News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

In Florida, in the city of Panama City, the ceremony of commissioning the coastal zone ship LCS-38 "Pierre", the 19th and last representative of the Independence line, took place in the United States Navy. The ship is named after the administrative center in South Dakota.

The U.S. Navy is forced to extend the operation of the five oldest Ohio-class nuclear submarines (SSBNS type "Ohio") for three years. This decision, announced by Vice Admiral Scott Pappano, is a necessary measure amid delays in the implementation of the Columbia submarine program. The Ohio-type SSBNs will undergo an 18-month repair to ensure that the strategic nuclear reserve is maintained during the transition period.

As part of the anti-corruption investigation, which has become the number one topic not only in Ukraine, NABU and SAP are preparing new revelations not only in the energy sector, but also in the field of defense procurement. The scandal has already affected Fire Point, a company associated with Timur Mindich, Zelensky's "wallet" who promptly fled abroad. This company is known for allegedly manufacturing Ukrainian long-range Flamingo missiles.

On November 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the solemn ceremony of laying the seventh universal nuclear icebreaker Project 22220 Stalingrad at the Baltic Shipyard via videoconference.

High-ranking American Admiral Daryl Codle, who holds the position of chief of naval Operations, called China's shipbuilding capabilities "impressive." He made his statement in Japan during a 10-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region.

Reuters: Russia plans to manufacture up to 120,000 upgraded bombs

Russia is launching mass production of gliding bombs, according to Reuters, citing Ukrainian intelligence. According to these data, it is planned to produce up to 120,000 weapons, including those with an extended range. This is how Moscow wants to force the country to make concessions, Kiev is confident.

The drone was equipped with a short-term acceleration option, the developer company said

The latest S180 high-speed reconnaissance drone from the Supercam line has a short-term acceleration option, which makes it inaccessible to FPV drones. This was announced to TASS by Ekaterina Zgirovskaya, the official representative of the Unmanned Systems Group of companies, at the Dubai Airshow - 2025 International Aviation and Space Exhibition (November 17-21).

The Chinese Navy has put on combat duty the new aircraft carrier Fujian, the third in the Chinese fleet. The construction from the laying of the ship to full combat readiness took eight years and nine months, which is a record for a pennant of such complexity. Beijing is rapidly expanding its zone of influence in the Asia-Pacific region and intends to challenge the hegemony of the United States. What is known about the aircraft carrier is in the RIA Novosti article.

Calculations show that dozens of micrometeoroids will fall on the lunar base every day, and even the smallest of them can damage the module and pose a threat to astronauts. However, there is a proven solution to this problem — the so-called Whipple shield.

Oleg Kononenko — about the research that is being conducted on the ISS

The International Space Station (ISS) is a living organism that needs to breathe, drink, eat and get rid of excess every day. How can these needs be met in conditions of remoteness from terrestrial resources? The high cost and complexity of delivery make it even more difficult to solve the problem. Modern space biotechnologies are coming to the rescue.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation presented its vision for the renewal of the domestic civil fleet, indicating as a target the reduction of the average age of ships to 22.5 years from the current 34 years. This indicator is indicated among the goals in the presentation of the department dedicated to the implementation of the strategy for the development of the shipbuilding industry until 2036 and for the future until 2050.

Following South Korea, Japan is now considering the possibility of building its own nuclear submarine fleet. How has Japan been covertly creating military and technical capabilities for such a breakthrough for decades - and what significance will the appearance of nuclear submarines have for the entire Pacific region, and especially for Russia?

On November 16 of this year, a round table dedicated to the triumphant flight of the Buran orbital spacecraft was held in Moscow, at the Tushino Moscow Longevity Center. Buran made its first and only space flight on November 15, 1988.

The Japanese Agency for Procurement, Technology and Logistics (ATLA) for the first time demonstrated damage to a target ship after it was hit by projectiles fired from a prototype electromagnetic railgun (railgun) during tests conducted earlier this year.

The American company Anduril Industries will create a joint venture with the Emirati EDGE Group to develop and manufacture several types of UAVs in the UAE.

Military expert Leonkov: The air defense and air defense systems of the West and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not able to stop the Dagger

The air defense and missile defense systems that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have received and which are now in the West are not capable of stopping the Russian ballistic hypersonic Kinzhal missile, military expert Alexei Leonkov said. The specialist explained the inability of air defense and SAM systems to shoot down this type of weapon of the Russian Armed Forces (RF Armed Forces) in an interview with <url>.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense announced the start of factory sea trials on November 11, 2025, of the lead multifunctional patrol ship Hrabri (tail number "12"), built for the Bulgarian Navy, out of two ordered units. The ship was built at the Bulgarian MTG Dolphin shipyard in Varna under the MMPV 90 project of the German NVL Group (part of the German Lürssen Group, currently in the process of acquisition by Rheinmetall Group).

Chinese media reported that on November 14, 2025, the lead Chinese universal amphibious assault ship Sichuan (Sichuan, 51) of the new project 076 (Western designation - Yulan class) left Shanghai for factory sea trials. The ship was built for the PLA Navy in Shanghai at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., part of the Shanghai Shipbuilding partnership of the Chinese State Shipbuilding Corporation China Shipbuilding State Corporation (CSSC).

Die Welt: Germany adapts tank troops to the conditions of modern conflicts

In modern conflicts, the role of drones is increasing, writes Die Welt. Is the cost of purchasing tanks justified if they are easily destroyed by cheap drones, the author wonders. Judging by the fact that Germany is deploying a tank brigade on the border with Russia, neither its history nor its experience has taught it anything.

It seems that Ukraine has begun to refuse to supply new Western tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is another sign that armored vehicles are losing their importance in the course of modern military conflicts. Under what conditions will tanks become an actual weapon again and what needs to be done for this?