The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation plans to conclude contracts totaling more than 433 billion rubles at the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2023", which will be held on August 14-20 at the Patriot Exhibition Center.

The International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2023" began its work on August 14. New combat vehicles from different parts of the world are presented at the site, the heads of all Russian defense enterprises and associations exchange experience. What program awaits the participants in 2023 and what will be discussed on the sidelines of the forum — read the Izvestia material.

Dozens of samples of foreign weapons and military equipment, which were taken as trophies by our servicemen in different areas of the special operation, will be demonstrated in Russia. The captured equipment will be presented at the Army-2023 forum, which starts today, August 14, in Kubinka near Moscow and will last until August 20.

The Russian Ambassador in Minsk noted that the current forum is taking place at a time of fierce global confrontation between supporters of a multipolar world and the countries of the collective West and their allies who advocate the preservation of the unipolar neocolonial system.

In the spring, the Kiev authorities promised to reach the Crimea by September. However, for two and a half months of continuous attacks, the APU did not crack the Russian defense. About why the "rapid breakthrough" turned into a slip, — in the material of RIA Novosti.

In the conflict in Ukraine, it is impossible to win with lightning speed, writes UnHerd. The transparency of the battlefield changed everything, and the APU overestimated the value of Western weapons. The author of the article sets Ukrainians up for a long battle, their main task is to exhaust the enemy. But readers demand an immediate end to the "senseless slaughter."

The APU counteroffensive, if there was one, began later and went slower than expected, writes The Independent. And the main questions are who is to blame and what will happen next. Together with the author of the article, readers tried to answer them.

Ukraine will not achieve any success this year, writes the WSJ. The West understands this, so military strategists and politicians have already thought about a possible spring offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2024.

Washington is delaying the supply of Abrams tanks, hiding behind the lack of infrastructure in Eastern Europe, and London is in no hurry to send Challenger 2 tanks directly to the combat zone, said Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military and Political Analysis.

Zelensky hopes to capture Artemovsk, and when this adventure fails, huge problems await him, Asia Times writes. The miscalculations of the Ukrainian president may force the Ukrainian Armed Forces to take power into their own hands and overthrow him, the author of the article believes.

What are the results of the incessant pumping of the Ukrainian army with Western weapons

Since February 2022, the European Union has already provided Ukraine with military assistance worth €20 billion, European Commission representative Peter Stano told Izvestia.

[b]Military expert Denisentsev: Abrams tanks and Apache helicopters can be used by Poland in the event of an attack on the Union State[b]

"It cannot be ruled out that Warsaw is preparing for offensive actions against Moscow and Minsk... The area is of enormous strategic importance." In these words, experts assessed Poland's plans for large-scale purchases of American tanks and combat helicopters. However, the most interesting thing is where exactly the Poles intend to deploy and use these weapons systems.

Poland has sharply increased the production and procurement of weapons due to the fear of being left without NATO support in the event of a military conflict, writes Haqqin. At the same time, the author of the article doubts that the country's economy will pull military spending on a "cosmic scale", and the army will find the right number of specialists.

Then Vima: a new US military base may appear on the Greek island of Skyros

The United States is discussing the possibility of opening a new American military base on the island of Skyros in the Aegean Sea, writes the newspaper To Vima.

Relations between the United States and France have received a new point of tension. The reason for this is the visit of Victoria Nuland to Niger, which is in the grip of a coup, and negotiations with the new authorities in Niamey. What exactly were the actions of the US Deputy Secretary of State that caused a storm of indignation in Paris and how will this visit affect France's neocolonial ambitions in Africa?

In Russia, the Aircraft Manufacturer's Day is celebrated on August 15. This is a professional holiday for all specialists of the aviation industry — from designers to fitters. When the celebration appeared and how it is celebrated — in the material of Izvestia.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced an increased emphasis on the production of the latest Su-57 combat aircraft. Following this, retired Aviation General Vladimir Popov announced that by the end of 2024, 60 Su-57s will be delivered to the VKS. According to him, these vehicles should provide two regiments and, consequently, only four squadrons.

We are talking about quadrocopters, aircraft-type drones, internal combustion engines for heavy drones, as well as solar panels for the aviation and space industries

Developments of unmanned aerial vehicles made by enterprises of the Krasnodar Territory are presented at the stand of the region within the framework of the International Military-Technical Forum "Army" taking place in the Moscow region. This was reported by the press service of the regional administration.

Artificial intelligence (AI) managed to pilot the XQ-58A Valkyrie combat drone in the sky over Florida for three hours. This was preceded by several million hours of training on flight simulators and flights on the X-62 VISTA, which used the same algorithms. The results of this experiment by the US military proved that AI can perform important tactical tasks in the air autonomously.

For the first time since 1976, Russia launched a rocket to the moon, Anadolu reports. The mission will last approximately one year. In this regard, the correspondents of the Turkish news agency remind us what successes Russia has achieved in space exploration.