Russian defense industry significantly increased production in 2023 - UK intelligence
Russian defense industry significantly increased production in 2023 (Getty Images)
Russian defense industry significantly increased production volumes in 2023. However, it is unable to fully meet the needs of Russian occupiers during the war, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
According to intelligence, the increase in production volumes was achieved by:
- Increasing the workforce to approximately 3.5 million people.
- Increasing the number of shifts.
- Expanding existing production lines.
- Bringing back into operation idle production capacities.
A significant portion of the increased production is attributed to the repair and modernization of existing stocks rather than new production. For example, most of the combat tanks produced in 2023 consisted of refurbished machines.
Also, in 2023, Russian production of artillery ammunition sharply increased. It is likely to continue growing in 2024, but the peak will occur in the next 12 months due to limited production capacities.
"Although the defence industry is unable to fully meet the demands of Russian operations against Ukraine, it is almost certainly capable of delivering a materiel advantage over Ukraine throughout 2024," intelligence writes.
Russian defense-industrial complex (DIC)
At the end of January, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War wrote that the Russian DIC is capable of producing at least 100 main battle tanks per month.
According to Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, the terrorist country, as in the previous period, has about 900 high-precision long-range missiles.
Meanwhile, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the enemy has not used Kalibr cruise missiles for strikes against Ukraine since mid-September 2023, probably in order to create a missile reserve.
