Suchomimus

Ukraine uses EDM4S SkyWiper Anti-Drone Guns against Russia. How does the EDM4S anti-drone weapon work? Created by Lithuania's NT Service, Sky Wiper targets drones. A short video here about an interesting little weapon used by Ukraine. Photos have been shared online showing Ukrainian soldiers using these, and they certainly look very futuristic—like they should be on a Sci-Fi movie or something. They are the EDM4S Sky Wiper. What is the Sky Wiper? It is basically an anti-drone gun. Ten of these were purchased in December 2021 from Lithuanian company NT Service. These guns are designed to neutralize small and medium sized UAVs by identifying and disrupting the UAV guidance, tracking and navigation systems. The Sky Wiper is billed as a simple-to-operate, one-man, point and shoot antidrone solution. The operator points the Sky Wiper at a drone and pulls the trigger. This sends an electro-magnetic pulse towards the drone which disrupts communication between the drone and its operators. The drone may then land as its flight is interrupted or return to the place of takeoff. It is a single system, much like a rifle—no external aiming mechanism or radar or battery pack. All of the modules are mounted on a light, aluminimu frame. The gun itself is fitted with four directional antennas which can be expanded to 6 antennas. Two antennas are for the 2.4 gigahertz and 5.8 gigahertz frequency bands. One antenna for GPS interference for the 1.5 gigahertz band and another to interfere with the GLONASS system for the 1.5 gigahertz band. GLONASS is a space-based navigation satellite system, the Russian equivalent of GPS. It is also possible to modify Sky Wiper to work with other frequencies. The official website gives the weapon a range of 3 to 5 kilometers. As well as the antenna system, other modules included are an integrated optical sight, a stand with extendable arms which can serve as a handle nand a folding stock. The battery allows for a continuous operational time of 35 minutes. It’s weight is just 5.5 kilogram. So a little bit heavier than assault rifles like the M16—around 4kilogram fully loaded. But lighter than anti-tank systems like the NLAW—12.5KG. While we know it is used in Ukraine, we don’t know how successful a system it is. I expect information like that is kept under wraps. But, it’s without a doubt a cool and interesting device. It isn’t the only such system like this—DroneShield’s Dronegun Tactical, for example, works in the same way. I hope you enjoyed this video. If so, I would appreciate it if you would like the video and subscribe to the channel. And, if you know anyone else interested—share the video with them.

Snake Island Naval Movements two new satellite images on Snake Island. They were posted online today, but the date given on the source is 02/06 and 04/06 They don’t show too much of interest. They aren’t clear enough or close enough to look at the military buildup and identify SAM sites or if any new equipment is there. But, if you look at the dock—the floating crane that has been ever present for a while has gone. This could be 1 of two things 1 – It is currently offloading the Sevelod Bobrov transport ship 2 – It’s mission around Snake Island is complete—we know it was involved with unloading the Sevelod Bobrov and also recovering the sunk Serna-Class ship. So it could be that Russia has decided there is enough equipment on Snake Island for the current purpose of air defence. Also present near the dock is a small boat—this could be a landing craft or a patrol boat—possible a raptor. The second image, from the same day, shows two small craft carrying out a hard turn. Rapidly changing course. It looks like they’ve spotted a drone of some sort in the area. Finally, image 3 is this from 4/6/2022. Again, note the absennce of the floating crane. I think this seems to confirm that its operation near Snake Island is over. And, of course, there is the cloud of smoke from near the dock. We will come to that in just a moment but first, looking to the bottom, note that there are a number of small craft, sailing close to the island. Possible patrol boats? Going back to the smoke, if we look at this map from May 28, where the smoke is coming from, there were three vehicles parked. So that makes the plume of smoke quite interesting.

