Interesting...
Expended AGM-88 HARM (High Speed Anti-Radiation) missiles are showing up in Ukraine with German tail codes.
The Pentagon has admitted that AGM-88's were transferred to Ukraine (after the pix showed up on line). But didn't mention where they came from.
Also unsaid is which Ukrainian air force platform was modified to to carry and fire AGM-88's. My assumption is that its some of their MiG-29's, at least some of which were rebuilt using parts from the US inventory of MiG-29's.
My assumption was correct.
Ukrainian MiG-29s Are Firing AGM-88 Anti-Radiation Missiles
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukrainian-mig-29s-are-firing-agm-88-anti-radiation-missiles
@Render in that article I notice it says the package sent is valued at $775m, I wonder if they're using this to artificially boost GDP with military weapons production.
I remember reading about how every year supposedly the USA builds 3,000 tanks and then dismantles them to artificially boost GDP, this sounds like a similar opportunity
It's not true. Not even close.
The US has exactly one tank plant. It's located in Lima, Ohio. It makes about 11 new Abrams a month.
Those new Abrams go into Army storage until they're needed. That plant is kept operational through contracts to repair/upgrade older Abrams, build new Stryker wheeled APC's, and assemble Israeli Merkava 4's and Namer heavy APC's.
Without those contracts the plant shuts down and then we don't have a tank factory.
The US Army has around 5500 total Abrams. About 2600 of those are in active service. The rest are in storage (including some older models stored in Europe and Israel).
The USMC no longer operates any tanks at all.
@Render @AlphaCentauri @ACG2 I could be wrong, I swear I saw it in some kinda documentary format article back when Obama was President, it was supposed to be an issue that no President wanted to undo. I'll have to see if I can find the article.
@Render @AlphaCentauri @ACG2 yeah I can't find it on my rudimentary search on my break here, I'll chalk it up to either I misremembered or the article was lying.
@ACG2 @lacuda @Render
Doesn't sound likely. 3000 tanks a year would mean a lot of ex-mechanics with stories to tell about it. We hear war stories about every other kind of military foolishness.