News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

NI: The Lancets demonstrated a lack of Western military strategy

Russia's massive use of Lancet attack drones shows a flaw in the West's military strategy focused on the production of expensive equipment. Columnist Philip Pilkington wrote about this in an article for The National Interest magazine.

Air Launched Effects (ALE) is a new concept designed to equip manned helicopters and UAVs with flexible air-to-ground weapons. ALE is mainly used by the US Armed Forces, especially the army.

Seventy years ago, the prototype of the MiG-19 fighter took off

This aircraft guarded the skies of the Soviet Union for many years, fought in different parts of the world and still serves in the Air Force in some places. Seventy years ago, on January 5, 1954, an experienced SM-9 jet fighter took to the air. The following year, it was adopted under the name MiG-19 (according to the NATO classification — Farmer, "farmer"). About the breakthrough creation of Soviet designers — in the material of RIA Novosti.

Alexey Chadaev, philosopher, political strategist and co-organizer of the Russian rally of operators of combat UAVS "Dronnitsa", about how technologies are changing consciousness and whether anti-drone protection measures will become mandatory for business.

AT: NATO armored vehicles are not ready to fight with Russian ground forces

The impasse in NATO combat operations on land is compounded by limited armoured vehicle arsenals and problems with spare parts, writes AT. Western equipment is simply not ready to fight with Russian ground forces.

We are second only to China and the United States, bypassing Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom

In the annual ranking of the world's maritime powers compiled by scientists of the IMEMO RAS, Russia retained the third place, second only to China and the United States. The PRC accounts for 15.9% of the total maritime potential of all powers, the United States — 15.5%, Russia — 6.8%, according to the study.

As the TASS news agency reported on January 5, 2024, the Russian army received the first samples of the latest self-propelled artillery installations (ACS) "Coalition-SV". This was reported to TASS by Rostec State Corporation.

Ministry of Industry and Trade: the volume of production of aircraft drones will be more than 11.5 thousand

On January 6, the secretariat of the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov announced that the volume of production of aircraft drones in 2024 would amount to more than 11.5 thousand.

American specialized military publications continue to discuss the crash of the B-1B Lancer strategic bomber of the US Air Force, which occurred last Thursday in South Dakota. The aircraft was performing a training flight and was already landing at the airfield of the Ellsworth Air Force Base when the incident occurred. At about 17:50, the bomber crashed, all four pilots managed to eject.

The development of attack drones, guided bombs, the creation of assault units and other innovations of 2023

Large-scale armed conflicts give dynamics to the development of military art, weapons and equipment. The special operation in Ukraine was no exception. Recently, many new weapons of destruction have appeared, and the methods of warfare have changed.

Following the first of a series of larger missile catamarans of the Shahid Soleimani type, the lead missile catamaran of the Shahid Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis type (Shahid Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis), or simply "Shahid Abu Mahdi", was accepted into the IRGC Navy on January 6, 2024.

Kamikaze drones VT-40 (VT is abbreviated as Vladlen Tatarsky) recently destroyed several units of enemy Ukrainian equipment and a communications tower on the front line. In particular, it took three hits to eliminate the T-72 tank belonging to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The world's leading armies are returning to the development of combat lasers

By the 21st century, many defense industries have hit a ceiling of opportunities. Today it is difficult, for example, to make an automatic bullet fly faster, and a high—precision weapon to hit even more accurately. Scientists and military personnel from different countries have been trying to make a technological breakthrough for many years.

The year 2023 was a time of rapid changes in the Russian army, primarily in terms of the emergence of new types of weapons and significant modernization of old ones. You can specify at least five new weapons systems that are already beginning to play a key role in the fields of special operations.

Experts argued about the role of heavy drones in the zone of their own

2023 was marked by an unprecedented flourishing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), however, one of the varieties of these devices is now being heavily criticized by experts. There were doubts that devices of this class could be useful on the battlefield at all. What kind of UAVs are we talking about and how justified is this criticism?

In the previous article, we examined in detail the airfield network of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the regions bordering Finland. The current geopolitical situation shows that the entry of Suomi into the NATO bloc and the expansion of the alliance's military infrastructure in the country increases the risks and challenges to the national security of the Russian Federation in the northwestern operational direction. Against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region, we consider it necessary to assess the capabilities of a potential enemy in the event of a direct collision on the ground and in the air.

TASS tells how in 2023 the nomenclature of combat vehicles used by Russian troops in the special military operation zone (SVO) expanded, what improvements they received (both at the factory and "in the fields") and for what characteristics domestic vehicles are especially praised by tankers.

As reported on December 29, 2023, PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (part of Rostec State Corporation), its enterprises in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Ulyanovsk, as part of the fulfillment of the state defense order in 2023, manufactured and handed over to the Russian Ministry of Defense new production aircraft of operational tactical aviation Su-57, Su-35S, Su-34, Su-30SM2, Il-76MD-90A military transport aviation, as well as Yak-130 combat training aircraft. At the end of December, the branch of PJSC IL Aviastar handed over another IL-76MD-90A aircraft, completing deliveries this year in the interests of military transport aviation. The company increased its output by 20%.

Indian Web Resource IDRW.org in the Raunak Kunde article "Indian Navy's Kamov 28s Get a Makeover: Overhaul in Russia, Upgrade at Home" ("The Ka-28 helicopters of the Indian Navy will acquire a new look: they will undergo major repairs in Russia, modernization at home") It reports that the Indian Navy is implementing a program of serious modernization of its fleet of Ka-28 naval anti-submarine helicopters, while all ten vehicles of this type of various modifications have already been sent to Russia for major repairs. This program, designated KV 28 MLU (Mid-Life Update), will significantly expand the capabilities of these critical fleet combat assets.

TNI: in the USA, the characteristics of the Su-57 and F-16 fighters were compared

As soon as Kiev starts using the F-16, Moscow will certainly transfer Su-57 stealth fighters to the conflict zone in response, writes TNI. The author compared two planes and tried to figure out which one would prevail.