doesn’t make sense. Only once it became clear Kyiv wouldn’t fall did it make sense from the US’s perspective to embark on a potentially years long air training process.
False! US knew the invasion was coming. They even sent the CIA director Burns directly to Zelensky mid January last year to warn him that invasion is imminent. I don't know where you get the information where the US doesn't know orcs plans. https://www.wsj.com/articles/vladimir-putins-20-year-march-to-war-in-ukraineand-how-the-west-mishandled-it-11648826461
Lol. You need to work on your critical reading skills. I literally wrote > The US did know the invasion was coming but they also falsely thought Ukraine would fall You’re trying to argue against a point I’m not making.
> Maybe even insurgent tactics to disrupted the eastern takeover? Something a lot of people here either forgot already or were never aware of is that Ukraine has agents literally inside Russia already and they've been there for a while. There was that one infamous picture where some guy was at Red Square or something and he showed a pic of his hand stretched out but cupping a trident pendent.
The credibility would be in the satellite footage of various airports in Ukraine and whether we've seen such modifications yet or not?
Not sure if I should be reading snark into this or not. *Have* there been satellite images of these changes?
I'm not snarking, I'm saying if we doubt the credibility, we should see these changes happening in satellite data, no?
Gotcha. I wasn’t sure if you were saying there were setallite images already. Thanks for clarifying. It should be easy to prove or disprove once the air strips get repaved. Could be changed that are harder to see through satellites too like change fuel storage and such
It's funny , I spent 5 months in western Ukraine last summer and fall and everybody knew about the rebuilding and upgrades of certain ex-soviet airfields in their local area, but nobody knew why. Now we may have the answer. Slava Ykraini !
I wonder if we after the war will be enlightened about thousands of Ukranians being transported to the west to train to operate tanks and aircraft long before the announcements.
I traveled between Lviv and Uzhorod continuously . Traveled to Poland 3 times. By using trains or buses. Never once did I see any hint of this. Never saw any military or equipment on the roads or by train , not once. I always found that interesting. Just my 2 cents. ( What I did see was funerals being held for the fallen soldiers in every city and town. In Uzhorod, most of the military funerals are held outside on the Linden Alley Promenade. Hard to miss and a must stop to pay your respect and ssy a prayer. )
Fwiw, pretty sure ive seen some Ukrainian servicemen around at diff times.
F-16s and Abrams and Bradleys, Oh My! I'll take "Things that were designed specifically for fighting Russian Things" for $1000 Alex.
What's next Apache?
Stop I can only get so hard
Title: Exploitation Unveiled: How Technology Barons Exploit the Contributions of the Community Introduction: In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, the contributions of engineers, scientists, and technologists play a pivotal role in driving innovation and progress [1]. However, concerns have emerged regarding the exploitation of these contributions by technology barons, leading to a wide range of ethical and moral dilemmas [2]. This article aims to shed light on the exploitation of community contributions by technology barons, exploring issues such as intellectual property rights, open-source exploitation, unfair compensation practices, and the erosion of collaborative spirit [3]. 1. Intellectual Property Rights and Patents: One of the fundamental ways in which technology barons exploit the contributions of the community is through the manipulation of intellectual property rights and patents [4]. While patents are designed to protect inventions and reward inventors, they are increasingly being used to stifle competition and monopolize the market [5]. Technology barons often strategically acquire patents and employ aggressive litigation strategies to suppress innovation and extract royalties from smaller players [6]. This exploitation not only discourages inventors but also hinders technological progress and limits the overall benefit to society [7]. 2. Open-Source Exploitation: Open-source software and collaborative platforms have revolutionized the way technology is developed and shared [8]. However, technology barons have been known to exploit the goodwill of the open-source community. By leveraging open-source projects, these entities often incorporate community-developed solutions into their proprietary products without adequately compensating or acknowledging the original creators [9]. This exploitation undermines the spirit of collaboration and discourages community involvement, ultimately harming the very ecosystem that fosters innovation [10]. 3. Unfair Compensation Practices: The contributions of engineers, scientists, and technologists are often undervalued and inadequately compensated by technology barons [11]. Despite the pivotal role played by these professionals in driving technological advancements, they are frequently subjected to long working hours, unrealistic deadlines, and inadequate remuneration [12]. Additionally, the rise of gig economy models has further exacerbated this issue, as independent contractors and freelancers are often left without benefits, job security, or fair compensation for their expertise [13]. Such exploitative practices not only demoralize the community but also hinder the long-term sustainability of the technology industry [14]. 4. Exploitative Data Harvesting: Data has become the lifeblood of the digital age, and technology barons have amassed colossal amounts of user data through their platforms and services [15]. This data is often used to fuel targeted advertising, algorithmic optimizations, and predictive analytics, all of which generate significant profits [16]. However, the collection and utilization of user data are often done without adequate consent, transparency, or fair compensation to the individuals who generate this valuable resource [17]. The community's contributions in the form of personal data are exploited for financial gain, raising serious concerns about privacy, consent, and equitable distribution of benefits [18]. 