NewsRussia's ramped-up arms production fuels extended war capability

Russia's ramped-up arms production fuels extended war capability

War in Ukraine. Russia increases weapons production

Images source: © Getty Images | Lynsey Addario

19 April 2024 16:04

According to information published on Friday by the American newspaper "The Washington Post," Russia, is capable of waging war against Ukraine for at least two more years. Despite the higher production pace, Russia is encountering problems with new equipment.

"The Washington Post" recalls that, at the end of last year, Vladimir Putin, the dictator of Russia, approved a record increase in military spending to £104 billion, which constitutes nearly one-third of the total annual state budget.

In recent months, top Russian officials, including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, reported a fourfold increase in the production of armoured vehicles, a fivefold increase in tank deliveries, and almost a 17-fold increase in the production of drones and artillery missiles.

"The Washington Post" emphasizes that these figures cannot be verified and that the Russian military uses "creative accounting" to achieve the best results.

Michael Gjerstad, an analyst of warfare at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), assesses that Russia has the potential to produce up to 330 tanks a year but, in practice, builds about half as many. Even so, by utilizing old stocks, Russia managed to reassemble about 1,140 tanks, which, according to estimates, it lost in 2023.

Experts point out that the supply of existing equipment is limited, and the challenge lies in developing the ability to build new ones. Pavel Aksenov, a military expert and correspondent for Russian defence for the Russian BBC service, observes that previous attempts to modernize the T-80 tank have not been successful.

According to The Washington Post, Russia is unlikely to be able to supply the army with the T-14 Armata tank, which debuted at the Victory Day parade in 2015 and is currently in the testing phase.

"In early 2023, Russian state media published reports citing unnamed military officials that the Armata had been tested on Ukrainian front lines, prompting speculation it would soon be supplied to units there. But last month, the head of Russia’s defense manufacturer, Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, said the Armata will not be deployed in Ukraine because of its high cost," the newspaper reads.

To increase the supply of drones, which are even more critical for Russia in the war against Ukraine than tanks, Russia made a deal with Iran to open a Shahed drone factory in Tatarstan. It sought to increase the production of the Russian kamikaze drone Lancet.