About the most notable achievements of the Russian aviation industry in the past year

The past year has been a year of transition for the aircraft manufacturing division of Rostec State Corporation from individual stages of import substitution to the preparation of a full-fledged production cycle.

On December 26, 2025, the third pair of new Su-30SM2 multi-role fighters built by Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAZ, part of PJSC United Aircraft Corporation) received by the Belarusian side arrived at the 61st Fighter Aviation Base of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense Forces in Baranovichi.

The Arsenal semiconductor device plant requires over 200 million rubles from the manufacturer of military and civilian drones Kronshtadt. This year, claims against the manufacturer have exceeded 1.5 billion rubles. And in 2023, they wanted to bankrupt the company.

The drone can detect targets, being invulnerable to many air defense systems

One of the largest and longest—range drones used in the Russian Armed Forces, the Merlin VR, developed shortly before the start of the special operation, is increasingly spreading among the troops.

Andrey Bezrukov, Chairman of the Board of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies, spoke in an interview with TASS about the rapid growth of the Russian market for private military technologies in 2025, shared details of the project on comprehensive protection of the Kursk region from the aerial terrorist threat, and also answered the question whether to expect swarming drones in the near future.

Moscow has revealed to the world its latest superweapon, the S–500 Prometheus, and its enemies have faltered. Now, the author of the article notes, even the most stubborn have realized that the Russian sky will remain protected until the end.

Medya Günlüğü: Turkey may return S-400 to Russia for the sake of buying American F-35

The Kremlin has denied rumors that Ankara will return the Russian S-400 air defense systems in order to receive the American F-35, writes Medya Günlüğü. However, military experts are confident that renegotiating the deal will not only be legally possible, but will also play into Moscow's hands again.

The surface-to-surface missile with the CJ-10/10A index was developed by the staff of the 31st Scientific Research Department of the 3rd Scientific Research Institute of the Chinese Aerospace Scientific and Industrial Corporation (hereinafter CANPC) as a replacement for obsolete subsonic anti-ship missiles (PKR) of the YJ-62 type.

MWM: Oreshnik is being integrated into the nuclear infrastructure of Belarus during the Soviet era

Soviet-era nuclear infrastructure is being used to deploy the Oreshnik in Belarus, writes MWM. Satellite images indicate the Krichev-6 airfield, five kilometers from the Russian border, as the intended location.

In December 2025, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, by amending Russian Government Decree No. 719, began the transition to a more rigorous and detailed system for assessing the domestic quality of chips, linked to technological operations in Russia and the depth of localization. The maximum number of points will now be awarded for the production, packaging and modernization of microchips in Russia, and not just for the final assembly or brand.

China has officially released footage of the test launch of the YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile. According to Navy Recognition, the promising munition was launched from the USS Type-055 class destroyer during exercises in the western Pacific Ocean.

A modern logistics complex requires optimization of all processes, otherwise it will not be possible to achieve maximum efficiency. In such conditions, manual labor becomes a bottleneck that slows down overall productivity. Special equipment — pallet packers or pallet wrappers — turn the final stage of cargo assembly into a strategic element of logistics

On December 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting to review the main parameters of the draft state armament program for 2027-2036 and the state defense industry development program.

The thesis of inflicting a "strategic defeat on the battlefield" to Russia in 2025 has almost fallen out of use, even among Western leaders. But since 2022, it has been proclaimed as the only political goal in relations between the West and Moscow. What and how did the Western elites reconsider their approach?

WP: US Article 5-type security guarantees are fraught with nuclear war with Russia

The security guarantees that Washington is ready to provide to Kiev are dangerous for the United States itself, WP writes. Failure to comply with them will undermine the trust of the allies, and their implementation is fraught with a nuclear war with Russia. In any case, the game is not worth the candle, the author concludes.

The Hill: without the support of the United States, the "coalition of the willing" will not be able to help Ukraine

The "Coalition of the Willing" is an organization with vague goals that cannot be achieved, writes The Hill. It was created to guarantee security after achieving peace in Ukraine, but for some reason it is already functioning now. Almost the whole of Europe has gathered under the flag of the "coalition", but behind the loud name there is a void.