Tag: Russia

When the orders were received on the 24th of February and units began rolling forward across the border, the operational forces lacked adequate planning and intelligence and did not prepare ammunition and supplies for the battle. They were unaware of the terrain and mobility constraints expected downrange and did not prepare the equipment to deal with those obstacles. Neither they had the foresight of an alternative' plan B' in case that 'decapitation' move failed.

Realizing they were not achieving their goals in the north, the Russian command decided to regroup its forces in the East of Ukraine to seize a land strip along the Azov and the Black Sea, an area that the Ukraine separatists that support Russia could control. The terrain in the eastern part of Ukraine is open, and the ground has dried since the winter enabling military formations to move off roads. Although most of the Ukraine army was deployed in this region, the Russian forces maintained numerical superiority.

The war between Russia and Ukraine tested many new concepts developed in the East and West since the late 20th century. Some of the most modern unmanned systems technologies currently under development are among these. In our analysis, we highlight some of the insights we gained during the first three months of this war

Until now, the war in Ukraine does not reflect the latest technology as analysts would expect. Since 2014 the Ukrainian army has been equipped with many locally produced weapons familiar to the Russians. But in recent months, Ukraine has obtained many western anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons that have surprised the Russians and caused the invading forces many losses. This review summarizes our impressions from the first three weeks of this devastating conflict.

A conflict erupting in 2022 is likely to involve the direct intervention of Russian mechanized regiments stationed in Belarus and East Ukraine, which are superior to the Ukraine forces. The outcome would be determined by Ukraine’s ability to endure a prolonged conflict. A strong Ukraine stands with the resolve of its new friends in the West, should assist Kyiv in facing the Russian onslaught.

As the most sophisticated combat vehicle of Russian production, the ARMATA Main Battle Tank and heavy Armored Fighting Vehicle family has a high price threshold, by Russian standards. The ambitious plan forecasted the induction of 2,300 ARMATA-class tanks by 2025, but by the end of 2020, the fielding of ARMATA still lags, with completion of development expected only by 2022.

Russia has been testing its latest and most advanced tank - the T-14 Armata in Syria. Since the tank is currently in a developmental testing phase, it is likely that its mission to Syria is considered a field trial rather than a combat mission. First deliveries to operational units are expected next year.

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.

The Russian Air Force has begun testing the medium-altitude long-range drone Orion Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) strike-reconnaissance drones.

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...

An Israeli spy satellite has spotted their location northwest of the town of Masyaf in the mountain region, about 30 km from the Mediterranean sea. From its current location, the Syrian missiles dominate a radius of up to 250 kilometers, covering the entire Lebanese airspace, the eastern part of the island of Cyprus, parts of southern Turkey and northern Israel, down to the Sea of Galilee.

Russia has delivered the first S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Syria on October 2nd. According to Russian sources, the unit will be controlled by Russian advisors, a precaution Moscow took to prevent a misfire that downed the Ilyushin20 Electronic Surveillance aircraft last month.

A modernized Tu-22M3M will soon begin flight testing. The modernization will deal with the obsolescence of the outdated avionics on the Tu-22M, bringing it to the same level as the modernized Tu-160. Further upgrades could also include the installation of missile pylons that would carry four Dagger hypersonic missiles.

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.