How Crimea Can Be Retaken, According to Former U.S. General

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Not pontoon bridges, but armored bridge launchers which are built on the chassis of a M 60 tank.

Armoured vehicle-launched bridge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Lockheed Martin's HIMARS can deliver precision hits at almost 200 miles, more than long enough to take out most targets in Crimea.

I believe Ukraine has 18 HIMARS now.

Did you note how long those bridges are? Not very. The pontoon briges were designed to cross rivers, Those folding bridges can barely cross a good-sized creek.

92 km which is the max range of the HIMARS is nowhere near 200 miles. It's closer to 60 miles.

 

[toomuchtime_]

Did you note how long those bridges are? Not very. The pontoon briges were designed to cross rivers, Those folding bridges can barely cross a good-sized creek.

92 km which is the max range of the HIMARS is nowhere near 200 miles. It's closer to 60 miles.

Obviously, the bridge launchers will be sufficient for Ukraine's needs or the US would not be sending them. Longer bridges can be quickly built section by section.

The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a surface-to-surface missile manufactured by the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin. It has a range of up to 190 miles (300 km),[7] with solid propellant, and is 13 feet (4.0 m) high and 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter. The ATACMS can be fired from the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), and the wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

MGM-140 ATACMS - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JohnDB]

Did you note how long those bridges are? Not very. The pontoon briges were designed to cross rivers, Those folding bridges can barely cross a good-sized creek.

92 km which is the max range of the HIMARS is nowhere near 200 miles. It's closer to 60 miles.

It's dependent upon the munitions loaded.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Obviously, the bridge launchers will be sufficient for Ukraine's needs or the US would not be sending them. Longer bridges can be quickly built section by section.

The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a surface-to-surface missile manufactured by the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin. It has a range of up to 190 miles (300 km),[7] with solid propellant, and is 13 feet (4.0 m) high and 24 inches (610 mm) in diameter. The ATACMS can be fired from the tracked M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), and the wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

MGM-140 ATACMS - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ukraine does not have these and I doubt they will be provided to them. Have a nice day, amateur!

 

[para bellum]

The AFU doesn't have to cross the Dnipro, if they attack from Zaporizhzhia down to Melitopol they could cut the Russian occupation into two pieces. Finish off the Kerch rail bridge, and the Russian southern grouping becomes unsustainable.

The bridging equipment is for the northeast area, the S-D, Oskil, etc.

Cutting off Crimea from resupply and making Sevastopol untenable for the B.S.F. is within reach for Ukraine. Russia has already had to disperse the fleet due to the drone threats.

Ukraine has Vilkha-M in service, albeit limited numbers. It's an improved BM-30 that out ranges the M31 GMRLS and has a bigger warhead. They have a few Tochka-U left, and appear to have a few GLSDB now, with a bunch more on the way. GLSDB is 150km range and re-uses the M26 rockets (which there are thousands of in the US and Europe that have been taken out of service due to they use cluster munitions).

There is also a new GMRLS-ER that has 150km range, same warhead as the M31, and the Pentagon just ordered something like 7,600 of them, along with around 130 M142 launchers. That's $1.5 Bn in rockets and $500 Mn in HIMARS launchers and ammunition. Lockheed doubled production.

Those and the drones, the AFU have been striking targets at longer distances lately, like Mariupol and Crimea and even bases in Russia. Well beyond 150km from the front lines...

 

[JohnDB]

Russia still has a lot of tanks and munitions....
But money? Not so much.

 

[JWBooth]

Russia still has a lot of tanks and munitions....
But money? Not so much.

They have the Chinese option, like the US financed the Afghan and Iraq wars, sell bonds to Peiking.

 

[JohnDB]

They have the Chinese option, like the US financed the Afghan and Iraq wars, sell bonds to Peiking.

China is in a cash crunch themselves...they have been nationalizing banks in Hong Kong for those bank's cash deposits. They can't buy bonds except with more bonds. They've had some problems with real estate deals going really wrong lately and missed some payments.

 

[krichton]

Did you note how long those bridges are? Not very. The pontoon briges were designed to cross rivers, Those folding bridges can barely cross a good-sized creek.

92 km which is the max range of the HIMARS is nowhere near 200 miles. It's closer to 60 miles.

The small diameter bomb has a range of 150km at 40k a piece, and the altius 600, which is a kamikaze drone has a range of 440km. Both are being sent to Ukraine. The russians are in deep trouble.

 

[Ringo]

 

[AZrailwhale]

You do realize the US Army did away with all of their pontoon bridges few years ago because they could very easily be destroyed, right?

Where are these longer range rockets coming from?

Did you read bout a drone manufacturer giving Ukraine the equivalent of a Predator? There is no way they will ever use it because there is no funding or capability to get it to Ukraine.

No we got rid of the M4T6 floating bridges because they were too slow to erect. We changed to the ribbon bridge that we copied from the Soviets that can be built very quickly.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

No we got rid of the M4T6 floating bridges because they were too slow to erect. We changed to the ribbon bridge that we copied from the Soviets that can be built very quickly.

The span is simply not there. Good for a stream or small ravine. Otherwise useless.