The process of rearming the Russian army will continue. In the near future, the army will receive new weapons worth a trillion rubles, this is the amount of contracts that were signed as part of the Army-2019 international military-technical forum. In addition to traditional systems and weapons, the Russian army will receive new hypersonic (Dagger missiles) and laser weapons (Peresvet system), as well as fifth-generation Su-57 multifunctional fighters and new Project 677 Lada diesel-electric submarines.
One trillion rubles worth of contracts signed at the Army-2019 forum
According to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Russian Ministry of Defense, within the framework of the military-technical forum "Army-2019", which was held in the Moscow region from June 25 to 30, 2019, the military department signed 46 state contracts with 27 holdings and enterprises of the Russian defense industry. The amount of the signed contracts exceeded one trillion rubles (approximately 15, 85 billion dollars).
It is known that within the framework of the contracts concluded at the Army-2019 forum, the Russian army will receive more than 800 new and about 100 modernized models of military equipment and special-purpose equipment, as well as more than six thousand modern high-precision weapons. Among other things, the Ministry of Defense signed contracts for the supply of new 48N6P-01 anti-aircraft guided missiles for the S-400 Triumph air defense system with the Avangard Moscow Machine-Building Plant and new 9M728 cruise missiles for the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system with the Novator OKB … The details of these contracts are currently not disclosed.
A truly breakthrough contract for the Russian armed forces can be called a contract for the purchase of 76 multi-functional fifth-generation Su-57 fighters and promising air weapons for them. This aircraft, which has been under development in Russia over the past decades, will finally go into serial production. At the same time, the contract was seriously increased in 2019, before that it was believed that the Ministry of Defense would order only 16 new fifth-generation aircraft.
The contract between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Sukhoi company was concluded even earlier than planned. Previously, it was believed that it would be signed at the end of August 2019 as part of the traditional MAKS-2019 aerospace show, which is held in the Moscow region in the city of Zhukovsky. According to the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexei Krivoruchko, the supply of Su-57 fighters to the troops will end before 2028. The plans to conclude a contract for the purchase of 76 fifth-generation Su-57 aircraft first became known back in May 2019. For the first time, the Kommersant newspaper wrote about this, the journalists of which referred to their own sources in the military-industrial complex. At the same time, it was noted that the concluded contract is estimated at about 170 billion rubles, which automatically makes it the largest in the history of Russian aviation. The conclusion of a contract for the supply of 76 fifth-generation Su-57 fighters to the Aerospace Forces will automatically load the capacities of the Sukhoi Corporation aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur for the next decade.
Another major contract concerns the supply of modern attack helicopters to the army. This is a modernized version of the Mi-28NM Night Hunter helicopters. Alexey Krivoruchko also told the media about the contract. According to the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, a large batch of rotary-wing aircraft is being purchased for the needs of the army - 98 Mi-28NM helicopters. When developing a modernized version of the helicopter, Russian designers took into account the accumulated operational experience, as well as the experience of the combat use of Mi-28N helicopters in Syria. It is reported that from 2020 to 2022 the Russian army will receive 18 new Mi-28NM combat helicopters, and then, until 2028, it will receive 16 new helicopters annually.
The update will also affect the Russian navy. In the near future, the fleet will be replenished with new nuclear-powered multipurpose submarines of project 885M "Yasen-M" with appropriate means of destruction, as well as modern diesel-electric submarines of project 677 "Lada". As part of the Army-2019 forum, a contract was signed for the purchase of two Project 677 Lada submarines. The contracts, the details of which are still unknown, have been concluded with the Sevmash and Admiralteyskie Verfi enterprises, respectively.
Also at the Army-2019 forum, contracts were signed for the supply of modern multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), mortars, communications equipment and various engineering weapons. In particular, a contract was signed with NPK Tekhmash for the production and supply of the remote mining engineering system (ISDM) to the troops. Also, agreements were signed for the further conduct of research work on the development and creation of advanced weapons systems and military equipment.
The Russian army will receive hypersonic and laser weapons
In addition to the already traditional weapons systems and military equipment, the Russian armed forces in the coming years will receive new hypersonic weapons, as well as weapons built on new physical principles. In particular, we are talking about the Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched missile system, which was previously tested together with the MiG-31BM carrier aircraft and the Peresvet laser system, which presumably performs the tasks of air defense of stationary objects. In addition, in the near future, the Strategic Missile Forces should receive a new intercontinental ballistic missile "Sarmat". It is believed that the new silo-based missile implements the technology of "orbital bombardment", which allows to strike at US territory along a suborbital trajectory with a missile passing through the South Pole of the planet, bypassing the deployed areas of the American missile defense system.
The fact that the Russian army will receive new models of modern weapons, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said in the Kremlin during an annual reception held in honor of graduates of higher military educational institutions. According to Putin, the new weapon is also the talent and labor of a huge number of designers, engineers, as well as hundreds of thousands of workers who work in the Russian military-industrial complex.
The receipt of new types of weapons, built on modern technologies of laser energy and hypersound, was also confirmed by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu. According to him, the first samples of weapons, which so far have no analogues, have already been put on experimental combat duty. According to Sergei Shoigu, in recent years, thanks to the successful implementation of the state program for the rearmament of the army, the equipment of the Russian Armed Forces with new types of weapons has increased by 3.8 times since 2013, and by the beginning of 2019, the equipment of the armed forces with new weapons had reached 64 percent.
The Kinzhal hypersonic high-precision aircraft missile system has been on experimental combat duty since 2017. The complex's hypersonic missile is able to accelerate to a speed of Mach 10 on the final leg of the flight path. The complex is designed to effectively engage various ground and surface targets. The Peresvet laser complex is also on experimental combat duty, while most of the information about the complex and its capabilities is still classified. Experts believe that the main tasks to be solved by "Peresvet" are the tasks of air defense and missile defense. At the same time, Russian military experts note that the operation of the laser complex also fulfills purely research tasks. In any case, it can be noted that the emergence and introduction of modern weapons and military equipment in the army is primarily aimed at creating an advantage over high-tech opponents.
Novelties of Technopolis "Era"
A separate category of military developments presented in Kubinka are new types of weapons created with the direct participation of specialists from the first Russian military technopolis "Era", which opened in Anapa. At the Army-2019 forum, the developments created by Era specialists for the year of its existence were presented, in fact, it was a ready-made report on the work of the military technopolis. Among the novelties presented at the forum, a portable gas sensor analyzer, distinguished by its compact size, is of particular interest. The device, which fits easily in the palm of the average person, quickly detects various harmful substances that are in the surrounding air. In the future, the device will develop and ultimately be able to replenish the arsenal of Russian chemical reconnaissance units.
The device "Lidar K8" also deserves special attention. This is the first domestic "Lidar", in scientific terms, a laser scanning system of technical vision. "Lidar K8" is able to scan the surrounding space at 360 degrees, identifying various objects in it and forming a three-dimensional or two-dimensional system of the surrounding space. According to the developers, the new Russian "Lidar" can be installed on ground-based robotic systems and flying drones. On ground vehicles, the device will be able to automatically determine the presence of obstacles in advance, which will help robotic equipment to successfully overcome them. So far, the device can only recognize obstacles within a radius of 100 meters, but in the future, its range will be increased.
In total, at the Army-2019 forum, experts from the Ministry of Defense were able to select at once 278 innovative projects and developments that are of direct interest to ensure the security of Russia. More than 350 different military experts representing research organizations, military universities and military command and control bodies of our country were involved in the selection of promising developments all days of the Army-2019 military-technical forum.