PARM 1 and PARM 2 DM-12 anti-tank mines are in use with Ukraine. How do they work? I thought it would be interesting in this video to take a look at an unusual, but lethal and useful weapon which Ukraine is operating. The PARM-2 mine. This was sent as part of an aid package which Germany claimed included 2,000 mines, so we don’t know how many of those were PARM-2s. It’s a very interesting weapon, differering from the usual mines as we shall see. PARM stands for PanzerAbwehrRichtMine. Or, anti-tank directional mine. They are off route mines which when triggered fire small, fin-stabilized rockets. Different than usual anti-tank mines which are triggered and detonated under the vehicle. These aren’t the only off-route anti-tank mines in service—for example, Poland has the MPB. The mine first entered service as the PARM 1 in 1988. It is mounted on a s small, flexible tripod. This tripod can spin 360 degrees, elevate 90 degrees or depress 45 degrees, allowing the system to be rigged and set up in a number of different locations. It is suitable for both protective use—such as protecting a vital convoy route, or tactical use. Intended to disrupt the movement of enemy forces. The mine can be fired by command, pressure plate or by a tripwire. With the tripwire, it is an optical cable placed on the road. Once a heavy vehicle rolls over it, this cable then triggers the ignition of the charge. This fires the projectivle to the target. Now, they don’t have to strike the first weapon in a convoy either. PARM-2 can be set to skip 9 vehicles before detonating, allowing for it to target key vehicles in the center of the convoy. For example, if a recon patrol spots an enemy convoy with the priority target being, say, a fuel truck—the lead vehicle such as a BMP-1 can pass over it, the next vehicle can and so on, until the priority target arrives. Then, it detonates. The PARM 1 has an effective range of 2 to 40 meters. The PARM 2 is upgraded with a range of 100 meters. The PARM 2 also has an upgraded warhead allowing for armor penetration of 750 millimeters and even capabilitiy against reactive armour. For point of reference, the BMP-1 has armor thickness of 33 millimeters. The T-72 has armor thickness of around 700mm at the front of the turret and hull. The BTR-80—10mm in the hull. These are powerful weapons. Fast too—once triggered, they travel at 120 meters per second. They also quite light and easily transported—weighing just 20 kg. Meaning they can be quickly and easily taken to an ambush point. So, there we have the PARM 2. I think it’s quite a cool weapon and worth having a closer look at how it works. If you enjoyed the video, I’d appreciate it if you’d click like and also subscribe. Cheers

