Tim De Zitter

Supporting Ukraine – Lifecycle manager Land Combat Missiles , GBAD and CUAS and GMG systems (surveying Loitering Munitions) @Belgian Defense – OSINT non-professional

Belgian Defence

Lokeren, Flemish Region, Belgium

April 29, 2025

▪️ Fifty-year-old Su-25 pilot Ihor Parkhomenko has returned to combat — just 40 days after burying his son.
His 25-year-old son, Serhii, also an attack pilot, was killed in 2022, leaving behind a young son — Ihor’s grandson.

▪️ In every mission:
🖼️ Ihor carries a photo of Serhii with him into the cockpit.
🛡️ His fight is now not just for Ukraine — but for the memory of his son and the future of his grandson.

▪️ Why it matters:
➡️ Stories like Ihor’s embody the true cost of Ukraine’s defense: generations scarred, but refusing to break.
➡️ They reveal a truth far beyond politics — a fight fueled by duty, sacrifice, and love.

▪️ Bottom line:
🔔 Victory is not measured only in kilometers — but in the unbreakable spirit of those who endure, fight, and carry the fallen with them.

Ukraine #Courage #ModernWarfare #Sacrifice #Freedom #Resilience #Defense

Video here :

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tim-de-zitter_ukraine-courage-modernwarfare-ugcPost-7322703216536662016-aS_n?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAbzsX4Bd5uGRRvx_FE5Zra0KIdYj1g_WBs

Defence of Ukraine:

50-year-old Su-25 pilot Ihor Parkhomenko returned to his squadron 40 days after the death of his son.

Ihor’s 25-year-old son, Serhii, was an attack pilot who was killed in 2022, leaving behind a young son — Ihor’s grandson. Ihor carries a photo of his fallen son Serhii with him… pic.twitter.com/zQEFZIJeC6
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 28, 2025

…………….

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝟭𝟬 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝗔 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

▪️ Defense One reports that the U.S. Army has “unexpectedly” realized it doesn’t actually need the M10 Booker — a 42-ton “light” tank born from the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program.

▪️ Key background:
📍 Development began in 2013 to meet 82nd Airborne Division’s need for an airdroppable armored fire support vehicle — a modern replacement for the M551 Sheridan.
📍 The result: a 42-ton machine too heavy for most light infantry garrison infrastructure (8 of 11 bridges at Fort Campbell can’t support it).
📍 Originally intended to support infantry brigades, the Army ordered 504 vehicles, with General Dynamics contracted for the first 96 units in 2022.

▪️ Current status:
🚫 Deliveries have yet to begin.
🚫 Only a few pilot-batch vehicles, with modifications, are in limited use.
🚫 No clear operational concept has emerged — and uncertainty clouds the program’s future.

▪️ Strategic implications:
➡️ The M10 Booker risks becoming another example of “capability mismatch” — where a platform exists but no doctrine, no infrastructure, and no urgent operational need align to justify it.

▪️ Bottom line:
🔔 Building a machine is easy. Building a relevant capability — a platform with a mission, infrastructure, and doctrine — is the real challenge.