The Moscow Day Parade of military equipment this year
The Kremlin has shrugged off its reputation as a Cold War foe with investment in a frightening array of next generation fighter jets, tanks and radar systems.
Here we detail some of the advanced technology Moscow hopes will give it the upper hand in the war on ISIS.
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Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA stealth air superiority fighter
Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA stealth air superiority fighter
The T-50 is a prototype fifth-generation fighter jet under development for the Russia Air Force.
The PAK FA is intended to be the successor to the MiG-29 and Su-27 and took its first flight in 2010, before an expected full rollout in 2017.
At a cost of more than £30million each, the jets don’t come cheap, but they are expected to have service life of around 35 years.
They have been designed as a direct competition for the US-made F-15 stealth strike fighter and are the first aircraft in Russia’s fleet to use stealth technology, with a specially designed airframe that reduces pickup by radar.
In order to minimise its footprint, weapons are carried internally in weapons bays within the airframe and antennas are sunk into the surface of the jet to preserve the aircraft’s stealthy shape.
Vladimir Putin with the new jet
PAK DA strategic bomber
Russia’s latest stealth bomber is not expected to enter service until 2025 at the earliest.
Little is known about this secretive project to modernise Moscow’s fleet of long-range bombers, but it is thought the jet will have a stealthy, subsonic flying-wing.
After a series of incursions near British airspace in recent months, the aircraft could replace the Russian Tupolev Tu-95 ‘Bear’ bomber as the UK’s premier aviation threat in the skies above Europe.
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AESA radar offers a direct replacement for the older passive electronically scanned array radars
Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar
AESA radar offers a direct replacement for the older passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radars.
It works by spreading signals out across a band of frequencies, making it difficult to detect over background noise.
Aircraft and naval vessels are then able to emit powerful radar signals while still remaining undetected by the enemy.
Eurofighter Typhoons used by the Royal Air Force currently use the technology but the Russian military now hopes to use the same technology on its next generation jets.
AESAs are also much more reliable than older devices and can even adjust to become a jamming device to confuse the receiver as to which is the real pulse and which is the jammer’s.
T-14 Armata Main Battle Tanks
T-14 Armata Main Battle Tanks
First revealed to the public in the 2015 Moscow Day parade, this 49 tonne battle tank is being produced on amass scale for the Russian army.
An order of around 2,300 is rumoured to have been made by defence chiefs at the Kremlin.
Fitted with a 125mm cannon and a machine gun as a secondary armament, this tank can travel at more than 50mph.
Most alarming for Western powers will be its high degree of automation.
In fact, in the coming year’s Russia is said to be looking at making the vehicle fully autonomous and remote controlled, meaning it can be deployed on the battlefield with little or no risk to human life.
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An order of around 2,300 is rumoured to have been made by defence chiefs at the Kremlin
Yassen Attack Submarines
Russia’s latest nuclear-powered attack submarine is set to replace the Soviet-Era vessels currently patrolling the world’s oceans.
The 450ft-long, 8,000 tonne sub can travel at more than 30mph in ‘silent mode’, or more than 40mph at max speed.
At an estimated cost of more than £1billion, the vessel will be armed with supersonic cruise missiles.
Russia is replacing its ageing Soviet-erra submarines
It is also the first class of Russian submarine to be fitted with advanced spherical sonar.
Much of the equipment is automated, meaning the subs need a crew of around 90, compared with more than 130 on modern American vessels.
So far only one has been built, but at least four more are thought to be under construction.
The Yassen attack submarines are a formidable replacement for the old Akula class of the 1980s.
