Drones from American startups are glitchy and expensive prompting Ukraine to turn to alternatives from China.
The Wall Street Journal comments American Drones Failed to Turn the Tide in Ukraine
The Silicon Valley company Skydio sent hundreds of its best drones to Ukraine to help fight the Russians. Things didn’t go well. Skydio’s drones flew off course and were lost, victims of Russia’s electronic warfare. The company has since gone back to the drawing board to build a new fleet.
Most small drones from U.S. startups have failed to perform in combat, dashing companies’ hopes that a badge of being battle-tested would bring the startups sales and attention. It is also bad news for the Pentagon, which needs a reliable supply of thousands of small, unmanned aircraft.
“The general reputation for every class of U.S. drone in Ukraine is that they don’t work as well as other systems,” Skydio Chief Executive Adam Bry said, calling his own drone “not a very successful platform on the front lines.”
Ukrainian officials have found U.S.-made drones fragile and unable to overcome Russian jamming and GPS blackout technology. At times, they couldn’t take off, complete missions or return home. American drones often fail to fly at the distances advertised or carry substantial payloads.
Ukraine has found ways to get tens of thousands of drones as well as drone parts from China. The military is using off-the-shelf Chinese drones, primarily from SZ DJI Technology.
The U.S. has called DJI a Chinese military company and a surveillance tool for Beijing, which DJI denies. The Pentagon banned DJI drones in the U.S. military, and congressional legislation would ban new DJI products in the U.S.
Skydio employees went back to Ukraine 17 times to get feedback, Bry said. Its new drone is built around Ukraine’s military needs and feedback from public-safety agencies and other customers, he said, rather than U.S. Defense Department requirements that are sometimes divorced from battlefield realities.
I suspect China is selling drones and drone parts to both Ukraine and Russia. What a racket.
Meanwhile, US drones made to US Defense Department specs are garbage.
Selling to both sides of a war.
The Krupps and the Rothchilds never did better.
Lyould Austen is a house negro.
Drones aren’t the only tool that Ukraine is using against Russia. Ukraine is so damn creative! I will not be surprised if, once Russia is sent packing, If Ukraine does not look to take over Russia itself.
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Ukrainian Hackers Launch Cyberattacks on Moscow Sewage System
By Kyiv Post
April 10, 2024
Blackjack, a Ukrainian hacker group affiliated with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said it had launched a cyberattack on Moskollector, a company that operates the communication system for Moscow’s sewage network.
Unnamed government sources told Ukrainian news outlet LIGA.net that Blackjack managed to shut off 87,000 alarm sensors throughout Moscow and the surrounding suburbs, preventing the company from responding to emergency events. The source also claimed that Blackjack destroyed 70 servers and at least 90 terabytes of company data, including emails, backup copies and contracts.
“Now the operation of the object of critical infrastructure of Moscow is completely blocked, the company cannot respond to accidents and emergency events. It will take 15 to 30 days to restore its functioning,” the source told LIGA.net.
…
link to kyivpost.com
hahahaha Jojo your single digit IQ is showing, if you believe anything a Ukrainian propaganda organ says.
In the real world, Ukraine will soon cease to exist as a nation state, because they are led by morons like you, who thought going to war against Russia was a good idea. Fully deserved, in my mind, for being followers of Bandera and the famous Austrian landscape artist.
Jews starting wars.
So Chinese drones are better than American ones? It’s not the “dollar collapse” narratives that point to a decline in US hegemony but small snippets like this that were unthinkable just ten years ago. Sad this all had to happen to bailout the banks in 2008.
The last time I bought a US designed and manufactured TV set was in 1972. The handle on my Zenith portable fell off four years later and I replaced it with a Sony Trinitron portable designed in Japan but assembled in the US (San Diego as I recall). Now just about every hi tech gadget I own is made outside the US. US operations have been reduced to marketing and perhaps finance. US hegemony has been on the decline for decades. Once household names such as Kodak, Polaroid, Xerox, Zenith and RCA are gone like the old south. Even Boeing is a very troubled company these days.
Are there any honest, detailed articles or books explaining why this occurred?
Really don’t need a book.
It was/is greed.
“Drones from American startups are glitchy and expensive…”
Except for the key word startups, i would have to wonder if they were made by Boeing. If the American drones are glitchy, the workers must need more DEI and CRT training, to correct the problem.
who cares about Ukraine!
The country’s neocons, who obviously had a lot more political influence than the country’s average voters. How many Americans know about Victoria Nuland and the role she played stirring up trouble in eastern Europe during the Obama administration? I think the Nobel prize committee was too hasty in awarding Obama the Peace Prize in 2009.
He got the Nobel Peace Prize for being black
(And articulate, bright and clean. Good looking too. Its a storybook, man.)
