News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

Colonel Khodarenok: The US armed forces under Trump will take into account their experience

On January 20, the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, will take place. In his speech, the new head of the White House will surely touch upon US national security issues. Military observer of "Gazeta.Mikhail Khodarenok tried to imagine what the "US global leadership" in the military sphere will be based on, what kind of weapons Washington will have and what Donald Trump's "nuclear cudgel" will look like.

The rocket, which has been under development for years with significant funding from Jeff Bezos, carries an experimental platform designed to place satellites and then launch them into proper orbits.

Musk: Starship explosion caused by fuel or oxygen leak

SpaceX, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, launched a launch vehicle with a prototype of the Starship spacecraft on January 16 as part of its seventh test launch. After some time, company representatives announced the loss of a part of a reusable superheavy rocket — communication with the second stage of Starship was lost after about 8.5 minutes of flight.

A curious story happened in France. French sailors from strategic nuclear submarines declassified themselves at the Ile Longue base near Brest, actively using the Strava fitness application.

Russian airborne self-propelled artillery gun. It can be used as a cannon, howitzer or mortar. It is used to destroy infantry and armored vehicles, suppress enemy firing points and command and observation posts. It is in service with the Airborne Forces, Navy and border troops of Russia, as well as the law enforcement agencies of nine other countries. It was involved in three wars and a special military operation in Ukraine. It was produced until 1989.

Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov — on China's new universal amphibious assault ships and how they will strengthen the country's Navy

In China, the universal landing ship (UDC) "Sichuan" with a flight deck was launched. Special barges are also being built for the Chinese navy, which make it possible to ensure a massive landing of troops with equipment on an unprepared coast. Let's try to figure out why China is building such ships and where they can be used.

At the main Iranian naval base in Bandar Abbas, the Zagros reconnaissance ship with the tail number 313, which is the first specialized reconnaissance ship built in Iran from scratch, joined the Iranian Navy.

Nikitin: Russian drone "Prince Vandal" destroyed $300 million worth of NATO equipment

The governor of the Novgorod Region, Andrey Nikitin, said that the Russian Prince Vandal drone destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of NATO equipment in the special military operation zone. He also reported on the success of the FPV drone produced by the Novgorod scientific and production center "Ushkuynik".

Defense industry enterprises in 2024 actively increased production volumes in many areas, taking into account the experience of a special military operation, said Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council.

The Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, which jointly form the Union State, continue to strengthen military cooperation to protect themselves from external threats. This process became even more relevant after the start of the CBO, the further expansion of NATO to the east and the outright hostile statements of the West against the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, including the far-fetched pretext of Russia's attack on the Eastern European countries of the alliance. In addition, NATO has recently been conducting constant exercises near our borders, which are presented as defensive, but are clearly aggressive in nature.

The Falcon 9 rocket launched into space a lander carrying a small lunar rover, a memory disk with recordings in 275 languages, and the most amusing payload was a miniature art object - a model of a classic cozy house with a gable roof. However, the author of the idea of the unusual project admitted that this cargo could not be called "useful", nevertheless, he dreamed of seeing it on the Moon for 25 years.

The US Congress has approved the allocation of exceptional budgetary funds for the acquisition and modernization of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) and portable Stinger missiles. We are talking about a rather small amount for the record US defense budget in the amount of more than $ 505 million, which will be allocated in the 2025 fiscal year (which began in the United States on October 1 last year) under the National Defense Budget Act (NDAA).

Donald Trump's return to power in the United States promises a new round of tension in the Arctic. Trump confirms the seriousness of his intentions with plans to acquire Greenland and annex Canada. Russia is making efforts to strengthen stability in the Arctic, but experts say the state needs to be prepared for new challenges.

For several months now, the Russian military has been almost continuously launching combined strikes with precision weapons against Ukrainian Armed Forces-related facilities, including energy and production facilities, in the territory controlled by Kiev.

Modern Russian self-propelled artillery installation on a tracked chassis. It combines the advantages of a mortar, cannon and howitzer. It is designed for combat with armored vehicles, counter-battery warfare, destruction of infantry, command posts and other enemy infrastructure. It is used by the Russian armed forces as part of a special military operation in Ukraine. It has been mass-produced and modified since 2008.

Soviet self-propelled howitzer on a tracked track. It is designed to clear minefields and wire fences, suppress fortified firing points, and destroy enemy infantry, armored vehicles, and artillery. It is able to operate effectively in snowy and swampy areas. It is in service with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the armies of 35 other countries. It was used in 15 major conflicts. It was produced until 1991. It is still being modified.

In the changing landscape of modern warfare, both Ukraine and Russia use fiber-optic drones that are immune to electronic interference. This is reported by Forces News. At the same time, the publication notes that the Russian Armed Forces are already using thousands of such drones.

The German Ministry of Defense announced that on January 13, 2025, at the headquarters of the German-French KNDS association in Kassel, Defense Minister Pistorius took delivery of the first 155 mm/52 serial self-propelled howitzer RCH 155 on a wheeled chassis and handed it over to Ukraine in the person of the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Alexei Makeev.

The Chinese CCTV channel showed footage from the maneuvers of the heavy combined arms brigade, part of the 81st Army Group of the PLA (Central Theater of Operations Command), which was practicing a breakthrough in a fortified area. Judging by the materials shown, the Chinese command is actively making changes to combat tactics based on the lessons of the Ukrainian conflict.

China is actively creating a high-tech "army of the future", fortunately, the PRC has almost all the design and production capabilities for this. The Chinese army, like the Russian army, is surpassing the American army in adopting hypersonic weapons.