Russia: Ukraine strikes Russia overnight with suicide drones

(Krasnodar Krai)  Overnight on the 26th and into the morning of the 27th April 2023, Ukraine carried out a number of UAV strikes in the Krasnodar Krai region of Russia , which is situated to the east of the Crimea on the otherside side of the Kerch bridge.

So far it is been reported that a oil refinery and the military airfield at kushchyovskaya were struck. The interesting thing about the airfield strike is that it was where the Russians relocated their aircraft based in the Crimea , after their security could no longer be guaranteed there after numerous Ukrainian strikes. (Like the one 10 days ago on the 17th of April) in fact google maps shows over 50 aircraft based at the airfield. 

But that is only half the story. In recent months Russia has regained the momentum in its invasion of the Ukraine and one of the means it has done so is by fitting small wings onto dumb bombs adding the Russian version of GPS (Glonass) and hey presto a cheap guided weapon, which unlike the US version (JDAMS) due to its size doesnt require a direct hit to damage the target area (usually dug in troops) and the Russians have used such to devastating effect 

Well post strike video from the airfield shows the Ukrainians also destroyed a warehouse containing the glide kits for the Russians FAB bombs. 

Ukrainian strikes on Krasnodar Krai partially affected Russian aerial bombardment storage — at the airbase in the town of Kushchyovskaya, Krasnodar Krai, a UMPK warehouse was destroyed.

— The UMPK is a wing kit/guidance module installed on general-purpose “dumb” bombs and… pic.twitter.com/P0yIPFPhLU

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 27, 2024

Interlude: Tina Charles - I Love To Love

Greece: Upgrade for Leopard 1A5 tank revealed.

(Athens)  Greece has a fairly large tank force consisting on paper of:

353 Leopard 2 (mix of A6 HEL and A4)

520 Leopard 1A5 

392 M48A5 

100 M60A3 

Having a belligerent neighbour in Turkey hasn't afforded Greece the luxury to cut back on its military like European countries' to the West have done these past 30 years (But as we have seen that mindset has changed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022). In fact Turkey has actively spent a lot of time rearming over the same time, problem for Greece, it really cant afford to spend money purchasing new tanks to replace its older ones such as the 520 Leopard 1A5 tanks it has in its inventory .

Greek Leopard 1A5

So in 2022 it asked Industry for solutions regards upgrading the Leopard 1s. First off the bat was Italy with a proposal (as offered to Brazil regards upgrading its Leopard 1 tanks) to fit the turret of the Centauro 2 tank killer onto the chassis of the Leopard 1

Centauro 2

The otherday Greek company EODH, in collaboration with Belgian-Spanish DUMA and German KNDS revealed the Leopard 1HEL concept . This entails fitting a new 1,000-horsepower engine, upgrading the drivetrain, and suspension systems, which will see higher on- and off-road speeds and better obstacle-crossing capabilities.

It also involves updating the tank's turret and hull with advanced systems and technologies whilst retaining the 105mm cannon, which will allow for the large stockpile of existing ammunition to not go to waste. For protection (with lessons learnt in the Ukraine) the latest reactive and passive armour will be fitted, which will be backed up by an active protection sensor suite all of which will increase the weight of the tank to 46 tonnes.

of course this upgrade as a complete revamp of the Leopard 1 will be just that little bit more expensive than the Italian version. Just have to wait and see what the Greeks select. 

Ukraine: A huge mistake by Kyiv sees Russians advance 5 miles in hours.

(Donbas)  So during a roulement change over on the front line between the Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade and its replacement the 115th Mechanized Brigade for some reason or other left the defensive positions the 47^th had been holding empty, Russian forces noticing that error, cashed in by quickly sending forces to rush forward and take those positions before the 115^th  took over, which resulted in the Russians advancing 5 kilometres into Ukrainian territory, only a counterattack by the Ukrainian 100th Mechanized Brigade stopped the Russians from advancing from the now captured village of Ocheretyne another 7 miles west to the town of Prohres. Huge mistake by the Ukrainians which no doubt will see some heads roll back in Kyiv.

As the map from Ukraine livemaps (below) show, if the Russians had manage to advance to Prohres along the same trainline they used to capture Ocheretyne, then the entire area below it would have become untenable and the Ukrainians would have had to retreat behind the water feature in which to regroup, which would have collapsed that sector of the Ukrainian battle line, even now it is still vulnerable and no doubt the Russians will go all out to capture it.

Uk: KC 155 Self propelled gun selected as British next generation mobile fires platform

(London) The Uk has selected the German Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm (RCH 155) 52 calibre Wheeled Artillery Systems

to replace the 32 year old AS90 it currently employs in the self propelled artillery role.  The RCH 155 is based on the wheeled Boxer APC , of which the Uk has purchased 623

The Boxer is based around a modular design where the rear compartment  can be switched out with different modules as the mission demands 

The artillery gun module of the RCH 155 is unmanned and provides automated navigation and fire control, features fully automated gun laying, projectile and charge loading. It can fire up to 9 rounds per minute to a range of up to 40km with standard ammunition  An increased range of up to 54km is possible with Very Long Range Artillery Projectiles (VLAP). This allows for a reduced crew of 2 (driver/operator, commander).