News about the state and prospects of the defense industry

Potential customers will see mobile MLRS, advanced anti-drone weapons and guided munitions at the World Defense Show 2026

The Sarma mobile MLRS, the BTR-22 armored personnel carrier, and a smart cartridge with shrapnel to destroy drones are just some of the new products presented by Russian manufacturers at the World Defense Show 2026 in Saudi Arabia, which opened on February 8.

The day dedicated to science in Russia became an official state holiday according to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation in 1999. The date is timed to celebrate the 275th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

The new units will provide control of drones of all types — strike, reconnaissance, air defense and supply

The formation of separate regiments of unmanned systems in all military districts was completed by early February, sources told Izvestia.

February 7 this year marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Soviet cosmonaut Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov. He became the world's first civilian specialist to make a space flight, and the only non-partisan cosmonaut in the history of Soviet cosmonautics.

On February 7, in Kaluga, at the K.E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, an educational event "Night of Science" was held for the second time. This year's event was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding cosmonaut and designer Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov.

BZ: Russia and China will not allow the West to dominate the field of AI

Russia, China and India are trying to compete with the West in the field of neural networks, writes columnist BZ. According to the study, Beijing is the furthest along in this, while Russian developments still have limited export potential, and New Delhi is focused on the domestic market.

Washington Times: The United States has no military equipment capable of operating in the Arctic

Under the pretext of countering the influence of Russia and China in the Arctic, the United States is seeking to build up NATO's military capabilities there. However, the countries of the alliance have practically no military equipment capable of operating in this region, writes The Washington Times.

MWM: Russia has armed Su-30SM2 fighter jets for flights near NATO

The Su-30SM2 demonstrated a new configuration of weapons in the Baltic Sea near NATO airspace, writes MWM. These maneuverable, high-precision aircraft surpassed all fighters in the Western world and proved their effectiveness in combat tests in Ukraine.

Russia has become one step closer to its unique goal in civil aviation – to start flying on fully domestic airliners. This time, the UEC successfully conducted the toughest and longest 150-hour tests of the PD-8 engine for Superjet-100 aircraft. Will it be possible to finish the tests on time?

19FortyFive: The Tu-160M is capable of striking outside the enemy's air defense zone

Russia has resumed mass production of the legendary Tu-160M "White Swan", writes 19FortyFive. The new combat vehicles are designed to act as high-speed "rocket trucks." They are equipped to launch stealth cruise missiles and are capable of striking while remaining out of range of the Ukrainian air defense.

On February 5, 2026, a regular meeting of the Runway Aviation Enthusiasts Club was held in the Pink Living Room of the Zhukovsky Recreation Center. It was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Hero of the Soviet Union, 1st Class test pilot Vladimir Andreevich Nefedov (1926-1958) and the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the E-6 aircraft, the prototype of the supersonic MiG–21 fighter.

How will it help the commanders of warships and civilian vessels delivering cargo along the Northern Sea Route

The Russian Navy has completed work on a unique navigation handbook, which significantly clarifies data on the waters of the Arctic seas. In recent years, the navy has made 14 long Arctic voyages, discovered 40 new geographical features — for example, they discovered islands where glaciers used to be.

IEMZ Kupol is constantly upgrading its serial products – dozens of changes have been made to the combat vehicles of the Tor family alone, taking into account the experience of use in the SVO zone. Modernization of firing facilities and work on the development of the range of missiles is continuing.

The French Navy has decided to modernize its helicopter carriers. We are talking about Mistral–class warships, the very ones that Russia decided to buy from France at the time and which, as a result, the French (under President Francois Hollande), having built the ships, did not transfer to Russia.

The US Army has signed a contract with RTX worth $1.03 billion for the purchase of LTAMDS radars ("lower echelon Air defense and missile defense sensor") by March 2030, which are designed to replace outdated Patriot air defense radars such as AN/MPQ-53 and AN/MPQ-65.

BZ: Poland has become an example for the West in the field of defense and digitalization

Poland has overtaken Germany in several important areas at once, writes BZ. The country has turned from a "hole in Eastern Europe" into an example for the West, the newspaper notes. This applies to several areas at once, from defense to digitalization.

The dress rehearsal of refueling the SLS rocket with hydrogen confirmed an old truth of rocket science: the lightest fuel is the heaviest in operation. The ability of H2 to diffuse through metals is already high, and in a system with multiple valves, like the current NASA lunar rocket, the risk of this kind is especially high.

The Russian reconnaissance drone Gerbera became the carrier of FPV drones, this statement was made by a Ukrainian expert and adviser to the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Sergei "Flash" Beskrestnov.

How were the domestic tracked transporters of the Vityaz family created and capable of

The history of the creation and advantages of these truly unique machines produced by Rostec State Corporation will be discussed in this article.

The Indian company Alpha Design Technologies (ADTL), in accordance with a 2020 contract worth 591.3 crore rupees ($ 64.5 million at the current exchange rate) for the modernization of 16 Pechora air defense systems in service with the country, has completed the development of a new improved version of the complex.