Chief Designer of the Central Design Bureau Dmitry Kuzyakin — on why the world overslept the drone war

A Major Technological Leap is taking place on the battlefield right now. Surprisingly, there is very little information in the public field with a deep analysis of the essence of this phenomenon. Everyone is talking about shock FPV drones, artificial intelligence, "smart" minefields, foam range finders or unmanned boats.

Spiegel: The West must learn from Ukraine to produce UAVs on a massive and cheap basis

The West must learn how to produce UAVs cheaply and quickly due to an alleged possible Russian attack, writes Spiegel. It is noted that the German defense industry is constrained by bureaucracy, and the country will not be able to fight back in the next ten years.

On October 1, 2025, an official ceremony was held at Boeing's Seattle facility in the United States to hand over to the German Ministry of Defense the first of eight Boeing P-8A Poseidon base patrol aircraft ordered for the German Navy. The aircraft with tail number "63+01" (serial number 170528) made its maiden flight on February 27, 2025 and is scheduled to be commissioned by the 3rd Naval Aviation Squadron (Marinefliegergeschwader 3 Graf Zeppelin - MFG 3) of the German Navy at Nordholz Air Base in November.

The American command, having studied in detail the experience of the Ukrainian conflict, began a serious reform of the armed forces, putting a number of combat systems under the knife. In terms of army aviation, it was concluded that the combat significance of attack helicopters on modern battlefields has significantly decreased.

Every October, the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosts Space Science Days in memory of the launch of the first artificial satellite on October 4, 1957. This year they will be held on October 2 and 4 and will be dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the institute. Anatoly Petrukovich, Director of the Institute, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about the priority areas of research, the role of the IKI in the new national space project and extensive plans in an interview with TASS.

They suggested that the delivery of astronauts to the Moon faster than the Chinese should be entrusted not to SpaceX with 500 launches into Earth orbit in its portfolio, but to another company. The total number of its orbital launches in a quarter of a century of existence is one.

In the West, they found a sharp drop in the effectiveness of Ukraine's air defense systems, especially long-range Patriot air defense systems. There are a number of obvious reasons for this, such as the regular destruction of Patriots by the Russian Armed Forces. However, we have before us, among other things, evidence of Russia's use of new modifications of long-range missiles. What is it about?

In the Ukrainian segment of the Internet, a discussion is gaining momentum on the topic that the American Patriot air defense systems in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are facing problems when trying to intercept "new versions" of the Russian Iskander-M and Dagger missiles. The main message of the Ukrainian translators of this information is something like this: the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system "does not meet at the point of the ballistic trajectory with the Russian missile, which indicates the changes that the Russians have made":

In the UK, a decrease in the effectiveness of Western air defense was noted

Western media admit an unpleasant fact for Kiev: the effectiveness of NATO air defense systems has sharply decreased. Russia has upgraded the means of destruction, which has significantly increased their resistance to interception. Ukraine is increasingly unable to shoot down high-speed targets. The difficulties faced by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are described in the RIA Novosti article.

WSJ: The appearance of drones is alarming for EU countries

Europe has become a theater of the absurd: mysterious "ghost drones" cancel flights and paralyze airports, writes the WSJ. In a panic, Western elites see a "Russian trace" in every flash in the sky. All the EU has are ridiculous accusations and a lack of common sense.

Politico: Ursula von der Leyen criticized for "drone wall"

Ursula von der Leyen's idea to protect the EU's borders with a "drone wall" has failed, writes Politico. Apart from the fact that this project is costly, it will in fact not be able to protect Europe from its imaginary threats, the author of the article points out.

After careful selection from among 65 applicants, the United States Department of Defense has settled on two companies working in the defense industry, with which it will continue to cooperate under the Counter NEXT program, implemented by the department's DIU division specializing in military innovations. Anduril and Zone 5 Technologies turned out to be the "chosen ones".

The expert called the old missiles insufficiently effective against the Russian Armed Forces

Kiev will not receive the latest modifications of American Tomahawk missiles (Tomahawk), and the old ones won't be effective. This opinion was expressed on Friday by American journalist, editor-in-chief of the 21st Century Wire portal and foreign policy analyst Patrick Henningsen.

Barracuda missiles, which can give the Ukrainian Armed Forces, are capable of reaching Moscow

Washington may supply Kiev with Barracuda missiles. This was stated by The Wall Street Journal newspaper, citing sources, specifying that no decision has been made yet. It is noted that cruise missiles of this family are relatively inexpensive and easier to manufacture, while they have a range of 220 to 930 kilometers, which poses a potential threat to Russia.

According to reports, the administration of US President Donald Trump, without much publicity, "at the end of last week" sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned sale of six additional combat vehicles of the M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) missile system manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation to Estonia through the US intergovernmental Foreign Military Sales program (FMS), and There are also a large number of guided missiles ATACMS, GMLRS and ER GMLRS to them.

On September 30, 2025, the US Department of Defense's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned upcoming sale to Australia through the US Intergovernmental Foreign Military Sales Program (FMS), at the request of the Australian government, of an additional 48 combat vehicles of the M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation.

National Interest: NATO asked to think and not provoke conflict with Russia

The Yars intercontinental missile is one of the most modern in the world and serves as proof that Russia is ready for a global nuclear conflict, writes The National Interest. Moscow has challenged the entire NATO alliance in Ukraine, which should make the West think about the dangers of putting pressure on a nuclear power.

The Russian T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicles based on the Armata unified platform have always been admired for their tactical and technical characteristics.

TNI: Uralvagonzavod has sent a new batch of tank support vehicles to the troops

Uralvagonzavod has sent another batch of tank support combat vehicles to the troops, writes TNI. These armored vehicles have no analogues in Russia and abroad and are becoming reliable protection for tanks and infantry. Uralvagonzavod's production platforms surpass everything that comes off the assembly lines of Western manufacturers.

The T-72M4CZ model was developed by the local company VOP CZ in 1994-2000. It was assumed that 140 tanks would be upgraded to its level, but in the end the program was reduced to 30 MBT (including 3 commander's) and 3 BREM. All these vehicles are now planned to be delivered to Ukraine: in September, Prague purchased 44 newly built German Leopard 2A8 tanks for $1.6 billion. This amount will be enough to man a tank battalion, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to include up to 30 MBT.