Russia's military spending cannot match the Kremlin's ambitions. Western sanctions and low gas prices forced a big cut to the Russian military budget in 2017, bedeviling a host of military projects. However, Russia is looking at cheap and easy ways to equip its forces — particularly the navy — with sophisticated weapons.

Specifically, modular weapons that can easily swap in and out of different ships — with the most well-known example being Club-K anti-ship missiles hidden inside shipping containers, which Russia offers for sale to export customers. Any coastal defense force on a budget can have a well-camouflaged warship killer hidden in a civilian port.

But Russian developments in this regard are more extensive including anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft modules and their accompanying sensors.