BMP-1A1 Ost is a modified version of Russia's BMP-1. Greek military aid package to Ukraine includes BMP-1A1 Ost. A little video update on weapons sent to Ukraine. So, Greece has announced a really big weapons package. It consists of 122 BMP-1s with ammunition for their machine guns. 15,000 73 mm missiles 2,100 122 mm rockets 20,0000 AK-47s 3,200,000, 7.62 mm cartridges 60 Stinger MANPPADS 17,000 155mm artillery rounds 1,100 RPG-18 rockets. These were sent to Ukraine on 6 Greek, 10 Canadian and 5 New Zealand C-130 aircraft. These are apparently in the country already—or part of the package. The press release says Ukraine has “exterminated hundreds of Russians with Greek weapons, especially the 155mm rounds and 122mm rockets.” So, let’s take a closer look at the BMP-1 variant which Ukraine will be receiving. Greece bought 350 units of the BMP-1A1 Ost variant from Germany. A small bit of background. So, East Germany had a fleet of over 1,000 BMPs which were inherited during reunification. Which is why Germany had BMPs and other Soviet vehicles not typically seen in Western Countries. The BMP-1 was found to not meet many of the standards expected. Especially in terms of health and safety. The fuel tanks especially were considered to be a hazard. Firing the 73mm ammunition released potentially toxic nitroglycerin while firing the 7.62 mm PKT could potentially release mercury. There was also asbestos in the brake bands, clutch lining and the gaskets. In short, they were quite hazardous to the health of the crew. A number of BMP-1s were upgraded to the BMP-1A1 Ost standard. Some of the upgrades included 1 – repl;acing the headlights so they were the same as the Marder 1A3. A pair of ring mirrors Rear lights added to ease convoy driving A ladder to ease climbing or descending with the vehicle. Safety wise, the asbestos was removed.. Which I’m sure the crews were pleased about. The 5th gearbox was found to be restricted—reducing the top speed to 40 km/h his restriction was removed. The clutch was modified so it was smoother. A heater was added so the crew were comfortale in winter. The dangerous fuel tanks located in the rear doors were completely removed. Anti-slip coating was also added on the exterior. Combat-wise, the BMP-1A1 had modifications which made it inferior to the standard BMP-1s. The autoloading mechanism was removed. As was the missile launcher and guidance equipment. It was also found that firing from the firing points had little use, so the Soviet doctrine of mounted combat was abandoned. When the Ost was removed from service, a number were exported to Greece—I see figures of 350 or 500, depending on the source. Greece modified some to use an M2 Browning gun—called the BMP-1A1GR1 variant. Additional modifications were carried out on 44 vehicles, replacing the turrett with a ZU-23 AA gun. The remaining 140 were to be withdrawn. It is likely from this batch that the 122 been sent to Ukraine come from. So, that’s the BMP Ost. An attempt at making a dated piece of soviet kit compatible with western standards. Combat wise, it hasn’t been improved. But it is safer—at least there isn’t any asbestos in them. Despite their age and shortcomings—the BMP 1 will still have its uses. Though we have seen a lot destroyed in the war. They still provide decent levels of protection from small arms fire and the gun can put down a decent amount of firepower of its own. Plus, Ukraine has long operated the BMP-1 so no training will be required. Plus, again—no asbestos. I hope you liked the video. If so, if you could click like and also subscribe. That would be great and much appreciated. Thanks very much

Robot 17 Anti-Ship Missile Sent to Ukraine. A little video on weapons been sent to Ukraine. It is more anti-ship weapons, this time, Sweden is sending a number of Robot 17 missiles. This will complement the Neptune’s, Harpoons and Brimstone’s which are already there. So, while the Neptune and Harpoon are long-range missiles, the Robot 17, a bit like the Brimstone, is short range—effective to around 8 km. So, while that seems short, these are very useful as they are designed to deter and defend against amphibious landings rather than target large ships. Long-range missiles like Harpoon have a minimum effective range, meaning they would be useless against boats and ships close to the shore. So Ukraine needs short range missiles as well as long range one to effectively set up a short-defence system. Now, the Brimstone we have seen in use in land. So I don’t know if all of the Brimstone batteries are used in land or if some are used to defend the coastline too. But these will either supplement the Brimstone batteries or, could even take the place of potential Brimstone coastal batteries allowing the Brimstone to be used in an anti-vehicle role instead. So, the Robot 17 is a development of the famous Hellfire missile. It is designed to be launched from a shoreline firing post. Which can be set up quickly. It is laser guided and once fired, it travels at mach 1.3 to hit its target. Sweden uses them in tandem with the CM90 boat and G-Boats. Using the boat to rapidly transport the missiles and teams between islands for rapid and mobile coastal defence. So, the system features a launcher, and a seperate laser illuminator. The illuminator can be positioned at the firing point or in a different place away from the launcher. This makes it safer for the operators. The target vessel is illuminated with a frequency-coded, narrow, high-enery laster beam, which the Robot 17s laser viewfinder looks for and then follows to its target. In Sweden, a Robot 17 platoon consists of three fire units which are divided into robot and lighting groups. An illuminator group consists of 4-5 men. Who use a G-Boat to move into position. The Robot 17 group consists of 9-10 men. Operating out of the CB90. The entire platoon focuses on the enemy’s probably attack point. These are very fast to deplot. Grouping the robots and the lighting unit takes around 5 minutes from arrival on site until the unit is ready to fire. It can even be done under 3 minutes. These were requested especially by Ukraine, so it is nice to see Ukraine being sent requested weapons like this one.