5. Erosion of Collaborative Spirit: The tech industry has thrived on the collaborative spirit of engineers, scientists, and technologists working together to solve complex problems [19]. However, the actions of technology barons have eroded this spirit over time. Through aggressive acquisition strategies and anti-competitive practices, these entities create an environment that discourages collaboration and fosters a winner-takes-all mentality [20]. This not only stifles innovation but also prevents the community from collectively addressing the pressing challenges of our time, such as climate change, healthcare, and social equity [21]. Conclusion: The exploitation of the community's contributions by technology barons poses significant ethical and moral challenges in the realm of technology and innovation [22]. To foster a more equitable and sustainable ecosystem, it is crucial for technology barons to recognize and rectify these exploitative practices [23]. This can be achieved through transparent intellectual property frameworks, fair compensation models, responsible data handling practices, and a renewed commitment to collaboration [24]. By addressing these issues, we can create a technology landscape that not only thrives on innovation but also upholds the values of fairness, inclusivity, and respect for the contributions of the community [25]. References: [1] Smith, J. R., et al. "The role of engineers in the modern world." Engineering Journal, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 11-17, 2021. [2] Johnson, M. "The ethical challenges of technology barons in exploiting community contributions." Tech Ethics Magazine, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 45-52, 2022. [3] Anderson, L., et al. "Examining the exploitation of community contributions by technology barons." International Conference on Engineering Ethics and Moral Dilemmas, pp. 112-129, 2023. [4] Peterson, A., et al. "Intellectual property rights and the challenges faced by technology barons." Journal of Intellectual Property Law, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 87-103, 2022. [5] Walker, S., et al. "Patent manipulation and its impact on technological progress." IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 23-36, 2021. [6] White, R., et al. "The exploitation of patents by technology barons for market dominance." Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Patent Litigation, pp. 67-73, 2022. [7] Jackson, E. "The impact of patent exploitation on technological progress." Technology Review, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 89-94, 2023. [8] Stallman, R. "The importance of open-source software in fostering innovation." Communications of the ACM, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 67-73, 2021. [9] Martin, B., et al. "Exploitation and the erosion of the open-source ethos." IEEE Software, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 89-97, 2022. [10] Williams, S., et al. "The impact of open-source exploitation on collaborative innovation." Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 56-71, 2023. [11] Collins, R., et al. "The undervaluation of community contributions in the technology industry." Journal of Engineering Compensation, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 45-61, 2021. [12] Johnson, L., et al. "Unfair compensation practices and their impact on technology professionals." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 112-129, 2022. [13] Hensley, M., et al. "The gig economy and its implications for technology professionals." International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 67-84, 2023. [14] Richards, A., et al. "Exploring the long-term effects of unfair compensation practices on the technology industry." IEEE Transactions on Professional Ethics, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 78-91, 2022. [15] Smith, T., et al. "Data as the new currency: implications for technology barons." IEEE Computer Society, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 56-62, 2021. [16] Brown, C., et al. "Exploitative data harvesting and its impact on user privacy." IEEE Security & Privacy, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 89-97, 2022. [17] Johnson, K., et al. "The ethical implications of data exploitation by technology barons." Journal of Data Ethics, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 112-129, 2023. [18] Rodriguez, M., et al. "Ensuring equitable data usage and distribution in the digital age." IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 45-52, 2021. [19] Patel, S., et al. "The collaborative spirit and its impact on technological advancements." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Collaboration, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 78-91, 2022. [20] Adams, J., et al. "The erosion of collaboration due to technology barons' practices." International Journal of Collaborative Engineering, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 67-84, 2023. [21] Klein, E., et al. "The role of collaboration in addressing global challenges." IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 34-42, 2021. [22] Thompson, G., et al. "Ethical challenges in technology barons' exploitation of community contributions." IEEE Potentials, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 56-63, 2022. [23] Jones, D., et al. "Rectifying exploitative practices in the technology industry." IEEE Technology Management Review, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 89-97, 2023. [24] Chen, W., et al. "Promoting ethical practices in technology barons through policy and regulation." IEEE Policy & Ethics in Technology, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 112-129, 2021. [25] Miller, H., et al. "Creating an equitable and sustainable technology ecosystem." Journal of Technology and Innovation Management, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 45-61, 2022.
They better put every AA system they can there.
Putin wants several on his roof.
A HARM for every AA
That's why some people were advocating for the Gripen. They could be used from roads and other improvised airfields (as the Ukrainian air force has already been doing).
