Russia & CIS

The production of Tu-160 strategic bombers is going to be renewed; the new modernized versions are slated to enter service in 2021

The new Russian autonomous search and research submersibles will be produced exclusively in Russia with Russian parts, the general director of Tetis Pro told RIA Novosti.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin claims that Russia may introduce a system of automatic dependent surveillance for light aircraft on the basis of Russia's Glonass satellite navigation network.

The political games are full of all sorts of tricks: a friend today can become an enemy tomorrow, the publication wrote. It is the political elite who hangs the labels of 'good' and 'bad', and it is common people who suffer. The "bad guys" have the oil that the "good guys" need to live the way they live now to roll in clover

The decree about special economic measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation came into force in Russia on August 6. The authorities of the Belgorod region are planning to bulldoze seven tons of chees that was arrested on the border. Tons of cheese and pork are to be destroyed in Orenburg and St. Petersburg

The systematic information war against Russia, the Russophobic campaign, began in the 1820s and has never stopped ever since. Today, Russia is losing the media warfare - we do not have great skills in this type of war. Today, though, the situatin is changing and Russian state-run media have crushed the "fifth column"

What influence does the key rate of the Central Bank have on the Russian economy? If you have access to foreign money, you raise this money at the interest rate of four percent. If you work with Russian money, you raise this money at 15-20 percent. The key rate is the basic parameter that differentiates the types of countries on their economic system

In a recent statement, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation said that the activity of the US-based non-governmental organization National Endowment for Democracy in Russia was undesirable. Officials with the US State Department released predictable comments after the decision was announced

A week or so ago, I gave a presentation at the Wilson Center on the current state and future development of the Russian Navy. Michael Kofman of the Kennan Institute was the moderator and Olga Oliker of RAND provided commentary. The audience was very well-informed and asked excellent questions. The Wilson Center has made a video recording of the event available on YouTube. For those interested in what the Russian Navy is up to, it’s worth watching.

When the president of Estonia called some of his colleagues "Putin's useful idiots," none of them protested. The rank of "Putin's useful idiots" includes Western businessmen, politicians, journalists and even generals. 'Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience," Mark Twain once said

BRICS has revived friendship and cooperation between Russia and South Africa. The relations between Pretoria and Moscow, including economic ones, experienced hard times since the 1990s. The West was doing its best to set Russia and South Africa against each other. As a result, both sides have lost a lot

On July 22, a group of French MPs - republicans, leftist and centrist parliamentarians arrived in the Crimea. During their stay on the peninsula, the officials intend to learn more about its residents and assess the level of living standards in the region to give French citizens firsthand information about life in Russia's Crimea

The Russian royal family and four of their servants was brutally murdered in July of 1918 in the basement of the Ipatiev house in the city of Yekaterinburg. The aim of the ruling circles of Great Britain and certain circles in the United States was to overthrow and kill of the Russian royal family

Everyone can see what is happening in the economies of Western Europe. Their growth is zero. Russia will have the same if it sticks to European partners only. Now look at the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. They have five-seven percent of economic growth. Chinese economy grows by seven percent. Russia's goal is to leave Europe behind

This comparison is incorrect. Firstly, one needs to understand that in the Donbass, it was common people, who took weapons in their hands. They organized themselves and started fighting to exclude their own mass extermination - genocide - that the Ukrainian government was going to conduct in the east of the country

This is an Oxford Analytica brief that was originally published on April 14, 2015. I’ve restored a few cuts made for space reasons.

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SIGNIFICANCE: Russia’s military is currently undergoing a 700 billion dollar rearmament programme, with Moscow aiming to supply the military with 70% modern equipment by 2020. The reform plan is looking to upgrade Russia’s armoured formations with a new family of vehicles collectively called Armata. The Armata tank variant will be far superior to any tank operating in Russia’s neighbours as well as many NATO armies. However, it is costly and the Defence Ministry is actively trying to force down the price.

ANALYSIS: Impacts

• Defence spending has been largely protected from 10% spending cuts but budgetary pressures will remain.
• It will take time to bring defence and procurement spending in many NATO members up from current low levels below 2% of GDP.
• The Ukraine crisis will force Russia’s defence industry to produce weaponry domestically with less reliance on foreign supplies.

Russia has about 16,000 tanks in its inventory, including 4,000 T-64, 8,000 T-72 and T-90 variants, and more than 4,000 T-80s. Of these, only about 2,400 are in service; the rest are in storage. All T-64 tanks are in storage, although some may have been provided to separatist forces fighting in Ukraine. About 1,000 T-80 tanks were in service in 2013, though all are to be withdrawn from service by end-2015.

The majority of the in-service tanks are of the T-72 and T-90 variants, including 564 modernised T-72B3 tanks (according to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu), and 300 T-90 tanks. The modernised T-72B3 tanks are gradually replacing the other varieties, at a rate of 300 tanks per year.

Tank standardisation

The goal is to unify the types of tanks as much as possible in order to reduce maintenance costs. The modernisation of T-72 tanks costs 50 million rubles (962,000 dollars) each. These new T-72s have a new engine, new control and targeting systems, new armaments, and new active and passive defence systems.

