David Axe
Forbes
Columbia, SC, United States
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Past articles by David:
Did the Ukrainian Army Kill 1,100 Russians In A Single Day? It’s Certainly Possible.
While it’s always wise to be skeptical of any claim that an army makes about its enemy’s losses, there are good reasons to believe the Russians really could bury a thousand troops in a day. → Read More
Russia’s Best Tank Army Might Have No Choice But To Reequip With 60-Year-old T-62s
Russia’s tank shortage has gotten so dire that the United Kingdom for one believes the Russian army’s best tank formation, the 1st Guards Tank Army, might have to reequip with T-62s from the 1960s or ’70s. → Read More
Ukraine’s New Stryker Recon Vehicles Can See Six Miles Away, And Call In Mortars And Missiles
The M1127s could prove critical as the Ukrainian army deploys its new Stryker brigade. The high-tech recon vehicles are a Stryker brigade’s cavalry—its fast-moving, far-seeing, hard-hitting scouts. They help to solve an ages-old military problem: spotting your enemy before they spot you. → Read More
Some Of Ukraine’s Heavy Brigades Don’t Have Real Tanks Yet. Here’s How They Might Fight.
The Ukrainian army doesn’t say no to armored vehicles. Whatever surplus tanks, fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and reconnaissance vehicles some ally offers, the army happily accepts. That has resulted in some weird imbalances. → Read More
More Ex-British Challenger 2 Tanks Are Bound For Ukraine As London Doubles Its Pledge
The tank plus-up, which Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom Vadym Prystaiko announced on Saturday, should come as no surprise. And it might be only the beginning of an even bigger U.K. commitment to Ukraine’s rearmament. → Read More
For the Overextended Russian Army, Winning In Bakhmut Could Mean Losing Later
There are just two roads out of Bakhmut for Ukrainian troops. Russian forces are within rocket range of both of them. And that means that, after nine months of brutal fighting, the battle for Bakhmut is entering what could be its decisive phase. → Read More
Russian Tanks Have Crude Mine-Defenses. They Don’t Work Against The Latest American Mines.
It’s not enough for the Ukrainians to mine the roads and fields where they expect the Russians to advance. For mines to work, Russian mine-countermeasures have to not work. → Read More
As Russian Forces Push Toward Bakhmut, Ukrainian Crews In Upgraded T-64 Tanks Push Back
With Russia’s winter offensive in the east having stalled out everywhere else—look to Vuhledar to understand why—the Kremlin is desperate to win in Bakhmut. The 17th Tank Brigade and other Ukrainian units stand in the way. → Read More
This Exoplanet Is Earth’s Extremely Weird Third Cousin
It’s the land where the sun never sets—or even rises. → Read More
Ukrainian Pilots Could Toss Their New GPS-Guided Bombs 50 Miles Behind Russian Lines
Flying low and fast toward the front line, a Ukrainian jet lugging a load of JDAM-ERs would pitch up and “toss” the bombs like a softball pitcher underhanding strikes. → Read More
In A Few Years, The Russian Army Could Run Out Of Tanks. What Happens Then?
Two or three years. That’s how long the Russian army might have before it runs out of tanks, according to one estimate. → Read More
Ukraine Is Going To Run Out Of T-64 Tanks
The Ukrainian army went to war with around 800 T-64 tanks. In the 11 months since Russia widened its attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainians have lost around half of the 40-ton, three-person tanks. → Read More
In 1993, A Soviet Army Division Left 350 T-80 Tanks In Ukraine. Today, They Fight Against Russia.
The story of the 20th Tank Division’s T-80s is a microcosm of Ukraine’s wider effort to reequip and expand its army with old but upgraded tanks. The updated, ex-Soviet T-80s aren’t the same tanks they were 35 years ago. → Read More
Russia Doubled Its Army In 2022. But Its Casualties Doubled, Too.
Even taking into account losses, the Russian army roughly doubled in size in a few heady months. But that didn’t solve the Kremlin’s fundamental problem. Because Russian casualties doubled, too. → Read More
The Ukrainians Are Converting Worthless Russian Tanks Into Priceless Engineering Vehicles
The Ukrainian army finally has found a good use for at least some of the dozens of ancient Russian army T-62 tanks it has captured. The Ukrainians have begun converting some of the 1970s-vintage tanks into engineering vehicles. → Read More
Ukraine Could Send Its New Challenger 2 Tanks To Fight Russia’s Best T-90 Tanks
Once Ukraine’s first 14 BAE Systems Challenger 2s arrive around Kreminna, as early as next month, there could be tank-on-tank fights pitting the 25th and 80th Air Mobile Brigades against the Russian 90th Tank Division. → Read More
It’s Possible 270,000 Russians Have Been Killed Or Wounded In Ukraine
At least 200,000. As many as 270,000. That’s how many Russian troops have died, been wounded or gone missing in the first 11 months of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to experts. → Read More
Bryan Wright Came To Ukraine To Help. It Almost Killed Him.
After a few weeks, Bryan Wright faced a heartbreaking choice. Give up on Ukraine and save his health. Or save his health ... and lose his soul. → Read More
Good Gun, Thin Armor: The Ukrainian Army Is Getting Leopard 1 Tanks
Germany has pledged to Ukraine 88 Leopard 1A5 tanks. The 88 ex-German Leopard 1s, combined with another 20 tanks of the same model that Denmark plans to donate, could equip an entire Ukrainian tank brigade. → Read More
The United States Could Defend Taiwan—At The Cost Of A Lot Of Submarines
If and when China attacks Taiwan, the U.S. Navy’s submarines could be the first defenders to take shots at the Chinese invasion fleet, as I explain in my latest video essay. → Read More