• hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
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    5 months ago

    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.

    • gnuhaut
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      5 months ago

      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.

    • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      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.

      • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
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        5 months ago

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

        • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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          5 months 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