Bronze Supporter
- Messages
- 2,222
- Reactions
- 5,063
Found this video interview with a couple people who've spent the past 2 years fighting in Ukraine. Some interesting takeaways about how modern combat is evolving, particularly around using technology. People's feelings about the politics of the Ukraine situation and/or gun-tubers/social media personalities notwithstanding, I found it informative and think it's worth watching.
Highlights:
- Both guys interviewed had added foam padding to their NVG pouches because existing pouches don't protect the units enough, and breakage is apparently very common.
- They added shammy/microfiber cloths to their kit for keeping their optics clean.
- Emphasized the importance of reducing reflective signature - covering lenses and shiny stuff to avoid advertising presence to hostiles with NVGs.
- Heavy drone usage, picked up a lot in the last year. Main uses include area surveillance, guiding artillery, and direct engagement (dropping bombs, attacking individual soldiers, etc).
- Teams are now being deployed with shotguns w/ birdshot so they can shoot down drones.
- Sometimes they can't tell if a drone is friendly or hostile due to confused battlefield situation.
- Trench warfare is making a comeback, with some changes to counter the drone threat (mainly overhead cover).
- Will sometimes cover openings with blankets to keep drones out of enclosed areas, as they can be used to target humans directly.
- Usage of computers to identify reflections from red dots / optics and issue targeting instructions to snipers or artillery (recommended using a flash kill device on optics to prevent it being picked up).
- Apparently the Russians send conscript soldiers out to beat bushes and identify where the enemy is (cannon fodder), at which point the enemy position will be targeted by more experienced / capable units at a distance.
View: https://youtu.be/Tge7YMi4gJs?feature=shared
Highlights:
- Both guys interviewed had added foam padding to their NVG pouches because existing pouches don't protect the units enough, and breakage is apparently very common.
- They added shammy/microfiber cloths to their kit for keeping their optics clean.
- Emphasized the importance of reducing reflective signature - covering lenses and shiny stuff to avoid advertising presence to hostiles with NVGs.
- Heavy drone usage, picked up a lot in the last year. Main uses include area surveillance, guiding artillery, and direct engagement (dropping bombs, attacking individual soldiers, etc).
- Teams are now being deployed with shotguns w/ birdshot so they can shoot down drones.
- Sometimes they can't tell if a drone is friendly or hostile due to confused battlefield situation.
- Trench warfare is making a comeback, with some changes to counter the drone threat (mainly overhead cover).
- Will sometimes cover openings with blankets to keep drones out of enclosed areas, as they can be used to target humans directly.
- Usage of computers to identify reflections from red dots / optics and issue targeting instructions to snipers or artillery (recommended using a flash kill device on optics to prevent it being picked up).
- Apparently the Russians send conscript soldiers out to beat bushes and identify where the enemy is (cannon fodder), at which point the enemy position will be targeted by more experienced / capable units at a distance.