State regulation and financing news

Asharq Al-Awsat: the conflict in Ukraine has caused an unprecedented arms race around the world

The conflict in Ukraine has plunged the world into an unprecedented arms race, writes Asharq Al-Awsat. Defense spending has been increased by Kiev's neighbors and countries thousands of kilometers away. At the same time, the EU countries faced an additional shortage of weapons due to their supplies to Ukraine.

The Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and the General Director of Rostec State Corporation Sergey Chemezov visited the Kazan Helicopter and Kazan Aviation Plants, assessing the pace of production activity.

According to the agency's sources, the relevant decision came into force in September 2022, although individual exceptions are allowed for certain specialties in relation to Chinese citizens

The Institute of Space and Astronautics at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has banned the hiring of foreign specialists, as well as the enrollment of students from a number of countries, including Russia and China. This was reported on Friday by the Kyodo news agency .

According to Defense News, the US Navy presented to Congress a short list of wishes that they would like to see in the military budget for 2024.

As the Vedomosti newspaper reported in the material by Alexey Nikolsky and Ilya Lakstygal, "The Armed Forces will receive 1,500 tanks in 2023. This number will also include upgraded vehicles removed from storage," Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev became the first head since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine to name the annual production of one of the main types of combat platforms actively used in military operations - main battle tanks.

The domestic military-industrial complex is "hot", most factories work in three shifts, said Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. As a result, according to him, Russia will release fifteen hundred tanks this year. Our army will have the most powerful armored fist in all of Eurasia. The preponderance of forces on the Ukrainian battlefield will become indisputable. At the expense of what resources will the record rate of production of armored vehicles be achieved?

UP: in the USA, they were afraid of the defeat of the APU during the "spring counteroffensive"

The Biden administration has made a bet on the "spring counteroffensive" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, writes Ukrainka Pravda. At the same time, the White House admits that Ukraine will be defeated. In this case, Zelensky will be remembered for corruption and failures at the front. And the provision of military and financial assistance will be in question.

The United States is struggling to catch up with Russia in terms of developing hypersonic weapons. So far, the Pentagon is not doing well with this. For the first time, the US Navy has requested 3.6 billion dollars for the production of hypersonic missiles, according to the military analytical publication Breaking Defense.

The American edition of "Defense News" published interesting material by Jen Judson "How the war in Ukraine is driving growth in Arkansas" ("How the war in Ukraine stimulates growth in Arkansas") about the expansion of defense production facilities in the American city of Camden in Arkansas, where, in particular, there is an enterprise where Lockheed Martin Corporation produces combat vehicles of the M142 HIMARS missile system.

President Rumen Radev called on the new parliament, which will be elected on April 2, to put the task of increasing the country's defensive capabilities and modernizing the army in the first place

Bulgaria does not participate in the deal for the supply of shells to Ukraine, but is working with the European Commission to launch the production of NATO-style ammunition at its enterprises. This was stated on Thursday by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev upon arrival at the EU summit.

The European Union also confirmed the promise to provide Kiev with 1 million shells

The EU summit confirmed the promise to provide Ukraine with 1 million shells, as well as surface-to-surface missiles, if requested. This is stated in the statement adopted on Thursday by the heads of State and Government of the community gathered in Brussels.

Politico: Only seven out of 30 NATO members were able to achieve the goal of spending at least 2% on defense

Only seven of the 30 NATO members were able to achieve the previously agreed common goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense, writes Politico. Countries promise to increase spending, but, as experts interviewed by the publication note, saying and doing are not the same thing.

According to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, on March 22, 2023, a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was held at the National Defense Management Center of the Russian Federation under the leadership of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Sergei Shoigu.

Journalists managed to christen the meeting of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which took place in Moscow from March 21 to 22, as a historic event.

On March 20, 2023, the US Department of Defense announced the provision of a new package of US military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 350 million. Thus, the total amount of US military assistance officially allocated to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 now amounts to about $ 32.5 billion, and the total amount of US military assistance to Ukraine since 2014 has reached $ 35.3 billion.

It became known about a significant reduction in Saudi Arabia's investments in the US national debt. To date, the figures remain quite high – about 110-111 billion dollars, but this is an anti-record of the last 7 years.

Due to the fact that the entry of the first Virginia submarines into service (if it happens at all) is expected sometime in the early 2030s, the possibility of refitting Collins submarines for the use of Tomahawk missile launchers is being discussed. Australia continues to "make fun"...

EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrel said that 18 countries (17 EU countries and Norway) have joined the project of the European Defense Agency to place industrial orders for ammunition for Ukraine, RIA Novosti reports.

According to the Vedomosti newspaper in the material of Ilya Lakstygal, "The EU has agreed to supply Ukraine with a million shells. 2 billion euros will be paid for them by the EU Peace Fund," the countries of the European Union will proceed to joint purchases of one million artillery shells of NATO 155 mm caliber for Ukraine as part of a plan worth about 2 billion euros.

In the past 2022, Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace (KDA) has achieved tremendous success with its cruise missile NSM (Naval Strike Missile), which de facto became a replacement for the Harpoon missile on surface ships around the world.