this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 94 points 8 months ago (22 children)

Just wait till the F-16 sorties start.

You won't be able to swing a cat in here without hitting a whining tankie symp.

[–] [email protected] 62 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Oh no be careful, they might start posting gifs and emojis in response to you, thus nullifying any valid argument you might have!

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (3 children)

The latest lemmy update allows users to block entire instances.

My lemmy experience has been 100 times better with hexbear and lemmygrad blocked.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Unfortunately startrek.website is still running 18, so I'm stuck with playing whack-a-mole

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

...and lemmy.ml as well. It's tanky breading season out here.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Those stories already started, some Russian mil-bloggers say that F16s are already in Ukraine which is probably copium. But I wouldn't be too surprised if this isn't accidental and Ukrainians re-doubled efforts to take down Russian planes (e.g. via smart and unexpected movements of anti-air installations) in anticipations of F16s coming, they're a lot more useful more quickly if they don't have to operate in contested skies. Every air-to-air missile you don't need to have in your loadout is another air-to-ground one.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 8 months ago

Make that 4 as of today.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The Sukhoi Su-34 (Russian: Сухой Су-34; NATO reporting name: Fullback)[6] is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/strike aircraft.[7][8][9][10] It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entered service in 2014 with the Russian Air Force.[11]

[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (2 children)

It's sort of a shit design for 2023 tbh.

Sounds like Ukraine got a new air defense system... Maybe they moved a Patriot battery?

[–] Tar_alcaran 36 points 8 months ago (6 children)

It's pretty mid nowadays, nowhere near the levels of the F-22 or F-35. But the F-16 C, D or MLU versions are in almost every way a very modern fighter. Russia does pretty much the same thing, but while an upgrade F-16 is called a 'block 50', an upgraded SU-27 is called an SU-30 (or 34, or 35). They're basically all improved versions of 1970s planes.

The SU57 and Mig-35 are basically non-existent, if not actually so.

The F-16 is absolutely not the best fighter out there anymore, but it's hardly a pushover and at the very least on par with what Russia is fielding.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Yeah, that's the theory. Russia had been using the planes to bomb a Ukrainian beachhead from an area that would keep them out of range for the Soviet-era systems Ukraine has in that area, so Ukraine moved a patriot system there, switched off. When the Russians flew in and they got detected on long range radar, they turned on the patriot and fired.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Background: On 22 December, Ukrainian defenders shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers on the southern front.

Dude... its been three fucking days. Unless the drop in air sorties went from dozens down to zero and stay that way for weeks to a month, this means absolutely nothing.

[–] andrew_bidlaw 5 points 8 months ago

True to you. Strikes were reported as irregular, combing in intense series whenever Russia wanted a bigger impact. Saying just a couple of days of lesser bombing means it made an impact is too optimistic. They could've prepared ammunition for another bigger strike. But journoes need to write news somehow?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Is the Su in Su-34 short for cyka?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago