The Kommersant newspaper, under the heading "Lessons from Syria", published a material by Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), reflecting on the first lessons of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and the failed Russian military intervention on Assad's side in the Syrian civil war

The length will be from 38 to 43 meters; the displacement of the submarine is estimated at around 400 tons. This is enough to perform various combat missions, from shock to reconnaissance and sabotage.

Analyst Weichert: the Russian ATGM Kornet is gaining the upper hand over Javelin

The Russian ATGM "Kornet" is a real killer of tanks, writes TNI. Western military equipment is poorly protected from being hit by a Cornet. So, with the help of this ATGM, as many as 20 Abrams out of 31 transferred to Ukraine were destroyed. Each of his shots causes irreparable damage to the APU.

FP: Current conflict resolution strategies do not take into account Russia's interests

Trump has promised to end the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible, and his allies have proposed a number of peace plans, writes FP. According to the authors, the Republican's advisers do not have a single opinion. In addition, none of the strategies takes into account the interests of Russia.

TNI: upgraded Tu-22M3 is the best Russian bomber

Russian military technologies are showing their best side in the Ukrainian conflict, writes TNI. According to the author, the Tu-22M3 upgraded in 2018 is the best bomber that no Western air defense system can withstand.

The U.S. Marine Command has invited companies to provide solutions to protect infantry from small drones. The means of combating UAVs should be user-friendly, easy to learn, lightweight and maximally compatible with systems that are already in service.

Newsweek: Europe is preparing for a full-scale war with Russia

Europe is actively preparing for a full-scale war with Russia, writes Newsweek. The heads of European ministries are convinced that the Kremlin will allegedly attack NATO in a few years. Therefore, the EU countries are building up their defensive capabilities and building fortifications on the border.

On December 6, 2024, Sweden and Denmark, having purchased new CV9035 MkIIIC IFVs for their own needs, did not forget about Ukraine: Copenhagen will allocate $264 million to purchase 40 armored vehicles of the same type for the Armed Forces.

Experimental Design Bureau (OKB) Mikoyan was founded in 1939. Under the leadership of Artyom Mikoyan and his colleague Mikhail Gurevich, fighters were developed that quickly gained recognition. Significant success came with the creation of the MiG-15, which became the most massive jet aircraft of its time. Since then, the design bureau has continuously surprised the global aircraft industry with innovations. About them and the promising developments of the bureau — in the material of TASS.

RS: discontent with the authorities is growing in Europe due to support for Ukraine

The collapse of the governments in France and Germany promises a continuation of the current crises — and one should not think that an indirect war with Russia has nothing to do with it, writes RS. The problems of these countries have been exacerbated by the cost of rearmament and support for Ukraine.

Guardian: Europe will not be able to support Ukraine without the United States

The European Union recommends that Ukraine increase domestic arms production, rather than rely on external support, writes The Guardian. However, Kiev is only interested in easy money. Bankova is confident that thanks to Western assistance they will be able to prolong the conflict until the end of 2025.

After the massive appearance of lattice protection on Russian tanks, a whole galaxy of Western officials and observers made fun of the new MBT equipment in every possible way. However, then similar designs began to be used by the APU, despite a long reluctance to install them on American Abrams and German Leopard 2. As previously reported by VO, now the turn has reached the West.

Denis Fedutinov, a Russian expert in the field of unmanned aviation, visited the Belarusian company UAVHeli (KB Unmanned Helicopters). At the new design and production site opened in Minsk in 2024, well-known systems created at the Design Bureau were shown, including unmanned aircraft and helicopter-type systems, including one of the most recent developments - the Hunter reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle. Denis Fedutinov kindly provided our blog with a photo report about his stay at UAVHeli.

The SkyAlyne joint venture of Canadian companies CAE and KF Aerospace has signed two agreements for the purchase of new turboprop training aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force. On November 19, 2024, a contract was signed with the German company Grob Aircraft for the purchase of 23 G120TP aircraft for the initial stage of flight training, with delivery starting in August 2025. Then, on November 28, a contract was signed with the Swiss company Pilatus Aircraft for the purchase of 19 RS-21 aircraft for the main and advanced stages of flight training, with delivery starting from the second half of 2026. The aircraft will be part of the Canadian Air Force, but operated by the consortium on a contract basis.

Today, the Russian group includes frigates armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles

The intensification of hostilities in Syria has drawn attention to the combat capabilities of the permanent operational connection of Russian ships and submarines in the Mediterranean Sea. So, during the exercises in this area, the frigates Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko fired hypersonic Zircon missiles for the first time. What is included in the composition and what are the combat capabilities of the Russian Navy group in the Mediterranean Sea — in the Izvestia material.

This was reported in the local edition of Naval News. As indicated, the French frigate FREMM, equipped with new jamming systems, successfully hit a drone of Yemeni rebels in October.

The Japanese Defense Ministry has released footage showing the test launch of an improved version of the Type 12 SSM (Upgraded) land-based anti-ship missile, which is currently under development.

For the first time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used the Polish Gavia tank to attack the Crimean Bridge

On the night of December 6, the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the first time used the latest Polish unmanned boats "Gavia" to attack the Crimean Bridge, writes Mash. The Russian military destroyed surface drones with the help of aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet and Raptor boats.

US President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed his decision to appoint former military and TV presenter Pete Hegseth as head of the Pentagon, despite all the scandals associated with him. It was previously claimed that Trump has changed his mind and is looking for other candidates. Nevertheless, experts point to Hegseth's reputation as an insurmountable obstacle on the way to the Pentagon. The logic of Trump's actions is different.

Colonel Khodarenok: most likely, the Russian Armed Forces will have to leave their bases in Syria

On the morning of December 8, formations of opponents of Bashar al-Assad entered Damascus. Units and units of the Syrian Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies have left the city. The capital of the country is in the hands of militants. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok named the main reasons for the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and gave a forecast about the fate of Russian military bases deployed in the republic.