To give Obama his due, when they announced his prize he saw the political danger, and how the virtue signalling Swedes, anxious to get their anti-racism creds, were making him look like a goof. So he immediately stated that he didn’t deserve the prize and would accept it on belhalf of all Americans , And when he went to Scandanavia to accept the prize, he gave an acceptance address that was a tribute to American warriors, and the benefits they have brought to the world over the last 250 years.
I know about that evil witch at Columbia.
Ukraine is just pawn and testing ground.
Yes. A testing ground for both sides. One of the big tests is that of Resolve. The Russians are testing too see how long it takes to make the US and NATO to cut and run.
The Americans will never, ever cut and run while there is a single Ukrainian capable of fighting.
We care a lot more for the future of Ukraine and its citizens that we do about Palestinian camel jockeys.
The camel.jockeys are kicking israelis ass. Israel is done . They can’t win except killing innocents. Kniving Jews get kicked out of every country. You are vicious Jewish bastard. Ukrainian don’t even like Jews.
Israel is finished! Next the targeting of Jews who support Israel by ostracizing them from society.
Looks like we need to trim on the ovens!
You outsource American manufacturing to increase corporate profits and not pay American workers and you are surprised you can’t build anything that works?
Unemployment is historic low. American workers are enjoying high paying jobs.
Unsurprisingly no workers for manufacturing.
Made in China but purchased with US money, I bet.
What happened to America that we have this incompetence occurring?
Affirmative Action
it might be too many Chinese immigrants….:)
Millionaires in America shipped all the middle-class jobs, technology and know-how offshore so they could become multi-millionaires while calling it “free-trade”.
They were driven out.
Government incompetence does not count is a Socialist Society.
Greed
Who is audting the MIC?
I’m waiting to see if the US can rebuild a bridge…
It took 25 years (from 1989 to 2014) to repair the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge following the Loma Prietta Earthquake. Most of the time was spent by local politicians squabbling over the design of the eastern span.
“I suspect China is selling drones and drone parts to both Ukraine and Russia. What a racket.”
Presuming the Chinese government didn’t foment the political changes in Ukraine last decade this would hardly qualify as racketeering. Something like the U.S. MIC’s relationship with Iraq over the past 40 years would be more aptly described as a racket.
oh come on, China wont sell them drones. Its not in their interests to help Ukraine in any way at all. and there simply isnt enough money in them for it to be worth China even contemplating a breach with their ally Russia.. And then Danilova calling the Chinese FM “Wankey” wasn’t clever or endearing to the Chinese.
Ukrainian drone companies will have a great market after the war having proven their expertise in building and operating them. Necessity is the mother of invention and the Ukrainians have without doubt proven that old dictum. They are way ahead in a new technology that risks changing the nature of ground and sea combat.
….IN YOUR HEAD ONLY ….Russia is winning , didn t you know yet ? That s also why the sore losers NATO gang is now invoking once again false flag shit like Russia attacking the nuclear plant it controls and even the use of chemical weapons while the Whorekraine military has already been decimated … Plain terrorism is Whorekraines ONLY option now ….’They are way ahead in technology’ the agent says ….
C’était au temps où Bruxelles rêvait
C’était au temps du cinéma muet
C’était au temps où Bruxelles chantait
C’était au temps où Bruxelles bruxellait
[Couplet 1]
Place de Broukère on voyait des vitrines
Avec des hommes des femmes en crinoline
Place de Broukère on voyait l’omnibus
Avec des femmes des messieurs en gibus
Et sur l’impériale
Le cœur dans les étoiles
Il y avait mon grand-père
Il y avait ma grand-mère
Il était militaire
Elle était fonctionnaire
Il pensait pas elle pensait rien
Et on voudrait que je sois malin
[Refrain]
C’était au temps où Bruxelles rêvait
C’était au temps du cinéma muet
C’était au temps où Bruxelles chantait
C’était au temps où Bruxelles bruxellait
[Couplet 2]
Sur les pavés de la place Sainte-Catherine
Dansaient les hommes les femmes en crinoline
Sur les pavés dansaient les omnibus
Avec des femmes des messieurs en gibus
Et sur l’impériale
Le cœur dans les étoiles
Il y avait mon grand-père
Il y avait ma grand-mère
Il avait su y faire
Elle l’avait laissé faire
Ils l’avaient donc fait tous les deux
Et on voudrait que je sois sérieux
[Refrain]
C’était au temps où Bruxelles rêvait
C’était au temps du cinéma muet
C’était au temps où Bruxelles chantait
C’était au temps où Bruxelles bruxellait
[Couplet 3]
Sous les lampions de la place Sainte-Justine
Chantaient les hommes les femmes en crinoline
Sous les lampions dansaient les omnibus
Avec des femmes des messieurs en gibus
Et sur l’impériale
Le cœur dans les étoiles
Il y avait mon grand-père
Il y avait ma grand-mère
Il attendait la guerre
Elle attendait mon père
Ils étaient gais comme le canal
Et on voudrait que j’aie le moral
[Refrain]
C’était au temps où Bruxelles rêvait
C’était au temps du cinéma muet
C’était au temps où Bruxelles chantait
C’était au temps où Bruxelles bruxellait
“Russia is winning” LOL That’s why it took them half a year to finally occupy a village of Avdiivka)))
No one is winning and no one will win.
