To Be Precise, Almost Two And A Half Years Ago
On the first of June 2024, Your Humble Scribe posted a blog titled "A Popular History Of ROBOT WARFARE!" which I then immediately admitted was a lie, as I'd just made the title up and had almost nothing to write. I did put up a picture of the 'Unitron', an autonomous armoured fighting vehicle from "Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons". It was effing terrifying. Art!
Not only a massive gun capable of elevating 90º and engaging aircraft, but twin flamethrowers. Conrad is unsure how they got the flamethrowers to work, but the scale model is dangerous in it's own right.
ANYWAY that was, quite understandably, what robot warfare looked like in 1968. It was a fair assumption but when I published my blog in 2024, things were about to change. Rather than heavy metal monsters, in came drone warfare, pioneered by Ukraine. Instead of having a $10 million super-tank, they instead chose to produce 200 mid-range drones. Art!
Fire Point One with puny human for scale
The FP1 and FP have been continuously upgraded and now have a range of up to 2,500 kilometres, rendering all of European Ruffia and most of Asian Ruffia within range. Nobody saw that coming in June 2024! They've come a long way from re-purposing light aircraft for long range strikes. Art!
The orcs now take them so seriously that they have 17 SAM systems defending their Geran factory at Alabuga.
Then there's the Magura naval drone. Art!
There you have an early variant with puny human for scale. The versions used now have armour plate, making them even more difficult to stop, and they frequently sport heavy machine guns or SAMs, meaning orc helicopters are now at risk of being shot down if they try to intercept.
Both types of drones have forced the orcs to abandon Sevastopol, their naval jewel in the crown, since it's now much too dangerous for what's left of the Black Sea Fleet to stay there. Art!
Droid TW 12.7
Conrad has dubbed this the 'Killer Wheelbarrow'. Yes, compared to the Unitron it's tiny. That's not the point. The KW does not need food or water, it does not sleep, it shrugs off excessive cold or heat, it has no morale problems and that M2 machine gun can kill at a mile distance and stop anything that's not armoured. Art!
At many points in the Grey Zone it's too dangerous for men to carry supplies into position or transport them by truck. Ergo, another kind of Unmanned Ground Vehicle, one that carries supplies without having to risk squishy human beings. The wags operating these vehicles use the onboard horn to toot greetings to Hom. Sap. passing by. Art!
This was the first time it had been done, and the process has been repeated, in sectors where the orcs have too many drones to risk a vehicle or helicopter for what is called 'casevac' for 'casualty evacuation'. Not only does it save a life, it boosts morale for anyone in the Grey Zone, knowing a Kozaky drone will lift them out if needed. Art!
You are now looking at the 'Maul' UGV drone, used for casevac. To give a sense of scale, it's over 7 PROUD IMPERIAL feet long and can carry up to 440 PROUD IMPERIAL pounds, which is necessary as some of the Kozaky infantry look like three dockers welded together. The evacuee sits inside the armoured interior and can survive anything but a direct hit. Art!
The generic quadcopter using fibre-optic cable for communication, mounting an explosive charge on top. Fibre-optic means the signal from drone to operator cannot be spoofed or jammed, and the length of cable has grown from 3 kilometers up to 30 kilometers. This is why the Grey Zone is up to 50 kilometers across, and since the Kozaky produce them by the million, why it is so very dangerous to try and cross. Art!
The 'ground vehicle' was a Killer Wheelbarrow, and it proceeded to brass up an orc outpost, although it's unclear if it was occupied. Another innovative first.
Ending this Intro on a rather grim note, Robert 'Magyar' Brovdi, head of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, stated earlier this year that his target was to inflict 50,000 Ruffian casualties per month with his drone arsenal. Well, the orcs suffered 54,000 casualties in October 2026, a record they must be so, so happy to reach.
ANYWAY this was supposed to be a preface to more general news about the war in Ukraine, but I don't feel like creating another single item blog.
You're Not Selling It
No! I am not gloating about the number of MAGA merchandise shops closing down - there were 20 and now there are 16 - but rather at a brand that - well, a picture is better. Art!
Conrad not persuaded
For your information, a 'bilge' is 'The parts of a vessel between the lowermost floorboards and the bottom' thank you CCED. This is where 'bilge water' collects, which is stinking stagnant water polluted by oil, fuel, grease and lubricants. Art!
No thanks.
What A Load Of Ballrooms
Okay, I have yet to comment in depth on the South Canadian mid-term elections, apart from going - Art!
- at Pig Daddy and his circle of sycophants. Donold Judas Trump appears to be dealing with the absolute shellacking his party got by -
Completely ignoring it.
On Wednesday, Trump was holding a presser, and let me quote journalist John Stoehr: "While previous presidents acknowledged defeat, and their own role in it, Trump denied having anything to do with the wipeout and chose to spend Wednesday giving reporters a tour of ballroom construction, as if he had not just seen Americans reject the open corruption that new ballroom construction represents."
DJ Tango kept braying before the elections that voters ought to 'Pretend I'm on the ballot'. Well, they did, and now he's avoiding both accountability and reality. Expect two more years of him trying to rename everything he can. Art!
Asleep or dead? Only you can tell!
Another thing Stoehr floats is Droopy resigning before he gets impeached, thus not dragging down the Wizard Lizard Gizzard party with him. If that happens - a verrrrry big ask! - Vance will immediately pardon him, BUT that cannot prevent federal-level criminal cases being brought against him. Also -
Another pundit weighing in. The prospect of two years of investigations and stonewalled legislation means - he might do it. I've yet to watch David's vlog so will let you what his take is. Art!
Another Har Har! Moment
If you are a regular reader then you will know that Conrad has always had his thunderbolts out for Russell Brand, whom I cannot stand and detest with the utmost vim.
If you're a foreign reader you may not have heard the news, so I shall attach an illo. Art!
May you enjoy the life you deserve.
NB When I take over he's still going down the uranium mines in a thong.
Back To That List Of 20 Books On Classical Civilisation
My palms are sweating with the effort to not buy any of these works, sweating I tell you. This is Number 10. Art!
Published 2015
For a book on ancient Rome to become a NYT bestseller hints that it's something special, and the blurb describes it as an 'instant classic'. It's about the earliest days of Roman monarchs in 753 BC to the Emperor Caracalla in 212 AD, which is quite a span. I have heard of Ol' Carry, and also Catiline, whom the blurb also mentions: "The Catiline Conspiracy" is a book title I remember, but not what Ol' Catty got up to. Nothing savoury, I suspect.
Finally -
Finishing with a Biercism.
'Coward, n: One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs.'
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