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Appreciate that replacing bombers is much harder than tanks, but in this new age of drone warfare, are bombers still as important?
I suppose it depends on where you're likely to be waging war and your approach to warfare.
The RAF doesn't have a dedicated bomber, the Typhoon and F35 Lightning fleet can both carry bombs, but I wouldn't call them "bombers".
Air superiority has been the thing for decades. It's the ability to roam at will over the battlefield, but different nations approach it in different ways and it depends on your opponents' abilities.
If you can use drones or missiles at will, but little else, do you have air superiority? It isn't always about crewed aircraft and if you can suppress your opponents drones and missiles with yours then you probably do in that context.
The complexity of modern anything makes it expensive to acquire in numbers and difficult to replace quickly so you use what's best-suited with appropriate support. Russia doesn't have air-superiority and using an unsuitable heavy bomber was always going to catch them out.
AI drones are the next "big thing" as an un-crewed sidekick to crewed aircraft. Maybe the new US bomber, the B21 Raider, will carry drones to deploy at will, but it's only flying as a pre-production test at the moment.
With reference to tank production, I don't think that anyone has publicly stated what annual production of Russian tanks looks like. Are they new tanks or are they restored and repaired older tanks?
I get what you mean about drones and they have become incredibly important, but mostly at a tactical level where these bombers are still important at a strategic level.
My seven paragraphs in a nutshell 🙂
https://bsky.app/profile/covertshores.bsky.social/post/3lqpah3rn7k2h
Another crack at the Kerch bridge?
I'm looking forward to seeing it finally fall.
Sadly it's proving quite resilient, although those defensive barriers are clearly a bit shit. Glad I'm not the naval engineer responsible for that design, definitely avoiding windows, (portholes?) for the foreseeable...
The bridge’s pillars are supported by several thin pylons sunk deep into the ground.
Damage maybe hidden
I would imagine that the bridge was built knowing full well that the invasion was on the cards. Crimea was annexed in 2014. Addmittedly the defence was originally poor but I recall blokeuptheroad having some insights into taking a bridge out in this tread some time ago.
Wiki timeline:
In January 2015 the multibillion-dollar construction contract for the bridge was awarded to Arkady Rotenberg's Stroygazmontazh. Construction began in February 2016.[a] The road bridge was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 15 May 2018. It opened for cars on 16 May and for trucks on 1 October.[7][17] The rail bridge was inaugurated on 23 December 2019 and the first scheduled passenger train crossed the bridge two days later. The bridge was opened for freight trains on 30 June 2020. A record amount of traffic, totalling 36,393 cars, was recorded on 15 August 2020.[18]
I would imagine that the bridge was built knowing full well that the invasion was on the cards...
You'd think so but it was:
- commissioned by a regime that thought they'd have a puppet government in place in Kyiv in three days
- (probably) built by contractors who like to cut a few corners.
I don't know if it's possible to determine, for an underwater explosion, whether:
- the bridge is now teetering on one remaining pile
- a lot of water was moved around an otherwise undamaged structure
unless they send someone/something down to look. Only time (and trains running over the bridge) will tell.
You'd think so but it was:
^^
The Kerch bridge was thought to be poorly engineered by some (IANAE)
The previous bridge was felled by ice floes in 1945, only one span on the current bridge exceeds that needed for ice to safely find a way through
The bridge was built by a company who specialise in O&G pipelines and associated infrastructure (sanctions on Russia following its 2014 invasion precluded western companies)
It's built on a tectonic fault in an area of dozens of mud volcanoes and sits on 200' of mud before you reach bedrock, hence the numbers and length of the piling
Looks like they were trying to drop the centre section, which would also block shipping too. Shame it didn’t work though.
So, Ukraine blows up some bombers.
Russia blows up more people.
An update on Operation Spiderweb, which has damaged and destroyed anything between zero and 41 aircraft depending on who you believe.
