During a meeting in January, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the need for constant analysis of the experience of the Russian military in Syria and Ukraine in order to be able to calculate the supplies of military equipment accordingly.
In 2023, the Russian army will receive state-of-the-art strategic missile carriers, launchers with intercontinental ballistic missiles and new small arms.
In 2023, the long-range aviation of Russian Aerospace Forces will receive three Tu-160M bombers. The first Tu-160M strategic missile carrier, which was assembled in Russia in its entirety, took off for its maiden flight in January last year. Another White Swan bomber aircraft took off after modernisation the same month.
The upgraded aircraft were equipped with new avionics, as well as NK-32-02 engines. The basic version of the aircraft with four engines and a variable sweep wing can carry up to 45 tons of payload, including Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles. The Tupolev Tu-160 develops a maximum speed of up to 2,230 kilometres per hour.
In late December 2022, Russia launched the Emperor Alexander III nuclear submarine cruiser of Project 955A Borei-A. Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, said that the Navy would receive the Emperor Alexander III nuclear submarine in 2023.
The Emperor Alexander III can carry 16 Bulava solid-propellant ballistic missiles. These ICBMs can manoeuvre in the upper stage of flight thus reducing the likelihood of them being intercepted by anti-missile defence systems. The nuclear submarine was also outfitted with six 533-mm torpedo tubes.
In 2023, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces will receive 22 launchers with ICBMs, including Yars missiles. In December, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel-General Sergei Karakaev, said that the re-equipment of the Yars mobile ground-based missile systems would be completed in 2023.
The RS-24 Yars strategic missile system with a solid-propellant ICBM is a modification of the Topol-M complex. The missile with a range of up to 12,000 kilometres has a new technology to overcome anti-missile defence. Its mobile version can strike from anywhere along the patrol route.
In 2023, Russia will also receive launchers with intercontinental ballistic missiles of the Avangard complex equipped with hypersonic warheads. These state-of-the-art systems can manoeuvre while travelling at high speed to overcome missile defences.
The speed of the gliding Avangard system reaches about 7.5 kilometers per second. This makes it nearly invulnerable to missile defence systems. The second Avangard regiment took up combat duty in the Orenburg Missile Division of the Strategic Missile Forces in December.
In 2023, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces will also receive launchers with RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles. Russia already started deploying Sarmat missiles.
The RS-28 Sarmat complex comes as a replacement for the Soviet R-36M2 Voevoda complex. The new missile has a shortened boost phase trajectory. The Sarmat missile can strike targets almost anywhere on Earth. It can also carry hypersonic gliders.
In early January, a TASS source said that the Russian Army received the upgraded Ka-52M reconnaissance and attack helicopters. Later it became known that the Russian Aerospace Forces used Ka-52M helicopters as part of the special operation in Ukraine. Helicopters are equipped with Product 305 high-precision missiles.
The upgraded version of the Ka-52 received a system for monitoring the state of the structure and a new sighting system, which makes it possible for the pilot to increase the range of detection and recognition of targets at night. The Ka-52M was equipped with composite heated rotor blades and an improved airborne defence system that protects the vehicle from man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS).
In 2023, the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant will begin the serial production of 6P72 Udav pistols. The supplies of Udav pistols in a new configuration with a silencer will begin to the Russian Armed Forces this year too.
A self-loading pistol chambered for 9 by 21-mm cartridges was developed by specialists from the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering. The Udav has a new design magazine with a capacity of 18 rounds, which makes it possible to visually or tactilely determine how many rounds are left inside. The Udav can use cartridges with a bullet of enhanced penetration that penetrates bulletproof vests of the second class of protection.
In the summer of 2022, it was reported that the AK-12 assault rifle was upgraded based on the experience gained during the special operation. Alan Lushnikov, President of the Kalashnikov Group of Companies, said that the production of the upgraded assault rifle was to start in 2023.