The sooner the US admits this, the sooner the war will end.
Depend on the what point of view.
Europe doesn’t agree and is putting together arms packages and ramping up ammunition manufacture to fill in the holes left by the USA. MIlitary powerhouses Sweden and Finland are especially stepping up.
Lol.
US Sent Seized Iranian Weapons, Ammo To Ukraine As Resupply Efforts Hit Desperation
Tuesday, Apr 09, 2024 – 06:45 PM
The Pentagon announced Tuesday it has delivered thousands of small arms previously seized from a shipment intended for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, along with over half a million rounds of ammunition.
The US believes the seized arms were supplied by Iran, and recent years have seen an untick in these ‘illegal’ shipments from Tehran to the Houthis via regional waters. US Central Command had said the arms were delivered to Ukraine forces last week, coming amid reported severe ammo and weapons shortages along the front lines with Russia.
Image source: US Central Command
“The US government transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG-7s and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces” on Thursday, CENTCOM announced on social media.
“These weapons will help Ukraine defend against Russia’s invasion” and are enough material to equip a brigade, the statement touted further.
…
link to zerohedge.com
I think we will have a nuclear war before Russia surrenders Crimea to Ukraine.
You can bet your behind on that one !
Bring it! Russia still loses and we reduce the population of the world a bit.
A guy who says “bring it” to nuclear war – I revise my above estimate, your IQ is 0.
I am giving you a part of Belgium culture and you downvote me. I don’t think you are Belge at all. I don’t even think you live there.
I did not downvote you because this pathetic American agent don t know shit about bellgian culture, I thought , btw, being flemish , I am not even supposed to understand french, so what you on about ? Send me something in dutch if you can !
This is criminal by the Biden admin, always looking to tiptoe around Putin.
——-
Ukraine finally found a way to make Russia suffer. The US seems to want it to stop.
By Tom Porter | Business Insider
March 22, 2024
Ukraine recently found a Russian weak spot — targeting its oil and gas industry in long-range missile and drone attacks.
The attacks have reduced Russia’s oil processing capacity by 7%, Reuters reported, seriously impacting an industry Russia relies on heavily to fund its invasion of Ukraine.
But according to The Financial Times, pushback on the attacks is coming from an unexpected corner: Kyiv’s most important ally, the US.
US officials are said to be concerned that the attacks could drive up oil prices and provoke retaliation. They want Ukraine to ease up, per the report.
…
link to businessinsider.com
Odd how Russia exported record amounts of oil last month…hmmmm… how could that be? And received record revenues….inexplicable! Russia’s economy grew +7.3% annualized in February, with the lowest unemployment rates ever recorded – keep putting on more sanctions, it’s working!
Did you know there are over 600 refineries in Russia? Did you know that Europe and the US continue to buy LNG, diesel and aviation fuel and other petroleum products from…….Russia, in large quantities, to this day, through intermediaries, like India, and pay a much higher price for it than they could by buying it directly. Which is why the Biden Admin had to declare recently “once Russian petroleum is processed into diesel fuel etc, it is no longer considered a Russian product” – because the USA is buying it, as Russia is the only large scale producer of petroleum distillates with excess export capacity.
It is only because of the patience of Russia, and the stupidity of Europe and the US, that Western nations even have any economy functioning. How about nuclear reactor fuel rods, where the West is entirely dependent on Russian supply? Personally, I think Putin is soft, I would have cut off all of those exports as soon as a sanction was placed on Russia. But the option remains open, so just keep provoking Russia, and you will get your wish.
So yeah, keep attacking the Russian oil refineries, and when gas reaches $8 to $10 a gallon, enjoy that, as the economy implodes. You will get to that place soon anyway, as Israel attacks Iran, leading to the shutdown of oil exports to the West, while the global majority continue to purchase their oil at the old prices. That will be the biggest economic crash in history, and Russia and China will be relatiely unscathed, compared to the West. Good luck.
When your IQ is 0, comprehension of facts is hard..
Am I surprised? I suspect the Russians are not the only country with dodgy corrupt military contractors (laughing at CNN).
The Pentagon’s $52,000 trash can
With military spending at record highs, many contractors have hiked the cost of relatively simple items.
