News of new developments in the military-industrial complex

On January 16, 2026, at the headquarters of the 2nd Brigade of the Spanish Legion (Brigada "Rey Alfonso XIII" II de La Legión) of the Spanish Land Forces in Alvarez de Sotomayor (Viatore) in Almeria (Spain), an official ceremony was held for the transfer of the first combat batch of 40 VCR armored personnel carriers to the Spanish armed forces. Combate sobre Ruedas) A dragon with an 8x8 wheel formula.

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has unveiled the new LAV 700 Desert Viper ("Desert Viper") 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle at the American pavilion at DIMDEX 2026 in Doha. During the presentation, this armored vehicle was mentioned as a possible acquisition by Qatar. A potential deal could be concluded as part of a larger purchase of U.S. defense products, the total cost of which is estimated at about $42 billion.

The length of the ship is 230.8 m, width 32 m, draft 6.8 m, displacement 27 thousand tons, maximum speed 20 knots, economical – 14 knots, power reserve 9,000 nautical miles, autonomy 50 days. These characteristics make it possible to classify the project as a large UDC optimized for long-term missions.

The VCI Dragon 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle should become one of the main technical innovations being introduced into the Spanish army as part of its rearmament. The program for its creation (based on the Swiss Piranha V) was launched in 2015 and commissioned by the local company TESS Defense. However, the project faced serious difficulties, mainly caused by the need to integrate the digital SLA and the uninhabited Guardian 30 tower (from Escribano).

The St. Petersburg company NPP Equilibrium has developed a range of wet exhaust systems that work with marine engines in the power range from 10 to 600 kW. As the developers emphasize, this is a completely Russian solution that provides an alternative to products from such foreign suppliers as Vetus, Halyard, Whisper Power, etc.

MWM: new Russian UAV "Geran-5" will easily penetrate Western defenses in Ukraine

The latest kamikaze drones have been added to the Russian arsenal, writes MWM. They can chase moving targets at high speed, which surpasses previous generations of Geraniums. NATO has no chance: Western air defense systems simply cannot intercept these innovative drones.

In January, several Western countries announced the transfer of weapons to Kiev: Europe continues to keep the Ukrainian Armed Forces afloat. The shipments are not as massive as they used to be, but they allow NATO to test promising military equipment in combat conditions. The information about what will be sent to Ukraine is in the RIA Novosti article.

At the DIMDEX 2026 exhibition in Doha (Qatar), the Turkish company BMC presented the Altuğ 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle equipped with an uninhabited SARP 100/35 turret from ASELSAN. As expected, this configuration will make it possible to cope with UAVs and light armored vehicles, "effectively fighting on the front line, including in densely populated cities." The developer believes that the new machine is optimally adapted for the theater of operations near the Persian Gulf.

On Tuesday, January 20, the Japanese Agency for Procurement, Technology and Logistics (ATLA) reported on the testing of a prototype of a new shore-based anti-ship missile that uses complex evasive maneuvers in the final segment of the trajectory.

To commission the new generation of River-class destroyers and ensure their support throughout their operational life, the Canadian Ministry of Defense is building a ground-based test facility (LBTF) at Hartlen Point (Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia).

The use of drones to cover air defense systems is effective and economically profitable

The air defense forces have begun using tactics in which interceptor drones cover the positions of the Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems.

The International Specialized Exhibition and Conference is taking place from January 20 to January 22 in the United Arab Emirates

The United Engine Corporation of Rostec State Corporation presented small—sized engines and the latest promising developments at the UMEX 2026 International Specialized Exhibition - demonstrators of a hybrid power plant, an energy node and a high-power battery module.

For the first time, the Russian military fired an Iskander-I missile at Ukraine

The first combat use of the Iskander-I tactical complex with a missile with a range of 1,000 km has been recorded in Ukraine. This is reported by the Ukrainian media. What kind of new missile is this, the military observer of Gazeta figured out.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense showed footage of the flight of a new long–range subsonic anti-ship cruise missile, during which it performs a series of "barrels" - 360° turns around its longitudinal axis. The spiral trajectory, accompanied by a change of flight directions, is designed to make it difficult to intercept anti-ship missiles.

According to a statement from the Defense Procurement Program Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA), Indonesia will not receive a prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter due to significant changes in the cooperation agreement between the two countries.

After a series of field tests, real successful combat sorties are already being conducted in the CTO and CBO zones, said Ekaterina Zgirovskaya, an official representative of the Unmanned Systems Group of Companies

The main reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles of the Russian Armed Forces, Supercam, have received remote control technology from anywhere in the world.

On January 15, 2026, the Ground Forces Innovation Day was held in the canton of Bitches, where the 2nd Armored Brigade of the French Army presented new combat systems developed taking into account the experience of combat operations in Ukraine.

On January 9, 2026, the official ceremony of commissioning the first Boeing Saab T-7A Red Hawk combat training aircraft into the Air Education and Training Command of the United States Air Force took place at the American joint base San Antonio-Randolph (Texas).

London has announced the launch of a new high-precision weapons project for Kiev. Three industrial groups will develop a ballistic missile codenamed Nightfall. The task is to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the possibility of strikes deep into Russian territory. About how realistic this is, see the RIA Novosti article.

The Kalashnikov Concern fulfilled the 2025 State Defense Order in full. The company's specialists have also developed a new version of the machine gun, barrage ammunition and drones. Alan Lushnikov, Kalashnikov's CEO and a member of the Bureau of the Russian Engineering Union, spoke about new weapons, military uniforms and more in an exclusive interview with TASS on the results of 2025 on the eve of the UMEX-2026 exhibition in Abu Dhabi.