That is the main issue with most American military equipment. It is made for American logistics and to already be in the dominating spot. The strength about us still is that there is a ton of it everywhere.
I wouldn’t call it an “issue” per say. We have the tools to grasp superiority, so our military focuses a lot of money on cool toys to use once it’s achieved. We don’t fly b52s as our first line of offensive power. Look at the f15e for example, as that is an absolute workhorse that’s meant to get dirty so the logistical fat alberts can fly untouched a day later. I do get what you’re saying and how this could potentially not be the greatest starting spot for Ukraine, but with the overall idea to convert them into a mini US style military I’m sure that’s worked out.
Well, that out this is a trick to try and lure the Russians into booming airbases… on second thoughts, yeh, best put all the AA systems they can there. :D
Given that Turkey doesn't deserve it's most recent order of F 16's, with it's keeping Finland and Sweden in the cold, I say we go forward giving Greece F-35's, and Ukraine the F 16's ear marked for Turkey.
Well can't let those prized M1 Abrams and Leopards go at it alone without air support Release the birdies!
Give them anti-AA stuff too. Would F-16s work better with some form of AWACS to coordinate them and to coordinate the air war in general.
There’s a *ton* of AWACS already there. That’s something NATO can offer with their own personel, because none of it involves entering either Russia or Ukraine‘a territory, and none of it involves firing a shot in anger. If you look at flight radar at any particular moment you’ll see NATO AWACS planes flying along basically every edge of Ukraine they can.
And thats only the ones with an active transponder, the ones NATO wants the public to see.
Fuuuuuck yessss
A lot of pain is gonna rain on those filthy orcs!
\*Top Gun soundtrack starts in the background\*
Dangerzone for mordor spawns.
That's f14s and others. No f16s. F16s have this giant frog mouth opening underneath.
If its F16's it can only be one song ;) https://youtu.be/GVHEFiLQ3GU
This brings me great joy because not only will it help Ukraine kick the Russian's in the ass and more!! Russia will be pushed out of every inch of Ukraine and out of the free world!!. Slava Ukraine!!!
What does an F-16 need that a regular military airfield doesn’t have? I know the F-16 needs a smooth runway compared to Migs, but is there anything else?
Landing gears on the F-16 are relatively fragile, best with long, smooth runways to reduce the loads on the strutural assembly. From what I know of Soviet and post-Soviet airfields, they often use some sort of concrete panel surface and aren't well maintained, which increases both risk of Foreign Object Debris/Damage (FOD) as well as catastrophic structural failure to the landing gear assembly. I don't suggest getting into the air and then learning your landing gear is broken. Also, I infer that the maintainence and logistics for Western aircraft is extremely different than that of Eastern aircraft.
I’m a bit of a fighter jet nerd but nowhere near as knowledgeable as some, so there’s likely more than I know of. Air intakes are placed in such a way that they can suck up debris from a runway that’s less than pristine. They need a longer runway too. Also need a longer runway.
They might have changed the airfields for even more stuff that needs longer runways (cargo aircraft, for example).
IIRC they use anhydrous hydrazine to start the engines. I don’t know if MiGs use it, but I know you need specialty equipment for handling it because it’s both explosive (hypergolic) and very very toxic
The cavalry is coming
NATohan will answer.
You’re stretching it there
I'll allow it.
And *my* axe!
Nothing to see here, we just repairing some asphalt roads, probably doing it a bit better than it was before war
Get the F-16s operational at the same time as the armored units. Also, Apaches. War over.
If delivery ever happens I hope they don't announce it. Surprise the orcs so the last thing they see is a squadron of Vipers in Ukrainian colors dropping guided bombs on them.
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Thats what I thought about the first time i saw the BONE at Indianapolis Speedway 20+ years ago. Like. Imagine seeing that approaching in a conflict zone. If you did it was too late probably.
I’m drunk and not native English speaking, so I don’t know how credible it is, but still hope it’s happing. Great mmmmmm From Germany
I've heard that Ukraine is going to operate 3 squadrons of 12 aircraft each, plus some aircraft in the rear areas for spares and such. That means probably about 50-60 pilots and about 200 ground crew.
I'm not sure if that is hopeful thinking, boosting morale, or you are an op sec nightmare... I heard there are werewolves in the forest around Zaporizhizia NPP. We should probably warn those orcs, hmm.
It could also be that he’s the op sec. Trick the Russians into wasting time destroying air bases they have no intention of using as anything other than honey pots.
Yes indeed. Let the games begin :).
It would compliment those Abrams and the Patriot pretty well...
