Russia, Iran turning Israel and Ukraine into ‘battlefield laboratories,’ experts say

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.

0nekoneko7,
@0nekoneko7@lemmy.world avatar

Not Israel, Israel is not a battlefield yet. The article should mention IDF battlefield laboratories in Gaza. That IDF has turned Gaza into ruins.

febra,

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.

SkyezOpen,

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.

SuddenDownpour,

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.

CommanderCloon,

Fuck anyone portraying israel as a victim.

capem,

How is this news?

It’s just people speculating.

Mrkawfee,

Israel has been using Palestine and it’s people as a laboratory for it’s weapons and surveillance technology for decades.

middlemanSI,

Most tear gas canisters and other weapons get a reference by tests on Palestinians, been known for decades

jonne,

And the IDF trains US cops.

tb_,
@tb_@lemmy.world avatar

US cops get training?

jonne,

Yep, watch them fly drones with sounds of babies crying in a city near you.

Corkyskog,

Yep they get trained that the entire populace is against them, and could kill them at any moment. I think at one point a teaining under the same concept was even marketed as killology to departments by some psycopath(s).

tiefling,

Yep the guy who tells them that the best sex is after murdering a guy

doublejay1999,
@doublejay1999@lemmy.world avatar

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 😊

VirtualOdour,

That’s because you’re in an extreme bubble here

doublejay1999,
@doublejay1999@lemmy.world avatar

Or maybe we are outside the extreme bubble ?

JigglypuffSeenFromAbove,
@JigglypuffSeenFromAbove@lemmy.world avatar

Isn’t that what people in extreme bubbles usually think?

VirtualOdour,

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…

doublejay1999,
@doublejay1999@lemmy.world avatar

Well I’m glad you mentioned that - because no one in the rest of the world has said that, or anything like that.

feedum_sneedson,

It’s not a bubble of extremeness, it’s just extremely bubbly.

DdCno1,

You are encouraged by lazy, empty whataboutism? That's troubling.

doublejay1999,
@doublejay1999@lemmy.world avatar

Be not troubled, my child, for they are merely pixels on screen.

conditional_soup,

I know, if whataboutism is all it takes for people to forget that USA of America are on G*D’s side, then it’s pretty clear that fake president Biden and the demon-rats and their best pal (old split hoof!) have won. /S

hark,
@hark@lemmy.world avatar

Citing the magic word “whataboutism” and thinking that’s enough to ward off criticisms of American hypocrisy is incredibly lazy and empty.

Linkerbaan,
@Linkerbaan@lemmy.world avatar

.ml is gonna call us the tankies soon

ShadowRam,

Its weird,

Because I have a developing conspiracy theory,

It was clear to everyone, Iran, Russia and China have been developing a kind of trinity semi-alliance. And India is/was kinda on the verge of joining it, and if I was some kind of US long term tactical guru sitting around all day around 2010, I would formulating a plan on how to break them up.

Maybe bait Russia into Ukraine.... maybe bait Iran into Israel... maybe bait China into Taiwan?

Watch them drain their military resources and economies into the fight.
Offload all of the US's old equipment, maybe sell some new ones.
Test detection capabilities, see how things have developed since the Gulf War, see how two modernized militaries clash.

Is this article right? Maybe. Is this article is just projecting? Perhaps.

Don't know, but Russia wasting its time/resources and playing it's hand in Ukraine has been net-positive for the US
And I feel if Iran did the same, and Israel starting hitting back hard (with them already saying they wont' be directly involved), then it's a win again for the US.

But that could be playing with fire. The world is fucked if Israel lets off a nuclear device in Iran. Netanyahu is crazy enough to do it, if the people around him let him.

Larry,

India was not on the verge of joining a military alliance with China, they hate each other and China’s closest ally is Pakistan

NoneOfUrBusiness,

The sheer audacity to say "battlefield laboratory" as an Israeli ally.

BaalInvoker,

Alright… And what about US sponsoring every single war out there, including Israel and Ukraine?

I am more inclined to say that Russia and Iran are responding on US battlefield laboratories. Afterall, this wars are happening mainly because US cannot live in peace with other countries, always plotting coups everywhere

cooljacob204,

Ukraine is a staight up defensive war...

Israel vs Iran can also be considered defensive. Iran has been attacking them and the US through their proxies for a very long time.

But I do disagree that it's a Russia/Iran battlefield laboratories. The west is also learning an absolute ton about their capabilities and one could argue they are getting the better end of the stick when it comes to lessons learned.

demonsword,
@demonsword@lemmy.world avatar

Afterall, this wars are happening mainly because US cannot live in peace with other countries

Since becoming independent in 1776, the US of A has known only 15 years of peace, they’re definitely the biggest warmongers that ever existed.

Numberone, (edited )

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?

Altofaltception,

Propaganda has always been this lazy. The internet makes it easier to spot bullshit and find counter viewpoints.

wurzelgummidge,

Most propaganda isn’t designed to fool the critical thinker, it is designed to give moral cowards a reason not to think.

Numberone,

Oh wow, I like this. Good insight.

pennomi,

And the US certainly isn’t rapidly developing new done and anti drone warfare in response to battlefield analysis.

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

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.

ArbitraryValue,

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!

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Unlike every other war?

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