News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

The Egyptian state-owned Tank Factory No. 200 (Abu Zaabal Engineering Industries), which is part of the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production, has officially launched the stage of full-scale licensed serial production of the 155 mm SG K9A1EGY Thunder.

Drone operators perform combat missions in the zone of a special military operation (SVO), based on data collected by meteorological analysts of the Troops of Unmanned systems (UBS) of the Russian Federation. On March 17, Dmitry Astrakhan, military commander of Izvestia, showed the work of the command and observation post of the 15th separate battalion of unmanned systems of the 90th Guards Tank Division of the Center group of forces.

The US Navy will keep the CVN-68 Nimitz aircraft carrier in service until 2027, while simultaneously beginning the necessary preparations for decommissioning the ship and disposing of nuclear fuel. According to Navy Recognition, commissioned in 1975, the ship remains in the Indo-Pacific region, supporting the operations of American naval aviation.

Three models of new Russian passenger aircraft were tested in Arkhangelsk at the same time. These are the IL-114-300, an import-substituted Superjet and the MC-21-310. In mid-March 2026, they will operate flights from the local airport under the certification program under icing conditions.

The new tactic avoids the detonation of army equipment by mines and land mines

Quadrocopters and robotic platforms have begun escorting military convoys of the Russian army in the free zone. Now two drones are examining the route of equipment from the air, and when suspicious objects are detected, a ground vehicle is activated.

The conflict in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East have demonstrated how difficult it is to protect the country's borders and airspace from modern air threats flying from almost all directions. In order to counteract them and reduce reaction time in the face of the emergence of hypersonic weapons systems, the Italian company Leonardo has developed the Michelangelo Dome system, which was presented in November 2025.

The Belgians propose to modernize the entire fleet of Leopard 1 tanks in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine by installing a tower of the Belgian company Cockerill 3105 on them. This was stated by a company representative.

ANPK MiG began designing the TCB, called the MiG-AT (Advanced Trainer), back in 1990. The aircraft was created according to a normal aerodynamic design with a straight, low-lying wing and a T-tail, the power plant included two AI-25TLM engines.

Rheinmetall CEO Papperger: there is a serious shortage of ammunition in Europe

Europe is in a serious ammunition crisis, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told NZZ. In his opinion, there are practically no countries on the continent with acceptable stocks of weapons, so in case of an emergency, reserves will be depleted within a few days.

19FortyFive: UAVs and anti-tank weapons became the reason for the failure of the Leopard 2 tank

Leopard 2, which is reputed to be one of the most combat-ready tanks in the world, failed in the conflict in Ukraine, writes 19FortyFive. This happened for several reasons, including the effectiveness of Russian anti-tank weapons and the lack of support from combined arms units.

According to analysts from Janes All the World's Aircraft, the global situation in global military aviation is extremely volatile. Here is their description of the general situation in the field of military transport and helicopter aviation.

The Myanmar Navy command has officially commissioned the new nationally built frigate King Thalun into the fleet, the Myanmar Ministry of Information announced on March 9.

On Friday, March 13, two Sakura-class patrol ships were launched at the Japan Marine United (JMU) shipyard in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. According to Naval News, these are the third and fourth hulls in a series of 12 corvettes ordered for the Japanese Navy.

The navy conducted a training session to combat the robotic complexes of a simulated enemy, while simultaneously practicing firing from the cruiser's anti-aircraft artillery systems. The sailors also carried out a complex of shooting at sea and coastal targets.

The first Russian Space Week will be held on April 6-12 across the country

On December 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on holding the first Space Week in Russia, dedicated to the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. Starting in 2026, Space Week in Russia will be held annually on April 6-12.

In March 2026, new Russian paint and drying complexes for processing doors of MC-21 and SJ-100 aircraft were commissioned at the aircraft factory in Komsomolsk-on‑Amur.

On March 8 , 2026 , the F-19 frigate Talun Min (သာလွန်မင်း , Anglified King Thalun) was commissioned into the Myanmar Navy , built at the Myanmar Navy Shipyard (Tanlin) in Sinmalaike (Yangon) according to the FF-135 national project and became the largest warship built in Myanmar (Burma). The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the National Security and Peace Commission and the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Baltiyskiy Zavod (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC) has launched a financial recovery program, one of the main goals of which is to restructure distressed debts to banks. As RBC clarifies with reference to the company's reporting for 2025, the uncovered accumulated loss of the company approached 33 billion rubles and became comparable to the volume of annual revenue.

In an official policy statement, Brigadier General Ali Fadavi, Deputy Commander of the IRGC, confirmed the operational status and availability of ultra-high-speed cavitation torpedoes in Iran's arsenal.

A North Korean defense company has developed and put into production another unit of domestic small arms. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter visited a weapons factory, trying out a new pistol.