California Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Michelle Ulber.
During the first week of May 2021, California and Nevada Air National Guard C-130H and C-130J crews took part in Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) training on San Bernardino Air Tanker Base, California.
California ANG photo by Senior Airman Michelle Ulber.
California Air National Guard video ‘explainer’ interview, by Technical Sergeant Nieko Carzis:
California ANG photo by Senior Airman Michelle Ulber.
California ANG photo by Senior Airman Michelle Ulber.
California ANG ‘nat-sound’ video by Technical Sergeant Nieko Carzis:
California ANG photo by Senior Airman Michelle Ulber.
Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Jon Alderman.
U.S. Air Force Reserve and Wyoming Air National Guard C-130 crews took part in Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) training during the week of 10 thru 15 May, 2021.
Wyoming ANG photo by Technical Sergeant Jon Alderman.
The weeklong training and certification took place out of U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service’s Jeffco Airtanker Base, with the C-130s conducting water drops on nearby Arapaho/Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel National Forests and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.
Wyoming ANG photo by Technical Sergeant Jon Alderman.
Video by Technical Sergeant Justin Norton, ground test of the U.S. Forest Service’s MAFFS unit 10MAY2021 at Peterson Air Force Base (AFB), Colorado:
Wyoming ANG photo by Technical Sergeant Jon Alderman.
Video report by Michael Dougherty:
Wyoming ANG photo by Technical Sergeant Jon Alderman.
Video by Staff Sergeant Laura Turner, MAFFS training drop over Hayman Burn Scar:
Wyoming ANG photo by Technical Sergeant Jon Alderman.
Wyoming ANG photo by Technical Sergeant Jon Alderman.
March 1982, U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Petty Officer First Class D. Brockschmidt.
U.S. Department of Defense photo by Al Chang.
Wargame Team Spirit, March 1982. Main gun tube is facing over the rear deck. Also, notice the type of muzzle brake, and then compare to the muzzle brakes seen on the M47s in 1985.
U.S. Department of Defense photo by Al Chang.
A Korean M47 that desperately needs a haircut. Team Spirit ’82.
U.S. DoD photo by Al Chang.
Team Spirit, March 1983.
U.S. DoD photo by Al Chang.
This one has a spotlight, Team Spirit ’83.
March 1983, U.S. DoD photo by Al Chang.
U.S. DoD photo by Al Chang.
Team Spirit, March 1985.
U.S. DoD photo by Al Chang.
Korean M47s had both types of muzzle brakes.
U.S. DoD photo by Al Chang.
March 1988, photographer unknown.
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Jerry Baker.
M47 rolls off KI RIN (LSM-658) during Team Spirit ’91. Reportedly, the last Korean M47 was retired in 2007.
A photo from sometime in the early 1970s, an inflatable decoy (dummy) M47.
White Sands Missile Range photo by Warren Weaver.
December 1977, a M47 about to get taken-out by an M198 artillery fired M712 Copperhead on the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
WSMR photo by Tom Moore.
February 1984, another M47 about to bite the dust as an artillery fired Copperhead zeros-in, on the White Sands Missile Range.
WSMR photo by Tom Moore.
‘On the way!’
WSMR photo by Tom Moore.
‘Target, cease fire!’
U.S. Navy photo by Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Mitchell.
January(?) 1993, U.S. Marines discover an orphaned M47 in Somalia, during Operation Restore Hope. They removed the live ammo.
USN photo by Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Mitchell.
U.S. Army video still by Specialist S. Paine.
December(?) 1993, U.S. Army troops found more orphaned/destroyed M47s during Op Restore Hope.
On 01AUG2012, personnel on Fort Carson, Colorado, moved a M47 gate guard from its spot on the Kit Carson ‘tank’ Park to a new location in front of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division’s headquarters building.
USA photo by Specialist Shardesia Washington, 14MAY2015.
In May 2015, U.S. Army personnel on Hohenfels, Germany, used a shot-up M47 target to practice their heavy lifting.
USA photo by Specialist Shardesia Washington, 14MAY2015.
USA photo by Specialist Shardesia Washington, 14MAY2015.
Towards the end of August 2015, the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, on Fort Riley, Kansas, got two M47s to perform guard duty in front of the unit’s motorpool headquarters.
USA photo by Specialist Courtney Hubbard.
Czech soldiers of the 74th Light Motorized Battalion, 7th Mechanized Brigade, reassemble a shot-up M47 target tank during exercise Allied Spirit-2, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, 09AUG2015.
New Jersey Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Andrew J. Moseley.
Shot-up M47 on New Jersey Air National Guard’s Warren Grove Bombing Range, April 2019.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Rachel Simones.
M47 target on the Edwards Air Force Base Precision Impact Range Area, August 2019.
Also, this is actually for the U.S. Air Force, to test the ability of new aircraft targeting systems to identify enemy tanks. The crazy guys were ordered to create a Fake-News BTR, BMP and T-72.
WSMR photo by John Hamilton.
The test run was made on the Condron Army Airfield. Whoa, slow down there plastic tank, five miles per hour please!
The crazy-guys took what was once a static (stationary) corrugated plastic target, used for radar acquisition, and adapted it to fit over a small utility all terrain vehicle (ATV). They then altered the ATV to be remote controlled, in other words, they created a giant R/C toy.
Video by John Hamilton of highly paid engineers playing with their giant R/C tank:
It also has tactically placed metal strips and heat generators to simulate the radar and heat signatures of a real tank. The experimental giant R/C tanks went to Edwards Air Force Base, California. I have not been able to find any info on what happened to the corrugated R/C tanks, but I suspect they were used to test the F-35’s ability to identify and attack ground vehicles, that is because the F-35’s ground attack testing (at Edwards AFB) began about the same time that the fake-news tanks were created.
The latest T-84, the BM Oplot. Although it has a large exhaust port that would indicate a turbine engine, it actually has a complicated turbo-supercharged 6-cylinder ‘double-stroke’ piston (meaning each cylinder actually has two pistons) engine.
MorozovKMDB photo.
MorozovKMDB photo.
MorozovKMDB photo.
This tank is called by several names, it was developed for militaries that use the NATO 120mm ammo originally developed for the 120mm Reinmetall gun. It is known as Yatagan, KERN2-120, or T-84-120.
MorozovKMDB photo.
MorozovKMDB photo.
This MorozovKMDB promo video is called Oplot, but it shows the T-84 and the Yatagan. The visual difference is that the Yatagan’s turret extends over the engine deck:
Ukrainian Ministry of Defence video from 2014 showing Oplot and Bulat:
Photo via MorozovKMDB.
T-80UD.
Photo via MorozovKMDB.
Photo via MorozovKMDB.
Self-entrenching tool in use.
Photo via MorozovKMDB.
The upgraded/up-armored T-64 known as BM Bulat, looks very much like the T-80UD. The visual give-aways are the position of the smoke grenade launchers, and the type of roadwheels .
Photo via MorozovKMDB.
Canadian Forces photo by Aviator Stéphanie Labossière.
T-64B at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, Ukraine, 11APR2019.
Canadian Forces photo by Aviator Stéphanie Labossière.
Canadian Forces photo.
An old T-64, International Peacekeeping and Security Center, Ukraine, 07DEC2018.
Canadian Forces photo.
T-80BV at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, Ukraine, during Canadian sponsored Operation Unifier, 29NOV2018.
Canadian Forces photo.
Canadian Forces photo.
Canadian Forces photo.
Canadian Forces photo.
Ukraine’s 36th Naval Infantry Battalion Tactical Group conduct a night-shoot, 25OCT2018.
U.S. Army (USA) Photo by Kevin S. Abel.
T-84s at the Strong Europe Tank Challenge at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, May-June 2018.
USA photo by Markus Rauchenberger, 06JUN2018.
USA photo by Kevin S. Abel.
Size comparison, T-84 versus Leopard 2A6.
USA photo by Markus Rauchenberger, 06JUN2018.
USA video by Christian Marquardt, Ukraine’s T-84 joins NATO tanks from Austria, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, in a shoot-out. It is hard to see because of the smoke, but the T-84 is the small one:
USA video by Kevin S. Abel, new track pad installation on T-84:
New York Army National Guard (ANG) photo by First Lieutenant Derrick Garner.
March 2018, T-64BV at the Yavoriv Combat Training Center.
New York ANG photo by First Lieutenant Derrick Garner.
New York ANG video, I had to edit out the extremely boring narration (no audio), and edit just to show the T-64BV:
USA photo by Specialist Javon Spence.
Leclerc versus T-64BV at Strong Europe Tank Challenge, May 2017. The USA photographer incorrectly identified this T-64BV as a T-64BM (Bulat upgrade).
