Picture of the Day (Other eras)

[Sander93]

More helicopters and drones would help.

I'd say invest more in reactive armor and active protection systems.
Russian T-90s seem to be doing OK because of those.

I don't think you can really effectively do anything offensively in big open desert areas.
With 3-6km range on ATGM's it's a huge area to cover for choppers or drones and I suppose it could be quite easy to hide from the air in broken buildings and such.

[Dukat]

Russian Army units arrived at Al-Nayrab Airbase, Aleppo, Syria, December 31st, 2016.

Footage: After having taken the village of Sharifah west of Tiyas Airbase, Syrian Arab Army & Allies forced the ISIS besiegers southwest of Tiyas Airbase into retreat, eastern Homs, Syria, December 31st, 2016

[Torenico]

More about Russian troops deployed in Aleppo, doing mine-clearing duties for now.

[Dukat]

Military situation in southern Damascus, Rif Dimaschq Governorate, Syria. Three more rebel pockets are being cleansed and people get evacuated to Idlib province, January 3rd, 2017.

Analysis: Aron Lund on The Five Most Important Events in Syria in 2016, December 30th, 2016

[Born2Kill 007]

Really nice video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense:
https://youtu.be/2IiLArWYsLU

[Dukat]

^^ Somebody is really lacking a catapult mechanism...

...while these get bigger and bigger:

Iraqi Federal Police presented several ISIS UAVs that have been shot down, used to drop grenades and mortar shells onto Iraqi Forces, Mosul, January 4th, 2017.

[Dukat]

Either this is the bastard cousin of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and they really want him to die in his VBIED or ISIS used the armored space in the door to put in some extra explosives, Mosul, Iraq, recently.

Extra:


Russian Television uploaded a report on the Tiyas Airbase, accidently showing some russian Speznaz operating there. At first they had put their logo there, but once uploaded they placed an image link to another video there, covering the scenery completely. It is just the voices they could not remove.

Footage: Ruptly TV:Syria: Syrian Army respond to IS attacks near Palmyra and Homs, Syria, January 4th, 2017, 1080p

[Dukat]

Syrian National Defence Forces militia claims to have taken a hill east of the village of Wadi Barada, in a first attempt to cut off Wadi Barada from the rest of the pocket, Rif Dimaschq Governorate, Syria, January 6th, 2016.

Twitter: Footage: Mosul, Iraq: The Islamic State releases a new propaganda video showing multiple VBIED attacks against anti-IS forces, January 5th, 2016.

[Dukat]

Syrian Democratic Forces captured Suwaydiya Saghirah, the last village prior to Tabqa Dam, Raqqah Governorate, Syria, January 7th, 2017.

Footage: Free Syrian Army (Jabhat al-Shamiya) in combat with ISIS in the area of Al-Bab, northern Aleppo, Syria, January 7th, 2017, 1080p

[FHMax3]

Syrian National Defence Forces militia claims to have taken a hill east of the village of Wadi Barada, in a first attempt to cut off Wadi Barada from the rest of the pocket, Rif Dimaschq Governorate, Syria, January 6th, 2016.

Twitter: Footage: Mosul, Iraq: The Islamic State releases a new propaganda video showing multiple VBIED attacks against anti-IS forces, January 5th, 2016.

That bulge is tricky because a counterattack could cut of the advancing units, but the other side could as easily cut of the forces in the bulge.

[Born2Kill 007]

Bit of a strange satelite picture today:
Today I was checking out the Strait of Hormuz via satelite images to see if I could find an Iranese Naval Base there. I did quickly find one, but there was something very strange there:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Strait+of+Hormuz/@27.134076,56.196895,397m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x3ef7184c25840e51:0x3d7b86ccdd367e5a!8m2!3d26.5944754!4d56.4719928?hl=nl-NL

To me, that looks a lot like an aircraft carrier, but what is the story behind it? Is it an aircraft carrier (or rather an artificial island/construction to train carrier landings? It seems partially dismantled. Are they dismantling it, or are they working on construction?

I really hope someone knows more because this really intrigues me

[Kalkalash]

This most likely:

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/iran-blows-up-gigantic-u-s-carrier-mock-up-during-nava-1688057598

[Born2Kill 007]

Seems like a perfect match for it, thanks

[VonMudra]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9tbOficoJw

Close call for a Southern Front BMP fighting the ISIL pocket on the Golan Heights border.

[Dukat]

Military situation in Mosul, Iraq, January 9th, 2017.

Extra:
Article: Bellingcat: Mapping Mosul’s VBIED Attacks, January 9th, 2016