Guns wearing out questions

[Good2Golf]

Give or take…

#nexttimepicktherightside

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Some stuff from Don's Weekly, 15 April 2025: Part 3

Artillery barrels were expected to wear out around 4,500 shots but the barrel on Ukraine’s Bhodana howitzer was found to be effective even after 7-8,000 shots, and the barrel wear on western guns was minimal after 4-9,000 shots. The barrels of the German PzH 2000 were still effective after 20,000 shots. But a German report on the weapon systems they sent to Ukraine was mixed. The older Leopard 1A5, Marder IFV and Gepard AA gun have positive reviews and no complaints. The IRIS-T and Patriot systems are excellent in combat but are critically short of missiles. The Leopard 2A6 is too difficult to maintain and the PzH 2000 has physical and software malfunctions. Due to the high rates of failure, more vehicles need to be available as replacements. Future weapon purchases need to consider simplicity, reliability and ammo availability as part of their requirements.

 

[OldSolduer]

Some stuff from Don's Weekly, 15 April 2025: Part 3
Future weapon purchases need to consider simplicity, reliability and ammo availability as part of their requirements.

I've said this for years. Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

[KevinB]

Some stuff from Don's Weekly, 15 April 2025: Part 3

Artillery barrels were expected to wear out around 4,500 shots but the barrel on Ukraine’s Bhodana howitzer was found to be effective even after 7-8,000 shots, and the barrel wear on western guns was minimal after 4-9,000 shots. The barrels of the German PzH 2000 were still effective after 20,000 shots.

I'm really wondering what their definition of both minimal, and effective is.

But a German report on the weapon systems they sent to Ukraine was mixed. The older Leopard 1A5, Marder IFV and Gepard AA gun have positive reviews and no complaints. The IRIS-T and Patriot systems are excellent in combat but are critically short of missiles. The Leopard 2A6 is too difficult to maintain and the PzH 2000 has physical and software malfunctions. Due to the high rates of failure, more vehicles need to be available as replacements. Future weapon purchases need to consider simplicity, reliability and ammo availability as part of their requirements.

The unfortunate nature of the equipment supply to Ukraine has been that the maintenance crews don't have the same depth of experience with the systems that Western militaries do - it's hard to train an entire system without experienced NCO's - and while NATO countries are doing as best as they can, you can't cram 5-10 years of knowledge into a 3-4 month training period.

 

[FJAG]

The unfortunate nature of the equipment supply to Ukraine has been that the maintenance crews don't have the same depth of experience with the systems that Western militaries do - it's hard to train an entire system without experienced NCO's - and while NATO countries are doing as best as they can, you can't cram 5-10 years of knowledge into a 3-4 month training period.

One of the great benefits of having a draft army is that you get a wide variety of professional, specialists and craftsman who already have a thorough understanding of their field. That's even more pronounced in Ukraine where older folks are being drafted and not 18-year-olds.

As I understand it there are a high number of automotive mechanics and smaller machine shops in the mix already. It's an organizer's nightmare, but even if done with an average level of competence, you will have a good number of folks with excellent knowledge in place to run and do the work needed. That's probably especially true for the older, simpler Soviet era equipment in their inventory.

I expect getting parts for some of the more sophisticated NATO gear is a challenge. And yet my guess is that their mechanics are not hamstrung by policies and regulations but instead use their ingenuity for a suitable workaround that would drive your average NATO tech insane.

Hopefully there are folks studying the details of what is going on for lessons learned for all of us.