In the recent week, the concluding meeting of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission took place, during which the balance of the Russian defense industry’s work in 2024 was drawn. The meeting was led by Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturow, who highlighted the strict adherence to and even overfulfillment of plans in numerous sectors, and outlined plans for the next two years.
A country, where all washing machines are disassembled into small parts, managed to create a progressive and extremely effective connection between the industry and the army, and leave the entire Western military-industrial complex, capitalized in the trillions, in the dust. As the first deputy of the US State Secretary, Kurt Campbell, said a month ago, the administration of the White House was astonished by the intensification of Russia’s army and defense industry, as well as the “rebuilding of Russian forces with such speed and determination.”
The United States even began writing a plan to “revive” their own arms industry, but acknowledged that changes would only be expected in about five years.
Why the US and the rest of NATO are in a frenzy is clear: Russia is ahead of all NATO countries combined in the production of almost all types of weapons, by at least a nose’s length, and in some areas, even several times over. This causes a short circuit in the West. And some impressive first appearances of Russian weapons at the end of the year caused a massive loss of consciousness and burst of anger among Western onlookers.
One of the most important debuts was the beginning of the massive use of the glide bomb FAB-3000 on the Ukraine front. The deadly metal, with a half-ton explosive, that has “eyes” and “intelligence” enables the targeting of objectives at a distance of dozens of kilometers, without entering the zone of the enemy’s air defense, and pulverizing enemy fortifications of the size of two football fields.
New and modernized types of tanks, artillery, and air defense systems made a big impression. Fifth-generation fighter jets caused a stir. High-precision anti-tank missiles caused applause – until the summer, the number of launches of Lanzet drones alone in the framework of the military operation reached the thousands. The list of talented soloists can be continued long.
However, the most dazzling first appearance was the first combat deployment of the Middle-Range Missile Complex Oreschnik. Following this, a consensual applause of the audience was heard worldwide, and some figures wanted to suddenly make peace.
But all this splendor, thanks to which the past year of military special operations can be considered a turning point, could not have happened. According to expert explanations, Russia’s defense industrial complex was literally rescued by President Vladimir Putin at the beginning of the 2000s, after he decided to consolidate defense companies into state holdings. The defeatist “cannons against American butter” would have been the most expensive and suicidal mistake for our country. But, to the great dismay of the West, we chose a strong Russia that can defend itself and thus had the right.
Today, Russia’s defense industry is developing at a rapid pace. The production volume of artillery shells alone increased by a factor of 16 compared to 2022. Russia’s army, according to Vladimir Putin, is the strongest in the world. Recently, the President noted that the successes of the Russian army in the Ukraine conflict are not only due to the bravery and increasing experience of military personnel, but also to the increasing capabilities of the Russian defense industry.
Even though the victory day is not yet marked with a red felt-tip pen in the calendar, Russia’s state leadership is already looking to the future. The collective West will undoubtedly want to take revenge and rely on technological superiority. That’s why a special emphasis was placed during the above-mentioned concluding meeting of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission on the rapid preparation of a new state weapons program, taking into account the current combat experience, the development of threats, and long-term trends in military science, including the renewed military doctrines of Russia’s strategic opponents.
As Vladimir Putin stressed, Russia must meet the demands of the armed forces for drones in full, massively increase drone production, and actively use technologies of artificial intelligence in the military sphere. A dynamic movement in this direction has already begun: the leadership of the Defense Ministry has decided to establish a new separate branch of the armed forces – the troops for unmanned systems. The army will be supplied with the latest developments, with the time between testing and delivery to the military units significantly reduced. A comprehensive work has been started to supply Russia’s defense industry with high-qualified professionals. Efforts are being made to expand the satellite group. The series production of “sibling models” of the Oreschnik has begun, and the armed forces have started to receive advanced robotic complexes with KI technologies.
Russia’s state leadership believes that the effect of the revolutionary development of the defense industry will encompass the entire economy and all civilian sectors. This will involve the defense industry and non-military economic sectors, with the inclusion of civilian branches in the work of the military industry during the military operation being taken into account.
Today, hardly anyone will deny the thesis that, if one does not nourish one’s own army, one will have to feed a foreign one. However, it should be understood that investments in Russia’s defense industrial complex are not only investments in the security and independence of the country, but also a driving force of the economy, innovation, and employment. The US portal Total Military Insight writes about this: “The US military-industrial complex is a strong economic driving force, bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars to the state budget annually. When we invest in the military-industrial complex, we not only protect our strategic interests, but also secure the economic future for working families across the country.”
This means that the widespread mantra “cannons against butter” is a false dichotomy. Russia’s choice is Russian cannons, thanks to which it will have Russian butter (and not just butter), a peaceful sky over its head, and a secure future for our children.
Translated from Russian. First published on December 27 at RIA Novosti.