Wednesday, 13 July 2022

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Arms For Ukraine: French Weapons Deliveries To Kyiv

arms deliveries , artillery 0 Comments

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
 
France has been a major source of military support for Ukraine. Like most European nations, France has opted not to disclose details of its arms deliveries to Ukraine with the exception of the Caesar SPGs, the disclosure of which also served the purpose of publicly reaffirming France's support to Ukraine and sending a message of deterrence to Moscow. Though France has delivered less in materiel support than Germany at this point in the conflict, it has come under less scrutiny than Berlin. Of course, this has much to do with Germany's self-inflicted public communications disaster regarding its support for Kyiv.
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Tuesday, 12 July 2022

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Thai Thunderbirds: Thailand’s Expansive UAV Fleet

Aerostar , Baykar Tech 0 Comments

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are not new to Southeast Asia. Thailand acquired an unmanned reconnaissance capability already in 2001, when the Royal Thai Army purchased four IAI Searcher Mk. II reconnaissance UAVs from Israel. Several more drone acquisitions would follow (mainly from Israel) in the following decades, ultimately resulting in the expansive unmanned arsenal in service with the Royal Thai Army, Air Force and Navy today. This meanwhile also includes an increasing number of locally-designed UAVs or types produced under license from China.
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Monday, 11 July 2022

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Aegean Armour: Greece’s M1117 Guardians

AFV , armoured fighting vehicles 0 Comments

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
 
The Hellenic Army continues to face great difficulties in replacing its aging inventory of armoured fighting vehicles and other equipment types. Hit especially hard by the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the government-debt crisis that followed, Greece had to cancel or postpone a number of acquisition projects. Although the Hellenic Armed Forces was spared severe budget cuts as a result of rising tensions with Türkiye, the lack of funds led to the curious situation where civilians had to pay for the fuel needed in order for Greece's annual independence parade to take place.
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Sunday, 10 July 2022

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Bohemian Brotherhood: List Of Czech Military Aid To Ukraine

Czech Republic , Czechia 0 Comments
 
By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans in collaboration with Jakub Janovsky
 
Amongst all the countries that have provided military support to Ukraine, the Czech Republic is often named in one breath with powers such as the U.S. and the United Kingdom. By early April 2022, the volume of military aid provided by Czechia to Ukraine already approached some $430 million, making the country one of the largest contributers of military aid in NATO. This aid has included anything from small arms and MANPADS to heavier weaponry like tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), SAM systems, multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) and even Mi-24V attack helicopters.
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Wednesday, 6 July 2022

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Arms From Down Under: Australia’s Aid To Ukraine

arms deliveries , artillery 0 Comments

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
 
Australia has proven that distance is not an excuse when it comes to supporting a friendly country in need. Having contributed $388 million in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Australia is currently the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraine's defence needs. [1] Considering furthermore that a large part of Australia's military aid consists of bulky armoured vehicles, all of which have to be transported to Europe by air, Australia's efforts at keeping Ukraine in the fight are nothing short of impressive.
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Beast From The East - Bulgaria’s MiG-25 Foxbats

Bulgaria , Bulgarian Air Force 0 Comments

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
 
It is little known that Bulgaria once operated a significant fleet of reconnaisance aircraft that at one point even included a number of MiG-25RBT 'Foxbats'. Bulgaria was the only Warsaw Pact country to operate the mighty Foxbat, the highly specialised nature of which and prohibitive operating costs were apparently enough to dissuade all other Warsaw Pact members from acquiring the aircraft. Bulgaria itself would only purchase four MiG-25s, which likely did little to improve the operations and maintenance costs per unit while they were in operational service.
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