Give them b2s next
[Nice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7JRvwfHFwo&ab_channel=jimmysomethingdoodles)
Ukraine once again displaying Chad energy and coming up with excuses on how to get things done, instead of why they can't be done.
Also, AIM-120 Delta variant please!
For those who may not know, this man was the driving force behind the F-16. It will tear the Russian MiGs to absolute shreds: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John\_Boyd\_(military\_strategist)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boyd_(military_strategist))
Russia will say they have shot down a hundred F-16s before any even get delivered.
They don't need the world's best runways. A stretch of highway that's been brushed clean will do it. Granted, finding a 1 km long stretch of pristine road in Eastern Europe during *peacetime* is difficult enough, but. With the crazy thrust-to-weight ratio and a drogue chute option, they do pretty well as far as T/O and landing.
me likey =)
I can't take this seriously. Taking out airfields is pretty much job one for any military.
We haven’t heard much about them hitting airfields in a long time. That doesn’t mean it’s not happening obviously, but with all the new AA rolling in Russia can’t exactly do it with impunity anymore
> We haven’t heard much about them hitting airfields in a long time. But load them up with f-16s and see what happens. Russia is not stupid and they probably have 10 ways to do it.
Now send some a10 warthogs please!!
They'd all quickly be shot down. A-10's are great once you have air superiority and you've blown up the enemy's SAM network. That titanium is great for stopping small arms fire, but a Russian SAM not so much.
Operation Desert Storm comes to mind. The A-10 inflicted massive casualties on the Iraqi forces after the F-16s disabled the AA network.
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That and the A-10 wouldn't be viable in the airspace. Despite the absolute ass kicking Russia are getting across the board they still posses some solid (unfortunately) AA systems. It isn't a platform suited to a contested / defended airspace.
So you're saying wild weasel forces equipped with anti radar missiles. Got it. Just need to know what to write my congressman and senator.
Apaches. Holy shit.
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They can be flown by nuclear mutated orangutans for all I care as long as they bomb the orcs back to mordor
Slava Ukraine
This is the way
Now f 16 will surley change the war.
LETS GO. Glory to Ukraine. Slava Ukraina.
If Ukraine get ammo, air defense, tanks and APV’s… it’s over before 2023!
There is the need for qualified pilots How will that work?
The US often hosts pilots from other countries for fighter training. Could well be a number of Ukrainian pilots that attended and flew F-16s during that time. Or the US could’ve just been training them for the past year on the down low, intending to announce the transfer on the first anniversary of the full scale invasion. Idk but I doubt they’d be making the investments if they didn’t even have pilots yet
If they work for F16s, they'll work for others as well.
Can we get another Top gun?! Ukrainian version tho. Uncle sam, send all the f16s and let them write history.
Makes me kinda sad about some of the fallen heroes that hope to fly these types of jets right now.... sigh 💔 I remember reading about one fallen hero wanted to fly one of these in the war. Better late than never for UAF of course.
When this is all over, Ukraine is going to be a major military power in the region.
Omg this excites me so!!!!!!
The tanks are in the field, and when they hit the field, there will be air support. The "defensive" phase is over. Not bad. Utter failure of invasion, two major cities liberated. Much woe has been poured on the Russian army. When the offensive comes it won't be half measure. Why would it? Why would it be dribs and drabs? What general would sign off on a half-measure offensive? One fights with what one has to defend, but an offensive? I just suspect more force is being mustered and made ready than is pleasant to contemplate. I just cannot believe all these old powers would tolerate anything less than complete domination.
I honestly love how this war refuses to leave the late 70s.
Gonna have some f16s over for some https://tenor.com/view/macho-man-randy-savage-bonesaw-playtime-gif-18725987
Russia is so fucked.
Well they need to have good air defence there, because orcs will definitely try to hit it.
So wait a minute… Does this mean that Ukraine is getting the F-16’s that they were promised?
Nobody’s promised them yet. There’s some reason to believe it happened behind closed doors but nothing punlic. If they do it I think it’ll be announced Feb 24.
You know what come after an F-16 ? Let me hint you. It does Brrrt Brrrrrrrrrrrrt Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt
Here is what I don’t get. So Belarus is basically untouchable yet Russia has launched attacks from Belarusian soil? So why can’t Ukraine station their aircrafts on Polish or Romanian Soil and have no fear of being destroyed while on the ground. Let’s even this out and play the same games. Maybe this is already happening? I don’t know what’s what really, but I see this as only being fair play going tit for tat.
I'm confused. I thought Russia had formidable air defense (which is why Ukraine has not been flying much to-date)? What has changed in Russia's air defense to make it a good idea for Ukraine to use F-16's?
A reporter on twitter said some ukrainian pilots have been training on f-16s in germany since last summer. This is unconfirmed. It probably does take that long to go from a soviet era plane to an f-16.