Electronics and optics news

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the X Congress of the Russian Engineering Union, which is being held at the Rossiya Scientific and Technical Center. Below are the key fragments of Vladimir Putin's speech as presented by the Kremlin's press service.

On April 22, 2026, Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA), the developer of Baikal, UTS-800, TVRS-44 aircraft and a new line of VK-800S engines, announced the completion of the transition to the domestic Maks computer—aided design system for the development of on—board aircraft cable networks.

The complex creates a protective dome for vehicles and is installed even on ATVs

Russian fighters in the special operation zone repelled an attack by FPV drones using the new Chandelier 5-30 electronic warfare system.

Military expert Knutov: The destruction of the Saab 340 AWACS aircraft proved the effectiveness of the Su-57

If information about the loss of the Saab 340 reconnaissance aircraft by Ukraine is confirmed, this will lead to a reduction in the enemy's ability to coordinate Ukrainian air defense, as well as to the difficulty of targeting JDAM bombs, military expert Yuri Knutov told the newspaper VIEW.

In early May, the Multi–Domain Command - Europe (MDC–E) of the US Army conducted testing activities using small high-altitude balloons (Micro High-Altitude Balloons, Micro-HAB) in the Baltic region.

Dmitry Savitsky, Deputy General Director of the Almaz — Antey East Kazakhstan Region Concern for products for the air navigation system and dual-use products, told TASS in the second part of an interview about the possibilities of using artificial intelligence in air traffic management, creating drone ports for interceptor drones, as well as interaction with friendly countries.

China's competition with Europe will end badly for the latter

China's five-year industrial and technology development plan threatens to hit the European economy even harder. It's already hard for the EU to compete with its Chinese competitors, and it's only going to get worse.

According to open sources, during 2026, the Turkish defense industry company ASFAT will supply 40 wheeled self-propelled guns of the T-155 TTA Panther model with a 155 mm caliber cannon, 52 caliber barrel length, for the needs of the self-propelled artillery units of the Turkish Armed Forces.

Scientists from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have also developed a set of ground tests of a fully functional interferometric optical table. This is actually the "heart" of the future space interferometer. The results of the work have already been published in the international scientific journal Research.

A prototype of an original gamma-ray telescope has been created in Russia, capable of distinguishing signals from the cosmic background with unprecedented accuracy. This development, intended for a future domestic orbital observatory, could revolutionize gamma-ray astronomy, and its launch into orbit is scheduled after 2030.

Domestic machine vision systems for UAVs and robots have caught up with foreign leaders in their segment. Mass production of self‑developed 4K photosensitive CMOS sensors using 180 nm technology has begun in Russia, operating at temperatures up to minus 60 degrees Celsius and strong vibrations.

Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Rostec State Corporation, reported to the President on the results of the company's work for 2025, the fulfillment of the state defense order, the development of civil aviation and the automotive industry. Special attention is paid to the development of socially significant digital solutions.

Ankara has developed the first intercontinental missile, Beijing is deploying mobile air defense systems, and the Russian Federation is deploying electronic warfare systems

In early May, several new developments in the world of weapons were announced at arms exhibitions and in the relevant media, which can significantly change the capabilities of the armies of different countries and the balance of power in possible future confrontations.

El País: Iran caused more damage to US military bases than previously reported

Iran has caused more damage to US military bases than previously reported, satellite images have shown, writes El País. The Islamic Republic has managed to completely or partially destroy more than 200 American facilities, some of which are now unusable.

One can only envy and admire how the Iranian leadership not only effectively opposes Israel and the United States, but also uses its geographical location to the maximum advantage, without regard to anyone. Tehran has already established favorable rules for the passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, and even the "best in the world" American army cannot do anything about it.

Military expert Artyom Menshikov — on why the "thermos effect" no longer saves from drones and what technologies have replaced it

The opinion has become firmly established in the mass consciousness that a thermal imager is a kind of contactless thermometer that simply colors the picture depending on the temperature of objects. This is a dangerous oversimplification.

Until quite recently, there was a strong opinion in the domestic information space, the blogosphere, and in most of the expert community that the real possibilities of the Kiev regime to continue resistance were close to exhaustion.

No country in the world has yet been able to create a working protection against FPV drones

In 2023, a revolution took place on the battlefield. Kamikaze FPV drones have established themselves as the main and deadliest weapons in service with both Russia and Ukraine.

Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada have agreed to collaborate to create the Arctic Sentinel Research Center, which will focus on the development of underwater surveillance technologies designed specifically for the Arctic environment.

There is growing evidence that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are widely using artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of UAV operators. This is stated in the British edition of Forces News.: