Today's Edition of Things Going Badly for Syrian Tankers...

And this one goes REAL bad...

can't identify the anti-tank weapon used here but its safe to say that its likely one the the US manufactured (Raytheon) BGM-71 TOW that have been flooding into "rebel" hands.  On the other end of the wire is the Syrian tank which goes up like no other tank I've seen in this conflict.  Most take these hits and just erupt in black smoke with the individuals inside likely all turned to hamburger but the exterior remaining roughly intact.

Not so here.  This one goes up like it was rigged to blow with several truckloads of high explosive material.  Only thing I can think of is that this TOW got a lucky hit and took out the tank's armament magazine blowing it all sky high and more or less turning many tons of steel into razerblade material...

And Yet Another Syrian Tank Going Bye-Bye...

Again at the hands of a Raytheon produced TOW missile.  Safe to say I wouldn't want to be a Syrian Army tanker at this point.  The Syrians appear to be deploying their tanks on a near individual basis while the rebels remain under little pressure, just taking easy shots at them...virtually suicide at this point to be operating a tank in a rebel contested area with no air or infantry support.

Another Syrian Tank Destroyed At The End of a US TOW...

These videos seem to be coming in more frequently now.  Here is another Syrian tank going up in flames at the end of a "rebel" launched TOW missile.  The tank looks like it was moving backwards before it was hit and then continued backwards after the impact as the fire resulting from the burning tank moves behind the building it was initially retreating to.  I'm shocked it could move at all or be under any sort of control after the TOW takes it out...The smoke and dust make it difficult to make out what kind of tank it was unfortunately.

Syrian Rebels Take Out Syrian Artillery with US TOW Missile...

Now here's hoping that these are the "nice" Syrian rebels and not of the ISIS variety.  What we have here is the use of an American made (Raytheon specifically) BGM-71 TOW missile which was designed to be an anti-tank/anti-armor weapon but can also be used as an anti-structure or in this case anti-artillery weapon.  You can see that the operator of the missile has to stay with the launcher after firing as it needs to be guided in to its target--not the best of circumstances in a hot shooting environment but like the video I posted the other day of the helicopter shootdown, they do not seem to be under any pressure from an opposing force during these raids.

BGM-71 TOW in Afghanistan for comparo

On the Syrian side of the equation it has to be

especially frightening as the attacks come in what appears to be a "calm" environment when suddenly your helicopter is blown apart or your cannon is made into easily recyclable material.  Attacks are very asymmetrical in this environment.  The artillery piece in question looks to be a Russian 2S3 self propelled howitzer of the 152.4mm variety.  The Syrians bought about 100 of these from Russia in recent years.  Given their maximum armor of

 Model of 2S3 for comparo with the video

30mm and the TOWs rating for armor penetration of at least 450mm (up to a reported 900mm in some varieties) it is safe to say that this howitzer is no longer in use.

Syrian Rebels Take Out Russian Helicopter with Russian Missile

There should be a bit of irony here.  The Syrian rebels (likely to be of the extreme Islamic variety given their use of social media and apparent sophistication) here are using a  relatively modern Russian anti-tank guided missile to shoot down/blow up a Syrian government helicopter of the Russian variety.

The missile appears to be a Kornet which first came into production in the mid 90's and has been used by Iraq against American tanks in the early '00s, damaging a few but not destroying any and also against the Israeli's by Hezbollah (targets have included Isreali tanks and a child laden schoolbus).  Russia has supplied Syria with these anti-tank missiles for years and they appear to have now fallen into the hands of the Syrian rebels/ISIS.

The helicopter here appears to be an MI-2 which is more of a transport helicopter than an attack platform (though it can be outfitted with various short range offensive weaponry).  Supposedly Syria had about 20 of these at one point--make that 19 now...Produced in Poland beginning in the late 60's/70's and designed in Russia these helicopters serve in secondary regimes around the world.  Though the Kornet missile is not specifically designed to take down helicopters, given the static position this one was in during its landing and apparently unpressured position the attackers were located in, made this takedown easy.

Anyone ID This Motorcycle?

Its being piloted by a member of Hezbollah within the Qalamoun mountains in Southern Syria as part of their fight on the side of the Syrian government (having crossed from Lebanon into Syria) and against the Islamic based "rebels" there.  Looks like some nice aftermarket HIDs on there too.

Also noticed here is the nice truck mounted Katyusha rocket launcher in the background.  Good to see WWII Soviet technology still working out so well!

The End of a Syrian Tank...

Well that's the end of a perfectly good T-72 or T55 or T62...I really can't tell which it is given the quality of the video and the similar look of the long cannon and rounded top of the Russian built tanks.  Supposedly Syria started out with some 5000 of these types of tanks.  The one here seems to be confident in ts ability to withstand small arms fire and not moving around much as it would if it were facing a more heavily armoured opponent.  Around the 1:10 mark you can see a man with a LAW on his shoulder and why that wasn't used is unknown already had and missed?  Ineffective?) is unknown. Also of interest is that the rebels in this video seem unworried about receiving small arms fire or encountering Syrian army members on foot.  Classic guerrilla territory with the Syrian army afraid to send in unmounted forces and thinking they can take/hold ground with armor only.

This is a recent video from the conflict in Syria which reportedly resulted in 6000 deaths in the month of March alone and is now seeing the Government supported militia groups being sent off to Iran for anti-guerrilla training.


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US Recalling F-22s from the UAE...

Today Iran reportedly launched a rocket into space carrying a monkey which, again, reportedly, returned to Earth safely.  Now I'm not sure I believe the poor monkey returned safely, it doesn't surprise me Iran might be looking to rachet things up a bit similar to North Korea.

A year ago we deployed an unknown number of F-22s to the United Arab Emerites (F-22s to the UAE). 

Today, six F-22s passed through Pease Airbase here in NH (photo at left is their overflight of the NH area) on their way back to Holloman AFB in New Mexico along with their accompanying seven support tankers and aircraft (F22s come through Pease...).  Holloman's current 21 F-22s are scheduled to transfer to Tyndall AFB in Florida next year but for now it is home to the 49th fighter wing.

If this was merely a shuffle of airplanes with "reserve" F-22s coming in to replace these that were on their way home, wouldn't you keep the support aircraft in place in the UAE?  We've frequently seen A-10 squadrons heading back and forth to Afghanistan via the Westfield, MA and they aren't typically accompanied by their support staff--because that support staff is still needed for the ongoing operations in Afghanistan with replacement aircraft already in place or on their way.

Not so here.  Instead it appears you have a wholesale removal of the F-22 squadron from the UAE, replacement unknown.  If I was Iran, or Russia, or China, I'd be sending my satellites for a quick scan of the UAE base where these were stationed to see if there is ANY presence left (blow up ballon F-22s don't count).

Why would you do this now given Iran's posturing, Syria's crumbling and Isreal's doubling down on a conservative government?  Who knows?!?!  If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here working at a bank.  If I had to guess, the original, April 12th deployment was a quid pro quo with Isreal in an attempt to show them that we had their back and would bring forces to the table for their defense in exchange for more time/lack of action on their part.  Their removal would signal to me the end of this relationship, meaning either Iran no longer represents a threat (unlikely), Isreal is unconcerned with Iran's developments (equally unlikely) or the US wants to get out of being drawn into any sort of Isreal/Iran conflict with its world class fighters sitting on the ground as Isreali/Iranian fighters fly overhead.  Look for a significant development in the Isreal/Iran conflict in relatively short order (1-2 months).