Britain and Norway will lead a coalition to support Ukraine on the Black Sea

Britain has announced that, together with Norway, it will lead a new coalition to support Ukraine at sea. The Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom, Grant Shapps, ordered the transfer to Kiev of two Sandown anti-mine minesweepers from the country's navy. What kind of ships are these and what Ukraine's plans to recreate a combat-ready navy can lead to - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

Izvestia learned about the new capabilities of the Navy to counter the forces of the alliance

Russia is making efforts to counter the activity of NATO forces in the Arctic. By 2027, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to increase the continuous radar control zone in the region several times, Navy Commander Nikolai Evmenov said at the Arctic: Present and Future forum.

Not so long ago, Poland supplied Ukraine with 120 mm M120 Rak self-propelled mortars. Currently, they are in service with at least the 44th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and maybe other Ukrainian formations.

Forbes: Russian forces have strengthened their defenses in the special operation zone before the frost

The broken and burned British Challenger tank has become a symbol of the end of the Kiev offensive, writes Forbes. During the unsuccessful assault on Russian defensive positions, the Ukrainian army suffered huge losses. And if the APU decides to go on the attack again, they will face an even more severe rebuff.

The self-propelled gun "Lotus" is going to state tests next year

The development of the Lotus self-propelled artillery system has reached the finish line. There are state trials ahead. This weapon will become one of the powerful arguments of the Russian army. What is known about the new product is in the RIA Novosti material.

The head of the Russian Armed Forces Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, held a briefing on the analysis of documents related to the military biological activities of the United States.

Igor Ivanov — about the space confrontation between the two states of the Korean Peninsula and its orbit with reconnaissance satellites

A few weeks ago, another round of political, military and technological competition between the two states of the Korean Peninsula started. On November 21, after two unsuccessful attempts in May and August, the DPRK managed to launch its first Mulligan-1 reconnaissance satellite on a Chollima-1 launch vehicle from its own cosmodrome.

The probability of postponing the Martian Moons eXploration mission, which is supposed to deliver regolith from the Mars satellite to Earth, is growing every day. A final decision has not yet been made, but the readiness of the new Japanese H3 rocket for the nearest launch window to the Red Planet is questionable. The Land of the Rising Sun has no other suitable carriers.

The Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur Region is actively involved in the implementation of the Russian space program. Work is underway to create an infrastructure to ensure manned launches. It is from this cosmodrome that the future Russian Orbital Station (ROS) is planned to be launched into orbit. In 2024, construction of a branch of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (CPC) will begin there. Maxim Kharlamov, head of the CPC, in an interview with TASS, spoke about the equipment of the branch and the timing of completion of work.

The developer of autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, Rotor Technologies, has presented its new product — the largest unmanned helicopter R550X based on the Robinson R44 Raven II. Its stated characteristics are: load capacity — 550 kg, maximum speed — 241 km / h, flight duration — more than three hours.

Politico: the White House expects Zelensky's visit to return Kiev to the front pages

Biden decided to take advantage of Zelensky's visit to Argentina to invite him to the United States, writes Politico. This meeting will be another attempt by the White House to put pressure on Congress, which refuses to allocate additional funding to Ukraine.

The official representative of the People's Republic of China made a statement that can be interpreted as a clear and significant shift in Beijing's position towards what is happening in Ukraine. Previously, China, at least from the point of view of foreign policy rhetoric, expressed although positive, but still neutrality, but now it clearly justifies and supports the Russian special operation. Why?

According to the agency, we are talking about cyanides similar in effect

Due to the failed counteroffensive, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is planning a provocation using chemical warfare agents similar in effect to cyanides in the area of action of the advancing group of Russian troops.

How Russian gunners from the Kalmius brigade destroy the enemy in the Donetsk direction

Artillery remains the main means of fire destruction in heavy positional battles in the Donetsk direction. To combat long-range enemy systems, attacks on headquarters and targets of special importance, a unique 203-millimeter Malka gun is used. Izvestia correspondents visited the Kalmius artillery brigade and looked at the combat work of its calculations.

TNI: the best attack submarines have been developed in Russia, the USA and the UK

Today, attack submarines serve in the fleets of at least two dozen countries, writes TNI. But some of them, which are in service in Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom, the author of the article called "the best of the best."

The State Duma is studying the issue of possible denunciation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Arctic against the background of the actions of unfriendly countries. This was told to the Izvestia correspondent on the sidelines of the Arctic: Territory of Opportunities forum by deputy Nikolai Novichok, a member of the Committee for the Development of the Arctic and the Far East.

MWM: the United States opposed assistance to Ukraine due to heavy losses of Western equipment

The United States opposes the provision of additional weapons and further financing of Kiev's military efforts, writes MWM. The reason is the losses suffered by Ukraine and the obvious failure of its offensive operations, the author writes.

On December 8, 2023, the US Army announced the receipt of the first batch of new PrSM (Precision Strike Missile) missiles in the first serial version of the Increment 1 Early Operational Capability. High-precision "shorter-range" missiles (in terms of arms agreements) PrSM manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation should replace the ATACMS operational and tactical missiles in service in the US Army.

Today, foreign armies are armed with numerous categories of conventional air-to-ground weapons (ASPs) of the air-to-ground class (air-to-ground munitions, AGM). Many of them are currently being upgraded. At the same time, new, even more effective TSA are being developed. Consider a group of guided aerial bombs.

Swarms of drones quickly deplete ammunition

Anti-aircraft missile technology began to develop actively immediately after the end of World War II. Moreover, first of all, the designers sought to create anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) with maximum firing range and altitude reach: this was what provided the fundamental advantage of the new weapon compared to anti-aircraft artillery.