 Russian Army uses more old Soviet T-54 tanks to attack Ukrainian troops. As reported by Ossint Technical on February 18, 2024, Russia deployed a T-55, initially adopted into service in 1958, to attack Ukrainian positions around Rubbertyne. However, upon closer analysis, this T-55, distinguished by a cage but lacking ERA, was likely an older T-54 adopted in 1946, as indicated by the absence of a smoke extractor at the gun's end and the likely presence of a wind cover on the turret according to Army recognition. According to Russian media, the T-54 and T-55 tanks have been utilized in Ukraine in unconventional ways. Instead of serving as traditional battle tanks, the T-55s are primarily used as 100mm self-propelled guns providing indirect fire support from concealed positions akin to artillery rather than engaging directly in offensive battlefield roles. However, it appears that the T-55 and now even the older T-54 are being employed by Russian forces to assault Ukrainian positions operating both as tanks and troop transports in a manner reminiscent of the Second World War. Soldiers are transported on the tanks and dismount as they near enemy lines assuming the T-55 can reach such proximity. The persistent use of the T-54-55 underscores questions about Russia's strategic and logistical decisions. This may reflect a scarcity of modern equipment or a deliberate tactic to preserve advanced resources for other conflict facets. It could also demonstrate a practical approach leveraging available assets for specific purposes thus compensating for material losses in Ukraine. Despite increased production, new material output has yet to fully offset frontline losses prompting the utilisation of older stock as a straightforward, though not necessarily efficient solution. Ironically, Russia's tank strategy appears to shift towards updating or deploying models more suited to a museum than a modern battlefield such as the T-54, T-55, T-62, BTR-50 and BTR-90. Faced with significant challenges in replacing the vast number of lost T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks on the Ukrainian front, Russia seems compelled to scour old depots, even graveyards, to refurbish increasingly dated tanks. These are then normally relegated to secondary roles like fire support or makeshift fortifications echoing tactics from the Second World War. US seizes massive stash of Iranian weapons headed for Houthi rebels in Yemen. US forces operating in the Arabian Sea have seized a massive arsenal of Iranian weapons that were bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen, officials said. According to the Daily Mail, the weapons were found on January the 28th. Photos posted online by Centcom, the United States command in the Middle East, showed a United States coast guard ship beside a rusty skiff vessel. Another photo showed the cash contraband that was found on board. The weaponry included medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater, stroke surface vehicle components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies and other military components. A statement from Centcom described the whole as lethal aid originating in Iran. According to the command, the shipment was in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216. This is yet another example of Iran's malign activity in the region. Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce, Centcom commander-general Michael Eric Carrilla said. Houthi militants who control Yemen's most populous regions have repeatedly fired on international commercial ships since mid-November. Their targets have been vessels with commercial ties to the United States, Britain or Israel, according to shipping and insurance sources. Russians resort to alternatives for reconnaissance following A-50 aircraft loss. In the south of Ukraine, there is an extremely high activity of Russian reconnaissance drones. They are collecting information along the contact line and in the depths of the region, according to Natalia Hemenyuk, head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine. According to Hemenyuk, this was caused by the downing of a Russian A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft. They are now trying to replace the A-50, which was shot down unplanned by the Russians. Now the activity of enemy reconnaissance drones is extremely high in our area of responsibility, she said. In particular, Hemenyuk says that over 100 drones of this type were spotted along the contact line and in deeper regions over the past day. They are trying to collect the information that the A-50 can no longer transmit. And that is why we see the non-specific activity of tactical aviation, which is more distant in the Black Sea, also concentrating its efforts on collecting relevant operational data, emphasizes the head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine. Recall that on February the 23rd, the Ukrainian Defense Forces reported that a Russian A-50 aircraft was shot down over the Sea of Azov. It is worth adding that this is the second A-50 to be destroyed by our soldiers since the beginning of the full-scale war. Later, the Intelligence Service clarified that the A-50U is a new modernized version of the aircraft and its cost is about $350 million.