These improvements have made the modernised T-72 less vulnerable to enemy ordnance and improved firing accuracy. However, active defence systems and electronics are still outdated by comparison with the competition.

Armata platform

The Armata is a universal tracked-vehicle platform designed to serve as the basis for a new Russian main battle tank (MBT), a related heavy infantry-fighting vehicle, a combat-engineering vehicle, a heavy armoured personnel-carrier, a tank-support combat vehicle and several types of self-propelled artillery.

Armata tank capabilities

The main armament will consist of a 125-millimetre (mm) smoothbore cannon with 40-48 rounds of ammunition, with an additional 30-mm secondary cannon and a 7.62-mm machine-gun. The main cannon is reported to have a range of 7,000-8,000 metres and the engine has been variously rated at between 1,200 and 2,000 horsepower, with a corresponding top speed in either the 70-75 kilometres per hour (kph) or 80-90 kph range.

The tank is designed so that the engine can be removed in 30-40 minutes in the event of a malfunction. The tank will have a crew of three, but unlike other tanks now deployed the Armata will have an unmanned turret operated by remote control.

Radar system

The tank will be equipped with a Ka-band active phased-array radar system similar to that being developed for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter aircraft. The targeting system is capable of tracking up to 40 targets.

Crew survivability 

Crew survivability appears to be a priority in the design. In addition to the advantages offered by the unmanned turret, the Armata will use a new type of light-weight armour, developed specifically for the tank by the Steel Scientific Research Institute. The armour will reportedly be able to withstand fire from most types of artillery. Furthermore, the armour is said to be able to maintain its defensive qualities in extremely low temperatures, making the tank potentially useful in the Arctic.

In addition, the Armata is to be equipped with active anti-missile and anti-artillery defenses that will protect the tank from both ground-based and aerial attacks. The ammunition, fuel, and crew are to be separated in order to increase survivability in the event of a successful enemy hit.

Comparison with competition

By comparison with previous Russian tank models, it has a revamped engine, new transmission and improved chassis strength. The Russian media have said that technically it will be four times as capable as the late Soviet T-72B MBT. They also argue that the tank’s capabilities will be superior to those of its main foreign competitors. Its armament and horsepower appear to be comparable to the US Abrams, German Leopard and Israeli Merkava tanks, while the UK Challenger has a less powerful engine.

The Armata‘s armour will probably be thinner than that of the Challenger or Merkava, but thicker than that of the Abrams and Leopard. However, if reports about advances in armour design prove true, it may be that the thinner armour provides comparable or superior protection. Finally, the tank will most probably be lighter than its competitors, all of which weigh in at 62-70 tonnes.

Procurement plans

The State Armament Programme calls for the procurement of 2,300 new MBTs by 2020. While some reports have linked this figure with the number of Armata tanks to be procured, the reality is that the Armata is going to enter the Russian military in much smaller numbers, owing to both production limits and high unit cost.

An initial batch of 20-24 tanks is expected to be provided to the military in time for the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow. After the parade, these tanks will be sent for field testing, which is expected to take at least a year. The testing programme could take up to three years and full serial production may not start until 2018.

Uralvagonzavod, its manufacturer, has stated that it is ready to produce 40 tanks in 2016, 70 in 2017 and up to 120 per year from 2018. So the absolute maximum number of Armata tanks potentially in service by 2020 is about 330.

High costs could impose limits

However, the high cost of the Armata tank is expected to limit procurement. According to unofficial sources, the cost per tank is approximately 400 million rubles, which is more than double that of the German Leopard-2 and about 60-75% higher than that of the French Leclerc and US M-1 Abrams. Yuri Borisov, the deputy defence minister responsible for procurement, has indicated that the cost is about 2.5 times higher than stated in the State Armaments Programme.

As a result, the Defence Ministry is expecting to reduce the number of Armata tanks it will procure, focusing instead on continuing to modernise existing T-72 tanks in the medium term. According to Russian media reports, Uralvagonzavod has agreed to lower some Armata costs, but the programme will still be expensive.

CONCLUSION: The Armata tank promises to be a formidable but expensive machine, limiting its procurement in the short term. Given Russia’s economic problems, it is unlikely to become the ground forces’ sole tank. The Russian military will continue to deploy upgraded T-72B3 tanks in most armoured units, while Armatas will be reserved for elite units. The first serious unveiling of the Armata tank will be at the Moscow Victory Day parade on May 9.

The West is changing its nuclear strategy. They intend to pull out from the treaty on short and medium-range missiles. The United States will thus be able to deploy medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and ground-based missiles in Europe. All this is being done for the so-called decapitating and preemptive nuclear strike on Russia

Anti-aircraft missile system S-400 "Triumf" is second to none in the world and is recognized as the most advanced system of the kind. The idea to create a long-range system appeared during the 1990s to destroy targets at a maximum range at medium altitudes

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg named ten countries with worst expectations for GDP growth this year. Russia is to be ranked second in terms of GDP reduction - 3.5 percent - after Ukraine's four percent. Is it possible to say that the Russian economy is one of the weakest in the world?