News land-based units

At the training ground near Voronezh, the military tested the first sapper robot "Uran-6"on the western border of Russia. The armored tracked vehicle, whose task is to destroy mines and other explosive objects without risking the lives and health of people, came to the engineer regiment as recently as December 2020. At its first practical application, the correspondent of "RG" was present - he mastered the basics of controlling a six-ton robot, understood why only strong men can do this, and found out why there is a big red button on the armor of "Uranus".

It is known that armored vehicles pose a certain danger even in peacetime. It is not for nothing that warning signs are installed on military training grounds, where tanks, IFVs and other combat vehicles maneuver, calling for increased attention.

The crisis year 2020 for the whole country paradoxically turned out to be very successful for the production of domestic tractors and combines. Sales of agricultural machinery within the country and export of agricultural machinery have also increased sharply. What is the reason for such achievements of the whole industry and whether it will be possible to repeat this success in 2021?

The British company Supacat has completed the development of a set of conversion of Jackal 1 diesel armored vehicles into hybrid ones without loss of driving characteristics. According to Jane's, the company also prepared the first such armored vehicle for the installation of the kit and testing. All work was completed in mid-December last year, but the company announced this only now.

Previously, the TKN-AI commander's observation device with active-pulse illumination was used. In comparison with it, the new sight has a number of advantages, for example, it allows you to more effectively conduct a circular view of the terrain.

The self-propelled guns "Lotus" and "Coalition-SV" have different calibers, but the same tasks

At the very end of last year, preliminary tests of the self-propelled artillery gun 2S42 "Lotus", intended for use in the Airborne Forces, began. Their program includes self-propelled aircraft landing, moving over rough terrain of a complex profile, overcoming obstacles, shooting, including on the move and afloat. After that, state acceptance tests will begin. And the adoption of the "Lotus" should be expected as early as next year.

BAE Systems Corporation on January 14, 2021 announced that it received a contract worth more than $ 500 million from the Dutch Defense procurement organization Dutch Defense Materiel Organization (DMO) for the repair and modernization of 122 CV9035NL Mk III infantry fighting vehicles of the Dutch Army (with an option for another 19 vehicles). The work will be carried out by the Swedish branch of BAE Systems (BAE Systems Hägglunds), which is the developer and manufacturer of these machines.

On January 15, 2021, it was reported that on December 23, 2020, the General Directorate of Armaments (Direction Générale de l'Armement - DGA) of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces issued a contract to a consortium of French companies Nexter Systems and Texelis for the supply of the first 364 serial Serval multi-purpose armored vehicles with a 4x4 wheel formula, also designated VBMR Leger (Véhicule blindé multi-rôles) to the French army.

In this configuration, it will also be delivered to the Navy

NPO Elektromashina (part of Uralvagonzavod of Rostec State Corporation) has successfully completed tests of the remote-controlled Hunter combat module for Typhoon-K armored vehicles with a new version of the 6P49 machine gun. This was reported to TASS in the press service of the UVZ.

The Russian military for the first time reported on the conduct of network-centric exercises, during which self-propelled artillery installations (ACS) "Msta" were used, equipped with the equipment of a unified control system, RIA Novosti reports.

Russian-made military equipment demonstrated its power at the exercises of the Algerian army.

During the training operations, both the latest models and those that have been used for a long time in the land forces of this state were used. For example, the BTR-60 PB armored personnel carriers developed in the 60s, which confidently hit targets with their 14.5-mm KPVT machine guns.

On December 30, 2020, the head of the Armaments Department, Lieutenant General Paolo Giovannini, announced the order for the Italian land Forces of the second batch of 86 Centauro II armored vehicles (BM).

The author writes with concern about the integration of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus. Minsk plans to buy S-400 and new air defense systems, Russian helicopters and aircraft. Belarus does not have money for the S-400,but the complexes may appear there in the event of the creation of a Russian base. Poland is very concerned about this fact.

Chinese scientists have developed a technology for producing methanol from carbon dioxide, which allows you to extract fuel from the atmosphere without any energy costs. This is a passive system that only needs a water source and an open space to work. The main secret is to use the daily temperature fluctuations on Earth, when the heat of the day replaces the cold of the night.

During the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani army used one hundred T-90S main battle tanks. Until recently, there was no accurate data on the number of lost combat vehicles of this type. At the very beginning of the fighting, the Armenian side managed to capture two such tanks.

In the next ten years, companies of growing military-industrial powers will increasingly compete with Russian and Western companies that previously contributed to their development, experts from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) write in an article for the American edition of Defense News.

Russia can become a major global producer and exporter of hydrogen – one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy. Nobel laureate Rae Kwon Chung is sure of this. What is his forecast based on, what is happening in the hydrogen fuel market today, and under what conditions is Russia's hydrogen breakthrough really possible?

The UK is considering participating in a program to develop a new generation tank that will replace such vehicles as the Leclerc and Leopard 2.

In 2020, the Russian Armed Forces received 300 new and upgraded tanks. The "model range" has not changed much – it is already well-known T-72B3 and T-90M "Breakthrough", produced in one line, T-80BVM tanks with a gas turbine engine, the last batch of which came to the troops this year. Deliveries of the T-14 Armata are expected in 2021.

A German magazine praised the Russian tank support vehicle "Terminator", calling it a "tank on steroids". On the air of Sputnik radio, the site's editor-in-chief MilitaryRussia.ru Dmitry Kornev noted that the BMPT is really admirable.