Maksim covers aerospace developments in Central Asia for Aviation Week. He has worked for Russia's Air Transport Observer magazine and was in charge of several ATO sister aerospace publications after working for the Moscow-based CAST defense think tank.
Maksim has a degree in international relations from MGIMO University, Moscow.
The MiG-35 fighter that will compete for India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft program is the first Russian aircraft to be equipped with an advanced, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, the Zhuk-AE, developed by Phazotron-NIIR Corp. Phazotron has been designing radars for 50 years and has a reputation as an innovator. Yuri Guskov, deputy general director and chief designer, spoke to Contributing Editor Maxim Pyadushkin about the development and performance of Phazotron’s AESA technology.
Despite its success, the 2008 war with Georgia brought about a serious transformation of the Russian armed forces, as it showed that the Soviet military legacy could not provide an effective response against regional threats.
Development of strategic nuclear forces remains the top priority for the Russian military. Within the nuclear triad, the military has a big stake in reinforcing naval strategic forces, although the other two elements, ground-based missiles and strategic bombers, are also being modernized.
