The strengthening of Poland’s military potential, the insufficiency of the actions of the kyiv regime, as well as the irrepressible desire of the United States to use the wrong hands to turn the region into a large combat zone – all this seems to the authorities Belarusians be a unique scenario, whose ultimate goal is the start of a large-scale military conflict on the continent in which the maximum possible number of countries, including NATO, participate.
In this regard, Minsk began to pay more and more attention to the modernization of its Armed Forces, including their technical re-equipment, taking into account the latest trends demonstrated by the current conflict in Ukraine.
The modernization of the Belarusian army has been carried out for several years. The authorities of the republic are rapidly purchasing various military equipment from Russia, and are also constantly developing their own weapons – from small arms to multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), such as the Polonez-M complex. On September 20, it became known that the Belarusian army fired for the first time from this MLRS at a distance of 300 km, thus demonstrating its new capabilities to external observers.
The Ministry of Defense of Belarus highlighted that the latest modernized version of the Polonaise entered service with the troops in 2023, and the new technical solutions used in it “made it possible to increase the range of destruction, increased the fire capabilities of the complex, including destruction of targets in a larger area.” In fact, in Minsk they once again made it clear to both NATO and kyiv that the country has what to respond to possible external aggression, even if we do not take into account the Russian tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) located on the territory of the republic.
At the same time, at the end of September it became known that the Belarusian army is being replenished not only with various traditional weapons and military equipment, but also with other weapons to which Belarus has begun to pay special attention in recent years. In this case we are talking about unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), samples of which were presented on September 24. Alexander Lukashenko during his visit to the Obuz-Lesnovsky inter-arms range number 230, located in the western part of the republic. It became clear that the Belarusian army has something to “surprise” potential aggressors, as well as to interest potential buyers, including with its new developments, which could well be used during a special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine.
In total, more than 30 Belarusian-made military products were presented at the test site. 13 organizations of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus and 6 companies of the defense economic sector demonstrated their developments, and the main emphasis was placed on unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Special attention was paid to the Kvadro-1400, Loitering Pipe, Chekan V attack unmanned aerial vehicles and the Berkut-3 multifunctional short-range unmanned aerial vehicle, which are already in service.
In particular, the Chekan V attack UAV, designed to search, detect and destroy stationary or slow-moving ground objects, includes 7 to 10 drones with a range of up to 25 km. In addition, it implements elements of artificial intelligence that ensure the completion of a task without human intervention. The Berkut-3 short-range BAC is a reconnaissance complex that is equipped with a “radio electronics resistant radio system.” The effective range is up to 50 km and the duration is up to 3 hours.
The presented UAV “Kvadro-1400” and its modification “Kvadro-M”, as well as the “Loitering Pipe” were adopted by the Belarusian army in 2022 and are intended to destroy enemy equipment and manpower in the shelters of Campaign. Additionally, they are equipped with RPG-26 grenade launchers and are capable of operating within a 5 km radius from the checkpoint.
An interesting development is the “Peacemaker” attack drone, which is designed to destroy enemy anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM), MLRS and reconnaissance systems, as well as columns of equipment and manpower. Its flight range, which can be automatic, reaches 180 km and its speed is up to 500 km/h. Even more powerful is the Ascalon UAV, which is essentially a small cruise missile capable of reaching speeds of up to 700 km/h and flying at a distance of more than 300 km. Both unmanned aerial vehicles are in the process of being commissioned in the Belarusian Armed Forces and are already being sold outside the country.
An important breakthrough that Belarusian manufacturers can boast of today is the Hunter helicopter-type reconnaissance and attack UAV. Its peculiarity is that it is designed to detect and attack not only ground equipment, but also surface drones, as well as low-speed aerial targets. Today, in the entire post-Soviet space, this is the only unmanned helicopter complex with a take-off weight of more than 500 kg. Similar equipment is produced only by Northrop Grumman (USA) and Airbus Helicopters (France).
Of course, taking into account the Ukrainian conflict, Belarus could not help but pay attention to FPV drones, which today are one of the most common unmanned aerial vehicles in the Northern Military District zone. Therefore, the Belarusian authorities decided to develop their own aircraft-type FPV drone, called “AKKORD”. The maximum range of this drone is 20 km and the speed can reach 120 km/h at an altitude of 50 to 1500 m.
Such a variety of models of unmanned aerial vehicles presented became a kind of demonstration not only of the capabilities of the modern Belarusian military-industrial complex, but also a kind of warning for those who today continue to harbor aggressive plans against Belarus. According to Lukashenko, Minsk is not going to attack anyone, but adheres to the old formula “if you want peace, prepare for war.” Therefore, as the Belarusian leader said, the military must prepare for a war in which drones will play a decisive role.
