News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

From August 12 to 14, the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV, a member of the MORO Soyuzmash of Russia) will take part in the X International Military-Technical Forum Army-2024.

On August 5, 2024, Boeing Corporation announced that it had delivered the first mass-produced MH-139A Grey Wolf multirole helicopter to the US Air Force. This is the first helicopter from the first serial (small-scale) batch of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) in 2023, which includes 13 helicopters. It made its first flight in December 2023 and will now be transferred to the 582nd Helicopter Group of the 20th Air Force of the Strategic Aviation Command of the United States Air Force (Air Force Global Strike Command) at Malmstrom Air Base in Montana.

As the Kommersant newspaper reported in the material by Aigul Abdullina and Tatiana Dyatel, "The stage of winging is passing. Plans for the supply of new Russian aircraft are being reduced," plans for the production of almost 1,000 civilian aircraft in Russia, laid down by the Comprehensive Aviation Industry Development Program (KPGA) until 2030, may be revised downwards. This was stated by industry sources. According to them, it may even be about creating a new strategy instead of adjusting the previous program.

On August 9, 2024, JSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant (SNSZ, part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation - USC) in St. Petersburg hosted the launching ceremony of the mine defense ship Afanasy Ivannikov project 12700 (cipher "Alexandrite") with the factory number 529. This is the ninth launched ship of the 12700 project.

As reported on August 10, 2024, PJSC United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC UAC, part of Rostec State Corporation), the Irkutsk Aviation Plant (IAZ), which is part of it, manufactured and handed over new Su-30SM2 multifunctional fighters to the Russian Ministry of Defense. The aviation equipment passed the necessary ground and flight tests and went to the place of duty. Irkutsk Aviation Plant fulfills the plan for the production of new aircraft in a timely manner within the framework of the state defense order.

Sam Altman, the head of Open AI, tried to answer this question in his article, which was recently published in The Washington Post. Recall that Paul Nakasone, a retired US intelligence general and former head of Cyber Command, recently joined the board of directors of Open AI, and The Washington Post is the mouthpiece of the US intelligence community.

The Kalashnikov Concern has produced the first batch of RPL-20 machine guns for delivery to the troops. The new weapon is characterized by relative lightness and compactness and is designed for fire support of assault units, effective firing from unstable positions, for example in a confined space, in mountainous and wooded areas. The participants of his tests in the troops noted the high accuracy and intensity of the fire. The machine gun will be a great help to the troops and will be in demand during assault operations, experts say.

It will show on tablets and smartphones the contamination of the area with explosive objects

The application "Minefield Manager" (MMP) is being developed in Russia. It can be downloaded to a regular tablet or smartphone. The novelty will allow soldiers and commanders on the front line to see the location of detected minefields and areas littered with explosive objects in real time. Experts note that the application will seriously facilitate the work of combat and sapper units, and will also be useful to the sappers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and companies engaged in humanitarian demining.

Tech giants invest in quantum computing: Riverlane offers a solution to fix bugs

Quantum computing, which promises revolutionary breakthroughs in drug development, combating climate change and other areas, is gaining momentum in the English city of Cambridge. Steve Brierley, founder of Riverlane, predicts that within a few years the technology will lead to a breakthrough similar to the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite.

The Peacock system allows drone commanders and operators to remain unnoticed by the enemy

Tests of the Peacock complex are being completed in Russia, and its entry into the army is expected in the near future. It is designed for remote control of communication means, allowing you to protect fighters when working with equipment.

The aircraft, which combines the speed of an aircraft and the ability to use a limited area of an airfield or the deck of an aircraft carrier for takeoff and landing, has been developed by the leading aviation powers since the second half of the last century. If earlier planes could take off and land from unpaved sites, then as aviation developed, it required longer, smoother and more durable runways. Their concrete could have been damaged by an enemy strike.

The success of the Starlink satellite system is undeniable, and the Celestial Empire is striving to catch up with the American company SpaceX by all means. A few years ago, two similar projects were launched in China at once. One of them, which received the poetic name "A Thousand Sails", finally entered the deployment stage.

Today, military operations in the special operation zone are conducted around the clock and are impossible without the use of thermal imaging equipment that ensures effective operation at night. The UAV400T drone with a domestic thermal imager for all-weather reconnaissance purposes was one of the first to be used in SVO. Vitaly Serov, chief designer of the Astron Optical and Mechanical Design Bureau, spoke about the modernization of existing complexes and the development of technologies in an interview with TASS before the start of the Army-2024 International Military Technical Forum (which will be held on August 12-14 in Kubinka).

The new series of SpaceX satellite constellation devices, which has the ability to communicate directly with most mass smartphones, turned out to be much brighter than the rest. The exact reasons for this have not yet been established — maybe it's because of lower orbits, a different landing gear configuration, or a different orientation of the satellites in space. In any case, Starlink will again have to take additional measures to reduce the level of light pollution in the night sky.

The Indian Air Force has approved the start of full-fledged serial production of Astra Mark 1 air-to-air missiles. The ordered batch includes 200 URVS. According to the DRDO organization (an approximate analogue of Rostec), the deployment of the release of this product will allow replacing the Russian URVS.

In more than 23 years, at least 270 people from 23 countries have visited the ISS. This is a perfect example of creating mini-communities in a minimal space. Scientists decided to find out how people adapt to the conditions of space, especially microgravity. To this end, from January to March 2022, an unusual experiment resembling archaeological excavations was conducted at the station.

Rusak-S UAV can independently recognize and prioritize targets

Serial production of the Rusak-S FPV drone with artificial intelligence has begun in Russia. He can independently recognize and prioritize goals. The operator of such a device has to choose the right one and give the command to kill. Experts note that tactical UAVs with artificial intelligence are the future, and their use will significantly increase the effectiveness of strikes carried out by drones.

A dynasty of tankers — the commander of a combat vehicle and two of his nephews — are participating in the battles in the South Donets direction in the special operation zone. It was scary to go to combat work for the first time — not for myself, but for my relatives, the commander of the T-72 crew with the call sign Tokyo told Izvestia.

An infantry fighting vehicle (BMP-2M) with a universal combat module "Berezhok" shoots from a 30-millimeter cannon, which is capable of piercing even concrete shelters, the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation told Izvestia. In the forest belt near the village of Liptsy, they have to overcome the defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and their well-camouflaged machine-gun emplacements.

The Analytical Center for Aerospace Defense (AC East Kazakhstan Region) has published an article in the journal National Defense, which provides a comparative assessment of the Russian echeloned air defense system with Western analogues.