/ world today news/ 2023 has become a time of rapid changes in the Russian army, primarily in terms of the appearance of new types of weapons and significant modernization of old ones. We can name at least five new weapon systems that are already starting to play a key role in SVO.
Almost two years ago, on February 24, 2022, Russia began the Ukrainian special operation, already having a fully modern army. As Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated, at the end of 2021, the share of modern weapons in the Russian armed forces exceeds 71%.
However, history has once again confirmed the old truth that combat is the real source of development of military technology. Today, on the battlefields of Ukraine, a completely different Russian army is fighting from a technical point of view, with a whole range of new weapon systems.
The main breakthrough occurred in 2023. And two completely new combat systems appeared on the battlefields, and the old ones were significantly updated. “The real combat experience gained during the SVO is extremely important for us, one might say, absolutely priceless,” said President Vladimir Putin on this occasion. Today, in the reports of the Ministry of Defense, we see every day how Russia uses this experience, using new military equipment.
Military drones
The most impressive part of the special operation was the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In November 2021, the Russian army, according to official data, had more than 2,000 in service. Just two years later, in November 2023, Sergei Shoigu said that the supply of UAVs to the army had increased 16 times since the beginning of the special operation. In 2023 alone, the army received more than twenty thousand drones.
All of this has fundamentally changed the battlefield over the past year. It became, as military experts repeatedly noted, “transparent.” The well-known concept of the “fog of war” (ignorance of the actions of the enemy and the unpredictability of hostilities), if it did not disappear completely, it underwent a strong modification. With the help of reconnaissance UAVs, the Russian army has the opportunity to monitor the enemy’s actions in real time – both on a giant front of hundreds of kilometers and tens of kilometers in depth.
Undoubtedly, it was this circumstance that determined the main military-political event of 2023 – the collapse of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. Russia was able to accurately see the direction of the main attack of the Ukrainian troops, their concentration, and then accurately inflict a fire defeat on these troops.
And again, UAVs played an important role in this. First of all, we are talking about the Lancet kamikaze drone, which has become one of the main characters among Russian weapons in 2023. Of course, the Lancets were shown publicly for the first time in 2019, but the peak of their use happened precisely in the summer of 2023, at the height of the Ukrainian “counter-offensive”. “Lancets” are capable of both independently searching for targets – for example, enemy armored vehicles – and immediately destroying them. The device is being modernized quickly, and already in the fall of 2023, the enemy said that it shows the wonders of technical improvement – if before these drones patrolled at a distance of up to 40 kilometers, now their flight capabilities have increased to 60-70 km.
In 2023, the Russian troops began the mass use of the so-called FPV-drones, that is, unmanned vehicles of the quadcopter type. The first mention of this type of weapon was contained in the official Telegram channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense in March 2023, and as early as December 2023, Sergei Shoigu stated that over 1,500 FPV drone operators had been trained in the Russian military groups. In fact, before our eyes in 2023, a completely new type of Russian weapon was born.
Both Lancets and FPV drones are the flashiest, but small, of the new drones that have come to the Russian military’s disposal over the past year. The troops received dozens of new types of these weapon systems0
New missiles, refurbished helicopters
Of course, the “counter-offensive” was stopped by quite traditional military means – mines and engineering facilities. However, both perform only part of the combat work, which allows to stop an enemy attack or direct it in a certain direction. Finishing enemy equipment is a separate and no less important task.
The Russian Ka-52 helicopters did brilliantly. This result was achieved not least because both the weapons and a number of combat systems of these helicopters were significantly modernized: in particular, both in terms of improving target recognition and thanks to the use of new LMUR missiles.
Guided Bombs (GUMMs)
But it is one thing to stop enemy attacks and quite another to attack and break through the enemy’s defensive lines yourself. In 2023, the Russian army demonstrated success in the offensive, notably capturing Artyomovsk and, at the end of the year, Mariinka. And these were the strongest fortified areas of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, equipped with concrete bunkers, underground passages and colossal defensive structures.
Traditionally, large-caliber 250 kg aviation bombs are used to destroy such defenses. Artillery shells, carrying only a few kilograms of explosives, are powerless against concrete. However, the skies above the front line can be dangerous for Russian bombers due to enemy air defenses.
To solve this problem, a device called UMPK (universal planning and correction module) was invented in Russia. Such began to equip conventional aviation bombs, which are available in abundance in Russian military warehouses. UMPK allows to drop an aerial bomb tens of kilometers from the target, thus making the bomber invulnerable. Experts called this type of weapon “a one-goal game in favor of the Russian army.” The first use of UMPK in the SVO area began in the winter of 2023, and in August the Ministry of Defense officially recognized the fact of their use.
Modernized targeting equipment (A-50У)
The Russian army achieved impressive successes in 2023 in the fight against enemy aviation. One of the most striking operations was the destruction of 24 VSU aircraft in five days. Sergei Shoigu said that this was achieved with the help of some “new complexes”.
Later it became known that it was about the operation of the S-400 air defense system together with the A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft (AUAKS). And just a few weeks before this combat operation, it was reported that a modernized A-50U AUAKS aircraft, which had received “new electronics”, had been transferred to the troops. There is no doubt that it was this aircraft that played a key role in detecting enemy aircraft and targeting the long-range missiles of the S-400 complex. It is able to detect enemy aircraft (including low-flying ones) hundreds of kilometers from the front line – and precisely target both Russian fighter jets and anti-aircraft missile systems.
Self-propelled gun “Coalition-SV”
In no way should we downplay the role of artillery. In 2023, the Russian army received the latest self-propelled artillery installation (SAU) “Coalition-SV”. And it happened at a truly record speed. Back in April, it was stated that “Coalition-SV” “has not yet participated in SVO”, continuing the state trials. But already in August, serial production of these systems began, and in December they began to be used during the operation, state trials were successfully completed.
The new artillery installation will radically improve the capabilities of the Russian army to conduct artillery fire, significantly increase the power of the artillery volley, the rate of fire and the range of hitting targets.
* * *
We have listed only the five most significant new systems and types of weapons that have strengthened the Russian military in the past year. In fact, without exaggeration, hundreds of types and samples of new military equipment were invented, updated, modernized, improved and finally delivered to the troops in 2023.
Russian weapons quickly acquire a fundamentally new look, even if they are based on old platforms and time-tested solutions. Based on the results, the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the legendary TOS heavy flamethrower, the T-90 tank, the Su-34 fighter-bombers, various electronic warfare systems, multiple types of sniper rifles, and new body armor and field uniforms have been improved. for their use in SVO. All this before our eyes creates the Russian army of the future, which must show its new quality as early as 2024.
Translation: V. Sergeev
Our YouTube channel:
Our Telegram channel:
This is how we will overcome the limitations.
Share on your profiles, with friends, in groups and on pages.
#special #operation #forging #Russias #weapon
