Aha Dua Permata: Battalion of Ukrainian ex-POWs Heads Out on Combat Mission in Special Op Zone

Wednesday 22 November 2023

Battalion of Ukrainian ex-POWs Heads Out on Combat Mission in Special Op Zone

Ever since the onset of the special military operation, many Ukrainian POWs have decided to join the Russian military and take part in the special military operation on Moscow's side.

The first group of a Russian battalion named in honor of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, consisting of former Ukrainian soldiers and part of the operational and combat tactical formation, Cascade, has departed on a combat mission, Viktor Kirichansky, one of its fighters, told Sputnik.

"The first group has already departed for a combat mission today. Soon we’ll follow and join up with them at the front," he said.

He highlighted the upbeat, fighting mood in the group. "[Everyone] made their choice, and chose the right side".

Asked whether there was any anxiety to be on the contact line, Kirichansky replied: "Well, the first time can be a bit frightening, but I think it’ll be all right. We'll clean up Donbass".

"Right now, we are replenishing our arsenal little by little. We have machine gunners, who have undergone tactical medical training in realistic combat scenarios to prepare for stressful situations. Basically, everyone is doing well," the fighter emphasized.

Kirichansky noted that he had almost no combat training during his service in Ukraine.

"During my nine months of service, I only had [the opportunity to practice] at firing ranges three times." the serviceman added.

In February, the formation of a battalion named in honor of Bogdan Khmelnitsky was unveiled, consisting of ex-Ukrainian military personnel who had expressed their desire to fight on the side of Russia. At the end of October, the battalion officially joined the Russian operational and combat tactical formation called "Cascade."

SU-30SM, SU-35S, and SU-34 flying in formation

Ever since its maiden flight almost 17 years ago, the US F-35 – an aircraft with a staggering per-plane cost of $70-$90 million – has been plagued by a long list of technical bugs affecting both hardware and software. The latest upgrade to the jet is again proving a challenge for defense giant Lockheed Martin.

©AP Photo

The Pentagon has reportedly been scrambling to fix embarrassing delivery setbacks of its beleaguered F-35s due to upgrades hindered by software problems.

The US Defense Department is currently being forced to consider uploading "interim versions" of the Tech Refresh 3 (TR-3) software into the latest F-35s, reported a military outlet. The debut flight of an upgraded F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is said to have been carried out last week with an incomplete version of the software installed. The flight took place at the manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility.

Technology Refresh 3 represents a batch of hardware and software upgrades to the F-35s. Specifically, it offers everything from improved processing power and computer memory to better displays.

In the wake of the TR-3 upgrades, more extensive modernization is planned, designated as Block 4. Details about that suite of new capabilities are, of course classified. According to media reports, it will allow the fighter to carry a bigger load of long-range precision weapons, while also boosting its electronic warfare capabilities. Since the Joint Program Office launched the ambitious round of upgrades to the fighter jet, Block 4 has been cropping up in government reports, military and technical essays. In the media, it has been dubbed as a secret plan for making F-35 fighter "even more lethal." However, hidden behind the eye-catching headlines is the fact that developmental woes have riddled the program.

The delivery schedule has been pushed further and further back. Originally, Lockheed bragged that delivery of the first F-35s loaded with the TR-3 update could happen by the end of the calendar year. Now, reality has forced it to revise that estimate to somewhere between April and June 2024, as per a media statement by the company.

The first jets with the TR-3 hardware rolled off the production line in late July, but the software have woes meant the fighters could not carry out check or "acceptance" flights. Accordingly, the Pentagon halted deliveries.

“The JPO and Lockheed Martin are working with the US services and international customers on potential options to deliver operationally acceptable aircraft that would most likely require future software drops for a subset of capabilities to meet all requirements,” a JPO statement was cited as saying. It acknowledged that a decision on delivery of F-35s with an "interim" form of TR-3 software is yet to be made by all sides involved, including international customers.

The F-35 fighter, which is operated in different variants by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, is equipped with anti-detection stealth technology. The F-35s are used by NATO member-states, as well as Israel, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, with other countries also signing deals to buy the jets. However, from the start of the F-35 program, it has been beset by a variety of major setbacks, resulting in costly fixes. The F-35 boasts the unenviable reputation of being not only costly (an estimated $70-$90 million per-plane) but also bug- and crash-prone.

A September report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that almost half the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters that are supposed to be operational are not capable of flying, and it will cost $1.3 trillion to keep them operational.

"The F-35 fleet mission capable rate - the percentage of time the aircraft can perform one of its tasked missions - was about 55% in March 2023, far below program goals," the report said, adding that this level of operational readiness was "unacceptably low."

Ukraine Loses Up to 115 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD

Ukraine has lost up to 115 soldiers both killed and injured in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Over the given period, the Russian armed forces have repelled three attacks in the Zaporozhye direction, and one attack each in the Kupyansk, Krasny Liman, Donetsk and South Donetsk directions, the ministry said.

"The total losses of the Ukrainian armed forces in this [Donetsk] direction amounted to up to 115 military personnel killed and injured, two armored personnel carriers, two vehicles and an MSTA-B howitzer," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian troops repelled three attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the direction of Zaporozhye, Kiev lost up to 60 servicemen and two armored vehicles during the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said.