Radio War Nerd EP #526 — Twilight of the Bombers: Ukraine Drone Attack

I think I’d like to hear three things about the war that we haven’t heard much on as of late: First, the Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities; its objectives, its results, war crimes, scale, Ukrainian society’s reaction Second, the Russian army. Its tactics, casualties, command, strategic objectives, capabilities, etc. Finally, the toll the war has had on Russian society, if any. What does it look like inside Russia nowadays? Economically with Ben yes but also just socially, culturally. Gotta be a good guest for this one

You need to work in Amon amarth’s twilight of the thundergod into the episode https://youtu.be/_y1j-d6aaIM?si=WgqrUbItY42OIm5G

This is not a political statement at all but I can't help but make a parallel between Ukraine today and ISIS at its peak. They're both both great at tactically shifting into areas of weakness of their opponents. Struggling in Iraq? They take swaths of unguarded territory in Syria. Ukraine does the same thing in Kherson (IIRC). Also, like ISIS, Ukraine seemed to get a bit too high on their supply and wanted these unexpected victories a bit too much. Kursk, again, was a similar stroke of genius tactically, but strategically a disaster. Which is what doomed ISIS too. Now, the recent drone operation is much more impressive then anything ISIS did at the end. But also have to wonder how it's going to solve the strategic problems with manpower, logistics etc. But hey no real reason not to at this point

In "Red Storm Rising," Clancy wrote of timing a cruise missile strike launched from US attack submarines so that returning Soviet bombers were destroyed as they landed or on the ground, an attack quite similar to what Ukraine pulled off (Clancy also presaged 9/11 in one of his novels with a Japanese 747 crashing into the US capital during a State of the Union address). Truth may be stranger than fiction, but it is clear that fiction is suggesting how these now ubiquitous weapons can be used imaginatively. And with all respect to Russian security forces, the border is too long and too isolated in many places to permit an drone-tight cordon. Creative uses of drones, and increasing drone capability will outpace conventional weaponry for the foreseeable future. I almost dread to say this, but the same planners of this operation should look to the fiction of William Gibson ("Neuromancer," etc.) for further ideas.

How do you think the next phone call from Putin to Trump will go? "Hey, Don, we don't think the Khokhols were up to organizing such a complex operation all on their own; we reckon they must have had some help from the CIA, MI6, NATO, your DoD sending satellite pics, etc., etc. In which case you knew about it & didn't stop it so you f*cked us. Or you didn't know about it and the op went ahead anyway and so your guys f*cked you, too. In any case, these little chats are pretty pointless, aren't they? We might as well let Mr. Oreshnik do all the talking from now on. And you know why all those strategic bombers were lined up in the open making such beautiful targets. Because that was part of the new START deal we signed with Obama in 2010 - the last time we had and probably will ever have a deal with a US President. All strategic bombers, yours and ours, have to be out in the open so they can be under satellite observation at all times, which has not worked out well for us. So we might as well take note of what Ames & Dolan of the War Nerd podcast say - the strategic bomber arm of the nuclear triad is an anachronism. Accordingly we will be removing our nukes from the strategic bomber bases and placing them in harder to target locations (under the sea). And we will be building a lot of bunkers (a lot more than we have bombers) to protect our dwindling bomber fleet a bit better. They're still ok for launching very long range cruise missiles, as the cocaine fuehrer will soon observe. Duh-svee-DAN-ya, Don..."

I think the only thing this proves is how God awful and compromised the FSB is and that the CIA/MI6 still has it. A huge characteristic of this war to me is how supremely outclassed Russia is in terms of intelligence. It's like they're fighting a war with someone that knows exactly where they are and what they're planning at all times, which I think is a big reason for the quagmire they're in. It's still a quagmire though because the collective West doesn't have the military production capacity to support a long term war effort and Ukraine is basically throwing out retirees to fill every hole they see in the front lines. I honestly don't see this war ever ending at this point. Forever war. Neither side seems to want it to end.

I am a B-2! We have a Chinese nerd. https://xcancel.com/beiming8888/status/1929307788808724927#m

How are you guys referring to a potential un-recallable flight crew on a manned strategic bomber (around 23 mins) and not mentioning Dr Strangelove?!?!

Weren't the drones AI-piloted? Are people rejecting that as propaganda? It seems plausible to me..

Oh, do those Polish yokels really hate Germany. In a FB group dedicated to maps (ostensibly; it's super pro-NATO/anti-Russia) someone showed a map of Poland in 1667, and the Polish crowd all jumped in to claim that Royal Prussia should have been included as a Polish possession. Pointing out that this was a decade after the Treaty of Wehlau and the end of the biggest invasion in Polish history didn't deter them. Which is weird; why are the bots out in force over nerd shit?

Bots are out in force it seems

I think Trump could paint Zelensky as reckless and get rid of him now.

I think this really will turn the tide. Remember Russia has not been making any serious progress on the battlefield

Honestly, when I hear people gloat about this raid, I just picture a guy who's getting run over by a steamroller congratulating himself for throwing an empty soda can at the driver.

Or Trump approved it because he's impatient with the peace talks and stupidity thinks this might soften the Russian position.

Mark’s anti-Ukraine bias is probably the worst part of this otherwise great podcast.

This only shows how threadbare Russian state is.

Zalinsky is in his bunker saying how the 9th army commanded by Steiner will turn the tide.