Recent content by Spitfire9

Developing a 5G aircraft must be challenging. Sounds like you suggest adding a 6G, too, at the same time! Sounds like overstretch to me.

The France/Germany/Spain FCAS programme is reported to be suffering from problems regarding French/German co-operation. If it does not go ahead, might Spain be able to contribute usefully to KAAN (I don't just mean funding) and vice versa? Could there be some kind of synergy? I recall that Spain...

In retrospect KF-21 might have been a better option than F-35 for Canada. In view of what has happened, it might have been a better option than F-35 for Turkiye, too.

I have no knowledge about TF-35000 beyond what I read here and in the online media. Given the secrecy involved with turbofan design, how far work on TF-6000 and TF-10000 has advanced may be unknowable to all outside the projects. My guess, though, is that FTB testing in 2028 is very...

Former British soldier living in Ukraine interviewed. He strikes me as thoughtful, informed, srticulate and perceptive. One revelation he made was striking to me. He stated that with increased drone use, the historic 3:1 loss ratio for advancing soldiers versus defending soldiers has increased...

The national wealth fund has been run down. Its 242 tonnes of gold are being sold (to Russian citizens), I think. Some of its yuan reserves are being sold, I imagine. I have read that revenue above 60 USD per barrel from crude sales was added to the NWF, so replenishing it. With Russian crude...

Valid points. A question for you if you care to answer: do you think Russia will suffer a severe fall in its economy and finances soon? I do. I think things are shaping up for that to happen in 2026. I think that will be 'end of game' for Russia' s Ukraine adventure.

No doubt that overall Russia is occupying more and more of Ukraine but I don't think that Russian apologists see this with any realistic perspective. Ukraine has an area of roughly 600,000 sq km. Around 20% is under Russian occupation. In 2024 that might have been 19%. In 2023 that might have...

A US guarantee of security means very little with Trump in charge. In fact I suspect that the Europeans lost confidence in the US after it started attacking its NATO and trading partners. It will be many years before confidence returns, if ever. If there were a European defence alliance instead...

Congratulations to the Russian nuclear industry if it has won some contracts for nuclear power stations this year. I imagine that will improve Russian GDP over the next 7-10 years. Urals oil now needs a 30%-40% discount to attract a buyer thanks to the Rosneft and Lukoil sanctions coming into...

The average annual salary in Ukraine is less than 7,000 USD according to google. I do not know how much soldiers are paid but I do not see why they should need to be paid 7 times the average salary to motivate them to defend their country. However... if Europe + Canada want Ukraine to survive...

Oil and gas exports have been a mainstay of Russian government revenue for a long time. It seems that customers are hesitant to place orders for crude subsequent to the recent sanctions against Rosneft and Ukoil. Jo Blogs (link below) observes that to maintain production of crude Russia has...

People in Ukraine who want Ukraine to survive should be able to appreciate that if an insufficient number of people to sustain Ukraine's continuing existence fail to join the armed forces, Ukraine will disappear. If Russia occupies Ukraine the freedoms lost by all citizens will be vastly greater...

Are you sure about that?

I don't know what Ukraine should do. I am under the impression that Ukrainian troops receive little leave. If true, perhaps conscripting men at 21 would be a good move to allow an increase of leave for existing troops while also satisfying Ukraine's backers.