Russia and Iran are using Ukraine and Israel as “battlefield laboratories” to probe at Western military vulnerabilities, experts told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee Wednesday.
“Together, Russia and Iran are using Ukraine and the Middle East as battlefield laboratories to improve their weapons and develop techniques to overcome U.S. and allied defensive systems,” Dana Stroul, director of research at the Washington Institute, told lawmakers at a hearing on the “Despotic Duo.”
“Iran is extracting from Russia lessons in combined strike packages as well as insights into the strengths and weaknesses of Western-origin air and missile defense systems,” Stroul said in her written statement.
Haha, yes only Russia and Iran are doing this. Good guys wouldn’t behave like this…Israel definitely isn’t doing the same thing to Gaza.. Was propaganda always this lazy or is this a new development?
And the US certainly isn’t rapidly developing new done and anti drone warfare in response to battlefield analysis.
Wars have always been about testing new technology. You don’t gain an advantage by using the same technology as the other guy, so you throw all your new stuff on the battlefield and see what happens. Hence everything from chemical warfare to liquid-fueled rockets.
But you can go much further back and find things like Egyptians bragging about testing their newly-built chariots (developed from their former Hyksos conquerors’ chariots) for the first time in battle and winning.
Propaganda has always been this lazy. The internet makes it easier to spot bullshit and find counter viewpoints.
Most propaganda isn’t designed to fool the critical thinker, it is designed to give moral cowards a reason not to think.
Oh wow, I like this. Good insight.
Developing better weapons doesn’t make someone a bad guy, but I don’t want the bad guys (and of course I’m picking a side, I live in the USA and I like it here) to develop better weapons. If the USA and its allies succeed while its opponents fail, that would be great!
Israel has been using Palestine and it’s people as a laboratory for it’s weapons and surveillance technology for decades.
Most tear gas canisters and other weapons get a reference by tests on Palestinians, been known for decades
I am really encouraged by everyone’s comments on this thread! Just 10 years ago it would be rare to meet this response online.
Every single commenter has called out this ghoulish rhetoric.
I love you all 😊
That’s because you’re in an extreme bubble here
Or maybe we are outside the extreme bubble ?
It’s not a bubble of extremeness, it’s just extremely bubbly.
Isn’t that what people in extreme bubbles usually think?
Seeing the one clear truth the rest of the world misses? Hah yeah maybe, or maybe just like every single group that previously thought this about themselves we’re detaching from reality and slowly going crazy…
Well I’m glad you mentioned that - because no one in the rest of the world has said that, or anything like that.
.ml is gonna call us the tankies soon
Fuck anyone portraying israel as a victim.
And aren’t we doing the same? I mean, I’ve seen companies advertise their products as “battle tested” after sending them to Ukraine or Israel. Not to say that supporting Ukraine is bad, I’m a big supporter of Ukraine (and definitely not of Israel). But yeah, I don’t see the point of this article. It tries to “point out” something that we’ve been doing ourselves as if Iran or Russia first came up with the idea of battle testing their products.
And aren’t we doing the same?
Every country with geopolitical interests large enough in the world has analysts studying the war in Ukraine, even uninvolved third countries like China and Japan, but that doesn’t make for a good clickbaity headline.
To great effect too! I believe Poland (or another country near Russia) put in a huge order for HIMARS last year after seeing their massive success in Ukraine.
Unlike every other war?
How is this news?
It’s just people speculating.
Not Israel, Israel is not a battlefield yet. The article should mention IDF battlefield laboratories in Gaza. That IDF has turned Gaza into ruins.