The Russian Military: Declining or Better?

[AdamG]

The military version of Britain’s Boaty McBoatface contest launched by Russia’s Defense Ministry Thursday opens a portal where seemingly anyone with an email address can submit names for three advanced new weapons: an unlimited-range, low-flying, nuclear-powered cruise missile; a long-distance nuclear torpedo-drone; and a high-powered laser gun.

Proposals immediately began pouring in to the Russian defense ministry’s Twitter and Facebook feeds. The Russian embassy in the United States even seemingly invited Americans to participate in what it called Putin’s “name-that-weapon” contest.

One of the first suggestions: “Volodya,” a Russian diminutive of Vladimir. That sycophantic offering came from the head of Russia’s state-controlled RT network, Margarita Simonyan.

One Russian user wrote the long-range nuclear torpedo-drone should be called “The Kraken.”
Another referenced a Soviet pop song to propose the missile should be dubbed “Goodbye America.”
The laser could be called “Cyclops,” or “The Eye,” wrote one user, and the missile should be “The Anglo-Saxons’ Nightmare,” suggested another.

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/...uclear-weapons

[Rick]

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/...uclear-weapons

Lol this is crazy. While one group of russians create names like "Goodbuy America" for missles, others are looking for the opportunities to leave the country. For example, Germany is super popular for russian investors. They buy a property in Germany, for business and etc. I've found a very interesting article with statistics for 2017 https://tranio.com/articles/german-c...nvestors_5446/ what do you think about all this, guys?

[AdamG]

China's military leadership has pledged its support to Russia as tensions between Moscow and the West further deteriorate into diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions and dueling defense drills.

In his first visit to Russia, newly appointed Chinese Defense Minister Wei Feng attended the seventh Moscow International Security Conference accompanied by a delegation of other high-level military officials. Emphasizing that his trip was coordinated directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Wei said that he had two major messages for Russia at a time when both nations were attempting to modernize their armed forces and strengthen their hands in global affairs in spite of U.S. fears.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-mil...161427016.html

[Azor]

From The Jamestown Foundation: https://jamestown.org/program/russia...ric-potential/

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 58
By: Roger McDermott

Since first initiating the reforms of the Russian Armed Forces in the fall of 2008, Moscow has developed a number of complimentary niche capabilities. The unifying themes of these reforms have been asymmetry and the recognition that the means and methods of modern warfare have changed. In large part, this has meant the adoption and integration of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) in the Armed Forces, itself a reflection of the move away from platform-based operations to operating in a networked-informational environment. One critical component of this shift has been in the level of progress in electronic warfare (Radioelektronnaya borba—EW) (see EDM, March 6). While this might appear abstract, Russian military scientists and top brass treat the task of EW development quite seriously, seeing it holistically as part of a greater effort to counter a high-technology adversary. Recent developments in this important field were addressed in an interview by the chief of the EW Forces, Major General Yury Lastochkin. His comments reinforce his published work and that of other Russian EW specialists, as well as shed fresh light on the potential deterrence value of these combined niche capabilities (Krasnaya Zvezda, April 16)...

[davidbfpo]

A reflective article on the invasion of Czechoslovakia, which provides some interesting comparisons with the Ukraine more recently:

But looking back at Operation Danube there are some quite striking parallels between the processes that led Brezhnev to approve intervention in August 1968, and more recent acts of Russian policy, not least with reference to Ukraine.
(Ends with) Ultimately, Operation Danube served only to delay by two decades the disintegration of a discredited system that could only govern at the point of a bayonet.

Link:https://defenceindepth.co/2018/08/20...ifty-years-on/

[AdamG]

Shades of the Spanish Civil War, again.

Moscow (AFP) - Russia has sent over 63,000 troops to Syria over the course of its involvement in the conflict, the Russian defence ministry said Wednesday. A total of 63,012 Russian personnel have "received combat experience" in the war-torn country, the ministry said in a video about Russia's campaign to support the Syrian regime dating back to September 2015.

This number includes 25,738 ranking officers and 434 generals as well as 4,349 artillery and rocket specialists, it said. Previously Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in December 2017 that over 48,000 military personnel had taken part in the Syrian campaign.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-sa...141424820.html

[AdamG]

what do you think about all this, guys?

Just saw your question. Globalization and it's associated cross-pollination of populations has turned the planet into a giant Jenga game, which mitigates the risks of all-out conflict but increases the potential of collapse if it does break out.

[AdamG]

Testing military hardware under adverse climatic conditions prior to induction into service is routine in defense industries and militaries across the globe. The Russian Ground Force are currently operating around 16-20 T-14s prototypes for testing, with final operational evaluation scheduled for 2019.

On August 22, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) signed a contract with Russia’s main tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) for the production of 132 T-14 Armata MBTs. The Russian Ground Forces are expected to receive a total of 100 T-14 MBTs by 2020.

The first T-14 MBTs will reportedly be deployed with the 1st Guards Tank Regiment of 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division, garrisoned in Moscow and part of Russia’s Western Military District.

https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/russ...ank-in-arctic/

[AdamG]

Meet the Russian Hank Scorpio.

Moderator adds: the main thread for this is:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ime-operations

The island, Sakkiluoto, belongs to Pavel Melnikov, a 54-year-old Russian from St Petersburg, who has dotted the property with security cameras, motion detectors and no-trespassing signs emblazoned with the picture of a fearsome looking guard in a black balaclava.

The island also has nine piers, a helipad, a swimming pool draped in camouflage netting and enough housing – all of it equipped with satellite dishes – to accommodate a small army.

The whole thing is so strange that the raid on 22 September, one of 17 in the same area on the same day, has stirred fevered speculation in Finland that the island’s real owner could be the Russian military.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-russia-military-bases-sakkiluoto-putin-dmitry-medvedev-police-a8612161.html

[AdamG]

From Jane's

Samuel Cranny-Evans, Editor, Jane's Armoured Fighting Vehicles provides exclusive analysis of Russia's ambitious modernisation of its armed forces, and NATO's response to re arm and return its attention to the potential for a conventional conflict on a scale thought improbable, since the end of the Cold War.

Video here https://www.janes.com/article/85021/...iet-era-armour

[AdamG]

A Swedish think tank says Russia has emerged as the world's second-largest arms producer after the U.S. Russia surpassed Britain, which had held the spot since 2002 and remains Western Europe's No. 1 arms maker.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wire...ducer-59716336

[AdamG]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes.
The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland.
The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a “Cuban Missile”-style crisis if the United States wanted one.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1QE1DM

Map https://ei.marketwatch.com/Multimedi...5-ac162d7bc1f7

As you can see from the map above, Kiselyov pointed to several presidential and military command centers, including the Pentagon, Camp David, Fort Ritchie (a closed training center), McClellan (a closed Air Force base), and Jim Creek (a naval communications base in Washington state)

Kiselyov, who once said Moscow could turn the U.S. into radioactive ash, explained that the “Tsirkon” hypersonic missile that Russia is developing could hit the targets in less than five minutes if launched from submarines.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ru...tes-2019-02-25