Helicopters, aircraft and radars. What were the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus supposed to receive in 2023 and what did come out of it?

Only 2 of the announced items have been realized.

Throughout 2023, Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus Andrei Lukyanovich talked about the supply of new military equipment to the troops in interviews with propagandists. The year is coming to an end, and we decided to look at the realization of the official’s statements.

Anti-aircraft missile systems

✅ It was reported that the delivery of new anti-aircraft missile systems was expected in 2023. At the end of May, a set of S-400 SAM systems arrived in Belarus.

Helicopters

✅ The first batch of four Mi-35M helicopters was supposed to arrive in Belarus back in April this year. As a result, the helicopters arrived only in August.

❌ The Belarusian Air Force is to receive four more Mi-35M helicopters by the end of 2023. The helicopters were expected to arrive in October. As of December 6, there was no information about the transfer of helicopters.

Aircraft

❌ The purchase and delivery of Su-30SM fighters is scheduled for 2023. It was later clarified that it was about four new aircraft, but as of December 6, there were no reports about the transfer of the aircraft. The transfer of new Su-30SMs was supposed to take place back in October 2022.

Equipment for the Radio-Technical Troops

❌ It was reported that the Rosa low-altitude radars, Vostok and Protivnik radars would enter service with the Radio-Technical Troops in 2023. This statement was repeated in May. As a result: it is December 6, and there are no reports on the transfer of this equipment. It is only known about the plans to deploy the Protivnik-GM radar station in Brest.

Ammunition

❌ It was reported that a significant number of aircraft destruction weapons were planned for delivery in 2023. As of December 6, there are no reports of these deliveries.

In total, the results of the realization of Lukyanovich’s statements are the following:

✅ 2

❌ 4

Here we should note that some items (for example, the purchase of ammunition) may simply not have been reported. But officials almost always report about new equipment supplies. At the moment, a number of Lukyanovich’s promises have not been realized. And he is now in Egypt at the EDEX exhibition, where he is studying Chinese samples. We are waiting for news – there is still time until December 31.