# The Russian Military Merged Thread- Army



## Blackadder1916

Half Of Deaths In Russian Army Down To Suicide In 2007
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070416/63718260.html

MOSCOW, April 16 (RIA Novosti) - Suicides accounted for more than a half of all deaths in Russia's Armed Forces so far this year, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

According to the ministry's official Web site, a total of 110 servicemen have been killed in crimes, accidents and suicides.

The deaths were mainly due to suicides (65), accidents (24), murder through negligence (7) and hazing (5).

Four soldiers were killed with only one being a combat casualty in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya in February-March, where illegal armed groups have continued operating since the active phase of a war ended earlier in the 2000s.

The ministry said last December that a total of 514 servicemen had died in 18,198 accidents and other non-combat-related incidents in the Russian Armed Forces since the beginning of 2006.

A report posted on the ministry's Web site said the majority of the deaths - 211 soldiers - were caused by accidents, while 193 servicemen had committed suicide. Twenty-two deaths were caused by abuse of rank and hazing attacks.

In addition, 56 soldiers died in traffic accidents and 20 were killed by civilians. 

The elevated number of casualties and hazing incidents became high-profile issues in the Armed Forces last year following a scandal involving Private Andrei Sychyov, who had both legs amputated after allegedly being beaten and tortured during the New Year's holidays in his Army unit in the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk.


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## 3rd Herd

The usual disclaimer:
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070820/72627624.html


Half of deaths in Russian Army suicides 
18:50 | 20/ 08/ 2007  

MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Suicides continue to be the main cause of death in Russia's Armed Forces, the Defense Ministry said Monday. 

According to the ministry's official Web site, a total of 262 servicemen have died from crimes, accidents and suicides so far this year. 

The deaths were mainly due to suicides (147), accidents (60), traffic accidents (27), murder through negligence (15), hazing (7) and mishandling of arms (6). 

The ministry earlier said a total of 554 servicemen had died in 21,252 accidents and other non-combat-related incidents in the Russian Armed Forces in 2006.


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## retiredgrunt45

Here is a good article by "Global security org. on the Russian military, it explains alot.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/army-intro.htm



> Here is an excerpt from the article.
> 
> The two most compelling reasons for the failure of conscription are the unfavorable living conditions and pay of soldiers (less than US$1 per month at 1995 exchange rates) and the well-publicized and extremely unpopular Chechnya operation. The Russian tradition of hazing in the ranks, which became more violent and was much more widely reported in the 1990s, also has contributed to society's antipathy toward military service.


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## razorguns

we have a huge # of suicides here too.  So it's not that different.  And Russian soldiers are even poorer, have less rights, less benefits and less educated than our soldiers.  Which adds to their depression.

You gotta take in account also, most suicides are by teens - and many enlisted teens may not handle military duty well either.  Just like many teens can't handle the pressures of school.  You don't change schools in response.

r


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## Spencer100

razorguns said:
			
		

> we have a huge # of suicides here too.  So it's not that different.  And Russian soldiers are even poorer, have less rights, less benefits and less educated than our soldiers.  Which adds to their depression.
> 
> You gotta take in account also, most suicides are by teens - and many enlisted teens may not handle military duty well either.  Just like many teens can't handle the pressures of school.  You don't change schools in response.
> 
> r



Any Stats on that?  Are suicides in the CF higher than the general pop?  I think that is a very general statement.  I would think that you need to back that up.


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## Spencer100

Oh....looking at the poster do you mean Canadian Forces or the US Forces?  I would think there maybe a difference between two also.


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## razorguns

Spencer100 said:
			
		

> Oh....looking at the poster do you mean Canadian Forces or the US Forces?  I would think there maybe a difference between two also.



us

r


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## Blackadder1916

Razorguns,
You do have a valid point.  However, as the stories don't have any stats concerning the Russian Armed Forces other than the number of deaths, it is difficult to compare the incidence of suicide in the US military with the Russians.  

