Exnavyboy62:
I’ve been thinking. If the Nigerian army starts operating the MD-500 attack helicopters for air support, what would the Nigerian airforce need the AH-1Z and T-129 Atak for…?? The same scenario also exists in the Armed Forces of India. The Army and Airforce operates attack helicopters.

The AH-1z and T-129 are much heavier and may require special equipment to rearm and thus may need a military base to go back to after providing CAS, while the M500 can practically be run, repaired, and maintained in the frontline.

Back when Kenya army entered Somalia, the MD500s practically stayed within FOB's with no infrastructure and could respond in a moment's notice to attacks. When the helos ran out ammo they would land in the bush and get re-supplied by a jeep with the troops who it was providing CAS for.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxDaQsdEswg

Lurker4Long:

Not my figures. But I've just checked, they're accurate. Important to note that the list only looks at domestic/income taxes, without customs, excise, royalties etc.
The KRA shows revenue of KES1,4 trillion on domestic taxes. That's what, USD7,5 billion?

No, at current exchange rate, Kes 1.4 Trillion domestic tax is $10.5 Billion.

Lurker4Long:

Are these figures factual, coz Kenya collected $19 Billion in Tax last year and I know our collection is not near Nigeria or in the same range as other bigger economies such as Egypt or Morocco...

Off-topic: Interesting watch


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHMa-Ba-2Mo

Russian Embassy Twitter admin is a troll the Germans are not happy

GreenandGold:
On top of the Rugby World 🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏈

The Green-and-Gold boys

Congrats guys... Well deserved win. Was watching from a far

GreenandGold:


Just a few months ago, Netanyahu had terrible ratings, basically they wanted him out.

My theory is; the Israeli Intelligence deliberately allowed Hamas to gather and launch this "surprise" attack to allow Netanyahu to launch a military retaliation and boost his ratings, nothing unites Israel than external threats...

See, we all know how the Israeli Intelligence is one of the best in the world, there is no way such a large operation could have remained unknown to them, such information would have leaked weeks before the whole show started.

Think of "OPERATION NORTHWOODS" but with Hamas being allowed to launch "surprise" attacks inside of Istrael.

What of the other theory on the other end that it was Iran who helped Hamas, knowing well that Israel would overreact and indiscriminately target Hamas in civilian populations and inturn cause Arab countries that Israel was trying to make peace with backtrack on that so that all Arab countries remain enemies with the Jewish state?
Haven't they also achieved their goals in that sense... It seems only Hamas and the civilian population are the ones who have lost.

If he is a thief then ... What a thug
Those antiques

Kenya QRF and Brazil Jungle warfare SF 3-week interoperability training exercise

Under the lush canopy of the dense Congolese jungle, soldiers from Kenya’s QRF, renowned for their expertise in jungle warfare, join forces with their Brazilian counterparts, who bring their extensive knowledge of tropical environments and counterinsurgency tactics. The collaboration aims to harness the strengths of both units and promote interoperability in tackling the complex challenges of peacekeeping missions in hostile environments.

Joint Kenya QRF, SA Batt patrol

Lurker4Long:
"It is with great pleasure that I announce the successful completion of the fourth and final filling of the Renaissance Dam," Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on X, formerly Twitter.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66771155

If they were able to fill that huge dam and downstream countries didn't even notice a reduction in flow or capacity then why were they crying in the first place, or was it just out of fear of the unknown?

Since KDF pictures are hard to come by these days, I'll post president elect motorcade on his way to being sworn in last year.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOyONcSXl4M


And another one where the president drove himself in an all electric motorcade yesterday to Africa Climate Summit conference.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOc0Pp99tIo


PS: Those tiny electrics should not be sold in Africa, what the hell is that

Odunayaw:
If you would like I can share a DIY Solar Telegram group I am in

At least if you don't DIY you'd gain solid knowledge of what is what in setting up your bank

Why not, I went on a little DIY rabbit hole when I was setting up one for a borehole but that wasn't that hard.

