Russia has a strong stockpile of weapons
About what weapons the Russian army uses and is found on foreign markets, Voice of America spoke with Samuel Bendett, an expert at the Center for Naval Analytics (Samuel Bendett, Center for Naval Analysis).
Samuel Bendett is a former employee of the Russian service of Voice of America
Voice of America: Probably, during the five months of the war, stocks of Russian weapons and how does Russia replenish them?
Samuel Bendett: When people say that Russia’s resources are running out, it is relative, because Russia has a huge amount of resources and sensitive stocks of weapons. Yes, a certain percentage of the modern armed forces was used up, there were a lot of seizures, but Russia still has large stocks of weapons and taxes, and the Russian defense industry can supply stable armed forces, which are also beginning to be used in this war. When they say that Russia spends a huge amount of crimes and punishments, this does not mean that they are over. The Russian military-industrial complex continues to work.
G.A.: Is this supply enough?
S.B.: The supply is adequate. Even before the war, the Russian defense industry stocks consumed the consumption of various components of microelectronics. Certain use of weapons in the near future will not be possible in the same quantity as before, but, in general, the Russian defense is currently quite adequately equipped by the Russian army. If the defense industry had said that everything was over with it, then, probably, the war would have ended. The Russian military-industrial complex united ingenuity.
G.A.: It is known that Russia is gaining additional advantages in the global market, in particular, drones in Iran. Why is this happening if Russian defense is advancing with military orders?
Russia knows that it is starting this war with a very popular modern military.
S.B.: Russia knows that it is starting this war with a very popular modern military. For ten years, the Russian defense industry, the government and the military elite have been killing about the need for attack drones and the income for them. The Russian defense industry has not been up to the task because drones are quite difficult to manufacture. The war showed that much more weapons are required. But for all the talk of established designs and so on, Russia is supposed to have insufficient high-tech weapons.
Before the start of the war, there were only a few subsequent Orion and Forpost drones in Russia that could be deployed to the Ukrainian front. Russia’s appeal to Iran to acquire drones suggests that Moscow did not calculate how long the war would last. If this war really lasted – like Putin – only a few weeks, then everything would have ended long ago.
Therefore, to whom the question arose: can you put it? I first wait for Russia to turn to China. But, apparently, Beijing is very wary of this, because the US Congress has also touched China. Iran’s military industry has been developing under sanctions for many years, despite the fact that Iran has been able to create many very popular models of military drones, including medium-range drones and loitering revenues, which Russia wants to get. In this sense, Iran is suitable for Russia.
Russia does not have enough high-tech weapons.
Russia has been looking for microelectronics around the world for a long time and stocking up on it. Naturally, because of the war, the need for Russia has increased significantly, and because of the many chains they no longer work, so Russia is looking for new ones. But in Russia it is impossible to completely isolate from the cases of various exclusive products – if some streams are closed, then new ones are opened, cloud intermediaries, “gray” intermediaries, and so on.
G.A.: What drones does Russia have?
S.B.: The most common Russian drone “Orlan”. They were actively used, and Russia lost a lot of them. When Ukrainians discover drones, it turns out that a lot of imported materials and microcircuits are used in their manufacture. However, Orlan is based on cameras and sensors, civilian drones are recommended – they are much easier to get than a civilian system.
G.A.: How did the military-industrial complex of Iran manage to pick up under the sanction to create drones and even export them?
S.B.: Partly thanks to the so-called reverse engineering: power and reworking of modern foreign technology research. So, some alleged or American drones were simply copied. There were a lot of partners in Iran around the world, including China and many other countries that could provide products in Iran through “gray” ways. It is also important that in Iran this military program already has four experiences. And the modern program for the production of Russian drones was launched only in 2010, when the Russian defense expansion program was launched. Some drones were made in Russia before, but the country had other priorities.
Several programs are required to develop the production of drones. In order not to buy for this time, you can simply buy this device from partners. This is what Ukraine did when it acquired Bayraktars in Turkey. Russia wants to do the same and buy drones and loitering income in Iran.
In 2010-2012, Russia carried out single purchases of drone liquidators. Now these drones are used by the Russian Armed Forces under the names “Outpost” and “Outpost” – the gap in Russian defense was closed by imports. Now in Russia there is a similar situation, its own industry does not allow the supply of drones, so you need to buy them.
Russia and Iran announced the delivery of drones to Russia.
Russia and Iran announced the delivery of drones to Russia. This means that Russian pilots must take a course in Iran. American intelligence agencies are talking about this too.
There is a lot of open information that there were some deliveries from Iran to Russia by Iranian transport aircraft. What they were transporting – drones or something else – can only be assumed. Russia has a limited number of open partners now. For example, Belarus, which has a fairly developed military-industrial complex, which, by the way, also produces unmanned systems.
It is impossible to completely isolate the state. If this were possible, then Iran and North Korea have long been the case in their case.
It is impossible to completely isolate the state. If this were possible, then Iran and North Korea
G.A.: Is Russia used inefficiently?
S.B.: Pretty fast, but the Ukrainian army is a very tough nut to crack and the Ukrainian armed forces have a significant share of the damage. Russia lost heavy losses in this war and is now trying to make up for them.
G.A.: Is the defense industry of Ukraine capable of using something in a war, or is Ukraine completely dependent on the proposal of Western partners?
S.B.: Of course, the Ukrainian defense industry can produce something. For example, now there is talk about opening a factory for the production of “Bayraktars” in Ukraine – from Turkish and Ukrainian components. The Ukrainian defense industry is alive, it was not completely destroyed, it can repair and produce various types of military products. But the situation may change if the war continues for a long time, and Russia eliminates Ukrainian infrastructure.
Russia lost heavy losses in this war and is now trying to make up for them.
G.A.: What can be said about the Russian republics owned by drones?
S.B.: We are talking about sources of anti-drone and electronic warfare. Russia had significant advantages over the Ukrainian army. But the front line is quite long, and it is impossible to close all the sections that are missing. Where they work together, the Russian armed forces have no problem shooting down Ukrainian drones and a large number of different jammers. However, the Ukrainians very successfully used the gaps in the electronic protection of the Russian army.
G.A.: Why does Russia borrow from warehouses and use the required usage?
S.B.: Due to the fact that many weapons were lost. The weapons of the older generations do not always go to the front, they are often used in auxiliary roles. And not everything produced in the past application is obsolete. Artillery are found, mortars, objects 40-50 years old, not very important from guns and mortars made a decade ago.
G.A.: How would you assess the course of hostilities?
S.B.: I think that both sides are using the capabilities of their weapons to the maximum. So far, there are no major changes on the front line. But everything can change if a successful large-scale offensive is launched in Ukraine or Russia.