MOSCOW, Dec 23 - RIA Novosti. In the coming year, a special military operation will continue, the Russian Armed Forces will grow in number, new formations will be formed, it is planned to receive the latest models of equipment to the troops, and new surface ships and submarines to the fleet. Read about these and other plans in the military sphere in the material of the profile edition of RIA Novosti.
Special military operation
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the final board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which was held on December 21, said that in 2023 a special military operation will be continued until the tasks are fully completed.
As the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov later noted, as of December 22, the line of combat contact within the framework of the SVO was 815 kilometers, the situation at the front was stabilized. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on completing the liberation of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic.
Also, fire damage continues to be inflicted on critically important objects of transport and energy infrastructure in the depths of the territory of Ukraine, places of storage and storage of stocks of fuel and lubricants, missiles and ammunition, weapons and military equipment, as well as operational reserves in temporary locations.
Strengthening of the Armed Forces
It is planned to continue the development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and increase their combat capabilities. At the final board, Shoigu announced a number of measures to strengthen Russian defense power for 2023 and beyond. Thus, it is planned to increase the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to 1.5 million military personnel, including up to 695 thousand contractors. By the end of 2023, the number of military personnel under the contract, taking into account the replacement of mobilized citizens in the groups of troops and the recruitment of new formations, will be brought to 521 thousand people. At the same time, when recruiting the Armed Forces, the age of conscription of citizens will gradually increase from 18 to 21 years, and the limit will increase to 30 years.
In connection with the build-up of NATO's potential on the borders of the Russian Federation, as well as the expansion of the alliance at the expense of Finland and Sweden, as Shoigu noted, retaliatory measures are required to create an appropriate grouping of troops in the north-west of Russia.
Two interspecific strategic territorial associations will be created – the Moscow and Leningrad military districts. It is planned to form three motorized rifle divisions, including as part of combined arms associations in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as an army corps in Karelia. It is planned to reorganize seven motorized rifle brigades into motorized rifle divisions in the Western, Central, Eastern Military Districts and in the Northern Fleet. Two airborne assault divisions will be additionally formed in the Airborne Forces.
For each combined arms (tank) army, it is planned to maintain a mixed aviation division and an army aviation brigade, numbering 80-100 combat helicopters. In addition, it is additionally planned to form three aviation division directorates, eight bomber aviation regiments, one fighter aviation regiment, and six army aviation brigades.
Five artillery divisions of military districts will be formed in strategic areas, as well as large–capacity artillery brigades. It is planned to form five marine divisions in the coastal forces of the Navy.
Aviation and air defense
Next year, the Russian army is waiting for a number of advanced weapons systems, the supply of some of which will be accelerated due to the needs of its own. As stated by the Minister of Defense, the timing of receipt of some samples will be reduced from the original 2024-2025 to 2023.
So, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are waiting for serial deliveries of the latest air defense system-the S-500 Prometheus missile defense system. This is a universal long-range and high-altitude interception complex with an increased missile defense potential. The radius of its defeat reaches 600 kilometers. The system is capable of intercepting IBrD combat units and objects in near space.
The long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces will receive three upgraded Tu-160M strategists next year. In the SVO, "conventional" Tu-160s are actively used today when striking critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine.
The Russian army is also waiting for new Russian drones, the mass use of which makes modern conflicts, and ITS not an exception here, real "drone wars". We are not talking about reconnaissance copters or kamikaze UAVs, which are already actively used in the SVO, but about full-fledged attack vehicles.
According to previously announced plans, in 2023, serial production of combat drones S-70B "Hunter" and "Sirius" (the project "Pacer-RU") should begin in Russia.
Developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau according to the "flying wing" scheme, the Hunter UAV has a wingspan of 19 meters, a length of 14 meters, and a take–off weight of more than 20 tons. Among the weapons that this drone can use are free-falling bombs, as well as guided missiles, which are equipped with a fifth-generation Su-57 fighter.
The take-off weight of the Sirius is up to 2 tons, the wingspan is up to 23 meters, the flight duration should reach 20 hours. It is expected that the maximum altitude of the drone will be 7 thousand meters, the cruising speed of the device - 180 kilometers per hour.
In addition, tests of promising Russian aviation complexes will continue. So, in 2023, the first flight of the fifth–generation Checkmate single-engine fighter (a possible name for the Russian Aerospace Forces - Su-75) is due to take place. The key features of the machine are low visibility, low cost of flight hours, open architecture and high performance according to the "cost–effectiveness" criterion.
Ammunition and small arms
Next year, the Russian army should receive new weapons of destruction. After repeated postponement of deadlines, 80-millimeter aircraft missiles "Armored Truck" should begin to be mass-delivered to the troops. This is a weapon capable of breaking through the obstacles facing the targets set for it, while not collapsing and continuing its flight.
Another long–awaited novelty of the ammunition industry - the planned cluster bomb "Drill" - should also go "into series" next year. This cluster projectile, the use of which does not require the aircraft to enter the air defense zone, is designed to defeat armored vehicles, ground-based radar stations and control points.
