The cost of doing business | 73 comments (73 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

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Biden says U.S. won't be providing F-16s to Ukraine, 30 Jan

...Kyiv has made it clear it would like to have fighter jets such as the F-16s, a hope renewed by the U.S. announcing last week the approval of the transfer of M1 Abrams fighter tanks. Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, told CNBC last week, "We will get F-16s." ...

archived Sat Mar 5th, 2022

by Cat on Tue Jan 31st, 2023 at 07:14:45 PM EST
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Which NATO Countries are Ready to Share Their Jets With Ukraine?
• Turkey will not rejoin the F-35 program, House Armed Services Committee says
• Biden Administration to Ask Congress to Approve F-16 Sale to Turkey
• F-16 Deal Contingent on Turkey's Support for NATO Expansion, Syria
• Top U.S. lawmaker objects to potential F-16 sale to Turkey
• Biden hopes Ankara will drop its objections to the accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO
• Türkiye vows it won't buy F-16 fighter jets 'it can't use'

by Cat on Wed Feb 1st, 2023 at 02:41:34 PM EST
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doing business - UPDATE (none / 0)

Politico.eu.com | Germany to send 88 Leopard I tanks to Ukraine, 3 Feb non-party status

...local media reported Friday [3 Feb].
The move further signals a reversal of Berlin's policy on tanks for Ukraine, nine days after the chancellery announced it would send one company of Leopard 2 tanks [=14 tanks; co x 4 = 1 tank battalion] to Kyiv as part of a European coalition.[...]

4-person crew per tank is a lot of "training"

The German government is also considering buying back 15 Gepard tanks it had sold to Qatar [!] -- but might also face some issues there, since ammunition for these is made in Switzerland, which has so far refused to approve re-exports to Ukraine on the grounds that it would breach its neutrality. However, some Swiss lawmakers are pushing for the country to reconsider its position....

6 Leopard 1 companies + 1 Leopard 2 company = 7 tank battalions, 408 total trainees

by Cat on Fri Feb 3rd, 2023 at 12:25:57 PM EST
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archive.is | Germany Studies Tapping Coal-Exit Funds for Defense Projects, 3 Feb

Germany is considering re-routing existing subsidies for eliminating coal-fired power plants to help defense manufacturers build new production facilities, according to people familiar with the matter.
The discussions between Germany's federal government and regional states are aimed at providing the country's armed forces with more weapons and ammunition and creating jobs in regions that are affected by the shift away from coal, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential.
[...]

archive.ph | German govt security council OKs delivery of 178 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine - source, 7 Feb

The report emerged as German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius made a surprise appearance in Kyiv. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov [?!] tweeted a picture of him and Pistorius posing with a scale model Leopard in a display case, writing: "The 'first' Leopard 2 has arrived in Kyiv."
Some would be sent in the summer but the bulk of the Leopard 1s would be delivered next year, Der Spiegel reported.
[...]
Earlier, the head of Leopard-maker Rheinmetall said it would send Ukraine 20-25 [?] Leopards this year, with another 88 to be sent next year.
[...]

by Cat on Tue Feb 7th, 2023 at 06:04:10 PM EST
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Politico.eu.com | Cool your jets: Why the West is making Ukraine wait for fighter planes, 1 Feb
nope
Readovka | At what airfields will Ukraine deploy F-16s?, 1 Feb map

Assessing the possibility of using F-16 fighters on the territory of Ukraine, many experts agree that the use of aircraft that is very demanding on the quality of runways from Soviet-style military airfields is almost impossible. Indeed, most of the departmental airfields of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the Soviet tradition, are lined with PAG-14 reinforced concrete slabs, which allows them to be quickly restored after strikes, but significantly worsens the quality of the coating.
Soviet tactical aviation aircraft (MiG-29 and Su-27) have a much more reinforced chassis than their Western counterparts (F-16 and F-15), which are sharpened for [read: designed for] the use of asphalt concrete strips with improved surface quality. If the F-16s are nevertheless delivered to Ukraine, then the only way out will be to use them from civilian airfields with asphalt concrete strips.
[...]
with a high degree of probability, the Ukrainian Air Force will use airfields in Odessa and Lvov, where there are airstrips of the required quality and aircraft repair plants.....

by Cat on Fri Feb 3rd, 2023 at 01:34:38 AM EST
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US Department of State Daily Press Briefing, 2 Feb

QUESTION: Thank you. Today 27 senators, both Democratic and Republican, sent a letter to President Biden asking him to not approve the sale of F-16 until Türkiye agrees to let the Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Do you share the same position with the sale of those? Can you explain to us, since the technical talks have been concluded, why you are delaying to send the official - the formal notification to the Congress?
PRICE: ...We've made clear to Congress our support for the F-16s. Congress has made its position clear, or I should say individual senators - or groups of senators, in some cases - have made their positions clear. We're continuing to engage Türkiye. We're continuing to engage the Hill. But our point is that Türkiye is a valuable NATO Ally. It's role in the Alliance has been a profoundly important one over the course of decades now. And so we'll continue to find ways to see to it that we can work together with Türkiye, even as we seek to make the NATO Alliance even stronger. And we think making the NATO Alliance stronger would entail bringing the membership from 30 to 32.
[...]
QUESTION: Thank you. Russian media - state media - are citing a comment made by Under Secretary Nuland [?] in an Al Jazeera ["- state media -"] interview. And the comment is that, and I quote, "The U.S. is working to meet Ukraine's needs, including long-range missiles." Is the U.S. considering giving Ukraine long-range missiles?
PRICE: You know we don't preview security assistance announcements that have not yet been made, but what I can say generally is that we are always in conversation with our Ukrainian partners.[...]So these are conversations that are ongoing on multiple fronts when it comes to the needs of our Ukrainian partners, but I don't have anything to announce or to preview.

AP | US to send Ukraine longer-range bombs in latest turn[-]around, 2 Feb non-party status

After months of agonizing [28.11.23], the U.S has agreed to send longer-range bombs to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a spring offensive [read: defensive] to retake territory Russia captured last year, U.S. officials said Thursday [2 Feb], confirming that the new weapons will have roughly double the range of any other offensive weapon provided by America.
[...]
The U.S. [DOD] package includes $425 million in ammunition and support equipment that will be pulled from existing Pentagon stockpiles and $1.75 billion in new funding through the [FY2022, FY2023] Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to purchase new weapons from industry. The assistance initiative, which will pay for the longer-range bombs and the air defense system integration, also funds two HAWK [howitzer] air defense systems, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, and counter-drone systems
[...]
The addition of longer-range bombs to the latest aid package was first reported by Reuters.