Forecast of 2023 global weapon and equipment development

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Lin Congyi
Time
2023-01-06 20:08:35

By Cao Weidong and Hu Chengcheng

The new year has come. Military observer Cao Weidong made an analysis and prediction on the upcoming changes in the field of weapons and equipment worldwide in 2023.

The Russia–Ukraine conflict will lead to changes in weapons and equipment

The US-led NATO has continuously upgraded weapons and equipment supply to Ukraine since Russia announced the launch of special military operations on February 24, 2022. For example, NATO has upgraded its weapon supply to Ukraine from anti-low-attitude-flying-target missile “Stinger” and anti-tank missile Javelin to the “Patriot” air defense system and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

Cao believes NATO will focus on high-tech weapons in the future, in responding to the development of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In terms of fighter jets, whether it is continuing to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the US or using stealth fighter jets jointly developed by Europe, NATO will move ahead in this area. Given the performance of Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic missile and the Iskander missile with a relatively long range and high strike accuracy, NATO will spare energy on how to intercept and conduct targeted research and development in the area of air defense and anti-missile defense.

New trends in the development of strategic weapons

The US unilaterally established a global ballistic missile defense system in 2022. At the same time, it tore up the Treaty on Open Skies with Russia. As a result, the two sides cannot check each other's nuclear weapons and mutual distrust was increased. In addition, the US deployed B61-12 tactical nuclear weapons with relatively small yields in Europe to lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

These practices have made many countries anxious and may lead them to take asymmetric measures as responses. For example, Russia is committed to developing hypersonic missiles, rather than small-yield tactical nuclear weapons. Overall, countries will gradually increase the proportion of sea-based strategic nuclear forces and reduce the proportion of land-based forces. Various countries will also develop their delivery vehicles towards high-speed, high mobility and multi-warheads.

New breakthroughs to be made in unmanned equipment

File photo: An XQ-58A Valkyrie drone releases the ALTIUS-600 mini-drone (Source: Huanqiu.com)

Among the unmanned equipment, the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is the fastest. The initial emphasis was on reconnaissance and surveillance, and then it was the integration of reconnaissance and strike. Now, the new trend is to enable UAV to coordinate with manned aircraft and make UAV stealth.

The US has developed the XQ-58A Valkyrie stealth drone, which can work with F-22, F-35, and other manned stealth fighter jets. Russia has also developed the S-70 Hunter stealth drone to work with stealth fighter jets like the Su-57. Iran and Israel are currently developing new types of drones. At the end of 2022, the ROK announced that it would establish a drone unit and develop drones to counter drones.

To sum up, many countries will develop more types of drones in 2023. Breakthroughs in terms of airtime, flight speed, and flight altitude might be their new goals when developing drones.

New improvements in the informatization of weapons and equipment

Developed countries always take advantage of their strength in cyberspace and make the Internet serve their own interests. In 2023, they will continue to use their original advantages to integrate various weapons, platforms, and command posts, continuously improve the level of informatization, and strengthen interference or reconnaissance of opponents so they can paralyze the opponent's network in the event of a conflict.

For example, the US Space Force announced the establishment of its first regional combatant command, the Space Force Indo-Pacific Command in 2022. The US Space Exploration Technology Corporation officially released the Starshield satellite project dedicated to serving the government, defense and intelligence agencies.

It should be noted that the future war is a war under informatization, and the construction of informatization will drive the development of the entire weapon equipment system. In 2023, the improvement of weapons and equipment informatization will be a key point for countries, because such improvement is a "multiplier" of combat capabilities.

Editor's note: Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

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