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=us-army-suicides-highest&chanId=sa003&modsrc=reuters


> *U.S. Army suicides highest since Gulf War   *
> By Kristin Roberts August 16, 2007
> 
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Failed relationships, including marriages stressed by combat deployments, helped push the number of suicides in the U.S. Army last year to its highest since the Gulf War, the Army said on Thursday.
> 
> The Army reported 99 confirmed suicides in 2006, up from 87 in 2005. The Army also listed two additional deaths last year as suspected suicides still pending confirmation.
> 
> Army suicides last year hit their highest mark since 1991, the time of the Gulf War, when the biggest branch of the U.S. military recorded 102 soldier suicides.
> 
> "The primary reasons for suicides, when we examine the completed suicide, is failed intimate relationships, failed marriages," said Col. Elspeth Ritchie, a psychiatrist and consultant to the Army Surgeon General.
> 
> "What we have found is not a direct relationship so far between deployment combat and suicide. However, we do know that frequent deployments put a real strain on relationships, especially on marriages," she said, noting failed relationships are a factor in as many as 80 percent of Army suicides.
> 
> "So we believe that part of the increase is related to the increased stress in relationships."
> 
> More than 1.5 million U.S. troops have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. The Army has been particularly stressed by multiple and extended deployments.
> 
> The suicide data follows a string of studies showing an increase in mental health problems among soldiers and other U.S. troops. According to those studies, including a Pentagon assessment, the military has not provided adequate mental health resources to its service members.
> 
> Last year, 30 of the 99 confirmed suicides occurred in war zones -- 27 in Iraq and 3 in Afghanistan. About 62 percent of the soldiers who killed themselves in 2006 had served at least once in Iraq or Afghanistan.
> 
> So far this year, 44 soldiers have committed suicide, including 17 in war zones, the Army said.
> 
> "This report is heartbreaking, and it's a warning that unless we attack the stigma around mental health care and boost our outreach, we're going to continue to lose even more service members on the battlefront and the home front," said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state.
> 
> CIVILIAN RATE HIGHER
> 
> Viewed in the context of the total population of soldiers, the Army recorded 17.3 suicides per 100,000 soldiers in 2006, including the two deaths still pending confirmation. That is up from 12.8 suicides per 100,000 soldiers in 2005.
> 
> But it remains below comparable rates in the general U.S. population, according to Col. Dennis Dingle, head of the Army's human resources policy directorate.
> 
> The United States records about 10 to 11 suicides per 100,000 people annually. But when adjusted to match the Army's age and gender characteristics, the suicide rate in the general population rises to 19 to 21 per 100,000.
> 
> The Marine Corps, also strained by the wars, said its suicide rate was lower than the Army's -- 12.4 Marines per 100,000 in 2006. The Marines reported 24 suicides in 2006, down from 26 in 2005 and 34 in 2004.


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## razorguns

no.  But humans ARE the same, and the reasons for suicides in both countries are also similar.  Depression.

No one kills themselves cuz they're too happy 

r


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## Blackadder1916

*Russian army chief vows to boost officers' pay *  

19 Oct 2008 12:17:31 GMT   Source: Reuters
  
MOSCOW, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Russian army officers' pay will soar under a modernisation plan, the head of Russia's general staff said about reforms which aim to improve morale and drive out corruption that has undermined the Soviet-style military. 

Army general Nikolai Makarov was giving details in media interviews of the country's most radical military reforms yet, which were announced last week and follow Russia's brief war in Georgia in August. 

"If we optimise, we can exponentially increase pay, which is very low for officers and contract soldiers serving in our army," Makarov said. 

Interfax and Vesti television quoted Makarov as saying on Saturday a lieutenant would earn at least 70,000 roubles per month ($2,700 at current exchange rates) within three years after the number of officers in the army is halved. 

Most of Russia's officer corps survives on pay that falls below the national average of about 16,000 roubles per month. 

A lieutenant colonel, the deputy commander of a mechanised infantry brigade and a graduate of a top Russian military academy, make less than 15,000 roubles per month. 

Poor morale and corruption have sapped the army and the campaign in Georgia in August -- while achieving Russian military goals -- exposed its obsolete weapons, lack of precision missiles and old communications systems. 

Russia will have no more than a million men under arms by the end of the three year reform, including 150,000 officers, or half the current number, Makarov said in the interviews. 

