The impact of the airfield strike is immense and war-altering. Russia's best remaining bombers, the Tu-160, having to be relocated 6,000km away from the Ukrainian border is in practical terms, as good as having destroyed them. Russia' most effective strategy (other than corrosive misinformation) has been stand-off terror bombing for the last couple of years. Now that appears at best paused while they figure out some new security measures, and at worst - permanently blunted. It's just staggering how stupid they are and how badly they overplayed their hand with this ridiculous war.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Anadyr, which lacks permanent road access, is reachable only by aircraft or limited seasonal maritime routes

Hmm.

I'm not sure that that's such a great idea from Russia's standpoint. Yes, Ukraine probably can't just do a repeat of what it did before, which was drive trucks through Russia loaded with drones. But the flip side is that Anadyr Airbase is a mile from the Pacific shore:

https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/75690390

If Russia has trouble intercepting Ukrainian USVs in the Black Sea, I'm skeptical that they'd be able to intercept USVs dropped off an innocent-looking cargo ship or something, and if those can launch UAVs, now you've got all your valuable eggs in one basket in an area that has a lot less buffer to defend. Probably doesn't even place Ukrainian special operators at risk the way the truck operation did. It's not that far off shipping traffic from Alaska to Asia:

I'd have put them somewhere remote and inland and put air defenses up there. US Minuteman silos are in the center of the landmass, away from oceans.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

I don't think they have much choice. Their air defense capabilities at this point are seriously degraded from before the war started. Ukraine as knocked out almost 1,200 of their anti-air capability.

At this point they need to constantly move them to different locations. Never lingering at any one location longer than a week or so. Utilizing hanger space whenever possible to hide them.

Ukraine has shown that they can effectively target almost anywhere in Russian now with enough time and motivation. Russia has been using these planes to terror bomb civilians.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

Good to know hehe

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Next up, solar powered AI controlled drones.

Will navigate by stars if needed

They might not go far every day, but nowhere is safe.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Perching in the trees and on wires to charge.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

A real thing.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

😜 wink wink

lol, might as well park them in Alaska, they'll be safest there. But this is good, right, means they won't be able to use them to attack Ukraine.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

How close - can ukraine send a boat full of erones to the beach and get them?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

Hopefully into the actual sea itself.