(War Is Boring) On April 18, 2018, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the year’s military parade in Moscow, commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, will feature new and advanced weaponry.
By Sergey Sukhankin, Eurasia Daily Monitor: “Army General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, presented his reflections on future conflicts, on March 24. Notably, he argued that “the enemy’s economy and command-and-control system (C2) will be priority targets [for potential Russian attacks].” And aside from traditional warfighting domains, Russian forces will increasingly operate in the information sphere and outer space.”
(Deutsche Welle) Russian armed forces provide Moscow with clear military superiority in the post-Soviet region, despite Russia's troops not being able to match the whole of NATO. The Kremlin is busy modernizing its army, experts told DW.
(IHS Jane’s 360) On 30 March, Lieutenant General Anatoliy Zhikarev (retd), commander of long-range aviation (DA) in the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in 2009–16, gave an interview to Russia’s Nezavisimoye Voyennoe Obozreniye ( Independent Military Review ) about the major improvements in the Tu-160M2.
By Gary Schmitt & James Cunningham, RealClearDefense: “When The New York Times reported that Russia had likely deployed a nuclear-armed cruise missile in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, declared the treaty “in tatters” and the deployment a lesson “about the price of not confronting aggression.””
By Joshua Rovner, War on the Rocks: “In 1987, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger told Congress, “Wherever possible, we should adopt strategies that make obsolete past Soviet defense investments.”
By Ihor Kabanenko, Eurasia Daily Monitor: “Russia’s shipbuilding program for 2011–2020, under which the country plans to build over 100 new warships, is reportedly causing “a very bad feeling” among some Russian naval experts. They describe the current status of the Russian Navy as a “ceremonial fleet” and have suggested that one third of the shipbuilding program has resulted in little more than a “donut hole.””
By Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat: “The Russian Navy took delivery of an upgraded Project 667 BDRM Delta IV-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) this month, according to Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Yuri Borisov.