Despite the ongoing war and with gratitude to our defenders from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Defense Express now wants to share a completely lighthearted article about the winners of the unannounced "Best of the Year 2023" competition, highlighting the most anticipated, unexpected, effective, scarce, and expensive weapons of the past year.
The Most Anticipated Weapon — F-16
The F-16 multirole fighter takes the crown as the most anticipated weapon in 2023. The official announcements last year regarding Ukraine receiving F-16s fueled excitement.
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Surely, the formation of the "F-16 coalition" finally established in July, as well as bureaucratic procedures of receiving all the necessary permissions dragged on for too long, yet it still remained No. 1 topic throughout the year.
While undoubtedly an extremely important weapon for Ukrainian forces, we should keep in mind that the F-16 really is no "silver bullet" and it won't be able to defeat russia in the skies on its own just yet. Especially since their full impact will unfold gradually, as more and more fighters arrive starting the first quarter of 2024.
These aircraft are expected to strengthen air defense, enhance precision strikes on ground targets, and drive russian aviation away from the front line.
The Most Unexpected Weapon — Gepard
When Germany in 2022 announced it would give Gepard anti-aircraft artillery systems to Ukraine, the receiving end was wondering how to properly apply them on the frontline. Neither did the German Army which decided to put the self-propelled guns out of military service.
Created to counter aircraft and helicopters at a distance up to 3.5 km, the Gepard faced hard times due to its shorter range compared to modern surface-to-air missiles, capable of easily covering distances 5 km and farther. It also revealed its position by carrying around a radar for independent aiming at the target.
Moreover, there was a situational issue with the critical shortage of ammunition, because Germany sent only 6,000 rounds with the first batches of Gepards, which is about 11 seconds of continuous fire.
However, 2023 became a stellar year for Gepard. Rheinmetall renewed the production of 35mm ammunition, and the weapon itself proved extremely effective and cost-efficient for downing Shahed-136/131 drones launched by russian forces onto Ukrainian cities.
Being not reliant on an external source of guidance thanks to its own radar, seeing regardless of weather and time of day, and high precision of fire, requiring only a few short bursts to take a hostile drone down, made Gepard the best counter to Shaheds.
It is even somewhat funny to recall the old expectations that Gepard would be primarily used against helicopters, although such instances probably took place, too.
Gepard has proven that Germany and a few other countries were too hasty to decommission this air defense system, which makes it the most unexpectedly good weapon.
The Most Effective Weapon — FPV Drone
The FPV drone claims the title of the most effective weapon in 2023, and for a fair reason. Even the highly anticipated ATACMS attack missiles, despite raining down devastating strikes on russian helicopter bases, could not overshadow the performance of FPV drones.
This unique type of weapon combines unique features. It can carry a full-fledged warhead or a simple RPG-7 anti-tank grenade tied with tape, scout for targets, change the initial target, and strike it in the Non-Line-of-Sight mode, previously pertaining only to the most advanced of ATGMs.
All of that can be performed by common small infantry teams, without the need to engage artillery, aviation or other forces through an intricate chain of communication between high-ranking commanders. Not to mention how cheap it is (around $500 for an average drone).
While NATO still considers FPVs more of a toy than an actual weapon, a whole war of drones is already underway, where drones battle against each other.
The Most Scarce Weapon — Taurus
The German Taurus cruise missile from MBDA Deutschland is objectively the scarcest weapon in 2023. Germany has been persuaded and pushed to unlock the supply of these missiles, and imposed the condition that the USA must send its ATACMS first. The condition was met but nothing happened. Ukraine still has no Taurus, and the reason for that actually lies not so much in the political dimension as the German government tries to make it appear.
The actual rationale is that the Bundeswehr itself is in short supply. In May 2023, German media reported that out of 600 missiles, only 150 were operational. Those 150 cruise missiles constitute the entire arsenal of Bundeswehr's long-range weapons.
Resuming Taurus production also faced challenges, as the manufacturer sought to integrate "new technical achievements," and the German government did not allocate any funding as incentive.
The Most Expensive Weapon — B-21 Raider
The B-21 Raider, Northrop Grumman's new-generation strategic bomber, earns the title of the most expensive weapon in 2023.
Making its first flight on November 10, 2023, the B-21 Raider is dubbed the first bomber of the sixth generation which has been in development since around 2015 in total and fairly effective secrecy.
While the actual cost per aircraft remains unknown, the entire program's life cycle, involving the production of 100 bombers to replace the B-1B and B-2, amounts to $203 billion (2019 prices). This includes $25.1 billion for development, $64 billion for production, and $114 billion for a 30-year operation.
Therefore we can assume the potential price tag is ranging from $640 million to $890 million per aircraft, making the B-21 Raider stand uncontested in terms of expense.
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