Novelties are also expected in the field of small arms – at the beginning of 2023, serial production of the newest 9-mm self-loading pistol "Boa" should start.
Science and industry
Scientific research will continue in the interests of the Russian army. According to a RIA Novosti source in the military-industrial complex, by the end of 2023, research work should be carried out on the combat equipment of the new generation "Legionnaire", which will replace the "Warrior" kits. It should include, among other things, an armored helmet equipped with an augmented reality system capable of receiving data from drones.
The capabilities of the Russian military-industrial complex will also continue to expand, many of whose enterprises have already switched to a three-shift work schedule. This will allow to increase the production of weapons of the Russian army, including hypersonic missiles "Dagger" and "Zircon", the increase in the supply of which in 2023 was announced by Shoigu.
The repair base of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will also be strengthened – next year it is planned to open new military repair plants, repair units of the military level will be strengthened.
RVSN
The share of Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) as a component of the Strategic Nuclear Forces (Strategic Nuclear Forces), about 60% of the strategic deterrence tasks are accounted for, and therefore the rearmament of the Strategic Missile Forces with new missile systems will remain one of the priorities of rocket scientists in 2023.
According to Shoigu at the board, 22 launchers with intercontinental ballistic missiles "Yars", "Avangard" and "Sarmat" will be put on combat duty in the Strategic Missile Forces in the new year.
In particular, in 2023, the re-equipment of the RVSN mobile group to the Yars mobile ground missile system will be completed. The deployment of the newest Avangard missile system with a hypersonic maneuvering combat unit will continue, two regiments with Avangard are already in service.
Next year, it is planned to start work on a new mobile missile system with increased mobility compared to the mobile Yars. Testing and preparation of infrastructure for the Sarmat missile system will also continue. The first to receive the new complex should be the rocket men of the Uzhur rocket compound. The Sarmat will serve for at least 25 years and will be able to break through any modern or promising missile defense system for decades to come.
In total, in 2023, the Strategic Missile Forces will conduct eight launches of various ICBMs, both from the Plesetsk cosmodrome and from the 4th State Central Interspecific Test Site Kapustin Yar. It is also possible in the future to increase the volume of production of new missiles, although in general, the current production rates, according to the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces Sergei Karakaev, fully meet the needs of rocket scientists.
Fleet
In 2023, the active renewal of the ship composition of the Russian Navy will continue. It is planned to include the strategic missile submarine "Emperor Alexander III" of project 955 "Borey" in the fleet. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a total of 5 submarines and 12 surface ships will join the fleet in 2023.
Serial deliveries of the sea-based hypersonic missile "Zircon" have begun, preparations for the combat service of the frigate "Admiral Gorshkov" with "Zircons" on board are being completed. In addition to surface frigates, the Zircons will also receive submarines. According to Shoigu, support vessels, emergency rescue services and Navy ship repair units have been deployed in Berdyansk and Mariupol, which were liberated during the special operation.
At the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg, the construction of two multipurpose diesel-electric submarines of Project 677 (code "Lada") Vologda and Yaroslavl, laid down in the summer, at the Amur Shipbuilding Plant (ASZ) - the corvette "Reasonable" of project 20385, in Zelenodolsk - two support ships based on project 03182 continues., and at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard - the Polar minesweeper of project 12700. In July, another corvette of project 20385 "Fast" was laid at the ASZ.
The Grad small missile ship (MRC) of Project 21631, the Admiral Golovko frigate of project 22350, the Burya and Askold MRC of Project 22800, the latest Mercury and Sharp corvettes of Project 20380, the Anatoly Shlemov mine defense ship, built in the interests of the Russian Navy, are at various stages of testing.", Krasnoyarsk nuclear submarine of project 885M "Yasen-M", patrol ship "Intrepid" of project 11540.
The corvette of project 20385 "Agile" is being restored and completed after the fire. In December, the next Naro-Fominsk MRC of project 21631 was launched in Zelenodolsk. On Friday, the Project 677 Velikiye Luki submarine will be launched at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. The launch of the next Mozhaysk diesel-electric submarine of Project 636.3 is planned for spring. Construction of the Gremyashchy corvette is currently underway at the Severnaya Shipyard.
In 2023, the repair of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will continue, the ship is expected to be tested after repair. Also, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov of Project 1144 Orlan is undergoing repair and modernization. After Nakhimov, the Peter the Great cruiser of a similar project, which is in service, will go for repair and modernization.
The Admiral Vinogradov BOD of the 1155M project is also undergoing renovation and modernization. Earlier, similar work was carried out on the Marshal Shaposhnikov - the ship was armed with new missile systems "Uranus", "Caliber", "Onyx" and was reclassified into a frigate. In addition, it is planned to modernize and equip multi-purpose nuclear submarines of Project 971 and 949A with "Calibers" submarines.