Lurker4Long:

Best way to do a comparison is to list the components:
- 2 x 10Kw inverters;
- 4 x 5kw batteries;
- 18 x 550w solar panels.
That plus installation, certificate of compliance by an electrician and VAT came to ZAR 180 000 (USD 10 000).

There are much cheaper options; I opted to supersize mine cos:
1) I can sell the extra power to the City Council and recoup the cost for the system in 5/6 years;
2) the govt is offering a tax rebate of ZAR 15 000 (which I'm deducting on my tax return this year) for solar panels.

Thanks for this, I asked someone for an estimate and theirs was like $17,000 and the solar panels weren't that many. These middlemen

Lurker4Long:
OFF-TOPIC

GreenandGold, Jl115, almost forgot:

I have been energy secure for a week now. On the weekend, in winter with 95% cloud cover, I was still producing 5 times my daily consumption.
From November 01, I become an "independent power producer", as I'll start selling all the extra power generated to the City of Cape Town!

If you don't mind, how much did it cost you to install panels plus battery. Want to compare the prices with over here.

fin
[img]https://i.ibb.co/HrNtxYG/Fu3nt-TYXg-AEWwf-M.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.ibb.co/ctZBy4R/Fu6-Yi-Uo-Xg-AIQssw.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.ibb.co/dcTMXk5/Fu6-Ygy-Xg-Agw-Af6.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.ibb.co/FD9wfTh/Fu5idd-Xg-AMUZra.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.ibb.co/r0GrZ1g/Fu5i-U0-NWw-AEv-JKQ.jpg[/img]

edit

kikuyu1:


SIGHHH....every time I ser news of this terminally fked up place I see one and ONLY one option for the Congolese.
Get an armed force to take de facto control of the entire East to provide security for minimum 30 or 50 yrs in exchange for mineral/timber/agricultural concessions. Blackwater/Wagner or similar large PMC with all and any own assets incl air/brown water/civil eng assets for infrastructure development would be more proactive and responsive than an int'l org though the latter IIRC had srs problems in N Moz. Let the Chinese do what they will. The Congolese capacity for unending suffering while surrounded by inhuman Tutsis means this endless bloodletting can simply go on and on and on indefinitely.


I don't see any other way out for the Congo: this ishyt's been going on for 3 decades now!?

Don't see that happening.... It will be a political powderkeg

Anyway, Now that DRC has joined the EAC, it's likely that the East African Standby Force may see its first deployment in the near future... Both Kenya and Uganda are eyeing to be the logistical hub/route for DRCs vast mineral resources .
I read something about it from this magazine , their sources hinted that the sideline meeting was about peace talks with waring factions in DRC to end the perennial wars once and for all, so that real trade can start happening

https://www.theafricareport.com/194197/drc-tshisekedi-kagame-museveni-kenyatta-met-on-the-sidelines-of-the-nairobi-summit/

kikuyu1:


Nice, but I'd have been happier with the Tuc which I think can be converted to ground attack.

Yeah, that would be nice but this is also a good development. It sets a good foundation for the future of the airforce.

The G120TP features a full glass cockpit

Kenya Airforce KAF now has a total of 9 Grob120TP from Germany (Sipri still lists 3) that it has been periodically taking delivery of since 2020 up to now. I bilieve the intention is to eventually have a squadrons of atleast 12 basic trainer units.
The president launched an Aviation Center of Excellence ACE that will be used to train both KAF cadets and also Cadets from other security services and civilian government authority in attaining Initial Pilot licence.

3rd and 4th pic is a simulation unit. Since this is a Center of Excellence, it's possible that the next phase will be to procure advance trainers

kikuyu1:


Excellent buy! It will make training easier and cheaper though it will NEVER replace live firexes

One thing for sure is it's going to improve marksmanship for a battalion size infantry group. In large training excerises, a bunch of soldiers are shooting at a bunch of stationary targets at the same time while covering each other as they move forward, it's hard to keep track of who is hitting their targets every time and who is not.
With such technology, you can have a tailored report for each individual soldier within a squad on what skills they need to work on in order to improve the effectiveness of the whole battalion.

