News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

Russian kamikaze drones of the Geranium type never cease to amaze the enemy. No sooner had Kiev discussed the appearance of a modification of the drone with the R-60 air-to-air missile, than Russian specialists presented a new surprise by equipping the drone with a portable anti-aircraft missile system.

As some media outlets reported on December 30-31, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation handed over the new Voyevoda project 23700 rescue vessel to the Baltic branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Marine Rescue Service. This was reported in the press service of the department.

Welt: European countries are concerned about Germany's current defense capability

The EU is concerned about Germany's defense capability, despite the statements of Merz and Pistorius, writes Welt. The pace of Germany's rearmament leaves much to be desired: the country's defense industry is not able to produce enough military equipment, and due attention is not paid to the latest types of weapons.

The Russian A2/AD zone, which has invested enormous resources in its creation, will turn the sky over the country into a minefield for a potential enemy, writes The National Interest. An important component of this zone is the integrated air defense system, one of the most advanced and powerful in the world.

Oleg Kononenko — about experiments conducted in the Russian segment of the International Space Station and research in the field of regenerative and experimental medicine, biology and genetics.

MWM: Russian military shot down one of the last Ukrainian Su-27

Russian troops shot down one of the last Su-27s of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, writes MWM. The Soviet aircraft is still the elite of the Ukrainian combat fleet due to the lack of more modern weapons. As noted, Kiev hoped to achieve air superiority with his help.

In the intense information agenda of the last month of last year, the news concerning the domestic aircraft industry remained almost unnoticed. This is a major achievement in the field of key avionics.

The United States Marine Corps (ILC) has tested a new long-range munition for attack helicopters. Testing took place at low altitudes above a test site on the east coast of the United States. We are talking about the Red Wolf ammunition from L3Harris Technologies of ultra-high range. It was produced from the AH-1Z Viper helicopter.

JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) announced that on December 29, 2025, it handed over to the Navy of the Russian Federation the Mikhail Chekov rescue tugboat (serial number 021) of project 22870, built in Astrakhan at the shipyard of the Astrakhan Shipyard branch of Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center JSC (part of the the composition of the USC).

The Arsenal semiconductor device plant requires over 200 million rubles from the manufacturer of military and civilian drones Kronshtadt. This year, claims against the manufacturer have exceeded 1.5 billion rubles. And in 2023, they wanted to bankrupt the company.

The drone can detect targets, being invulnerable to many air defense systems

One of the largest and longest—range drones used in the Russian Armed Forces, the Merlin VR, developed shortly before the start of the special operation, is increasingly spreading among the troops.

Andrey Bezrukov, Chairman of the Board of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies, spoke in an interview with TASS about the rapid growth of the Russian market for private military technologies in 2025, shared details of the project on comprehensive protection of the Kursk region from the aerial terrorist threat, and also answered the question whether to expect swarming drones in the near future.

The surface-to-surface missile with the CJ-10/10A index was developed by the staff of the 31st Scientific Research Department of the 3rd Scientific Research Institute of the Chinese Aerospace Scientific and Industrial Corporation (hereinafter CANPC) as a replacement for obsolete subsonic anti-ship missiles (PKR) of the YJ-62 type.

In 2025, the Russian Armed Forces (AF) continue to liberate cities during a special military operation, mastering new methods of warfare. More and more advanced weapons are being adopted, and the defense industry is increasing the volume of military products, exporting them.

China has officially released footage of the test launch of the YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile. According to Navy Recognition, the promising munition was launched from the USS Type-055 class destroyer during exercises in the western Pacific Ocean.

"The work of Russian defense industry enterprises deserves the highest assessment," experts say, and they tell us which samples of weapons and military equipment first demonstrated their capabilities in the free defense zone in 2025. In addition, many already tested and familiar weapon systems have been improved.

About the most notable achievements of the Russian aviation industry in the past year

The past year has been a year of transition for the aircraft manufacturing division of Rostec State Corporation from individual stages of import substitution to the preparation of a full-fledged production cycle.

In December 2025, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, by amending Russian Government Decree No. 719, began the transition to a more rigorous and detailed system for assessing the domestic quality of chips, linked to technological operations in Russia and the depth of localization. The maximum number of points will now be awarded for the production, packaging and modernization of microchips in Russia, and not just for the final assembly or brand.