Analysts say the reform plan, which aims to turn Russia's top-heavy and bloated army into a more compact force that is permanently combat-ready, will face resistance from generals who stand to lose their jobs. 

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 Russia slashed funding but it kept the structure essentially intact. That has led to units still existing on paper but not being capable of combat. 

(Reporting by Melissa Akin and Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Charles Dick)


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## Red 6

It's hard to read this story and not write something sarcastic....  :warstory:


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## dapaterson

Blackadder1916 said:
			
		

> When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 *Canada* slashed funding but it kept the structure essentially intact. That has led to units still existing on paper but not being capable of combat.



That's better...


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## CougarKing

The rest of you probably won't find this surprising, although I would have thought that Putin would be doing something about this with all the posturing lately with his air and naval forces. (and yes I meant to say Putin, because we all know who's really in charge of over there
 as opposed to Medvedev)



> *On September 10, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was scheduled to address the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, to inform the deputies about current military development and various problems. *
> 
> Serdyukov had to explain why the Russian Army lacked modern weapons during the recent peace enforcement operation in Georgia.
> 
> The main elements of the North Caucasian Military District's 58th Army have already been re-deployed to Russia. The bravest officers and men have received government decorations. Those killed in action have been buried. And now it is high time to assess the operation's lessons.
> 
> Russian President Dmitry Medve­dev has senior Defense Ministry officials to do this, also telling Serdyukov to submit proposals on amending the state rearmament program. The Rus­sian Army primarily requires combat-support systems, rather than new weaponry, in order to become a genuinely modern and effective fighting force.
> 
> *Those, who fought in Georgia this August, know that Russian peace-keepers sustained the greatest casualties during the first hours of the Georgian aggression because Moscow and Vladikavkaz, where the 58th Army's headquarters is located, failed to promptly order troops to repel the attack and to send elements of the 58th Army to South Ossetia.
> 
> Moreover, Russian forces did not know the firing positions of Georgia's Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, Gvozdika self-propelled guns and T-72 tank units.
> 
> Nor did the Russian Army have any dependable reconnaissance systems, including unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). *
> 
> Although Russian and foreign UCAVs are regularly displayed at the annual MAKS international aerospace show in Zhukovsky near Moscow, including at the MAKS-2007 show, the Russian Army still lacks them because the national Defense Ministry decided to stop buying them in 2006.
> 
> Consequently, the Russians had no choice but to send a Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire strategic bomber on a reconnaissance mission and to use Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack jets to hit Georgian MLRS batteries.
> 
> The Georgians downed four Rus­sian aircraft, which could have been saved if the Russians had the required UCAVs.
> 
> *The destruction of three Su-25 attack planes, which had won a reputation for themselves during the 1979-1989 Afghan war, shows that they have not been overhauled since.
> 
> The Su-25s still lack radar sights, computers for calculating ground-target coordinates and long-range surface-to-air missiles that could be launched outside enemy air-defense areas.
> 
> Nor did they have any "smart" weapons for destroying Georgian artillery pieces and surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. This is quite surprising, because such weapons have been repeatedly displayed at various exhibitions.
> 
> Although some companies are ready to install interchangeable state-of-the-art radio and electronic equipment on the Su-35, the Defense Ministry prefers to deal with (and handsomely pay) its favorite contractors.
> 
> These companies were not up to the task, and are responsible for the loss of four aircraft and the capture of two pilots. Several more pilots were killed as a result of their incompetence.*
> 
> A similar situation holds in the sphere of radio-electronic warfare. It turns out that Russian electronic counter-measures (ECM) systems are unable to jam and suppress enemy SAMs and reconnaissance systems, radars and UHV communications and troop-control networks.
> 
> This is rather disturbing, especially as the Georgian Army lacked modern systems. As a result the 58th Army sustained unnecessary casualties, and also lost more combat equipment than it should have.
> 
> *The Russian tank force has been suffering from major problems for a long time. The North Caucasian Mili­tary District, for instance, still operates T-72 main battle tanks without night sights. But not even the more sophisticated T-80-U and T-90 have such sights, either.
> 
> Moreover, their explosive-reactive armor was not filled with explosives and could not therefore deflect high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) weapons.
> 
> The Dzerzhinsky Ural Railroad Car Works (Uralvagonzavod), which has developed all post-Soviet and Russian main battle tanks except the T-80, unveiled its Tank Support Combat Vehicle (TSCV) over 20 years ago.
> 
> The TSCV featured nine weapons systems, including guided anti-tank missiles, large-caliber machine-guns, SAMs and 30-mm and 40-mm automatic rocket launchers, and was intended to be used against Muja­hedin forces in Afghanistan.
> 
> Most importantly, the TSCV had effective target-acquisition systems for detecting and killing enemy soldiers long before they could fire the first shot.
> 
> Although the TSCV has passed all state tests with flying colors and has also been displayed at numerous exhibitions, it has not served with the Russian Army to date.
> 
> Unlike most advanced foreign armies, including the Israeli Army, Russian tanks are not supported by attack helicopters. There is no regular radio communication between Rus­sian tank, motorized-rifle, helicopter, attack-plane and tactical-bomber units either.
> 
> Although experts have been discussing the creation of an integrated combat-control system for many years, such a system remains on the drawing board.
> 
> The Russian Army and its commanders have not yet realized that all units and weapons accomplishing a joint objective must become part of an integrated combat-control system.*
> 
> Russian officers and soldiers have to compensate for the current lag in combat-support systems with their selfless heroism and bravery. But this costs the country and its armed forces dearly.
> 
> It is high time we learned modern fighting skills. The system for awarding state defense contracts must also be modified accordingly.
> 
> Unfortunately, the Russian Army is unlikely to receive new weapons and combat-support systems after the South Ossetian conflict. Although Russia has once again paid a high price for victory, its generals and politicians often prefer empty talk to candid and sober-minded assessments.
> 
> Nikita Petrov