And at command level commanders can view the whole battleground on a screen, it will lead to better planing and deployment. And since the commanders will begin to rely on this for situational awareness of the battleground, it's only a matter of time b4 they procure some wearable sensors for soldiers deployed in battle to read their bio, position, communication etc

https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/f-35s-have-encountered-j-20s-over-east-china-sea-usaf-general/147936.article


A top US Air Force (USAF) general says that Lockheed Martin F-35s have had at least one encounter with Chengdu J-20s, and that the Shaanxi KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft has a key role in long-range air-to-air kill chains.

USAF General Kenneth Wilsbach, Commander, Pacific Air Forces did not, however, divulge when the F-35/J-20 encounter took place, or if there have been more than one. He also touched on the role of the new Chinese fighter.

“It’s a bit early to say what they intend to do with the J-20, so really all we’ve seen it do is air superiority,” he says.

“But we notice that they are flying it pretty well. We recently had – I wouldn’t call it an engagement – where we got relatively close to the J-20s along with our F-35s in the East China Sea, and we’re relatively impressed with the command and control associated with the J-20.”

Wilsbach made the remarks during a discussion posted on the YouTube channel of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

“We’re seeing relatively professional flying and it’s still too early to tell exactly what they intend to do with [the J-20] – whether it’s going to be more like an F-35 that’s capable of doing many, many missions or more like an F-22 that is primarily an air superiority fighter that has an air-to-ground capability.”

Is this true?

WTF is going on...


The United States has announced sanctions on a Tanzanian national for his role in financing the ISIS-backed insurgency in Mozambique.

Washington says Peter Charles Mbaga, aka Abu Kaidha, facilitated fund transfers from South Africa, where he is based, and helped an armed group linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) purchase equipment on the South African market.

The 45-year-old is further cited for seeking to purchase weapons in Mozambique.

The US “is taking this action to disrupt and expose key ISIS supporters who exploit South Africa’s financial system to facilitate the funding of ISIS affiliates and networks across Africa,” said US Treasury under Secretary Brian E. Nelson.

The ISIS militia has staged attacks in villages and towns in northern Mozambique since October 2017, killing more than 2,500 people and destroying crucial infrastructure, including schools and health centres.

More than 800,000 people have been displaced since April 2020, following an escalation in the violence.

But calm returned after the Rwandan military and Southern African Development Community forces routed ISIS-affiliated insurgents from the troubled natural gas-rich region.

The US says ISIS members and their associates in South Africa are playing an increasingly central role in facilitating funds transfer from the top of the ISIS hierarchy to affiliates across Africa.

“Recently, ISIS has attempted to expand its influence in Africa through largescale operations in areas where government control is limited. ISIS affiliates in Africa rely on local fundraising schemes, such as theft, extortion of local populations and kidnapping for ransom, as well as financial support from the ISIS hierarchy,” Washington says.

Along with Mbaga, the US also sanctioned an Ethiopian Abdella Hussein Abadigga, from Oromia, who lives in Johannesburg as a refugee and two South African nationals - Farhad Hoomer and Siraaj Miller. The ISIS-linked individuals are designated as financial facilitators of terrorism.

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/us-sanctions-tanzanian-funding-mozambique-insurgents-3736422

MT:


Sheer assumption. War is not won by who has superior military hardware sometimes. Go back to history, and you will find out that the former formidable USSR ran away from the rag tag afghans.

It's the Ukrainians terrain, even if Russians overwhelm them, guerilla warfare would be birthed. They can't hold that country!

You either didn't read where this conversation begun or were in the middle of thinking other stuff while reading comments and you jumped in...

The conversation was about Russia using old equipments Tanks, IFVs in Ukrain so far, when we know they have upgraded and more advanced versions and in large quantities. So why aren't they using the new equipment which provide better protection, offensive capabilities?

if you enter street car race and you notice your opponent using their old car to race you when you are aware that they have a new more powerful modern car, it's logical to assume that they think they can defeat you using their old car and they are saving up the new car for a stronger opponent or the finals..