Agiel

Re: Challenger 2 RPG penetration: ...which upon closer inspection did not in fact hit the frontal armour, which as quite possibly the most well-protected tank yet designed is simply impossible to penetrate with anything short of much heavier ATGMs fired from aircraft, but had shrapnel go through the lower glacis and underbelly of the tank, where pretty much *all* tanks have less armour. Said problem has since been rectified by the British by simply retrofitting even more armour in these areas and no other Challenger has been reported lost ever since. And while the T-72Ms the Iraq army used are most definitely a different beast from even the T-72B, the reputation of the Abrams in a gunfight is certainly well-deserved: M1A2 SEP Abrams Armour LOS: T-80U Armour LOS: 120mm M256 firing M-829A3 sabot - Penetration: 850mm RHAe Maximum effective range: 4000m 125mm 2A46 firing 3BM42 sabot - Penetration: 580mm RHAe Maximum effective range: 3300m 125mm 2A46 firing 3BM42M sabot (cannot be used by the T-72 series as a result of its specific autoloader)- Penetration: 650mm RHAe Maximum effective range: 3500m.

Some great footage of the game:

And ammo and accompanying propellant was *everywhere* inside the tank. The commander and gunner may as well have used them as chairs: And unlike the Abrams* or the Challenger 2 inside which there are considerable safety measure to ensure against catastrophic explosions, this was another area where the Soviets skimped on as many Iraqis, Syrians, and even Russians fighting in Chechnya discovered the hard way. In addition Soviet tanks had utterly atrocious reverse gears(4 kph top speed in reverse), such that the first item on the Czech armoured corps' agenda after the Iron Curtain fell was to contract the British and the Americans to install a new engine and transmission into their T-72s (though I suppose that had the effect of letting Soviet crews know that in case the general's orders weren't quite clear, *forward* was the direction they were supposed to go in). *The Leopard 2 has an identical turret arrangement as the Abrams in regards to ready ammo, however the semi-ready rack is in the hull and is exposed to the crew. However, as the Leo was designed virtually from the ground up to fight from prepared defenses and in hull-down, this isn't nearly as much of an issue as one might think.

Not only that. While the Soviet philosophy that emphasised low profile designs does mean vehicles that present a harder target for anti-tank gunners, it also means their armament is a hazard for its own dismounts. There were cases in exercises using live ammo where an unfortunate Motor Rifleman caught a round when he charged in front of the vehicle giving him covering fire (the turret for the BMP series of IFVs is about chest-level for a full-sized man). The applique ERA bricks a la Kontakt-1 also precludes infantry support working in close concert with tanks as well, though this was somewhat remedied with integrated ERA such as Kontakt-5.

Also with muzzle velocity and maximum effective range as well. The chart in the link provides that data. However it's my belief it's more the fault of the ammunition rather than the gun design being inherently bad; in Soviet times when you have to make enough ammo to make sure a bajillion of those iron coffins are equipped for war you have to skimp on quality somewhere. And don't know if it's really relevant, but while reports that the autoloaders for Soviet tanks starting with the T-64 had a habit of literally costing an arm and a leg of a hapless crewman were overblown, the autoloader for the BMP-1 is said to have lived up to that reputation with fingers.

My knowledge of their complaints came second-hand from someone on another forum who is a bit more knowledgeable of former Soviet and Russian equipment than I am. That said, according to the folks at eSim Games who made Steel Beasts (which is the most authoritative source on modern armoured warfare in the simulation space), their estimates of its capabilities corroborates this complaint; the 30mm 2A42/2A72 firing the latest armour piercing round is capable of penetrating 60mm RHAe at a combat range of 0-1800m, where the RARDEN 30mm and the Bushmaster 25mm firing its contemporary rounds is capable of penetrating 100mm RHAe, and the Swedish Bofors 40mm L70 mounted on their CV-90 is capable of penetrating 140mm RHAe. Source: http://www.steelbeasts.com/sbwiki/index.php/Ammunition_Data Should be noted that this is data that is plugged into the simulation based off of estimates triangulated from a variety of other sources and real-life testing data wherever it can be found. But for argument's sake many accept this as the most authoritative (if not necessarily scientific) collection of armament and ammunition performance data on the web short of somehow collecting all these vehicles in one place and testing them in a sterile environment.

