"Manifestation of the information war": why the West declares a "shortage" of high-precision weapons in Russia

Russia has enough stocks of high-precision weapons and capacities to provide the Armed Forces with them in the required quantity.

This opinion was expressed by experts interviewed by RT.

“From the very beginning of the special operation, we regularly hear from NATO countries and Ukraine that Russia’s arsenals are allegedly devastated – this is a manifestation of the information war.

Our country has enough reserves, there are production and scientific capacities for the manufacture of high-precision destruction systems that our armed forces need, ”said Alexander Bartosh, Candidate of Military Sciences, Associate Professor, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Sciences, in a comment to RT.

Recall that on December 3, speaking at the Ronald Reagan National Defense Forum in California, the Director of National Intelligence of the United States, Avril Haynes, stated that Russia was allegedly experiencing serious difficulties with the production of precision-guided weapons.

“I don’t think I can give specific numbers on this forum ... We believe that they (Russians. -

) do not have the opportunity to independently produce as much as they spend at this stage.

So it will not be an easy task, ”CNBC quoted Haynes as saying.

According to Bartosz, firstly, American intelligence is unlikely to have real data on the quantitative ratio of spent and newly produced ammunition.

Secondly, the manufacture of high-precision weapons in any country in the world requires the concentration of significant competencies, material and financial resources.

However, according to the expert, the Russian industry, especially under the conditions of sanctions, successfully passes such tests.

A similar point of view is shared by Alexei Podberezkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Research.

In an interview with RT, he said that the domestic defense industry had adapted to the situation of significant ammunition consumption during the special operation.

“The defense industry has been operating in a completely different mode since spring.

We do not have all the information, but from official sources we can conclude that our state is allocating all the necessary funds and resources to replenish stocks, ”said Podberyozkin.

"Enough for Everyone"

The situation with the reserve of high-precision weapons of the RF Armed Forces has been repeatedly commented on by Russian officials.

In April, in an interview with RT, former Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov (since July - the general director of Roskosmos) said that in the state armament programs of the Russian Federation, starting in 2011, "special attention" was paid to "the creation and mass entry of high-precision weapons into the troops, increasing year by year the production capabilities of our military-industrial complex.

“Today, the main enterprises (missile manufacturers. -

) are contracted by the Ministry of Defense until 2030 (and some until 2033) precisely with orders for the supply of high-precision weapons,” Borisov explained.

• Launch of the Iskander OTRK missile during a special operation

• RIA News

• © Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

In May, in an interview with the Interfax news agency, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that there was a sufficient supply of precision-guided missiles and ammunition to fulfill all the tasks assigned to the Russian Armed Forces.

“According to everything that is said on the other side, Russia should have run out of missiles in March.

But for some reason it didn't end.

The military-industrial complex supplies our army with all the necessary range of missiles in the required volumes, ”Borisov emphasized.

In mid-June, in an interview with RBC, Borisov said that the expectations of unfriendly countries that stockpiles of precision-guided weapons would soon be depleted did not come true.

According to him, the domestic defense industry has switched to "intensive work" in order to eliminate the likelihood of a shortage of the necessary weapons.

“Industry, the leading enterprises that produce this (high-precision) weapons, have switched to intensive work, are working tirelessly, and will do everything possible so that our army does not need those means that have proven their effectiveness,” Borisov said.

On November 23, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev visited the state research and production enterprise "Region" (part of JSC "Corporation "Tactical Missile Weapons", KTRV), where he discussed with the management of the enterprise the increase in the supply of high-precision weapons.

“The enemies continue to carefully “calculate” our launches and our supplies.

We hope in vain that our possibilities will be exhausted.

To be continued.

Enough for everyone!”

- Medvedev wrote in his Telegram channel following the trip.

According to experts, there is no strict definition of the concept of "precision weapons", however, various types of sea-based, ground-based and air-based missiles are usually referred to this class of products.

Of these, the Iskander, Caliber, Onyx, Kinzhal, X-101 complexes and other means of aviation destruction, as well as guided artillery ammunition, shells for MLRS and air defense systems, are used in the special operation.

• Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev at the SNNP "Region"

• RIA News

• © Ekaterina Shtukina

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2022" in August, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that many domestic developments in precision weapons, robotics and combat systems based on new physical principles "for years, or maybe and are decades ahead of their foreign counterparts, and in terms of tactical and technical characteristics they are significantly superior to them.

As follows from official data, Russia has achieved breakthrough results in the creation of hypersonic weapons.

In August, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the launch of serial production of Zircon naval missiles.

This weapon is capable of hitting targets at a distance of over 1,000 km and reaching a speed of about Mach 9.

These munitions will be equipped with Project 22350 frigates, Project 885M Yasen-M submarines, the Admiral Nakhimov cruiser under modernization, and the Irkutsk nuclear submarine.

According to the military, Zircon is an invulnerable precision-guided weapon in the arsenal of the Russian Navy.

“The air defense and missile defense systems of a potential enemy in service are not capable of either detecting, let alone hitting a missile due to its speed characteristics ... Opponents will not see a missile on radars, since in addition to speeds, Zircon is based on stealth technologies, - Georgy Roslyakov, commander of the rocket and artillery warhead of the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov, said earlier in an interview with the Zvezda TV channel.

divert attention

In an interview with RT, military expert Alexei Leonkov said that when launching mass production of any high-precision weapon, the Russian military department always takes into account the possibility of scaling it and options for replacing scarce components.

“When we launch any type of high-precision weapon into a series, many factors are taken into account.

These include the ability to produce much larger batches and the availability of components.

In principle, the Russian defense industry is self-sufficient, but sometimes Russia also uses opportunities through military-technical cooperation with friendly countries,” Leonkov said. 

• Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-31 fighter with a hypersonic missile "Dagger"

• © Evgeny Biyatov

According to the expert, with periodic statements about the depletion of stocks of high-precision weapons, the West is likened to the Ukrainian authorities, who regularly "predict" a "missile hunger" of the RF Armed Forces.

In addition, by disseminating such information, Western countries are trying to divert attention from their own problems caused by unrestrained military assistance to the Kyiv regime, the expert added.

Currently, many NATO members are forced to make a choice between maintaining a minimum combat capability or continuing to supply APU. 

The United States also faced a shortage of the necessary weapons.

According to The New York Times, the alliance is suffering the most due to a shortage of 155-mm artillery shells, guided missiles, howitzers, Javelin anti-tank systems and Stinger MANPADS.

In total, the NATO countries handed over $40 billion worth of weapons to the Ukrainian authorities, which is approximately comparable to the annual military budget of France.

According to Leonkov, the West was not ready for a long and large-scale conflict in Ukraine.

In this regard, according to the expert, unfriendly states are forced to cut the scale of military assistance to the Kyiv regime, although they are trying not to focus on this.

At the same time, from the point of view of Alexander Bartosh, Western arms corporations will use the current situation to knock out new contracts. 

“It's hard for me to assess how bad things are with the arsenals of the NATO countries, but it seems clear that Western arms manufacturers will not miss the opportunity to obtain major new contracts from their governments.

Now the production of weapons is a very profitable business,” Bartosz emphasized.