http://www.mnweekly.ru/comment/20080911/55345897.html


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## CougarKing

I thought they turned into a volunteer military a few years ago? I was obviously wrong.   ???

From _Time_ magazine:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1888238,00.html?iid=digg_share



> Monday, Mar. 30, 2009 *How to Dodge the Draft in Russia*
> 
> By Marina Kamenev / Moscow
> 
> (...)
> 
> Dmitri (not his real name) paid $2,500 to be certified with his mental illness three years ago.* He is just one of thousands of young Russians who have gotten out of military service (or are trying to) as the country comes up to the April 1 beginning of its biggest peacetime draft in history, one that hopes to enlist 305,000 new soldiers.
> 
> Russia considers itself a nation of patriots, but when it comes to defending the motherland, men over the age of 18 aren't quite ready to lay it on the line.* This age cohort was born in 1991, the year Communism collapsed and the Soviet Union became moribund, and may not be as indoctrinated into the old patriotism as previous generations. The year 1991 also had a particularly low birth rate, which makes a huge peacetime draft even more of a challenge. The young men are also entering employment and working age - and families in the middle of Russia's economic crisis, which is sharper than the rest of the world's, may not be so willing to give up their potential breadwinners. (Soldiers are paid a minimal and "symbolic" amount for service to their country, the equivalent of about $10 a month.) Moskovsky Komsomolets, a daily newspaper in the Russian capital, reports that *45,000 Muscovites, out of the 60,000 eligible to be conscripted, are currently trying to avoid military service.*
> 
> *All men between 18 and 27 years of age who meet minimal health requirements must present themselves for compulsory army service. University attendance allows people to be exempted only if the school requires military training in order to graduate. Men who do not serve (and do not have a good reason for being exempted from duty) do not qualify for international passports and related documents issued by the government.* It's easy to be caught and summarily sent off to service because government-issued documentation must be carried at all times. "They checked my papers at the metro station in Chisty Prudy," says Alexander (who chose not to give his last name) who was drafted to the navy. "I had waist-length hair. The next day, when I was on the phone to my mother, I was shaved bald and trying to explain to her what was happening, I was with dozens of other boys none of them knew where we were going."
> 
> Many people go to the International Movement of Soldiers' Mothers to find out how to prevent their children from getting drafted.
> 
> (...)
> 
> 
> *But there are other ways to get around the law as well. Some people tinker with birth certificates; others pay bribes, though that may not always work.* Yuri, who also declined to give his last name, had a family friend who was a colonel. "He signed a medical certificate which says that I am weakened from my childhood meningitis," he says. "It's valid until I turn 27." He didn't have to pay a thing. But he says he knows friends in Moscow that paid $10,000 for similar papers. "Draft-dodging is a national pastime," says Alexander Golts an independent military analyst. "In Russia it's a million-dollar industry." (See 10 things to do in Moscow.)
> 
> *Boris Titov, a human-rights activist, told radio station Ekho Moskva that young Russians who can afford to should be allowed to pay their way out of service - provided that the money goes towards improving army conditions in Russia, which are notoriously low.
> 
> Others, however, point out that may only exacerbate class divisions and affect the quality of the country's soldiery. "The army is already made up of Russia's poor," says Kuznetsova. "With this kind of system, it will be full of alcoholics and invalids."
> While her organization advises...
> (...)
> 
> While her organization advises families how to avoid conscription, Kuznetsova says she wants Russia to have a professional military. "I want the boys to actually learn proper military training, and also to be paid, it should consist of people that want to be there." At present, however, the military is a nightmare zone. The Russian army is infamous for hazing. One horrific incident in 2005 left a 19-year-old without legs or genitals. But countless beatings are believed to go unreported. The New Times, a weekly magazine, reported that 471 people serving in the armed forces died in 2008, half those deaths being suicides. Says Kuznetsova: "The boys there aren't occupied enough with learning the so-called art of war. Hazing happens because a bunch of boys in their prime are piled together and don't know what to do with themselves."
> 
> Says Golts: "Already, half the conscripts are not actually healthy enough to serve." Golts worries about the drafts to come. In the next few years, he says, the situation will become worse because of the poor birth rates of the 1990s. "I am not sure what the army will do to maintain the quota."
> *


