“Conventional wisdom holds that World War One ended in the west with the collapse of the Hindenburg Line; in reality it was a comparatively small clash in one of the war’s forgotten fronts that precipitated the downfall of the Central Powers.” WHEN GERMANY signed the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, the Central Powers were still in a…
Category: Russia
How The Black Market is Booming in Ukraine
The deal was complete in a matter of minutes and the fuel barrels stood empty. The smugglers, however, would soon be embarking on their next run. A week’s work in rebel-held Luhansk had depleted the taxi’s diesel tanks; every fuel station stood empty. Following a flurry of phone calls, the driver reserved the last spot…
Russia to Convert ICBM’s to “Anti-Asteroid” Missiles
YEKATERINBURG, February 11. /TASS/. Russian scientists have developed a project of upgrading intercontinental ballistic missiles to destroy near-Earth meteorites 20-50 meters in size, leading researcher of the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau Sabit Saitgarayev told TASS on Thursday. The scientists would like to test the improved missiles’ capabilities against the asteroid Apophis expected to come dangerously…
Cold War Files: The Soviet’s Secret Moon Base That Never Was
The earliest plans for the Soviet outpost on the Moon sported a soil-drilling habitat and rocket-fuel-burning internal combustion engine. A quarter-century after the Soviet space program dropped its thick veil of secrecy, many fascinating details about the enormous scope of the USSR’s space ambitions are still trickling in. The latest treasure trove of information quietly…
Leave it to the Russians: Flying Bazooka Drones
When you look at the tactic of drone swarm warfare using these bad boys, suddenly the Battlefield changes in the Russians favor. -SF The latest apocalyptic drone news out of Russia. A new video from Russian arms maker United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC) shows its aerial drone attacking targets with anti-tank rockets. The video debuted…
Clash of the Titans: Will Syria be the beginning of WWIII?
Defense Secretary Ash Carter says a key Persian Gulf ally has agreed to send special forces soldiers to Syria to assist in the development of local Sunni Arab fighters focused on recapturing Raqqa, the Islamic State group’s capital. Carter made the comment after meeting Friday at his Brussels hotel with his counterpart from the United…
The Bad Ass Files: Russian Soldier Jacob Pavlov
“Pavlov’s small group of men, defending one house, killed more enemy soldiers than the Germans lost in taking Paris.” – Lt. Gen. Vasily Chuikov The Battle of Stalingrad is the single bloodiest battle in human history. Over the course of sixth months of non-stop, ultra over-the-top-in-a-bad-way combat, this unfathomably-violent blood fiesta ended the lives of…
Russia Activates Two Armored Divisions on Western Front
Russia completes reformation of 1st Guards Tank Army The Russian Ground Forces has completed the reactivation of the 1st Guards Tank Army in Russia’s Western Military District (WMD) and is to form two new armoured divisions, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced. A session of the Defence Ministry Board, chaired by Defence Minister…
Paradoxes of the “Gray Zone”
Gray, it seems, is the new black. The concept of “gray zone” conflict has generated significant attention and controversy recently, within both the U.S. government and the broader strategic studies community. Some analysts have identified gray zone conflict as a new phenomenon that will increasingly characterize, and challenge, the international system in the years…
Studies in Warfare: Russia Needs Three Days to Conquer Estonia and Latvia
In the event of an invasion, NATO’s options are ‘all bad’ according to a new study NATO has no way of stopping a Russian conventional invasion of Estonia and Latvia short of nuclear war, according to a new RAND Corporation study. That’s not surprising in itself. Russia has one of the world’s most powerful militaries,…