The year 2023 was a time of rapid changes in the Russian army, primarily in terms of the emergence of new types of weapons and significant modernization of old ones. You can specify at least five new weapons systems that are already beginning to play a key role in the fields of special operations.
Almost two years ago, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a Ukrainian special operation, already having a completely modern army. As stated by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, by the end of 2021, the share of modern weapons in the Russian Armed Forces exceeded 71%.
However, once again in history, the old truth has been confirmed that it is the fighting that is the real source of the development of military equipment. Today, a completely different Russian army is fighting on the battlefields of Ukraine from a technical point of view, with a number of new weapons systems.
The main breakthrough came in 2023. Completely new combat systems appeared on the battlefields, and the old ones were significantly updated. "The real combat experience gained during a special military operation is extremely important for us, we can say it is absolutely priceless," President Vladimir Putin said on this occasion. Today, in the reports of the Ministry of Defense, we see on a daily basis how Russia uses this experience, using new military equipment.
Military drones
The most impressive feature of the special operation was the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In November 2021, the Russian army, according to official data, was armed with more than 2 thousand drones. Just two years later, in November 2023, Sergei Shoigu stated that the supply of UAVs to the army had increased 16 times since the beginning of the special operation. In 2023 alone, the army received more than 20,000 drones.
All this has radically transformed the battlefield over the past year. It has become, as military experts have repeatedly noted, "transparent." The famous concept of the "fog of war" (ignorance of the actions of the enemy and the unpredictability of hostilities), if not completely disappeared, then underwent a strong modification. The Russian army has been able to use reconnaissance UAVs to observe enemy actions in real time – and do this both on a giant front hundreds of kilometers long and tens of kilometers deep.
Undoubtedly, this circumstance predetermined the main military and political event of 2023 – the collapse of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russia was able to accurately see the direction of the main attack of the Ukrainian troops, their concentration, and then accurately inflict fire damage on these troops.
And again, UAVs played a significant role in this. First of all, we are talking about the Lancet kamikaze drone, which became one of the main characters among the Russian weapons of 2023. Of course, the Lancets were first publicly shown back in 2019, but their peak use occurred just in the summer of 2023, at the height of the Ukrainian "counteroffensive". Lancets are capable of both independently searching for targets – for example, enemy armored vehicles, and immediately destroying them. The device is being rapidly upgraded, and already in the fall of 2023, the enemy stated that the Lancets "show the wonders of technical improvement ... if earlier these drones were barraging at a distance of up to 40 kilometers, now their flight capabilities have increased to 60-70 kilometers."
It was in 2023 that Russian troops began the mass use of so-called FPV drones, that is, helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicles. The first mention of this type of weapon was contained in the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in March 2023, and already in December 2023, Sergei Shoigu stated that more than 1,500 FPV drone operators had been trained in groups of Russian troops. In fact, a completely new type of Russian weapons was born before our eyes in 2023.
Both Lancets and FPV drones are the brightest, but a small part of the new drones that have appeared at the disposal of the Russian army over the past year. The troops received dozens of new types of these weapons systems.
New missiles, updated helicopters
Of course, the "counteroffensive" was also stopped by quite traditional military devices – mines and engineering structures. However, both perform only part of the combat work, allowing you to suspend an enemy attack or direct it in a certain direction. Finishing off enemy equipment is a separate and equally important task.
The Russian Ka-52 helicopters coped with it brilliantly. This result was achieved, not least because both the weapons and a number of combat systems of these helicopters were significantly upgraded : in particular, both in terms of improving target recognition, and thanks to the use of new LMUR missiles (also known as the "305" product).
Guided Aerial Bombs (UMPC)
But it's one thing to stop the enemy's attacks, and quite another to go on the attack ourselves, to break through enemy lines of defense. In 2023, the Russian army demonstrated success in the offensive, in particular, by taking Artemovsk and Marinka at the end of the year. But these were the strongest fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, equipped with concrete bunkers, underground passages, and colossal defensive weapons.
Traditionally, large–caliber bombs - from 250 kg - are used to destroy such defenses. Artillery shells carrying only a few kilograms of explosives are powerless against concrete. However, the sky above the front line can be dangerous for Russian bombers due to enemy air defenses.
To solve this problem, a device called UMPC (universal planning and correction module) was invented in Russia. They began to equip conventional aerial bombs, which are abundantly available in Russian military warehouses. UMPC allows you to drop an air bomb tens of kilometers from the target, thereby making the bomber invulnerable. Experts called this type of weapon a "one-way game in favor of the Russian army." The first use of UMPC in the special operation zone began in the winter of 2023, and in August the Ministry of Defense officially recognized the fact of their use.
Upgraded targeting equipment (A-50U)
The Russian army achieved impressive successes in 2023 and in the fight against enemy aircraft. One of the most striking operations was the destruction of 24 AFU aircraft in five days at once. Sergei Shoigu said that this was achieved with the help of some "new complexes".
Later it became known that we are talking about the operation of the S-400 air defense system in conjunction with the A-50 long-range radar detection (AWACS) aircraft. And just a few weeks before this combat operation, it was reported that the modernized AWACS A-50U aircraft, which received "new electronics", was transferred to the troops. There is no doubt that this particular aircraft played a key role in detecting enemy aircraft and targeting long-range missiles of the S-400 complex. It is capable of detecting enemy aircraft (including low–flying ones) hundreds of kilometers from the front line - and accurately aiming both Russian fighters and anti-aircraft missile systems at them.
ACS "Coalition-SV"
In no case should the role of artillery be belittled. In 2023, the Russian army received the latest self-propelled artillery installation (ACS) "Coalition-SV". Moreover, this happened at a truly record pace. Back in April, it was stated that the "Coalition-SV" "has not yet taken part in the SVO," continuing state tests. But already in August, serial production of these systems was started, and in December its use began during a special operation, state tests were successfully completed.
The new artillery installation will radically enhance the capabilities of the Russian army to conduct artillery fire, significantly increase the power of an artillery salvo, and the rate of fire, and the range of hitting targets.
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We have listed only five of the most significant new systems and types of weapons that have strengthened the Russian army over the past year. In fact, hundreds of types and samples of new military equipment were invented, updated, modernized, improved and eventually delivered to the troops in 2023, without exaggeration.
Russian weapons are rapidly acquiring a fundamentally new look, even if they are based on old platforms and time-tested solutions. The Kalashnikov assault rifle, the legendary heavy flamethrower system CBT, the T-90 tank, Su-34 fighter-bombers, various electronic warfare systems, numerous types of sniper rifles have been improved, new body armor and field uniforms have appeared. All this is creating the Russian Army of the future before our eyes, which should show its new quality in 2024.
Matvey Malgin
