May Victory Parades
Four Su-57s are seen from a skyscraper in Moscow.
In mid-April, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to hold a military parade on Red Square in Moscow due to the COVID-19 pandemic in connection with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Victory over the Third Reich (see WiT 4-5). / 2020). In the days leading up to the anniversary, an average of 10 new cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Russia every day, and this figure remained at about the same level. The resignation from the parade was not dictated by fear for the health of its participants - soldiers and officers. Basically, it was about tens of thousands of spectators, and above all about the participants in the march "immortal swallow", reminiscent of participants in the Great Patriotic War. Last year, more than 000 people took part in it in Moscow alone!
The Russian authorities quickly noticed that the decision was hasty and that the anniversary had to be celebrated somehow. Therefore, on April 28, President Putin announced that the air part of the parade would take place in Moscow, and a few days later it was announced that military aircraft would fly over 47 Russian cities. The total number of planes and helicopters involved was impressive, exceeding 600. Most of the cars, 75, flew over Moscow, 30 over Khabarovsk and St. Petersburg, 29 over Sevastopol ...
In Moscow, there were no technical innovations, as nowhere else. Compared to last year (when the air part of the festival was canceled due to bad weather, and we know its composition from test flights), the number of MiG-31K and Su-57 participating has been increased from two to four. By the way, it was officially announced that their state tests were coming to an end. It was also announced that work on the new Izdeliye 30 engine for the Su-57 is slower than announced, and it will be ready no sooner than in five years. This is a much more realistic timeline than previously announced, since this should be a really new engine, and not another version of the otherwise excellent, but almost fifty-year-old AL-31F. By the way, there has never been such a long break in the construction of new aircraft engines for combat aircraft in any major country in this industry.
One of the MiG-31K with a suspended Kinzhal missile.
Even later, it was decided to hold parades of warships in the main port cities of Russia. The frigates "Admiral Essien" and "Admiral Makarov" (both projects 11356R), "The Nasty Caretaker" (project 1135), the small rocket ship "Vyshny Volochok" (project 21631), the R-60 missile boat (project 12411) participated in Sevastopol, large landing ship "Azov". (project 775 / III), the submarine "Rostov-on-Don" (project 636.6) and the FSB border guard patrol "Amietist" (project 22460).
On May 5, as part of the parade plans, information was provided on the number of combat vehicles of selected designs that should be manufactured for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2020. The maximum, as many as 460, will be, surprisingly, BTR-82 transporters. This is a slightly modernized BTR-80, built back in the days of the “heyday” of the USSR and now undoubtedly outdated. Their purchases testify to the receding prospect of launching the mass production of the Boomerang. There will be 72 modernized T-3B120M tanks, more than 3 BMP-100 infantry fighting vehicles and 60 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles upgraded to Berezhok standard, 35 self-propelled guns 2S19M2 "Msta-S" and only 4 new Kamaz Typhoon 4.×30.
Information was also provided on the conclusion of additional agreements related to the purchase of anti-aircraft systems. It is planned to supply eight Tor-M2 brigade sets, two Tor-M2DT Arctic sets, seven Buk-M3 squadrons and one S-300W4 air defense system. These deliveries are likely to be made before the end of 2024. The above decisions are part of a broader effort by the government of the Russian Federation to support an economy hit by the effects of the pandemic. Instead of paying companies benefits and unemployment benefits to laid-off workers, new orders are being placed and financed that give companies jobs and government benefits in the form of finished products. Not all countries came up with this simple but effective idea...
On May 26, President Vladimir Putin announced that due to the stabilization of the epidemiological situation, the celebration of Victory Day would take place at the end of June. On June 24, that is, on the 75th anniversary of the Moscow Victory Parade, a military parade will take place, which was originally planned for May 9, and on June 26, the march of the “immortal swallow” will pass through the streets of the capital. Russia Federation.
Celebrations in Belarus
The authorities of the Republic of Belarus have shown complete contempt for the epidemic threat. Over the past few weeks, President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly ridiculed "alarmists" taking "unnecessary" measures to reduce the scale of the pandemic in neighboring countries and around the world. Therefore, the decision to hold the parade in Minsk on May 9 did not surprise anyone. The parade was not a record one, but it showed a lot of new technology. In addition to vehicles belonging to the line units, prototypes made by local defense enterprises were also demonstrated.
The column of vehicles was opened by a T-34-85 with a reconstructed, historical inscription on the turret, unique in that it was written in Belarusian rather than Russian. Behind him was a column of T-72B3M - that is, modernized vehicles with extensive additional armor. Their choice by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus should not come as a surprise, since the key elements of the fire control system for them were manufactured not in Russia, but in Belarus. True, some of the Belarusian T-140Bs were upgraded to the Vityaz model at the 72nd repair plant in Borisov, but due to the repair of outdated Kontakt-1 rocket shields, this was not a promising solution. The first four T-72B3s modernized in Russia were handed over to the 969th reserve tank base in Urzech, Minsk region in June 2017, and the first 10 vehicles of this type were received on November 120 by the 22nd mechanized brigade with command in Minsk. , 2018.
Wheeled BTR-80s were supplied with sets of anti-accumulation lattice shields, developed by the Russian Research Institute of Steel, but used sporadically in Russia. There are 140 of them installed in Belarus. Remontowe mortgages are also on the BMP-2. The same one was installed on the debuting BTR-70MB1, in which the engines were also replaced (Kamaz-7403 used in the BTR-80) and the equipment was modernized, incl. radio stations R-181-50TU Bustard. Modernization increased the weight of the machine by about 1500 kg.
Two new field rocket launchers participated in the parade. The first is the upgraded 9P140MB Uragan-B. A set of launchers with 16 tubular guides for 220-mm unguided rockets was installed on the MAZ-531705 carrier vehicle. Thus, a combat vehicle was created that was heavier than the original one (from 23 to 20 tons) and had significantly worse off-road qualities. The only justification for its creation may be the lower cost of operation and easier maintenance (the original ZIL-u-135LM/LMP has not been produced for decades). The second system is the completely original 80mm Flute rocket. It is used to launch B-8 missiles at a distance of up to 3 km. It has up to 80 tubular rails and an advanced Alliance automated steering system. The carrier is a two-axle Asilak vehicle with a lightly armored cab, with a combat weight of 7 tons. remote targets.
Of course, launchers and transport-loading vehicles of the W-300 Polonaise missile system marched in Minsk. True, missiles for it are supplied from the People's Republic of China, but the whole thing is so successful that it has already found its first foreign recipient - Azerbaijan, although this market sector is saturated with similar developments signed by well-known manufacturers.
The category of light armored vehicles was represented by as many as four types of vehicles in a 4 × 4 layout. The most original were the Cayman Islands, i.e. deeply modernized BRDM-2. In addition to them, Russian Wołki, called Lis PM, and Chinese Dajiangi VN-3, called Drakon in Belarus, passed through the streets of Minsk. 30 of these machines weighing 8,7 tons were donated by the PRC authorities and transferred in 2017. The result of a political decision was the purchase of a lighter (3,5 tons), also two-axle TigerJeep 3050, known as the Bogatyr. Most likely he was
this is an element of an extensive Chinese-Belarusian contract implemented using a Chinese loan. It is possible that, as in the case of loans taken in Western countries by the team of Edward Gierek in the 70s, some of them were to be used to purchase certain goods in the country of the lender.