I guess it needs two guns because the anti aircraft cannons had multiple barrels. Heat. With two guns you can cut the firing rate in half for each gun and you get less barrel heat that totally screws up your accuracy while pumping as much lead downrange as a single cannon that overheats in no time at all. There is also less barrel wear. I imagine you can also use different ammunition in each gun, like API in one gun and HE in the other one. I thought the launcher thingy is actually the rocket launcher thingy. Its a mortar? It's a low-pressure 100m gun firing HE-frag and HESH rounds, whose trajectories are more akin to an artillery round than a tank shell, and was primarily intended to be used against enemy fortifications and ATGM teams. A 100mm ATGM can be fired out of it as well. However, the Soviets and the armies of its successor states have expressed a great deal of dissatisfaction with the performance of the 2A7 autocannon used by the BMP-2 and BMP-3 (the 25mm Bushmaster, 30mm RARDEN, and the 40mm Bofors L70 leave it in the dust).

Playing around with Armored Core: Verdict Day. And people thought Dark Souls was tough (and yes, this is also a From Software joint). Being a long-time fan of the franchise since starting with Armored Core 2 on the PS2, I have this mentality where I cannot progress to the next stage until I get an S-rank for the one prior to that as well as accomplishing the optional subquests (some of those verge on totally ludicrous, and like Dark Souls, sort of depends on how well you can game the system). To give you an idea of how idiosyncratic the From games are, in Armored Core 4 the developers gave you an option to revert to an older version of the game, wherein you can utilise some of the more broken weapons and parts before they were nerfed. And the thing is, the Armored Core community won't think any less of you if you do this to S-rank the missions.

Great video. On a similar note, reminds me of my tour of the Joint Security Area of the Korean DMZ. Unfortunately this guy wasn't my guide for my tour, but it was still fascinating nonetheless:

Or how about getting good at modeling inanimate objects like cars and guns instead of organic creatures of the flesh? There's a reason why traditional artists start off with drawing and painting apples and pears long before they graduate into life-drawing; the easy stuff gives us a good foundation and the mental tools we need to move on into the hard stuff.

In truth, I'm as skeptical as you are in spite of the project touching on a lot of things that strike my fancy. If a finished product were to come out of this, I would imagine it to be comparable in scope and production values as the X-COM remake, and even for that $500,000 seems to be an absurdly optimistic estimate (then again, correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Eternity sort of start with that estimate as the bare minimum to be made?)

Something cool that showed up on Kickstarter. Probably among the most ambitious projects I've seen yet: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1964463742/the-mandate Looks like the closest thing to a Rogue Trader game in 3D I've ever seen. Check it out.

Actually in ways unmanned aerial vehicles (should be noted that the Air Forces of the world bristle at the term "drones" which implies that UAVs are completely autonomous, which they largely are not) is probably better than the targeting pod mounted on an F/A-18 Superhornet in targeting specific groups and individuals. As a result of overlapping surveillance and integrated algorithms and networks built into the UAV's command centers it's extremely likely there is continuous footage of a specific individual for a 24 hours period even if he wasn't being actively monitored, and the system can even cross-reference that footage of that individual taken from separate crafts to assemble a complete picture of his or her movements over a long stretch of time, the people he or she has met, and the deliveries made to his house. In addition there is the need to collect signals intelligence, something in the realm of manned aircraft requires the services of separate craft such as the EA-18G Growler. And so, many UAVs combine a strike and intelligence gather capacity into one low-cost aircraft. But as always, the flaw in the system lies in the human factor. In spite of such unparalleled intelligence-gathering capabilities the realities of the situation on the ground conflict with the ideal situation built by planners. UAV pilots do their best to keep collateral to a minimum: They watch a guy and hope his daily walk takes him at least a couple dozen more yards away from the house. They opt for a 500 lb. bomb instead of a 1000 lb. But unfortunately many incidents are a result of "acceptable casualties," perhaps justified that if the strike wasn't carried out right then and the target would cause even greater grief later. That said, I've read of reports in Yemen in some villages where if someone is found to have connections to militants he is run out of town by the other villagers out of fear that if he stays the neighbouring houses will get caught up in the blaze when a piping hot Paveway drops down his pants.

Could be worse. This one time I forgot to turn on the RWR. I was ingressing at angels 15 until my Hog suddenly disappeared into a fireball without even giving me a chance to eject. I only determined that an SA-3 had nailed me in the AAR.

Are you so sure?

Said vehicle is known as the BMPT Also when the Russians lost T-72s and T-80s in droves in the First Chechen War. Turns out sending them into urban areas without infantry support was a real bad idea. Though eventually someone had a brainwave and figured out that in lieu of supporting infantry, the ZSU-23-4 SPAAG was quite effective at taking out AT infantry on the upper floors of buildings. This probably informed the decision to include twin-linked autocannons onto the BMPT's design.