Open-source intelligence estimates are that Ukraine over-estimated at 41 aircraft, while Russia's claim that all are repairable is also an over-statement. Verifiable losses are put at around 20 aircraft, with some being more of a mystery, e.g. two Beriev A50 AEW&C aircraft were shown with drones landing on the mushroom radome, but without explosions https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg9zdxwk29o
This attack didn't change the ceasefire/peace talks in Istanbul the following day and rather than capitalising and increasing pressure on Russia through sanctions, President Trump is still biding his time with a deadline for peace that only he understands.
Responding to a journalist's question about whether Operation Spider's Web had changed his view of what advantages Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds, Trump said it had given Russian leader Vladimir Putin a reason to bomb Ukrainian cities.
"They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night. That's the thing I didn't like about it. When I saw it I said 'Here we go, now it's going to be a strike'." https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/7/7516055/
I can't get over the naivety of the comment. Ukrainian cities have been bombed for years following an illegal invasion. Russia doesn't need a "reason" to bomb, it needs a reason to stop bombing supplied by the international community if necessary.
Trump is going to have to look at ways to boost his popularity for the mid-terms. Let's see what he chooses for Ukraine
It's been alleged by the Wall Street Journal that Trump has been quietly putting pressure on Congress to weaken Senator Lindsey Graham's (Republican) Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 by removing the mandatory nature of the wording.
Trump has denied this and the bill has such strong support from both Rep and Dem Senators, including Speaker Mike Johnson (Rep) who did so much to delay aid to Ukraine in 2023/24, that Trump doesn't have the power of Presidential Veto and has said,
"They'll be guided by me. That's how it's supposed to be," Trump said. "They're waiting for me to decide on what to do." https://kyivindependent.com/trump-quietly-pressuring-senate-to-weaken-russia-sanctions-wsj-reports/
At some point the political pressure will push through the bluster because of the looming mid-terms and force the Act into being.
In the meantime both Presidents will be concerned about the failure of their intelligence systems to report an 18-month operation conducted by Ukraine on Russian soil. That won't be a comforting series of thoughts for either of them
Seeing reports of another clever drone operation in Russia. A train carrying fuel and military vehicles was attacked with claims that around 100 armoured vehicles including 13 tanks and several bulk fuel wagons destroyed. A Russian source describes hatches on grain containers being remotely opened and drones flying out. All TBC of course.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration diverted 20,000 anti-drone missiles originally intended for Ukraine to American forces in the Middle East, in an interview with ABC News published on June 8. https://kyivindependent.com/trump-redirects-20-000-anti-drone-missiles-meant-for-ukraine-zelensky-confirms/
Another "quiet" move that adversely affects Ukraine is the US decision to divert anti-drone missile kits with proximity fuses to US forces in the middle-east.
The kit is bought and paid for with money intended for Ukraine under President Biden's administration and has been diverted under new emergency powers.
The Pentagon told the Senate Armed Services Committee in the previously undisclosed message that the U.S. military’s need for the fuzes was a “Secretary of Defense (Pete Hegseth) Identified Urgent Issue.” The Pentagon declined requests for comment.
(my brackets) Wall Street Journal 4th June https://www.wsj.com/
It converts existing, cheap, "dumb" rockets into laser-guided missiles with proximity fuses that are very effective against drones at short-range and can be mounted on a truck bed, helicopter or other aircraft
BAE developed a laser-guided kit for the US Hydra 70 missile, but Turkiye also produces a 70mm laser-guided missile that doesn't use the US base components.
The timing of this announcement is conspicuously bad following the Op. Spiderweb attack on Russian aircraft on 1st June, particularly when you consider that President Trump is forecasting that Russia will retaliate (ignoring the naivety of his comment)
But the move had prompted concerns among Ukraine’s supporters in Congress, who say that the Pentagon hasn’t explained what effect the move would have on Ukrainian defenses or whether the Air Force need is urgent.
Wall Street Journal 4th June https://www.wsj.com/
makes you wonder which side Trump is on.