JUNE 20, 2023
Connor Echols
Leading military contractors jacked up the price of several everyday products after receiving non-competitive contracts, costing taxpayers more than $1.3 million in apparently unnecessary markups, according to Pentagon contracting data acquired by Responsible Statecraft.
link to youtube.com
Until 2010, Boeing charged an average of $300 for a trash container used in the E-3 Sentry, a surveillance and radar plane based on the 707 civilian airliner. When the 707 fell out of use in the United States, the trash can was no longer a “commercial” item, meaning that Boeing was not obligated to keep its price at previous levels, according to a weapons industry source who spoke to RS.
In 2020, the Pentagon paid Boeing over $200,000 for four of the trash cans, translating to roughly $51,606 per unit. In a 2021 contract, the company charged $36,640 each for 11 trash containers, resulting in a total cost of more than $400,000. The apparent overcharge cost taxpayers an extra $600,000 between the two contracts.
In another case, Lockheed Martin hiked the price of an electrical conduit for the P-3 plane as much as 14 fold, costing the Pentagon an additional $133,000 between 2008 and 2015.
…
link to responsiblestatecraft.org
Is this more of the horse manure like we saw in the Reagan Administration with the much derided $400 hammer..all kinds of charges that you could get one at Sears Roebuck for $10? Turns out it was an accounting device…for example total bill for 10 items in a unit was $4,000. Rather than break it down to how much each item cost, they divided total cost by units and got $400 for each. But the nimrods didn’t point that out.
Part of the problem is the mil-specs apply to what would be many ‘off-the-shelf’ items. The supplier has to submit certifications (in the hammer instance) physical & chemistry test reports for the steel used in the head, and the wooden handle is specified as hickory with a certain moisture content. You can’t get the certified paperwork at your local Home Depot. Also, the thing with the $600 toilet seat (same time as the hammer fiasco) was for a custom-made fiberglass seat to fit into a cramped area in a P-3 Orion sub-hunter. Although some of the military spending is absurd, many items, especially in volume, are quite cost competitive.
My article above belies that contention.
It seems that drawing up absurd specs for parts is a government specialty. But then, when it comes to the military, most everything should be manufactured in the USA (don’t know if this is true). For example, China might wire miniature microphones into something as simple as a toilet seat.
But manufacturing in the USA, increase prices significantly due to labor and other overhead costs..
Still military budget of much much more than 800 billions left to steal.
Chinese drones bought with American taxpayer money for a war that has nothing to do with us.
Yep, are leaders are as feckless, stupid and evil as they come.
Yes and we are paying a heavy price for meddling in the affairs of countries in Russia’s sphere of influence.
Wanna see two mentally ill humans? link to youtu.be
More here link to cybertruckownersclub.com
Who would buy one of these???? It’s about as useful as a Ferrari in terms of a work vehicle.
The PR Machine can make people believe a circle a square — but based on the near zero sales of this pc of shit … it would appear that the PR Machine is not all-powerful…
Only the severely delusional morons will bite on this
Look at the comments… most are not even pissed off… you wanna know why?????
Cuz they believe they are Saving the World… therefore they put up with this…
link to cybertruckownersclub.com
Saving the world … with their coal and gas and uranium charged dumpsters.
Saving the Clown World… hahaha
Over to Jeff Green
Plenty of idiots bought Hummer H2’s and H3’s
link to reddit.com
link to msn.com
Russia asks Kazakhstan to build reserves of gasoline in case of a shortage in Russia!!
“Drone attacks had knocked out some 14% of Russian primary oil refining capacity as of end-March. So far authorities have said the situation on domestic fuel markets is stable and stockpiles large enough.
Russia is usually a net exporter of fuel and a supplier to international markets but the refinery disruptions have forced its oil companies to import.”
And the reduction in Russian refinery capacity by NATO aided drone attacks has caused the West to now deal with more expensive fuel. My local petrol station went from (AUD) $2.06 to 2.58/litre today which is the highest it has ever been. So Russia will get higher prices for the reduced fuel they export.
The West is playing heads you win tails I lose.
Stop replying with facts to these idiots, they are impervious, in their bubble of delusion of “western superiority”
Russia can repair those facilities quickly. Ukraine can not. Neither can the US for that matter.
China is selling drones to BOTH Russia and Ukraine, and Mish thinks that is a racket? When we find out that Hunter Biden’s Rosemont private equity vehicle is heavily invested in Chinese drone manufacturers, what label will Mish put on that?
Meanwhile, the rocket science nerds of Silicon Valley are unable to produce reliable drones. Addictive social media apps? Check. Computer viruses? Check. Antivirus software? check. Hours of “junk food for the mind” (better known as facebook and youtube)? Check. AI generated porn and cat pictures? Check
But a useful tool that does something in the real world? Sorry, not in California.