Ukrainian Defence Ministry video about the evolution of the T-64:
Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation, Southern Military District, video posted 12MAY2021, 152mm self propelled artillery in North Ossetia:
BMP-3 seen in this year’s Victory Day Parade.
Since the beginning of the year, Russia has been upgrading its naval land forces (army corps-marines) with new armored vehicles, including the latest BMP-3. On 11MAY2021, more than 30 BMP-3s were delivered to the new mechanized infantry division of the Baltic Fleet, stationed in Kaliningrad.
Quick video, posted 29MAR2021, of assembly of Russia’s current armored vehicles:
In December 2020, it was announced that Russian Baltic Fleet forces would be bolstered due to NATO’s build-up of forces near Kaliningrad, including a new mechanized infantry division: “In response to this threat, the Armed Forces’ command has to take measures in response. As one of such measures, a full-strength motorized infantry division will be formed to make part of the Baltic Fleet’s army corps. The new formation will comprise motor rifle and artillery regiments and a separate tank regiment.”-Admiral Alexander Nosatov
TASS photo by Vitaly Nevar.
The December 2020 announcement stated that several new units within the Baltic Fleet would be created in 2021. On 13MAY2021, its was announced that the new 18th army corps division, of the 79th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, would be ready by the end of the year. It was also revealed that the expansion and upgrade of the Baltic Fleet is based on what was observed during recent NATO wargames.
TASS photo by Valery Matytsin.
Expansion of the Baltic Fleet’s army corps was also conducted during 2019-20.
In April 2021, forty new BMP-3s were delivered to Russia’s Pacific Fleet army corps. Here’s video of those BMP-3s being off-loaded in Primorye:
Eastern Military District photo.
On top of that, additional BTR-82A armored cars and T-80BV tanks had been delivered.
Southern Military District photo.
Also in April 2021, the Black Sea Fleet conducted launchings of Zvezda Kh-35 ‘Bal’ anti-ship missiles from Crimea.
Southern Military District photo.
In Crimea, on 24MAR2021, the Black Sea Fleet held wargames for its army corps.
Northern Fleet photo.
Also, at the beginning of March 2021, the Northern Fleet held wargames in the Russian Arctic, specifically to increase proficiency of S-400 anti-aircraft crews. Here’s video from April 2021 of a S-400 Pantsir-S demonstration to foreign military officials:
Southern Military District photo.
In January and February 2021, the Caspian Flotilla conducted training for its army corps (marines) officially in preparation for the International Army Games. This included BTR-82A armored cars.
Northern Fleet photo.
Also in February 2021, the Northern Fleet conducted arctic training in the Pechengsky district of the Murmansk region, using Aleut tracked ‘snow-cats’.
USN photo by Petty Officer First Class Mark Therien, 14OCT1992.
On the 14th and 15th of October 1992, as the Soviet Union fell apart, two Kamov 27s (Red 46 and Red 53) made history by becoming the first Russian helicopters to land on not one, but two U.S. Navy (USN) ships.
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke.
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke.
The NATO reporting name Helix was from the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov, it landed on the USS Ranger (CV-61), the ships were taking part in the same multinational wargame (Operation Southern Watch) in the Arabian Sea.
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke.
USN personnel got to check-out the ‘enemy’ helicopter.
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke.
This USN officer seems very happy about sitting in a ‘enemy’ helicopter (or maybe he just played a nasty joke and crapped in the pilot’s seat?).
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke, 15OCT1992.
There were lots of group photos taken with USN personnel and the crew of Red 46. This one shows the happy Captain of the USS Ranger (bald guy giving the thumbs-up sign) with the Soviet, I mean Russian crew of Red 46.
USN photo by Petty Officer First Class Mark Therien, 14OCT1992.
Red 46 also paid a visit to the USS Kinkade (DD-965). USN helicopters also visited the former Soviet ship.
USN photo by Petty Officer First Class Mark Therien, 14OCT1992.
Red 46 back home on the Admiral Vinogradov, after its visit to USS Kinkade.
USN photo by Petty Officer First Class Mark Therien.
Kamov hanger onboard Admiral Vinogradov.
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke.
Red 53 onboard USS Ranger, 15OCT1992.
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke.
USN photo by Petty Officer Second Class Steven Cooke, 15OCT1992.
Red 53 leaving USS Ranger.
USN photo by Petty Officer First Class Mark Therien.