The OH-58D Kiowa is the US Army's premiere manned scout helicopter which is based upon the ubiquitous Jetranger in civilian service. It has been modified to reduce its noise signature, a passive wire-strike protection system, and most prominently, a mast-mounted sight resembling a beach ball that sits atop the rotor that allows the Kiowa to observe the enemy while remaining hidden behind fixtures such as a tree-line, a berm, or even buildings. One night, a couple driving in Louisiana in their convertible decided to duck into a secluded parking area at night for a little "auto-erotica." Unfortunately for them, it just happened to be in the Fort Polk training area where OH-58 pilots were conducting night-time scouting maneuvers.

I loved "Blood Red Snow," which was about a machine-gunner who was one of the few to escape from Stalingrad and his time during the long retreat as well as his brief service on the Italian front (predictably, that experience was like a vacation as compared to the Ostfront).

Not sure how many of you would be willing to make the plunge into yet another MMO, but En Masse Entertainment will be holding a server test soon which among other things will allow players to immediately promote a new character of their choice to level 58 so they can dive right into the end-game content in short order. While it does suffer from the same MMO tropes in quest design, I find the combat involving enough for it to have been my MMO poison of choice for the past year (true, issues with matchmaking, class balance, and the gear treadmill certainly keeps the PvP from being all it can be). It's also quite easily the prettiest MMO I've ever played as well (you may see why in the following images ). Details of the event can be found here: http://tera-forums.enmasse.com/forums/general-discussion/topics/Level-Up-Test-Event-Limited-Chance-for-a-Free-Level-58-Character-94757 However, should you find yourself enticed by this prospect and plan on joining the primary PvP server, Mount Tyrannus, look me up as my level 60 Castanic Sorceress, Lamashtu: And my 50 Amani Berzerker, Lillitu:

I'm just curious. Who exactly do you think believes this? Russians fighting a war without artillery would be like the British fighting a war without losing for the first year. Soviets didn't call artillery "The God of War" for nuthin'

I think that's right. Standard field artillery is 105 mm or 155 mm , self-propelled artillery 155mm. The only larger caliber I know of are the 227mm MLRS. The United States as well as Soviet successor states have operated 203mm self-propelled howitzer pieces in the form of the M-110 and the 2S7 Pion respectively (the latter remains in active service). However the advent of smart munitions and advances in fire-control systems have indeed reduced the importance of caliber, explosive power, and sheer volume of fire in the effectiveness of artillery. I thought the 203mm M-110s had all been retired in the 1990s. Thanks for the correction. Well the US Army did retire them as you said. Just pointing out that they were a part of the US inventory in relatively recent history

I think that's right. Standard field artillery is 105 mm or 155 mm , self-propelled artillery 155mm. The only larger caliber I know of are the 227mm MLRS. The United States as well as Soviet successor states have operated 203mm self-propelled howitzer pieces in the form of the M-110 and the 2S7 Pion respectively (the latter remains in active service). However the advent of smart munitions and advances in fire-control systems have indeed reduced the importance of caliber, explosive power, and sheer volume of fire in the effectiveness of artillery.

**** bats. _I_ hunt mozzies. Could you do it as well as this man?

One of the major gripes of the P-51D Mustang and the soon to be released FW-190 D9 "Dora" modules for DCS is the lack of a plausible theater (they still use the Georgia map made by Eagle Dynamics) and period-appropriate threats (even against the "slow, lard-ass" A-10, which can be armed with 9-Mikes, it's a hilariously one-sided dogfight in favour of the Hawg). However, some of the people behind the famed Il-2 Sturmovik series have stepped up to the plate to fix those problems with a Normandy 1944 theater and a whole new roster of period appropriate aircraft, "targets (ground vehicles)" and then some. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/508681281/dcs-wwii-europe-1944/posts/597595 Despite a strong start and a goal that is projected to be reached quite easily, the prospects of it reaching its stretch goals look grim. Most notably the B-17 Flying Fortress complete with all the crew stations (pilots, bombardier, and anti-aircraft gunners) at $500,000 as well as the dreaded Me-262A (the world's first fighter jet) and the ultimate goal, German night fighters (complete with the Schräge Musik for shooting down those poor Wimpys and Lancasters) at $1,000,000. It's got 19 days to go, so every little bit helps from here until then.

Something odd I've noticed today when I came back home for a bit of vacation between my Summer and Fall quarters of school. The local El Pollo Loco at a strip mall was closed down to be replaced by a Starbucks. Thing was, there was already another Starbucks in the strip mall across the street, which was no more than a 2 minute walk away. And my town is a relatively podunk town to begin with. I've frequently used hyperbole to describe the ubiquity of the damned things, now life begins to imitate art. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENGUYeiGtNk