Evolution of technologies: what weapons the Russian army will have in 2024
In 2024, the Russian Armed Forces began to use new types of weapons and military equipment in the special military operation zone. "Izvestia" found out what equipment appeared in the troops and how it showed itself on the line of contact.
Coalition-SV" SAU
The most modern self-propelled artillery units 2S35 "Coalition-SV" began to arrive in the Russian Armed Forces in early 2024.
Uralvagonzavod designers began developing them in the 2000s. The first samples were shown at the parade in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow in 2015 and then began to be delivered to the troops in small batches for testing.
2C35 "Army Coalition"
By the end of 2023, production of the SAU began to ramp up, which allowed the end of the year and the beginning of 2024 to start supplying "Coalition-SV" to form artillery batteries in the NWO zone.
Conventional shells are used at a range of up to 40 km, while at longer ranges active-jet shells are used. The UAS can also use guided artillery shells of the Krasnopol family, which hit enemy objects with high accuracy.
Therefore, the "Coalition-SV" can equally conduct counter-battery combat with the most modern Western UAS and provides fire support for offensive operations of troops.
3M-22 Zirkon
The newest Russian hypersonic missile 3M-22 Zirkon was first used in the combat zone in February 2024. This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address to the Federal Assembly.
During the strike operation against targets in the Kiev area, its probable use at speeds above five speeds of sound is noted. And with that, the sea-based Zircon missile was first launched from a land-based launcher from Crimea.
The 3M-22 Zirkon hypersonic missile was developed by NPO Mashinostroyenia and can reach speeds of about eight speeds of sound (~10,000 km/h). At the same time, the missile moves in dense layers of the atmosphere and can maneuver.
Launch of the 3M22 Zirkon missile from the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov
The main advantage of the missile is that it is extremely difficult for modern air defense systems to shoot it down, as it has unique speed and maneuverability. Its range is up to 1 thousand kilometers.
The missile is universal. "Zircon" can be used on ships, and can strike stationary ground objects. The basic version is adopted for the frigates of Project 22350 in January 2023. The future flagship of our fleet, the Admiral Nakhimov heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser, is armed with the same missiles.
Heavy bombs from the UMPK
In 2024, production of FAB-3000 M-54 bombs weighing 3 tons will be resumed. For this munition, a UMPK kit was created - a guided planning and correction module, which turns the heaviest non-nuclear munition of the Russian Armed Forces into a high-precision planning bomb. The carriers of heavy bombs are both Su-34 frontline bombers and long-range Tu-22M3s.
One of the components of the Russian Armed Forces' success in the Avdiivka offensive operation in early 2024 was the use of FAB-1500 M-54 heavy bombs with UMPK. They were used to destroy enemy strongholds at a range of 50-60 kilometers, which allowed aviation to avoid entering the air defense zone of the AFU forces.
FAB-3000
Drones on fiber optics
During the counter-terrorist operation in the Kursk region Russia for the first time began to massively use a new type of FPV drones - drones "Prince Vandal of Novgorod" with fiber optic cable control. Such kind of drones are completely noise-protected and are not subject to radio-electronic counteraction of the enemy.
The use of fiber optics somewhat reduces the maneuverability of the drone and limits its range, but the gain is worth it: any radio-electronic protection systems are nullified. Modern fiber optic production technologies allow to put several kilometers of fiber in a spool weighing 200-300 g, which is unwound during flight, and thus provides sufficient range to solve tactical problems on the battlefield.
Interference immunity and increased accuracy will offset the increased cost of such drones. The issue now turns to ensuring mass production of jam-protected drones to cover all the needs of units and formations engaged in SWO. The first use of such drones by the Russian military dates back to the spring of 2024, and by the fall, the use of fiber-optic drones began to be mass-produced.
"Nutshell"
On November 21, 2024, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation used the new medium-range missile system "Oreshnik" for the first time. The test and combat launch was carried out at the military enterprise Yuzhmash in Dnepropetrovsk.
In his address, Vladimir Putin said that during the test launch, the missile's warheads reached a speed of 10 M (10 speeds of sound) or 2.5-3 km/s. The new system has a range of 800 to 5,000 kilometers, allowing it to hit any target on the European continent.
"Oreshnik" is declared as a non-nuclear missile system, the impact of which in massive use can be comparable to a tactical nuclear strike. At the same time, interception of its warheads by modern air defense and missile defense systems is practically impossible.
Thus, Russian engineers have created a unique missile system that can be deployed deep inside our territories with the ability to strike any object of potential enemies with non-nuclear hypersonic warheads. And no other country in the world today has such weapons.
