Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II

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Feb 8: In December 2021 the Russian company Kronshtadt completed construction of its manufacturing facility for the Orion unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), enabling serial production of the first aircraft to begin that month, the company noted in a press release. The announcement marked the end of a long gestation period for the Orion, which entered development in 2011 under the Inokhodets (Pacer) programme after a contract was signed between the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Transas, which became Kronshtadt in 2015. The programme set out to produce an unmanned medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft for use in reconnaissance and strike missions, if necessary. At the time, the Russian armed forces were beginning an extensive period of modernisation following the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Dec 22: The Chkalov Aviation Plant in Novosibirsk (NAZ) rolled out the first flying prototype of the S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) on 14 December. The low observable (LO) UCAV is now being prepared for its maiden flight and trials, Deputy Defence Minister Alexey Krivoruchko told reporters. “The [UCAV] was made in the serial concept and is equipped with the necessary onboard devices in full compliance with the requirements. It will shortly make the maiden flight after all ground tests are completed,” he said.

Already a Janes customer? Read more here. DIA report outlines concerns over Russian and Chinese space capabilities Apr 4: Russia's Russia has lost its first Sukhoi Su-35 ‘Flanker-E' multirole fighter on combat operations over Ukraine, imagery posted online on 3 April reveal. The premier operational combat aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) reportedly came down in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine, near the town of Izyum. Although no information relating to how the aircraft came down has been revealed, the imagery released shows it to have come to rest largely intact, before being consumed by fire. The aircraft is identifiable as being an Su-35 by it being a single-seat ‘Flanker' variant without canards, and equipped with the combination missile rails and wingtip-mounted electronic countermeasures systems in place of the missile rails of the baseline Su-27/30 versions.Feb 23: The Russian Navy has moved three large landing ships, five warships, and several vessels of other classes, including one missile boat, to the Sea of Azov under the pretext of participating in exercises, Ukraine's Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov stated during a press briefing on 21 February. In video footage posted by Ukrainian media outlet MyKerch on its VKontakte social media account on 21 February, more than 10 Russian Navy warships could be seen headed towards the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait. This included the Ropucha (Project 775)-class landing ships Tsesar Kunikov and Novocherkassk , the Alligator (Project 1171)-class landing ship Saratov , the Bykov (Project 22160)-class corvette Pavel Derzhavin , the Tarantul (Project 12411)-class corvette Neberezhnye Chelny , and the Grisha (Project 1124)-class corvette Eisk. Russian forces began joint training exercises with Uzbekistan at the Termez training ground in the Surkhandarya Region the exercises will run until 10 August with the active phase finishing on 06 August. The exercises are believed to have involved some 1,500 troops from the Central Military District’s 15th Motorised Brigade (Peacekeeping) and the 3rd Spetsnaz Brigade, supported by four Tu-22M3 which conducted a flight from Russia on 06 July to bomb targets in Uzbekistan.

Oct: The Russian Central Military District's (CMD's) 41st Combined Arms Army has begun withdrawing equipment from the Pogonovo training ground south of Voronezh city and loading it on to trains at Maslovka railway station. Video and imagery sourced from social media and analysed by Janes has revealed the loading of large quantities of equipment at Maslovka railway station, including 2S19 self-propelled guns, T-72BM and T-72B1 main battle tanks, and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles. Janes has also been able to confirm that equipment belonging to the 41st Combined Arms Army's 35th Motorised Brigade has been loaded on to trains at Maslovka. Already a Janes customer? Read more here. Technology Developments: KRET unveils Sapfir C-UAV system

Russia conducted a live fire test of a Direct Ascent Anti-Satellite (DA-ASAT) missile, using the missile to destroy a retired Russian satellite – Cosmos 1408.

Nov 11: South Korea and Russia have agreed to set up direct military hotlines between their respective air and naval forces as part of efforts to enhance communication and prevent accidental clashes. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Seoul announced that the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to this end on 11 November, pointing out that the move is also aimed at strengthening bilateral trust, helping to reduce tensions as well as establishing peace in the region. JANE'S GROUP UK LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk . Retrieved 17 March 2023. Region of Focus: Western Pacific Chinese, Russian navies conclude first joint patrols in Western Pacific A new – as yet unidentified commander – was appointed to lead Russian forces stationed in north eastern Syria. The commander will reportedly lead forces in the region for three months. Already a Janes customer? Read more here. Dubai Airshow 2021: Russia unveils upgraded Ka-226T rotorcraft

Region of Focus: Training Exercises

Oct: During The Russian military announced on 29 September that its forces had completed their withdrawal from Belarus that day, following the conclusion of ‘Zapad-2021' strategic exercises on 17 September. The scenario for Zapad-2021 was similar to that of its predecessor in 2017: an alliance of NATO countries conducting a limited invasion of Belarus following a period of political instability instigated by Western forces. For the purposes of the exercise, all parties were given pseudonyms; Belarus became ‘Polesei', Russia ‘the Central Federation', and their alliance ‘the Northern Coalition'. The NATO countries, ‘Nyaris' (Lithuania), Pomorie (Poland), and ‘the Polar Republic' (parts of Latvia and components of NATO partner forces in Poland), represent a belief or hope within the Russian military that a conflict with NATO would initially be limited in scope, enabling the Russian armed forces and Kremlin to manage escalation and limit its horizontal growth. This belief in turn determines the forces and means committed to the fight, with the intention of using only the forces needed to achieve the desired goals of protecting Belarus and forcing peace with NATO before the conflict escalates beyond control. Oct 13: The Russian Ground Forces are to conduct large-scale tests of the Uran-9 armed unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) in 2022 to inform decisions on the total number of Uran-9s to be procured, the service's chief, General Oleg Salyukov, told the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper on 1 October. Gen Salyukov indicated that both the Uran-9 combat UGV and the Nerekhta reconnaissance UGV would be accepted into service by the Russian Ground Forces during the course of 2022 and that “experimental military service” would be carried out using these systems. The results of these trials will inform decisions about the optimal number of UGVs to procure to meet the needs of the Russian Ground Forces, he said. Apr 21: The S-500 long-range surface-to-air missile system has entered series production, Almaz-Antey CEO Yan Novikov told the Russian National Defence journal on 25 April in an interview commemorating 20 years of the corporation.Novikov also mentioned the S-400 and Tor-M2 air defence systems, in addition to identifying the Buk-M3 and S-350 Vityaz as the concern's most promising export prospects, referring to the two medium-range systems as Almaz-Antey's “calling cards”. The 9K317M Buk-M3 and 50R6 S350 are in service with the Russian Armed Forces. The Buk-M3 made its combat debut during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Viking is the name of an export iteration of the Buk -M3.