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Ukraine's French Hammer missiles are
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causing Primal Fear in the Russians
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there is a certain Primal Fear
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associated with being hunted from above
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maybe it's the recurring genetic memory
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of our small mammal ancestors as they
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scurried along the forest floor
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lightning has a similarly powerful
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effect on the human psyche so much so
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that early humans created Gods like Zeus
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or Leong the Chinese god of thunder to
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explain the power overhead many of my
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fellow global war on terror veterans
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never felt that fear because we never
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had to look up and worry that the enemy
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would strike from above today everything
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has changed there is no guarantee that
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one will achieve air superiority in a
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given battle space and even if we did
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that term may need to be redefined now
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thanks to swarms of small deadly drones
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that have recently made their combat
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debut in Ukraine
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Death from Above is now more common than
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death from the front or the sides and
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while drones are certainly an issue I
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would be more fearful of advanced
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munition striking down like a lightning
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bolt or a hammer hey friends Wes here
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multibranch American Veteran and I was
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watching a video recently of a Russian
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soldier who narrowly escaped death when
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he was almost hit with a French aasm
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Hammer missile from above as a former
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infantryman I immediately felt that
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familiar anxiety in my stomach as the
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Missile hit nearby but after watching I
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figured it was a good time to take a
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closer look at the french-made hammer
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munition and how Ukraine has been using
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them to instill fear in the Invaders by
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the end of 2024 France had delivered 600
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aasm 250 Hammer Munitions to Ukraine an
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impressive upgrade to ke's Arsenal and a
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persistent nail in the side of moscow's
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military aspirations these Precision
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guided rocket assisted Munitions
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designed to turn standard dumb bombs
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into high- Tech tools of Destruction are
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being sent from aging French stock
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piles while the stock Shuffle is
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convenient for now Paris isn't resting
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on its Laurels plans to ramp up
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production to 1200 in 2025 are well
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underway according to the French
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National Assembly defense committee
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quote the production of aasm bombs must
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be significantly accelerated in order to
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renew the French stocks with new
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Munitions end quote in French
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bureaucratic terms that's basically a
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war cry first introduced to Ukraine's
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Air Force in January of 2024 these 500lb
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class bombs boast a standoff range of
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approximately 43 Mi or 70 km that
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distance doesn't make a Russian radar
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operator break into a nervous sweat the
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pinpoint accuracy certainly will
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comparable to the the US Supply jdam ER
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Munitions already in use in Ukraine the
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hammer packs a little extra punch thanks
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to its rocket propulsion system the
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Hammer's adaptability is another of its
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standout features designed as a modular
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kit it can transform existing NATO
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standard bombs into guided Munitions
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capable of day or night operations in
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all weather conditions the hammer
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doesn't just rely on one form of
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guidance it employs a multimode system
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GPS internal navigation and in some
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cases infrared or laser guidance
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allowing it to strike fixed and moving
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targets alike this flexibility is
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especially critical on the Ukrainian
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Battlefield where Russian GPS jamming
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attempts have been frequent but let's be
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honest not universally
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effective While most guided bombs Glide
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to their targets the hammer solid fuel
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rocket motor provides an extra boost
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enabling strikes from low altitudes this
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point is crucial for aircraft like the
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su2 frogfoot which often operates
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dangerously close to Russia's air
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defenses this booster propulsion also
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increases the bomb's energy on impact
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making it ideal for hammering hardened
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targets high five all right such as
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bunkers or command centers in August of
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mig29 FM pilot gave us a front row seat
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to the action capturing a cockpit view
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of a low-level toss bombing technique
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one of the Hammer's designed uses the
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footage was later shared by Ukrainian
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Air Force spokesman Colonel Yuri ignant
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as a tribute to Alexander mola the pilot
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who filmed it but tragically lost his
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life in combat shortly after it's not
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just the technical specs that make the
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hammer noteworthy it's the Strategic
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impact the standoff range keeps
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Ukrainian Pilots safer and the Precision
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reduces collateral damage a contrast to
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Russia's quantity over quality approach
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where they seem to aim for everything
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except the intended target while the
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mig29 and the su27 initially hogged the
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hammer Spotlight the sturdy su2 frogfoot
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has emerged as an unlikely star once
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derided as a relic of Soviet engineering
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the frogfoot has been retrofitted to
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serve as an effective platform for these
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French Munitions if you're unfamiliar
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with the frogfoot it's basically the
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Soviet version of the legendary American
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a 10 warthog in fact when the question
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came up as to why we don't donate our
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aging aid1 to Ukraine rather than retire
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them I made the case that Ukraine would
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actually be better off with their frog
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foots of which they have approximately
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40 operational I very rarely argue
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against sending Ukraine equipment but in
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this case the Frog foot is just as
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capable for Ukraine's purposes not to
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mention the training on the A10 would
