Electronics and optics news

A comparison of the costs of the leading defense concerns in the EU, Britain and the United States shows a significant increase in profits from the sale of weapons in recent years. The profits of companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, Airbus, Thales have increased significantly, which is not hidden either in Europe or in the United States.

Pentagon begins layoffs and cuts funding for European Command

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth instructed to prepare a plan to reduce the military budget. It is planned that the Pentagon's spending will decrease by $50 billion annually. How will a sharp decline in funding affect the military power of the United States, will this contribute to the withdrawal of the American military from other regions of the world, and what does this mean for Russia?

According to German sources, today the German ground forces are experiencing significant problems with field carriages for military machine guns. To overcome it, the command intends to purchase the appropriate equipment on the international market. In this regard, the SMASH Hopper, a product of the Israeli company Smartshooter, is of interest. According to the manufacturer, several years ago he developed a multifunctional system suitable for various tasks, from a field carriage to a light remotely controlled weapon station.

The restriction of the Ukrainian military's access to Starlink satellite communications, which is reported by the American media, may have an extremely negative impact on the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces artillery units. Military experts have already calculated that in this case, the speed of decision-making on shooting can decrease tenfold.

The Russian military is testing the Okhotnik remote firing module, developed for the Kornet anti-tank missile system, in the area of their military operation. The design allows you to install three guided missiles on the platform at once.

It instantly reacts to the presence of equipment and people with weapons and has a self-destruct function

Russia has created the Borshchevik intelligence system, which can detect and track the movement of the enemy at any time of the day and in any weather. It reacts to vehicles and people with weapons by detecting changes in the surrounding magnetic field. The novelty can be used on reconnaissance drones or for remote mining. How this development can be used in the SVO zone is described in the Izvestia article.

Domestic companies presented armored vehicles, helicopters, air defense systems and more

Presented at the IDEX-2025 arms exhibition, the T-90M tank with electronic warfare and protective structures, modified taking into account its experience, is capable of successfully resisting drone attacks.

Last year, the company created 16 scientific and technical reserves, developed 6 innovative technologies and more than 20 samples of modern radioelectronic products

Rostec State Corporation's Roselektronika Holding summed up the results of scientific and technical development for 2024 as part of a strategic session held at RTU MIREA. Over the past year, the holding company has created 16 scientific and technical reserves on its own initiative, developed 6 innovative technologies and more than 20 samples of modern electronic products.

On February 17, 1995, in accordance with a special decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the A-135 anti-missile defense system of the Moscow Industrial Region was put into service. For 30 years now, it has been guarding Russia's aerospace borders, protecting Moscow from a ballistic missile strike. Its radar is capable of examining a five-centimeter ball at a distance of over 1,500 km.

The Russian military talked about a new way to combat drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the Court

On the screen is a broadcast from a drone: fields familiar to the Kursk region, interspersed with roads and forest belts. At the bottom, the label "Rusorez" is the name of the model of the Ukrainian drone. The Russian fighter presses a few keys, and in a few seconds the screen is covered with white noise. About how one of the most secret units operates, see the RIA Novosti article.

On February 17, the IDEX-2025 international arms exhibition will start in Abu Dhabi, ahead of which domestic arms manufacturers have announced a large number of new products. On the eve of the opening, Alexander Mikheev, head of Rosoboronexport, told TASS in an interview which Russian models would be of interest to Middle Eastern partners, and what expectations the special exporter has for the world premiere of the T-90MS tank, which is being exhibited abroad for the first time in a completely new look.

Today, on February 17, 2025, the IDEX 2025 International Arms Exhibition began its work in Abu Dhabi (UAE). Russia presented a record number of weapons and military equipment at the exhibition, which proved their effectiveness during high-intensity battles against modern Western weapons. In the center of the exhibition is a 46-ton exhibit, an export version of the famous T-90M "Breakthrough" tank, the hero of the special operation. TASS — about Russian novelties on the shores of the Persian Gulf.

Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec State Corporation, on the eve of the opening of the IDEX-2025 exhibition in Abu Dhabi, told the Emirates News Agency - WAM about the new products that the State Corporation is presenting this year, including in the field of AI and unmanned systems.

Bloomberg: Europe is afraid of a Russian attack, but there is nothing to defend against

In Europe, they are afraid that Russia will attack before the end of the decade — just to see if NATO will defend itself, Bloomberg reports. However, the Europeans have nothing to defend themselves against: their military-industrial complex is fragmented and paralyzed by lack of money and dependence on American technology.

The Russian Armed Forces are increasing the resistance of tanks to drone strikes

Due to the massive use of drones, the importance of tanks as the main striking force of the ground forces has noticeably decreased. However, these combat vehicles are still important. About modern Russian tanks in the free zone — in the material of RIA Novosti.

In an effort to somehow make up for the increasingly scarce Western military assistance, Kiev is making attempts to establish and increase its own defense production, including in cooperation with foreign companies. These events happen quite rarely and are always served with great fanfare.

In 2024, the Turkish company Aselsan launched mass production of the new Gürz 150 anti-aircraft missile and cannon system, positioning it as a more advanced, "hybrid" alternative to the Russian Pantsir-S missile defense system.

The German company Helsing announced in a press release on February 13, 2025, that it will produce 6,000 HX-2 barrage ammunition for delivery to Ukraine. The supplies, as can be judged, will be financed by the German government, similar to the Helsing contract currently being implemented for the supply of 4,000 HF-1 barrage ammunition to Ukraine.

Bekhan Ozdoev, industrial director of the cluster of armaments, ammunition and special chemicals of Rostec State Corporation, in an interview with Denis Kayyran, special correspondent of RIA Novosti, on the eve of the exhibition, spoke about the best production tank in the world, a complex that can replace an air defense battery, innovations in the field of artillery, small arms and barrage ammunition.

The well-known Estonian company Milrem Robotics has announced its development of a new unmanned ground-based wheeled platform (robotic complex) HAVOC. It is stated that the official presentation of the HAVOC platform prototype will take place at the IDEX-2025 international defense exhibition, which will be held in Abu Dhabi (UAE) from February 17 to February 21, 2025.