Twice in the past several weeks, Russian intrusions put the Baltics on high alert. On June 1, several Russian soldiers, traveling from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad without transit permits, were stopped in Lithuania (Apollo.lv, June 2). A week later, two Goryn-class tugboats—the MB-119 and... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on May 22, in Sochi, where he called for broadening the use of space technologies to improve the domestic economy and national defense, specifically referring to ballistic missile launch sensing satellites. He called for having at least 15... MORE

As Moscow prepares to finalize the new State Armaments Program to 2025 (Gosudarstvennaya Programma Vooruzheniya—GPV) in September (see EDM, June 12), numerous reports hold out the prospect of continued military modernization with an emphasis on high-technology and modern assets. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu promises the arrival... MORE

The aggressiveness Moscow has shown in its relations with countries in the former Soviet space reflects Russia’s loss of influence via “soft” power channels. At the same time, the Kremlin’s demonstrated bellicosity simply exacerbates that loss. Consequently, if President Vladimir Putin is going to rebuild... MORE

Ukraine’s state defense-industry concern Ukroboronprom announced, on May 30, that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) offered to add Ukrainian defense-industry firms to its list of approved defense-related producers. Ukroboronprom said it may be allowed to participate in tenders to... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a series of meetings in Sochi, between May 16 and 19, with representatives from the Armed Forces and the defense industry. These meetings, traditionally held twice a year, were the ninth such occasion since 2013. One of the most important... MORE

Update: Since the publication of this article, Chinese reporting on the Army Aviation brigades in the new 74th and 75th Group Armies indicates that the 74th GA has been formed around units primarily from the former 42nd GA, not the 41st as previously reported, and... MORE

In January 2017, a long-anticipated reshuffle of the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) took place. The PLAN and its three fleets each received new commanders. Less noticed, but more significant, was the replacement of General Wang Jiaocheng with Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai... MORE

Central Military Commission (CMC) Member and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force (PLAAF) Commander, General Ma Xiaotian (马晓天), will reach his mandatory retirement age later this year and will likely retire in conjunction with the 19th Party Congress. While much of the PLA’s promotion process... MORE

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree late last month (May 24) that lays out drastic changes in the military organization of the Russian state. The bureaucratic document approves “The Statute on the Operational-Territorial Grouping of National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation.” However, it is... MORE