Op spiderweb and spiderweb 2.0 amaze me, and that they've caused significant damage. Makes you wonder whereelse they have drones squirrelled away, waiting to be activated.
Also makes me very fearful of other terriorists and rouge nations watching and getting ideas - no need to hijack a bunch of plans to fly into the world trade centre in order to cause carnage - just a few hundred easily obtainable drones
Makes you wonder whereelse they have drones squirrelled away, waiting to be activated.
Hopefully the Russians are wondering the same, and getting mightily distracted by the possibilities.
Given how everyone was clamouring for Ukraine to have the F16 we don't seem to hear much about it's performance.
We have endless pictures of drones blowing up tanks but not much in the way of Top Gun shoot outs.
German media Bild is reporting that the SU35 Super Flanker shot down at the weekend fell prey to an F16 guided by a Swedish-built SAAB AEW&C aircraft
The two Beriev A50 aircraft damaged in Op Spiderweb would be used in the same way as the SAAB and give older, theoretically less-capable aircraft an advantage https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-f16-shoots-down-russia-jet-2082811
President Trump's two-week window for a response to Russia "tapping him along" has passed
"Within two weeks. We're gonna find out whether or not (Putin is) tapping us along or not.
"And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyn3vqex47o
Well, the US responded,
WASHINGTON DC – Pentagon head Pete Hegseth hinted on Tuesday that the White House was considering a budget reduction in its $300 million Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), saying that President Donald Trump’s administration “takes a very different view of that [Russia-Ukraine] conflict,” according to Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent. https://www.kyivpost.com/post/54318
Same article,
“This administration has done, seemingly, everything possible to alienate America on the world stage and turn our back on our allies, particularly Ukraine,” Congressmember Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Committee, told Hegseth.
The US national deficit for the period Oct '24 to May '25 rose by $162 billion. $300mn represents 0.19% of that increase (please check my maths) and a ridiculously small % of the $1.36 trillion overall deficit
$300mn represents 0.19% of that increase (please check my maths) and a ridiculously small % of the $1.36 trillion overall deficit
In fairness they need that 300 million to spend on Trumps birthday parade and also sending troops into US cities to try and escalate things.
TACO.
TACO.
Didn't the Trump foundation (family) recently get a big plane from Qatar to replace Air Force 1 - that'll save $450 million? Not that it will take off, with all that gold inside.
In fairness they need that 300 million to spend on Trumps birthday parade and also sending troops into US cities to try and escalate things.
Nah, that is only costing about 48 million according to something I saw this morning and 16 of that is going on repairs to the roads in DC that the parade will damage.
Didn't the Trump foundation (family) recently get a big plane from Qatar to replace Air Force 1 - that'll save $450 million? Not that it will take off, with all that gold inside.
It seems to be a bit more complicated (and murky) than that. Nobody's quite sure what the deal is, Trump may have not been completely honest about the details.
Didn't the Trump foundation (family) recently get a big plane from Qatar to replace Air Force 1 - that'll save $450 million? Not that it will take off, with all that gold inside.
It seems to be a bit more complicated (and murky) than that. Nobody's quite sure what the deal is, Trump may have not been completely honest about the details.
The aircraft was the headline stealer...
But concerns about the AI Gulf deals extend beyond human rights matters. Corruption is another issue. Reporting indicates that in the months leading up to Trump’s visit, billions of dollars from Middle East governments flowed towards his companies. In one striking example, the UAE placed $2 billion through an investment firm into Trump’s new cryptocurrency outfit, World Liberty Financial, which is overseen by his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. (all of whom stand to make “tens of millions of dollars per year” from the investment, according to The New York Times). This news was subsequently eclipsed by Trump’s acceptance of a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar, an airplane so opulent it is known as “a flying palace” wrote ABC News. And it’s not just Trump and his family who have benefited from the Gulf’s largesse. His close associates have also accrued benefits. https://thebulletin.org/2025/06/trumps-ai-gamble-in-the-gulf-doesnt-put-america-first/#post-heading
In a moment of breath-taking irony, Russia condemned Israel's attacks on Iran
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) condemned Israel's strikes against Iran and notably claimed that "unprovoked military strikes against a sovereign UN member state, its citizens, sleeping peaceful cities, and nuclear energy infrastructure facilities are categorically unacceptable."[2] The Russian MFA claimed that these Israeli strikes against Iran undermined and set back efforts to find solutions to "eliminate any suspicions and prejudices regarding Iran's peaceful nuclear energy." https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-13-2025
WW3, and meanwhile Ukraine is getting battered and as this thread shows, no-one is watching.
