Russia

Russia is preparing to renew flight testing of a high-power flying laser designed to operate as an anti-satellite weapon, the Tass news agency reported. Based on the Ilyushin Il-76MD transport plane the airborne laser laboratory aircraft flew for its first test mission in August 19, 1981. Two aircraft were modified and equipped for the tests that ceased following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Boomerang 8x8 armored infantry fighting vehicle is the latest wheeled armored vehicle developed in Russia, a design introducing significant changes and improvement over the BTR-60, 70 and 80, that were in service since the early 1960s. The first pre-production vehicles delivered for operational testing were publicly displayed in 2015. Following those tests VPK is expecting orders for 2,000 such vehicles, in various configurations.

As a modernized version it will bring earlier models to the T2 standard. The Mi-26 is operated by a crew of five but the improvements introduced by the BREO-26 avionics suite enables most missions to reduce the to crew to 2-3 persons.

The T-72 is the most popular tank currently in service. With over 22,000 produced, the T-72 is involved in almost every theater of war, and, with the transformation of warfare from symmetric to asymmetric combat, waged in urban areas, the T-72 must also adapt, to maintain its effectiveness in complex terrain. This article reviews the new, T-72 urban warfare upgrade kit displayed at KADEX 2016

A unit of the Russian Guard Tank Army based in the Western Region received the first batch of T-90M tanks in March 2020. The tanks are the latest, most advanced upgraded versions of the T-90 family. The Russian Army expects to receive about 400 tanks, some will be refurbished and the others new built.

Satellite imagery analysis by Imagesat International (ISI) intelligence experts revealed deployment of Iskandar (SS-26 “Stone”) advanced missile system vehicles as part of the Russian deployment. Iskander units were first spotted at Hmeimim airbase in Latakia, Syria in March 2016.

The Russian Ministry of defense is lifting the veil on a new family of combat vehicles that has been under development in the past years. The vehicles unveiled this week during a parade rehearsal near Moscow include the T-14 main battle tank and T-15 troop carrier, both based on the new Armata tracked platform.

Russian Helicopters presented a new version of the Mi-28N attack helicopter that improves combat survivability and firepower and implements manned-unmanned teaming capability for the first time. The "Night Hunter" was used extensively in the Syrian theater, used both by the Russian and Syrian forces. Some of the improvements address lessons learned from these operations. "We are constantly improving military helicopters...

The T-15 and T-14 Armata family tanks and heavy APC are also on display at Army Forum 2018. According to UVZ, the new vehicles will be accessible to all visitors for the first time. Previously displayed with the 30mm turret, the T-15 was shown here for the first time with a 57mm cannon and two missile launchers on the...

Sukhoi and the Russian Ministry of Defense have flown the S-70 Okhotnik unmanned aerial vehicle with Su-57 fifth-generation fighter aircraft for the first time. The flight that laster 30 minutes as part of the ongoing test program. On this flight, Okhotnik flew with a full avionics configuration in an automated mode.

The Russian army is displaying the first mechanized unit deployed with the new Kurganets-25 armored fighting vehicles during the May 9th parade in Moscow. This is the first public unveiling of the new armored vehicle, that has been in development in the past decade.

The Russian Su-70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, has made its maiden flight on Saturday, August 3rd. 2019. The news released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday, according to Russian Tass news agency. No photos were released at the time of publication. According to a Russian Ministry of Defense release, "The...

MAKS 2017, the biennial Russian air show opened for business today in Zhukovsky near Moscow, hosting President Vladimir Putin as the guest of honor. This year's event highlights many systems recently used in combat in the Middle East, combat aircraft, helicopters, aerial weapons, and countermeasures, unmanned systems, payloads, missiles and air defense systems.

The KBP group has launched an upgraded export version of the Pantsir-S1M that implements some of the lessons Russia gained from recent combat engagements in Syria. The new configuration that improves the systems capability to deal with unmanned aerial systems (drones) of all types.