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## Mike Baker

CougarDaddy said:
			
		

> I thought they turned into a volunteer military a few years ago? I was obviously wrong.   ???


IIRC, they still used conscription for border guards and other such posts, where they wouldn't be put into a role where they were in combat.


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## Yrys

Also on Russia military  :

 Russian soldier shoots comrades







A soldier in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya has shot dead three fellow servicemen before 
attempting to commit suicide, security officials say. The soldier killed the commander of his 
platoon and two others before trying to shoot himself in the head, they added.

The incident took place on Sunday night at a military post near the village of Borzoi in southern 
Chechnya.

Separately, a Russian soldier was killed by an explosion while on patrol in central Chechnya on 
Sunday.

Russian forces have fought two major campaigns against separatist rebels in the predominantly 
Muslim republic since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Last month, Russian President Dmitry 
Medvedev said life in Chechnya was returning to normal and that it might be time to end the 
security restrictions imposed there.


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## CougarKing

Seems that all those private military corporations (like the now defunct Executive Outcomes of South Africa, IIRC) which hire former servicemen fron different countries might have another source of skilled recruits to draw from:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/world/europe/12russia.html?hp




> Russian Military Cuts Leave Soldiers Adrift
> Sergei Kivrin for The New York Times
> CLIFFORD J. LEVY
> Published: June 11, 2009
> KUBINKA, Russia — Next to a parking lot here is an orphan of a building that could be mistaken for a large toolshed. It was once used as a flophouse by transient workers who put up nearby apartments, but was then deemed by health inspectors to be unfit for humans. Mold coats the walls like graffiti, ceilings are crumpling and rats skulk about.
> 
> The dismal condition of the assigned housing for the officers is a telling sign of the state of the armed forces nearly two decades after the Soviet Union’s fall. And now, the officers are facing what they view as a final humiliation: they are to be discharged in the coming months as part of the most significant military overhaul in generations.
> 
> The Kremlin wants to revamp a top-heavy institution by sharply cutting the number of officers and carrying out a long overdue transition from a cumbersome military machine designed for a land war in Europe to a lithe force that would handle regional wars and terrorism.
> 
> Though praised by military analysts, the plan seems likely to create a corps of tens of thousands of disgruntled former officers who are entering an economy suffering from the financial crisis.
> 
> With Russia’s economy strong in the years before the crisis, the Kremlin tried to improve the military by increasing spending on equipment and training. But senior officials acknowledge that the war in Georgia last August exposed severe deficiencies, despite Russia’s easy victory.
> 
> The armed forces have 1.1 million people now, including 360,000 officers, and the plan is to cut the officer corps to 150,000, officials said. The reductions, first announced last year, have stirred sporadic demonstrations by officers, and some longtime generals have resigned in protest or been pushed out.
> 
> Officers who served in East Germany or fought in Afghanistan in the last days of the Soviet empire, who waged Russia’s ferocious campaign to suppress a Muslim insurgency in Chechnya — no matter, they are being let go.
> 
> And the men here in Kubinka said they were convinced that the government, which had already let them down by housing them in the shed, would completely abandon them by refusing them the benefits that they deserved.
