POTD: The Mk19 On Wheels - Ukraine's Remote-Controlled Firepower
Modern warfare certainly keeps inventing new equipment for the battlefield. In this Photo Of The Day, we take a closer look at the newly approved Ukrainian remote weapon station called “Shablia Mk19(M).” The country’s Ministry of Defense has officially codified and cleared the system for operational use within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the General Directorate for Armament Lifecycle Support.
The Shablia Mk19(M) is designed to deliver firepower from the well-known Mk19 40mm automatic grenade launcher. It can be mounted on unmanned ground vehicles or conventional military transport platforms, offering both direct and indirect fire capabilities, even from concealed positions using target coordinates. The entire system is remotely controlled by a single operator.
Considering that the Mk19 weighs 77.6 pounds (35.2 kg) empty, I’m sure that operators are quite happy to be able to control it by radio, instead of deploying it on a tripod.
Photos courtesy of the manufacturer. Source
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
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Doubtful this will "turn the tide" for the Ukies. They will need a lot more than this, unless the Russians decide to throw in the towel, the game not being worth the candle...
Considering the reasons the Russians entered into this war, it is doubtful they will give it up. That said, Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic States are all in NATO. The eastern border of Russia is encompassed by NATO states, most of them former Soviet republics or Warsaw Pact nations. Only Ukraine has been neutral- until the US inspired overthrow of the Ukrainian government by the "orange revolution" in 2014. The threat of NATO troops and missiles so close to Moscow became- and remains- untenable. The overt persecution of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine by the KIEV regime provided the spark that set off the explosion.
Ukraine is Russia's front yard and has been for many centuries- and has a large Russian minority, particularly in the east. What did the Obama regime expect?
Win or lose, this war will have unintended consequences for both Russia and the West. Russia- Tsarist, Soviet, and the present government- has felt "encircled" by inimicable countries to the west- whether Sweden, Poland-Lithuania, Germany/Prussia, or NATO. This has resulted in a militarism which has relied upon expansion to protect it's heartland. This spirit was re-awakened by the threat of NATO expansion into Ukraine... an area which has been Russian territory since 1655, when Ukrainian leaders led by Bogdan Khemelnitsky requested Tsar Michael Romanov to admit Ukraine to the Russian Empire (under the Treaty Of Pereslavl) as protection from Tatar raids and Polish Catholic occupation and oppression.
You can rabbit on all you like about history and pick a date and say that one country ruled another country or peoples so they have a devine right to take back what was theirs ….. but unfortunately it’s ‘game on’ at the moment and losing is not an option for the Ukrainians….. If Putin prevails …it will be genocide … again… does Holodomor ring a bell ?