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simply waste precious time especially as
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they're integrating f-16s into their Air
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Force anyways back to the Hammer the
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Frog foot's adaptation to carry the
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hammer isn't just about bolting on new
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equipment it's a testament to the
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Ingenuity of Ukraine's military
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engineers to accommodate these Precision
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Munitions they had to integrate
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specialized pylons capable of housing
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GPS antennas and ensuring seamless
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guidance data transfer the challenges
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didn't stop there the Frog foots cockpit
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designed in the analog era has been
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retrofitted with modern ad hoc Solutions
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such as tablet like devices for
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targeting and Mission planning the s25
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is a close air support Workhorse and
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pairing it with Precision guided
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Munitions like the hammer drastically
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enhances its Battlefield utility
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bringing it closer to its American
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cousin the A10 instead of relying on
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unguided rockets and bombs the Frog foot
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can now conduct surgical strikes
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minimizing the exposure of Pilots to
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enemy air defense es while maximizing
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the damage inflicted on high value
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Russian Targets this is particularly
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significant in contested areas where
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traditional close air support operations
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would be impossible or at least very
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risky the Frog foot's Hammer
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transformation also puts an exclamation
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point on Ukraine's ability to blend
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Western military technology with Soviet
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era platforms this hybrid approach not
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only expands Ukraine's operational
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capabilities but also highlights its
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resilience in the face of logistical and
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Technical challenges for every
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retrofitted frog foot there's a
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corresponding headache for Russian
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commanders who now face a more versatile
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and precise adversary the upgraded su2
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has already seen significant combat use
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particularly in the Eastern and Southern
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fronts where it has been deployed to
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strike Russian positions with precision
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and speed reports from the battlefield
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indicate that the hammer armed frogfoot
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has been instrumental in disrupting
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supply lines destroying ammunition
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Depots and neutralizing entrenched enemy
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positions in one notable engagement a
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hammer equipped su2 reportedly struck a
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Russian command post from a standoff
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distance evading heavy anti-aircraft
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fire and delivering a crippling blow to
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enemy operations as the war grinds on
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the Frog foots Evolution from a Soviet
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Relic to a modern precision strike
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platform serves as a microcosm of
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Ukraine's broader military
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transformation still this technological
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leap wouldn't be possible without the
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steady flow of Western military aid
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France in particular has played a
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pivotal role committing to send 50
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hammers a month since January of 2024
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this steady supply has allowed Ukraine
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to maintain its momentum on the
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battlefield forcing Moscow to adapt or
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at least try as expected moscow's
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reaction to these developments has been
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equal parts denial and indignation the
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Kremlin continues to downplay the
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effectiveness of Western weapons even as
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footage of Russian tanks exploding with
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Precision lit fireworks suggests
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otherwise meanwhile reports of Russian
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air defense operators frantically
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Googling how to intercept hammers remain
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unconfirmed but highly plausible in
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truth the Russian military struggles
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against these advanced
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highlight a larger issue they're
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fighting yesterday's war with
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yesterday's
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tactics looking forward Ukraine's
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integration of Western technology shows
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no signs of slowing the arrival of F-16
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multi-roll Fighters could provide yet
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another platform for the hammer
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streamlining its use thanks to the
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aircraft's advanced avionics French
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Mirage 2000 Jets also slated for
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delivery represent another potential
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upgrade to ke's air power for now though
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the su2 frogfoot once a symbol of Soviet
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Brute Force has become a surprising
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centerpiece of Ukraine's air campaign
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retrofitted and armed with Precision
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guided hammers it's a big difference
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from Russia's floundering Air Force
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which often seems more interested in
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bombing empty Fields than hitting
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strategic targets seriously according to
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Russian military bloggers critical of
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their military bureaucracy fighter
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bomber a prominent Aviation focused Z
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channel on telegram said quote quot one
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column on the slide shows the number of
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bombs dropped on the enemy that is the
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column the bosses focus on they don't
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care about the other columns in order to
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have visually appealing slides filled
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with attractive graphs of bombs drop our
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Russian bombs are launched solely to
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meet the quantity set by the commanders
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as a result they're often dropped on
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outdated targets places where the enemy
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was not just an hour ago but perhaps the
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day before or maybe even longer who
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knows
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end quote wow sounds like Ukraine's
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greatest Ally is actually Russian
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bureaucracy and as for those French
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bombs let's just say they're making
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quite the impression on Russian targets
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and Kremlin egos Al light that's it for
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today friends subscribing really helps
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me continue to fight Russian
00:11:18
disinformation which is especially
00:11:20
important now with a global rise in
00:11:22
authoritarianism the more subscribers
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this channel has the more time I can
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devote to producing this content anyways
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that's all for me and as always glory to
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Ukraine glory to the heroes Crimea is
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Ukraine
00:11:38
[Music]
