The outgoing year turned out to be quite rich in new types of weapons, which were presented by the Russian defense industry complex (MIC) and the country's military-political leadership. Most of the unique military products were demonstrated at the main military-technical exhibition of the country - “Army-2019”.
Podolsky "Lotus"
On June 5, TsNIITOCHMASH JSC (Podolsk) held a presentation of a prototype of a 120-mm self-propelled artillery gun (SAO) 2C42 Lotos for journalists. The complex was created to replace the installation of 2S9 "Nona", which has been in service with the Airborne Forces and the Marine Corps since the 1980s. The chief designer of the new CAO is Veniamin Schastlivtsev.
"Lotus" is significantly superior to its predecessor in all tactical and technical characteristics. The firing range of 2S42 standard ammunition is 13 km (against 8.8 km at Nona). Schastlivtsev is confident that this figure can be increased up to 20 km if the defense industry creates new planning ammunition.
A number of engineering solutions contributed to the increase in the range of destruction. In particular, the specialists of TsNIITOCHMASH lengthened the SAO barrel by two meters (up to 5 m versus 3 m from Nona) and equipped the car with a remote fire control system. An important innovation was the ability to receive target designation from external sources, including drones.
"Lotus", whose security is much higher than that of "Nona", is made on the BMD-4M chassis. A new armor and an active defense complex have been installed at SAO, which allows intercepting enemy artillery ammunition and destroying the source of the threat.
“In particular, we have solved the task of protecting SAO from precision weapons. An appropriate complex was installed on the gun, which includes indicators of laser irradiation. We fix the direction from where the attack is made, and the launchers are guided almost synchronously. The target is destroyed by special aerosol-forming ammunition (AOB-5), ”explained Schastlivtsev.
“Facilitate the execution of tasks”
At the end of June, at the Army-2019 forum, the Kalashnikov concern presented a family of small-sized assault rifles AM-17, which in the future can replace the obsolete AKS-74U. The advantages of the new weapon are ergonomics, convenience for the fighter (including left-handed people), reliability and simplicity.
The length of the product of the base product with the butt is 740 mm (barrel - 230 mm), weight - 2.5 kg, standard magazine capacity - 30 rounds. AM-17 was created on the basis of the experimental small-sized automatic machine MA Evgeny Dragunov.
- Small-sized automatic machine AM-17
- © Alexey Zakvasin / RT
According to experts of the concern, contemporaries underestimated the weapons invented by the famous Soviet designer. Meanwhile, Dragunov removed all protruding elements in his product, almost perfectly adapting the machine to daily wear on the belt in any position.
According to the developer, the AM-17 meets all relevant requirements for small arms. The machine is made of modern lightweight materials and is intuitive to even a not very experienced fighter. After completion of the tests, the brainchild of Kalashnikov will be delivered to the power departments of the Russian Federation. For special forces, the concern developed a silent modification called the AMB-17 with a length of 850 mm and a mass of 2.9 kg.
“The AM-17 line makes it easier for employees of law enforcement agencies and crews of armored vehicles to complete tasks. I want to emphasize that this is our initiative development, our view of the future. The samples presented on the forum are prototypes. They pass factory tests, but we don’t plan to make major changes, ”Vladimir Onokoi, technical consultant to Kalashnikov told RT.
Air defense system breakthrough
In late September, the Russian Ministry of Defense published footage of the fifth-generation fighter Su-57 and the prototype of the heavy reconnaissance and strike UAV S-70 “Okhotnik”. According to the military department, the plane and the drone worked out guidance on the target without entering the enemy’s air defense coverage area.
"The Hunter" - the brainchild of the P.O. Dry. The device is made using stealth radar technology and is equipped with a single-engine power unit, unconventional for the Russian aircraft school.
S-70 flight tests began in August at the 929th Chkalov State Flight Testing Center (GLITs, Akhtubinsk). According to the TASS source in the defense industry complex, in 2020, the UAV will begin to use strike weapons at the GLITs training ground. Experts believe that the device can use regular aviation ammunition of the aerospace forces.
The Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General Vladimir Popov, in a conversation with RT, said that the "Hunter" is created to solve the problems of breaking through even the most high-tech air defense system. According to him, the domestic military is developing tactics for using the aviation link as part of two Su-57s and three reconnaissance and strike UAVs S-70.
“Most likely, the Hunter itself will be the carrier of several small-sized drones. A swarm of drones will increase the load on the computing power of the air defense system. The system will have difficulties with choosing targets for destruction, because it is not able to shell all objects at the same time, ”Popov explained.
At the same time, the Honored Pilot of Russia noted that engineers and military still have a lot of work to do on the “Hunter”. Serial production of UAVs will be launched no earlier than 2025.
“The rocket will be invulnerable”
One of the most closed projects of the Russian defense industry is the 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile. However, on February 20, the veil of secrecy was slightly opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a message to the Federal Assembly. He said that the flight speed of the ammunition will be 9 Machs, range - over 1 thousand km. A missile will be able to destroy both sea and ground targets.
From official information it follows that the Zircon in various modifications will be included in the arsenal of corvettes and frigates of the Navy equipped with a universal naval firing complex (UKSK). Also, hypersonic missiles will be able to launch new destroyers, landing ships that have undergone the modernization of the cruiser, large anti-submarine ships and multipurpose nuclear submarines.
- Navy launch in the Caspian Sea
- © Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin calls Zircon an extremely important weapon "to maintain strategic stability." In addition to the marine version of hypersonic ammunition, experts believe that Russia can also develop a ground-based modification.
The creation of the ground Zircon will be a response to the appearance of previously prohibited weapons in the US arsenal after the termination of the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Lesser Missiles (INF Treaty), analysts say.
“There is very little information on Zircon, but the characteristics voiced by the president allow us to conclude that the missile will be invulnerable to air defense systems,” said a professor at the Academy of Military Sciences, a senior researcher at the Center for Political Studies of Russia, in an interview with RT Vadim Kozyulin.
“Reliability and efficiency”
In December, the Russian army received the first medium-range S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile system (SAM). This self-propelled air defense system is designed to combat a wide range of threats: aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. The range of destruction of air objects is from 1.5 km to 60 km, height - from 10 m to 30 km.
Design of the S-350 began within the walls of the Almaz-Antey concern back in the late 1990s. However, then the company did not receive sufficient funding from the Ministry of Defense. In the 2000s, Almaz-Antey won a tender in South Korea for the supply of medium-range air defense systems. The basis of the export complex, dubbed KM-SAM, lay on developments on the S-350.
- SAM S-350 "Hero"
- © Alexey Zakvasin / RT
A sketch of a working prototype of the Vityaz launcher model for domestic aircraft was demonstrated in 2013. A few years later, state tests of air defense systems began. In June 2019, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the completion of work on the S-350 project.
The brainchild of Almaz-Antey will replace the S-300PT and some other air defense systems. In the troops, Vityaz will be integrated into a single air defense system, the elements of which are also the S-400 and S-300VM4. The S-350 arsenal includes short- and medium-range missiles equipped with infrared homing heads and “intelligent” warheads, which allow for effective destruction of air targets.
In an interview with RT, the columnist for Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Dmitry Drozdenko emphasized that in the outgoing year the Russian defense industry demonstrated its ability to solve complex technological and production problems.
“Perhaps the most important advantage of domestic weapons is reliability and efficiency in terms of price - quality. In 2019, domestic designers once again proved that they are able to create and establish the release of unique, unparalleled weapons models under the conditions of sanctions and a modest military budget, ”Drozdenko emphasized.