People are. It's difficult to comment when everything is so unpredictable
One President leaving the G7 before the arrival of another as a recent example
WW3, and meanwhile Ukraine is getting battered and as this thread shows, no-one is watching.
Poor return on investment in Ukraine so why bother, and the probability of winning is nil.
Better to invest in Middle East where the petrol dollar is.
WW3, and meanwhile Ukraine is getting battered and as this thread shows, no-one is watching
In terms of this thread, the Ukraine, Trump and WW3 ones are becoming increasingly intertwined.
If my theory that Putin had pressured Iran into getting Hamas to launch their attack on Israel as a distraction from Ukraine is correct then it has probably gone better than he could ever have dreamt. Add in Trump playing the 'useful idiot' role (and I'm being generous there, it's the most likely scenario but he could well turn out to be a Russian agent, nothing would surprise me any more).
The only silver lining in the Israel/Iran war is that Israel might destroy all the shithead drone production facilities.
The only silver lining in the Israel/Iran war is that Israel might destroy all the shithead drone production facilities.
These are now produced in Russia.
The only silver lining in the Israel/Iran war is that Israel might destroy all the shithead drone production facilities.
These are now produced in Russia.
Which Ukraine is targetting...
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/06/14/ukraine-strikes-russian-drone-factories/
Doublepost...
These are now produced in Russia
🤬 Aholes.
In a moment of breath-taking irony, Russia condemned Israel's attacks on Iran
And the Israelis condemned Iranian attack on a hospital. 
I think much of the current situation in Ukraine and middle east is due to Trump (and by extension American) weakness. He has demonstrated to his friends and enemies that he does not have the stomach, temperament, or intelligence to deal with these often intertwined foreign affairs.
Hence Russia taking him for a ride and exploiting the uncertainty as much as they can, and Ukraine suffering the consequences. Hence Israel testing his resolve and exploiting an opportunity to attack Iran while it is weak and knowing the US won't stop it. All of his actions are having the opposite effect of the outcomes he hopes for to win a nobel peace prize.
All of his actions are having the opposite effect of the outcomes he hopes for to win a nobel peace prize.
Clouds, silver linings, etc.
Well, i'd rather he did the right thing to achieve the right peace in the right places - even if it meant he did get the prize (which he never was likely to). I'd rather reward a complete A-hole for doing the right things, than having to suffer the horrible consequences of his doing all the wrong things...
interesting listening here
from 2021 looking at russian and others hybrid attacks
and a new series wargaming how a Russian attack on UK might play out
https://news.sky.com/story/the-wargame-podcast-what-if-russia-attacked-the-uk-13381047
In July 2022 the Olenivka POW prison run by Russia for captured Ukrainian military personnel was destroyed by explosives. Russia blamed a HIMARS strike by Ukraine while Ukraine denied it.
The UN wanted to investigate properly but Russia refused to co-operate, despite around 50 deaths and 130 wounded
The UN conducted an investigation, limited by a lack of security guarantees and
"...a group of UN experts released a detailed report containing evidence — an internal UN analysis concluded that it was Russia that planned and carried out the attack. https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/un-experts-confirm-olenivka-attack-in-ukraine-1751314160.html
I remember that happening and how incredibly fishy it seemed even at the time.