Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumArtillery Is Breaking in Ukraine. It's Becoming a Problem for the Pentagon.
Source: New York Times
Artillery Is Breaking in Ukraine. Its Becoming a Problem for the Pentagon.
Ukrainian soldiers are firing thousands of shells daily, forcing the U.S. to replace gun barrels across the border in Poland.
By John Ismay and Thomas Gibbons-Neff
Nov. 25, 2022
WASHINGTON Ukrainian troops fire thousands of explosive shells at Russian targets every day, using high-tech cannons supplied by the United States and its allies. But those weapons are burning out after months of overuse, or being damaged or destroyed in combat, and dozens have been taken off the battlefield for repairs, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
A third of the roughly 350 Western-made howitzers donated to Kyiv are out of action at any given time, according to U.S. defense officials and others familiar with Ukraines defense needs.
Swapping out a howitzers barrel, which can be 20 feet long and weigh thousands of pounds, is beyond the capability of soldiers in the field and has become a priority for the Pentagons European Command, which has set up a repair facility in Poland.
Western-made artillery pieces gave Ukrainian soldiers a lifeline when they began running low on ammunition for their own Soviet-era howitzers, and keeping them in action has become as important for Ukraines allies as providing them with enough ammunition.
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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/25/us/ukraine-artillery-breakdown.html
Non-paywalled link: https://news.yahoo.com/artillery-breaking-ukraine-becoming-problem-150827570.html
judesedit
(4,443 posts)🤞🙏
PortTack
(32,793 posts)Over the next year.
Also, saw the top republican arms ways and means cmte member say that mccarthy and crew were not correct in saying they would not support Ukraine, that most republicans do support aid to Ukraine.
PortTack
(32,793 posts)Not sure why they are making a big deal out of this now.
Irish_Dem
(47,399 posts)mitch96
(13,924 posts)Stick it in a real world shooting war and see how it works is another story..
Look at the T72 turret tossing contests... Get rid of a crewman with a auto loader..
and boom❗️
Irish_Dem
(47,399 posts)Ukraine is providing invaluable information about US weapons as well as Russian ones.
mitch96
(13,924 posts)Since Poland can't get HIMARS fast enough they are buying So Korean version. Not as sophisticated, but cheaper and available now... How much you want to bet it's gonna be on the UKR battlefield for "testing"...
m
https://frontierindia.com/poland-cuts-us-himars-orders-for-south-korean-k239-chunmoo-rocket-launchers/
Irish_Dem
(47,399 posts)Originally, before RU invaded Ukraine they had requested a much lower number.
The US suppliers have not caught up to demand yet. So Poland is going to SK.
During the Viet Nam war this is how some smart people got rich quick.
See the need for certain weapon system. Cozy up to military contractors.
Manufacture and sell said weapons to Uncle Sam.
Ukraine is changing the way war is going to be fought in the 21st century.
I don't know where things will land, but drones are going to be in demand too.
mitch96
(13,924 posts)NUCLEAR out of the game, the "conventional" war makes a lot of the boys
in the Military Industrial Complex a whole lot of cash..
Irish_Dem
(47,399 posts)Many in congress know supporting Ukraine is important for a number of reasons.
The naysayers will have to answer to the MIC.
mitch96
(13,924 posts)If you want answers to what's really going on, follow the money.
m