Planes, tanks, ships: Russian military gets massive upgrade
The Russian military received a sweeping array of new weapons last year, including 41 intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the wide-ranging military modernization will continue this year, the defense minister said Feb. 22.
Minister Sergei Shoigu told lawmakers the air force will receive 170 new aircraft, the army will receive 905 tanks and other armored vehicles while the navy will receive 17 new ships this year.
Amid tensions with the West, the Kremlin has continued to spend big on new weapons despite Russia’s economic downturn.
Also this year, three regiments of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces will receive new intercontinental ballistic missiles, Shoigu said. Each regiment has up to 10 launchers.
The rising number of new weapons has raised demands for new personnel. Shoigu said the military currently needs 1,300 more pilots and will recruit them by 2018.
A severe money crunch after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union left the military in tatters, with most of its planes grounded and ships left rusting at harbor for lack of funds. As part of President Vladimir Putin’s military reforms, the armed forces have received new weapons and now engage in regular large-scale drills.
Russia has used its revived military capability in Syria, where it has launched an air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad and used the conflict to test its new weapons for the first time in combat.
The weapons modernization effort has seen the 1-million Russian military narrow the technological gap in some areas where Russia had fallen behind the West, such as long-range conventional weapons, communications and drone technologies.
Shoigu said the military now has 2,000 drones compared to just 180 in 2011. He also noted that Russia has now deployed new long-range early warning radars to survey the airspace along the entire length of its borders.
The minister said the military will complete the formation of three new divisions in the nation’s west and southwest, and also deploy a new division on the Pacific Islands, which have been claimed by Japan.
The dispute over the Kuril Islands just north of Japan, which the former Soviet Union seized in the closing days of World War II, has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty.
Russia previously has deployed new long-range anti-ship missiles on the Kurils to protect the coast. The deployment of a full-fledged Russian army division there appears intended to stake Moscow’s claim to the islands, which have strategic importance and are surrounded by fertile fishing grounds. AP
Airbus profit dives on problems with A400M military jet
Surprise new costs for the long-troubled Airbus A400M military jet sent the European plane maker’s profits plunging last year and will weigh on the company’s financial prospects through next year, even as it forecast a rise in aircraft deliveries and demand.
Airbus CEO Tom Enders acknowledged that “the jury is still out on the long-term success” of the A400M, but insisted “it’s absolutely necessary” to maintain it as long as European militaries depend on it.
Airbus on Feb. 22 reported that its profits fell 63 percent in 2016 to 995 million euros ($1.04 billion), from 2.7 billion euros the year before. The company reported 2.2 billion in charges on the A400M in 2016, including a new 1.2 billion-euro hit in the fourth quarter as it reassessed the overall cost of the program.
With governments delaying payments because of A400M delays, Airbus warned that cash problems “will continue to weigh significantly in 2017 and 2018 in particular.”
Airbus’ commercial plane forecast was more upbeat, after a year that saw a rise in deliveries but a drop in orders. It foresees a rise in deliveries in 2017 to more than 700 planes, up from 688 last year.
Shares in Airbus sank on the earnings report then rallied, trading at 66.81 euros in early afternoon, barely down from Tuesday’s close.
Airbus management is holding discussions with governments about reducing further financial blows related to the A400M. Enders blamed the plane’s problems on misguided decisions made at the birth of the program in the early 2000s and exacerbated by problems with engine suppliers and delivery delays that led to big financial penalties.
Airbus still forecasts high demand for its popular single-aisle A320 range jets, but are scaling back production of superjumbo A380s amid lower demand than initially expected.
Enders said it is still too early for Airbus to rethink its operations in Britain as it leaves the European Union.
“How can we review it when it’s absolutely unclear what will happen?” he asked. Airbus has 15,000 employees in Britain, making airplane wings and space equipment for planes made across Europe.
“We are watching this space, like other industries, and we obviously hope that no additional barriers will be directed or will interfere with the competitiveness of Airbus,” he said.
He also played down concerns about possible U.S. protectionism under President Donald Trump. Noting that Airbus has an assembly plant in Alabama, other plants opening soon and suppliers across the U.S., he said, “I feel pretty good about … our contribution to the U.S. economy.”
Airbus’ chief rival, Boeing, beat expectations for fourth-quarter profit despite a slump in revenue from its defense business, and it also forecast a rise in deliveries of commercial jets in 2017. AP