this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024
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[–] uebquauntbez 71 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

No profits for companies. Wartime economy.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Yeah. Government-owned companies producing shells that probably wouldn't pass QC in "the west", and paying employees a pittance in comparison. Also at least based on aerial photos, Russians seem to use contact fuzes a lot (you can see the difference from the "splash" patterns) which are a lot cheaper than airburst / multifunction fuzes, but admittedly those might well have been old Soviet stock and their new production could well be more modern.

Still, regardless of the fuze used it's no surprise that Russian production is cheaper.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Reportedly the Russian factory workers are being paid quite well. And the lack of quality is just a myth I think. There's no indication that's actually true.

The real reason prices in the West are so high is that there's a shortage, and shells are supplied overwhelmingly by private contractors, and so the price has multiplied thanks to supply-and-demand market logic.

You may think the Efficient Free Market Knows Best™, so shouldn't they increase production? Think again. They're making record profits right now. Meaningfully increasing production involves building new factories for billions of dollars/euros, which might be ready in a year or two. By then the war will be over and they would have overcapacity, which would be inefficient and prices would plummet. Why would they do that to themselves?

So they're in a great negotiating position vis a vis desperate Western governments. They want guaranteed profits, of the same sort they're making right now, or else the shortage continues.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Reportedly the Russian factory workers are being paid quite well.

Paid well for Russian factory workers

And the lack of quality is just a myth I think. There’s no indication that’s actually true.

Then you haven't been paying attention.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes lmao, let's just ignore the overall abysmal precision, the anti-air defense that strikes it's own cities, the exploding shells upon firing, etc. No lack of quality here.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Yeah, there's a reason why they suddenly have a lot of trouble selling their military hardware even to countries that haven't sanctioned them.

Well, other reasons in addition to the fact that the stuff they're fielding themselves in Ukraine keeps getting blown the fuck up and they have had to replace it with something that was initially being built for an outside customer. "Yeah you remember those tanks you ordered? Weeelll you're not going to be getting them quite on schedule, there's been some… uh… complications. The turrets… they, uh… experienced rapid unplanned disassembly caused by… uh… assembly workers smoking in the crew compartment. Definitely not caused by inferior westoid antitank missiles in Ukraine, our cope cages work against those 100% of the time and it's not like we'd use your tanks in combat, no siree Bob"

[–] mojofrododojo 2 points 2 weeks ago

I'd love to see a comparison to the best western 155 round, vs the best RU 155 round and whatever rice-filled horrorshells North Korea is sending russia lol

[–] [email protected] -4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Russian military is building their own while West is buying from others. Obviously the Russian's gonna be better and cheaper then westerners.

[–] Eatspancakes84 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What makes you think that? Do you think we are buying made in China artillery shells? Of course the West makes its own. The main difference is that we never expected to need very many of them, because in a typical war the West has air superiority and uses bombs/rockets instead of shells.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Russian military is building their own while western ones are buying it from corporations that want only profit and nothing else. So to keep this profit going up they don't expand their factory capacity creating an artificial scarcity of shells to keep their prices up. But it's not the case with Russian military.

[–] mojofrododojo -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

considering the rate at which UA is destroying russian tube arty I can't imagine the fuzing will make much difference in the war.

what an absolute shit show.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's not like literally all Russian artillery gets destroyed before firing off a single shot. Fuzing absolutely does make a difference

[–] mojofrododojo 0 points 1 week ago

no, it's just that 20-40+ tubes are eliminated DAILY. which is absolutely bonkers. They're losing a division of artillery every couple weeks.

you do realize it takes meatsacks to run the guns right?

and while you may be able to refurb some of the damaged tubes, the meatsacks are gone and you're going to have to train new ones?

It’s not like literally all Russian artillery gets destroyed before firing off a single shot. Fuzing absolutely does make a difference

no, it's like, mathematically obvious, that literally all russian arty gets destroyed before firing off their second or third salvos, you know, the shots 'fire for effect' cover, the ones that matter?

If you knew squat about field artillery you'd fucking know the first few rounds always require adjustment.

You'd also understand shoot and scoot. Apparently all these concepts are new to you.

What a fucking bellend, wannabe redleg pogue

[–] cosmicrookie 7 points 2 weeks ago

Hungry North Koreans too

[–] Evotech 6 points 2 weeks ago

Special operation time economy*

[–] mojofrododojo 3 points 2 weeks ago

Perhaps, even, no grift for oligarchs, wartime economy.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 weeks ago

Which I'm sure are definitely not of lower quality with an increased ratio of duds produced by a more war-centric economy that's ultimately degrading their society even further.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago

I'm sure the Ukrainian drone manufacturers really appreciate this. The cheaper they are the more you have at depots, the bigger the boom when you bomb them.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Russia is producing artillery shells around three times faster than Ukraine's Western allies and for about a quarter of the cost, according to an analysis shared with Sky News.

The figures, produced by the management consulting firm Bain & Company, underline a major challenge faced by the Ukrainian armed forces as they rely on supplies of ammunition from the United States and Europe to battle Russia's full-scale invasion.

It prompted the US, the UK and other European allies to seek to ramp up production in their respective factories, but their ability to manufacture artillery rounds still lags behind Russia's despite a combined economic strength that far outmatches Moscow's.

"Often, with just one, two or three shells, we can completely destroy a target," said Senior Lieutenant Kostiantin, an artillery battery commander with the 57th Brigade, which is fighting against a new Russian invasion into the Kharkiv region, in the northeast of Ukraine.

Sky News visited a group of new recruits in the east of the country who were learning how to use an N-LAW anti-tank missile, first provided to the Ukrainian military by the UK.

Sky News visited a factory in Belfast in April where the N-LAW missile is assembled by Thales, a global defence company.


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