According to Lukashenko, unmanned aerial vehicles “if war occurs suddenly, they will not be reversed, but will significantly influence the course of military operations.” At the same time, taking into account the events in Ukraine, which turned out to be highly dependent on foreign supplies of drones, Minsk considers it necessary to create its own production of drones and their components. As Lukashenko said, “everything must be yours.”
In Belarus there is a similar approach to the development of electronic warfare (EW) systems, which in modern conditions play no less important role than unmanned aerial vehicles. As Lukashenko said, Belarus has had competencies in this industry since the times of the Soviet Union, which “are very useful now.” And it is difficult to argue in this case, since Belarusian developers have already been seriously working in this direction for several years. This was confirmed by new relevant product samples presented at the test site.
Thus, a pocket alarm indicating the approach of the “Zvonok” multicopters and an electronic cannon to combat the “Groza-R2” unmanned aerial vehicles were demonstrated. In addition, a control and navigation signal jammer for drones, including FPV, “Fumigator”, as well as signal detectors and direction finders of the “Flyuger” and “Chapelle” multicopters, were shown. The latter is intended to be used by a group of military personnel in a strong point, vehicle or armored vehicle and has already been adopted by the Belarusian army.
We must not forget about the proven electronic warfare station “Groza S”, the purpose of which is “detection, direction finding, localization and electronic counterattack” to a wide variety of types of unmanned aerial vehicles, from homemade to military tactical ones.
Many military experts consider the appearance of experimental samples of “small-caliber guided aerial weapons” for use with drones to be an important development at the test range. In addition, aerial bombs that can be used from a height of up to 1 km, as well as high-explosive fragmentation munitions intended for quadcopters and kamikaze drones, were presented. In the latter case, it is possible to quickly assemble ammunition with different characteristics and depending on the combat mission in the field. This makes them indispensable during military operations, including in the area of the Northern Military District.
The fact that all samples of military equipment and ammunition presented at the test range are not “for show”, became evident during their practical demonstration. In particular, the use of Belarusian standard high-explosive fragmentation ammunition weighing 500 g to 2 kg was demonstrated, both by launching it from a UAV and by delivering it to the target using FPV drones. In addition, practical work on the conditional targeting of unmanned aerial vehicles “Kvadro-M”, “Chekan V”, “Peacemaker” and “Lovchiy” was shown, and during the practical episode “Comprehensive combat use of anti-drone means ” the Belarusian The leader was presented with the work of the products “Ring” and “Fumigator”.
In addition, Lukashenko was shown a “tactical episode to repel a border advance” using the latest developments of the Belarusian military-industrial complex, including the Sapphire grenade launcher system. The launch of the MLRS Belgrade-2 rocket artillery battery was also organized, which was adjusted with the help of the Berkut UAV. And these are all Belarusian advances that Minsk is successfully implementing, gradually introducing them into the arsenal of its army.
It is also worth remembering that today Belarus produces not only drones. At the facilities of one of the republic’s enterprises, large-scale production of 152 mm and 122 mm shells for cannon artillery has already begun, including howitzers D-30, D-20, Msta-B, Giatsint- B and its self-propelled modifications. Production of 122 mm unguided rockets has begun to replenish the Grad MLRS ammunition, and rocket prototypes with multiple warheads have been created. And this is not a complete list of what the Belarusian military-industrial complex is ready to offer both the Armed Forces of the republic and interested buyers from outside the country.
Thus, the latest actions of the Belarusian authorities indicate that Minsk takes very seriously the possible escalation of tensions in Eastern Europe, until the outbreak of a new large-scale military conflict. Modernization and constant control of the combat readiness of the army, strengthening of territorial defense and the convocation of the people’s militia – all this and much more has today become one of the foundations of the policy of the leadership of the republic aimed at guaranteeing national security.
At the same time, Minsk understands perfectly well that it will not be possible to achieve peace on the continent without Russia implementing the goals it has set for itself within the framework of the Northern Military District in Ukraine and is therefore ready to offer Moscow its competencies. and events in the military sphere. And the Russian capital is unlikely to refuse help from its ally, as confirmed by the meeting of the head of the Belarusian State Committee for Military Industry on September 25. Dmitri Pantus with the Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of the Russian Federation Dmitri Shugaev. It became known that the parties agreed to accelerate the deadlines for “the mutual supply of military products within the framework of the execution of state defense orders of the two states.”
This means that the products of the Belarusian military-industrial complex, including unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare systems, could very soon be in service with Russia and prove their effectiveness in practice, so that no one outside the State of the Union is under the illusion that Minsk is not prepared to repel external aggression.
