According to analysts, at least 60% are fully functional. The case of duds. Serious flaws in materials and manufacturing processes despite the excellent prototypes
Logistics, a neglected art.
According to Western analysts, at least 60% of the weapons and ammunition used by the Russian armed forces in its offensive in Ukraine had serious malfunctions with a large number of duds. These are assessments based on the study of finds on the ground, the reliability of which is therefore quite high and raise serious doubts about the efficiency of the military apparatus in Moscow.
Bad maintenance
This is no surprise: without going too far into the past, a similar situation arose during the brief conflict between Georgia and Russia in August 2008. It was a situation that bears unique similarities to the one we are witnessing in those countries. two territories claimed by the Georgians, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where interethnic strife had been taking place since the days of the USSR, had declared their independence; Tbilisi launched a military operation that provoked heavy Russian intervention. The conflict lasted only five days and ended with the defeat of the Georgian armed forces, but analysis of events shows that over 50% of the ammunition used by the Moscow Armed Forces did not explode, mainly due to the poor maintenance of the fuses : the lessons of the past should be learned be for the future, but it seems that the logistics of the Russian armed forces have not benefited from it.
Excellent projects but lacking end products
There is a general quality problem. The project offices of the Russian defense industry have outstanding qualities, sometimes above what is available in the West: knowledge in the field of threedimensional fluid dynamics has enabled the elaboration of extraordinary aeronautical programs; Unfortunately, when we move from projects to prototypes, and from those to massproduced products, serious flaws in the quality of materials and manufacturing processes are revealed. It happened, for example, that the examination of the wreckage of a Russian fighter plane revealed the use of alloys completely similar in formulation to those used in our aerospace industry, but with such a low level of homogeneity that double thicknesses were possible, with an increase in weights at the expense of the final performance of the weapon system.
Bad lifespan
Another consequence of these unsatisfactory quantitative values is the poor durability of the products: the MiG29 Fulcrum was an amazing machine when it debuted in the late 70s, early 80s and still retains a significant operational capacity, but it has to change engines after a few hundred flight hours , which multiplies the costs and the effort involved in logistics and thus their operational availability.
In short: wars are not won without efficient logistics and this seems to be the Achilles’ heel of the Russian armed forces.
March 27, 2022 (change March 27, 2022 | 21:13)
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