U.S. Media: Russia's Development of New Weapons is Faster than Its Rivals

According to a report by Reference News on September 26, the Wall Street Journal website published an article on September 13 titled "Russia's Speed in Producing Smart, Inexpensive New Weapons Outpaces Ukraine," authored by Daniel Michaels. The full text is excerpted as follows:

As Ukraine gradually learns how to cope with Russia's drone attacks, Moscow has elevated the battlefield to a new level with its next-generation innovative jet-powered weapons.

The emergence of the new "Geranium" drones and "Kamikaze" cruise missiles serves as a strong reminder to the world that Russia still possesses sufficient resources and supply chains to deploy new weapons. This time, these weapons are also equipped with advanced electronics that can accurately locate targets and evade interception.

Analysts and diplomats point out that these new and relatively inexpensive weapons from Russia indicate that its military still has strong adaptability and innovation capabilities. Analysts say that Russia has developed and deployed these two types of weapons in just a few years by improving early models, conducting real-world tests, and quickly moving to mass production.

Through these measures, Moscow has taken a step ahead of its opponents. Ukraine has demonstrated its ability to act quickly—developing some of the earliest effective jet drones—but lacks production resources and long-term planning capabilities.

Meanwhile, the United States and its NATO allies are working to increase the production of key weapons such as the "Patriot" missile interceptors. Western governments are also striving to explore how to accelerate the transition of innovative achievements into large-scale production equipment.

"In the West, we often underestimate Russia, but their speed from conception, testing to production is very fast," said Caitlin Bondar, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' artificial intelligence department. "Western militaries should learn this entire process from Russia."

Russia's weapons are primarily aimed at Ukraine, and some Russian drones and missiles have also entered NATO airspace, which may be due to electronic warfare incidents or could be intentional, aimed at testing NATO's defense systems. Military analysts point out that, regardless, NATO must learn from Russia's ability to deploy various aerial weapons at different altitudes, speeds, and cost levels, and be prepared to respond.

The "Kamikaze" missiles and "Geranium" drones meet the demand for inexpensive yet effective one-way weapons—an economic balance that Ukraine and Western countries are seeking. These new weapons combine upgraded versions of low-end weapons and simplified versions of high-end weapons. They differ in terms of cost, range, speed, explosive power, and the ability to hit targets without interception.

It is estimated that the unit price of the "Kamikaze" and "Geranium"-5 is around tens of thousands of dollars, while the unit price of the U.S. high-end "Tomahawk" cruise missiles and their Russian counterparts may exceed $2 million.

For Ukraine, the progress made by Moscow is quite challenging, as Ukraine also has to deal with Russian ballistic missiles, which carry large explosive payloads and are extremely difficult to intercept. Russia has also been using aircraft to drop glide bombs to heavily bombard Ukrainian forces, and Ukraine has almost no way to intercept these bombs. This intense bombardment threatens Kyiv's ability to maintain its defensive lines.

Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK, said, "While drones are a problem, the biggest issue for Ukraine is undoubtedly glide bombs."

Military experts point out that the boundaries between various types of weapons are becoming increasingly blurred, necessitating a more integrated defense system to address various threats aimed at breaching air defense systems. Bronk stated that NATO should establish a dedicated multinational counter-drone force that continuously trains to shoot down various types of drones and missiles.

Bondar emphasized the importance of predicting future trends. She noted that Ukraine had long recognized signs of Russia developing jet drones and inexpensive cruise missiles, but Kyiv remains unprepared for the large-scale use of these weapons.

"It was actually very obvious that we would eventually reach this point a long time ago," Bondar said. "I am surprised that everyone is caught off guard." (Translated by Wang Diqing)