News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

The European Union's strategy to secure its own supply of microchips is "very out of touch with reality," according to a scathing report from the official European Court of Auditors. According to the auditors' calculations, the European market will not reach its target of supplying 20% of the world's microchips by 2030.

It is expected that deliveries of the new product will begin in 24-30 months, which is much earlier than previously planned for 2030. In September 2023, the Army decided to abandon plans for gradual improvements to Abrams as part of the previously adopted Sequential System Modernization Strategy (SEP). Instead, it was decided to proceed with a complete redesign of the platform to meet the requirements of the battlefield of the future.

Iran is preparing to begin sea trials of the new carrier of the IRIS Kurdestan (442) drones. Like its predecessor, the "drone carrier" IRIS Makran (441), Kurdestan is a converted tanker. In this case, it is Tabukan (IMO: 8917467), which was previously engaged in the transportation of crude oil.

On May 9, the Victory Day Parade will traditionally take place on Red Square in Moscow, where both the equipment used by our fathers and grandfathers to defeat fascism and modern weapons will be demonstrated.

The other day, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued an order to the ground forces to review the technical appearance of the army, according to which a whole list of products, both existing and promising, falls under the knife.

Newsweek: Kalibr missiles surpass Tomahawks in speed and range

Russia is actively using Kalibr missiles during its military operations, writes Newsweek. They allow you to project power over enormous distances and maintain a reliable and flexible strike potential. Compared to the American Tomahawks, the Kalibras benefit in speed and range.

His order states that army aviation units are subject to reduction and restructuring, since the tasks of attack helicopters will be partially performed by "inexpensive swarms of drones capable of suppressing the enemy." Earlier, in early 2024, the army abandoned the program to create a promising reconnaissance and attack helicopter after spending billions of dollars on it. Instead, it was decided to use drones.

Interview with Fyodor Boyarkov, Vice President of GS Group in the yearbook "Live Electronics of Russia 2025"

Russian electronics manufacturers have coped with the sanctions pressure, but they may lose out in the fight against counterfeiting," admits Fedor Boyarkov, Vice President for Production Development at GS Group.

The state program "Energy Saving, Energy efficiency improvement and low-carbon development", which is being developed by the Ministry of Economic Development, will include seven federal projects. This was announced by First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Maxim Kolesnikov at a meeting of the State Council Commission on Energy.

The Dnieper flotilla was replenished with units of unmanned aerial vehicles. They operate both in conjunction with boats and independently and perform a wide range of tasks, from reconnaissance to strike. Experts note that drones will be indispensable in destroying saboteurs on boats and fortified points on the enemy coast.

Before the advent of the 15-ton self-propelled artillery system ASU-85 in service with the Soviet airborne troops, airborne units were armed with a unique combat vehicle, the ASU-57. It was developed in the late 40s.

Britain's nuclear deterrent forces are represented by 4 Vanguard-class submarines armed with ICBMs. When these submarines were commissioned in 1993-1999, it was assumed that they would last 25 years. Accordingly, the submarines are already close to wear and tear. Major repairs could solve this problem, at least for a certain period of time, but it is very difficult. So, it took the lead submarine of the Vanguard project 7 years instead of 3, and she returned to service only in 2022.

Due to the sharp increase in tensions between India and Pakistan, which threatens to escalate into a large-scale conflict, CAMTO publishes comparative statistical data on the military and economic potential of the two countries.

After a relatively recent demonstration of the new Jiutian ultra-high-altitude UAV ("High Sky"), developed in the interests of the PLA and presented in November 2024, Chinese observers were quick to declare its "invulnerability" to US air defense systems.

Recently, the US Navy published images of F-35C fighter jets equipped with a new mirror coating, which is supposed to increase their stealth in the infrared range.

India's signing on April 28 of a €7 billion contract for the purchase of 26 Rafale-Marine (Rafale-M) fighter jets to equip the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has rekindled a long-standing debate about the compatibility of this aircraft with existing ships.

The terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have dramatically strained the already difficult relations between New Delhi and Islamabad. The sides accuse each other of provocation and openly prepare for war. If a conflict starts, things can get out of control very quickly. What the armies of neighboring Asian states are like is in the RIA Novosti article.

AT: The United States lost the sea game in the Arctic to Russia due to weak industry

In the new game of the geopolitical sea game in the Arctic, Russia and China have turned out to be the trump cards, Asia Times writes. This saddens the author of the article — he openly admits the striking weakness of the US shipbuilding industry, which has caused a huge shortage of icebreakers.

In particular, Athens was offered to purchase and restore Bradley infantry fighting vehicles from storage in the United States, purchase new German KF-41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles and improve the fleet of American-made M113 armored personnel carriers. It seems that the choice was made in favor of the latter option, although it is possible that other programs will be implemented in parallel.

The Europeans seem to be doing everything to hide the real cause of the energy crisis that instantly plunged several European countries into darkness on April 28. How could the power grid lose 10-15 GW of energy in five seconds? Experts are confident: Whatever the trigger, it was globally due to the high proportion of green energy and the abandonment of traditional energy. What happened in the EU is reminiscent of the Texas blackout in 2021.