Air University (AU) > Russia Research

April 27, 2023
Russia: A Bit Player

No two nations consume U.S. defense and foreign policy bandwidth like Russia and China. They dominated the latest National Security Strategy (NSS), including prominent place in the analysis of “the Competition Between Democracies and Autocracies” and separate discussions of each as a
April 27, 2023
NATO Expansion and Russian Access to the Baltic Sea

The recent NATO accession of Finland, and future accession of Sweden, complicates Russia’s access to and use of the Baltic Sea. Finland’s membership in NATO also further constrains Russian access to the Kaliningrad Oblast.
April 27, 2023
The Russian Defense Industry: Problems & Prospects

The Russian Federation traditionally maintained a sizeable defense industry, both for domestic supply and foreign sales. Some arms-exporting relationships date from the Soviet era. The effect of sanctions, materiel losses in Ukraine, and the performance of some Russian weapons systems will constrain
April 27, 2023
Bottled up in the Baltic

“The sides oppose further enlargement of NATO” and demanded the alliance abandon its “cold war approaches” according to the Sino-Russian Joint Statement signed just before Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.2 They failed spectacularly on that goal when Finland
April 27, 2023
The Wagner Group PMC: Efficiency and Desperation

The massive increase in the Wagner Group’s numbers recently came from their recruitment of some 40,000 prisoners from Russian jails.2 That increase in manning, made the Private Military Group (PMG) an appetizing supplement for Russian leadership who are struggling to make gains in their war of
April 12, 2023
Russian AeroNet Market A Case Study of Russia’s National Technical Initiative

The Russian small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market is anemic. The expectation forthis project was that Russia’s unique capabilities in the aerospace field would translate to thecommercial UAV sector. Russian military drones are well known. There are many reasons acommercial small-UAV
April 12, 2023
SATELLITE INTERNET CONTROL IN RUSSIA

The author selected the topic of satellite internet and its challenge to the stability ofVladimir Putin’s regime due to professional experience. During the timeframe from 2017throughout 2021, the author executed orders in Europe as a military operational plannerspecializing in information
April 12, 2023
Sanctions On Russia: How They Affect Commercial Space Collaboration with the West

This research stems from my passion for space and the continued development oftechnology that makes humans a multi-planetary species. As countries like Russia and the UnitedStates continue to move toward conflict, I wanted to shed light on a few areas of progress whereboth countries have advanced
April 12, 2023
Paper Rose-Colored Glasses How Western Mirroring Could Result in Inadvertent Nuclear War with Russia

As the United States shifts national attention to peer and near-peer adversaries, abelligerent Russia, conducting threatening exercises on Ukraine’s border, has the potential todestabilize the region. Though a second-rate economic power, Russia is the United States’ onlynuclear peer.
April 12, 2023
Russian Spacepower Theory Evolution

Russian leadership’s space investments, organizational choices, and actions indicate theirviews on spacepower most closely align with the western survival school of spacepower theory.US strategists should therefore expect Russia to prioritize investment in counterspace weapons,reduce