Oh come on, that music is fitting as can be. Russian soldiers with an old accordion singing about how utterly awesome they are. It’s as russian as the chopper you’re looking at. As a russophile, I find it just perfect. 
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Not sure? Not sure what about Comrade? Not sure if will only bring tear to eye? Or will bring full weeping for the glory of the Motherland!
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Oh man, a mug only a mother could love 
Talking about the helicopter of course 
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Not really Russian…but certainly not NATO…lol…so this is where it goes…
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There actually is a Chinese Air Ministry Thread in the forums. We’ll let it go this time but if it happens again, I’ll report you to the administrators. 
Chinese Aviation Ministry of Information Thread
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I should really hang out here more and learn about the layout…
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Not aircraft related but interesting look at some Russian artillery.
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That’s awesome. Amazed at all the moving parts of the semi-auto loading systems.
Great video! Obviously something I picked up way back when, this video spells it out very well - I wish I had see it in 1985.
He doesn’t try to tackle the Cold War naming convention for Soviet subs, for which I don’t blame him…likely because there really was no rhyme or reason I could discern other than using English-language letters.
Up the the Akula and Typhoon classes of sub, all were named for the NATO phonetic alphabet. So we had Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima,Mike (single unit class; sank 7 April 1989), November, Oscar, Papa, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whisky, Yankee and Zulu. (I think there might have been an X-Ray but pretty sure no Quebec)
Now you are probably saying, “what’s so wrong with that?” What is “wrong” and made things confusing is that they didn’t go in alphabetical order. For example the Foxtrot and Whiskey were old-model diesel-electric subs(SS) while the Alpha was a new-ish nuclear attack sub (SSN).
The initial nuclear subs were the November SSN, the Echo SSGN (guided missile attack sub) and Hotel SSBN (Ballistic missile sub). Then they went to Victor SSN; Charlie then Oscar SSGNs; and Yankee then Delta SSBNs…if there is a pattern there, I can’t see it…maybe that was the point.
Some of the subs were “updated” or “modified” classes which got a roman numerals added to the initial class and updated classes (Oscar I , Oscar II; D I, II, III, IV) or “Mod” tacked onto the name …or both (Mod-Echo II).
Obviously this was a method doomed to ultimate failure as eventually you run out of letters…which they did. When the Typhoon came out they switched. The story I heard about the Typhoon was they had meant to use the Soviet name for it so named it Typhoon. Except that wasn’t the Soviet name of the sub, it was the Soviet name of the sub’s missile (NATO nomenclature SS-N-20; Sturgeon) …sort of how we used to call a Washington-class SSBM a “Polaris SSBN” after the missile it carried. So we got that one wrong. I believe the Akula-class SSN is named correctly…not sure the Russians make the Akula I and Akula II differentiation that NATO does.
To bring this back to Flight Sim stuff…the Kilo in DCS was the last Soviet SS to receive a NATO alphabetic code name. In the OpenBeta I have also seen a crude looking Tango SS (newer than F and W; older than K).
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Didn’t the Soviets use alphanumerics for their subs for most of the cold war? K-19 etc?
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You are most likely correct. 
We never went beyond NATO codenames when talking about the subs so I don’t know for sure.
I’m pertty sure the initial used “Pennant Numbers” like K-19 for a while - probably a holdover from the early days when subs were smaller and most navies just used pennant numbers i.e. the Kreigsmarine wit their U-Boat numbers, the USN with S-numbers.
Thus K-19 (KOTEL-class SSBN) and K-219, a YANKEE I SSBN which sank off the US east coast in October 1986.
Eventually the Soviets/Russians went to naming their subs. The Mike SSN was “K-278 Komsomolets”.
From Wikipedia:
In October 1988, K-278 was honored by becoming one of the few Soviet submarines to be given an actual name: Komsomolets
…and sank 6 months later …so…
(I was on the Navy’s current intel team in the Pentagon at the time…an exciting morning.)
By the time the Kursk sank in August 2000 (an OSCAR II SSGN) I think having actual names was common.
Funny how I keep track of these things by when the subs sank…I should probably ponder what that says about myself.
Aside from K-19 and the others mentioned, K-129 is notable as the GOLF II SSB that sank off Hawaii in 1968. This was the sub the CIA tried to raise with the Hughes Glomar Explorer in 1974. They only got part of it, including six bodies that were buried at sea with full military honors. (It was videoed and in 1992 the Director of the CIA gave the video to the Russian government.)
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When the Flanker wants to be like the Viggen…
https://defence-blog.com/news/ukrainian-air-force-exercise-almost-ends-in-disaster.html
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That was so close to being sucked into the intake
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Amazing to me that the military and authorities would allow those people to run around just prior to the landing area. The danger and even distraction to the pilot…well…I guess the results show the impact…literally…
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So here is some interesting footage I came across while preparing a review of the Syria map. This is from the propaganda source RT (they do have great production quality though…I will admit…) and shows Marj al-Sultan airbase (well…it is a helicopter base) after being recaptured from rebels. When one compares it to what we have in DCS World it is an interesting contrast. So much destruction and chaos and disrepair. It would be interesting to see what the base looked like during its prime to see the differences…
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And then you have this. My favorite part…the guy being startled awake at :32 …oh…we’re clapping now…ok…clap, clap, clap…
Is it just me…or is the pink tank sponsored by War Thunder???
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Weird. Russia is as much a mystery to me today as it was during the peak of the cold war.
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