> 
> “Everyone is very upset,” said Col. Yevgeny S. Ugolnikov, 49, an aviation engineer who joined the military in 1983. “There are no prospects for our futures. We have no apartment, no possibility of finding a job. How are we going to get by? It’s totally impossible to know.”
> 
> His neighbor, Col. Oleg G. Malgin, 46, said, “Everyone feels that way in our generation of officers.”
> 
> The defense minister, Anatoly E. Serdyukov, has become a particular target of officers’ ire across the country, in part because he once ran a furniture company and has little military background. Officers in Kubinka, 40 miles outside Moscow, referred to him as the “stool salesman.”
> 
> Some of the officers conceded that the military overhaul had merits because Russia must contend with threats far different from what the Soviet Union faced.
> 
> Yet they said their housing situation, which their superiors had repeatedly promised to remedy, showed that the military could not be trusted.
> 
> They said they had been forced to spend their own money to make the place barely habitable. Each family has two small rooms, with showers and other facilities shared.
> 
> The officers, who are assigned to an air force base in Kubinka, said they were no longer reluctant to speak out, despite military restrictions on going public with their problems. They said they suspected that the only way they would receive proper benefits would be to pay bribes. Corruption is widespread in Russia, and the military is considered to be especially afflicted.
> 
> Salaries in the Russian military have long been low — some of the officers here said they were paid $600 a month — but one perquisite that seemed to compensate for the pay was a rule that long-serving officers received a proper apartment when discharged.
> 
> Col. Anatoly N. Zhuravlyov, 46, a tenant in the building until recently, said his superiors told him that he would get an apartment only if he paid a kickback of $18,500.
> 
> “It’s like this: an officer, some stooge, approaches you and whispers in your ear, ‘Do you want to get an apartment? O.K., just pay a certain amount of money and you’ll get it,’ ” Colonel Zhuravlyov said.
> 
> Colonel Zhuravlyov said he had sent evidence to prosecutors proving that apartments were being kept empty so that bribes could be collected, to no avail. Now on disability because of hypertension, he said he finally received an apartment recently only because the military wanted him to stop complaining.
> 
> Military officials and prosecutors did not respond to written questions about the housing in Kubinka or military reform. In April, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin said the overhaul was clearly necessary, though he emphasized that the government would abide by its obligations to officers.
> 
> “Everywhere in the world there is a triangle: at the bottom are soldiers and junior officers, and higher up the pyramid there are fewer positions, generals, admirals, etc.,” Mr. Putin said. “In this country it is an inverted pyramid. At the lower level, those who fight and make critical decisions on the battlefield, there are not enough people, and the top is overcrowded.”
> 
> Military analysts said the government was taking no chances about the possibility of a backlash. They said it was sparing an elite division, the airborne troops, from reductions in order to have a loyal group of soldiers.
> 
> “These reductions could create a lot of social instability,” said Pavel Y. Felgenhauer, a military analyst who writes a column for Novaya Gazeta, an opposition newspaper. “They are making a pragmatic move to single out the airborne as a Praetorian Guard, to have no serious discharges there. They then can have those troops put down any resistance from inside.”
> 
> Most of the officers in Kubinka dismissed talk of revolts, saying that they wanted only a proper discharge and to move on. Still, some of the officers and their wives said they would never forget the shock of being transferred here and ending up in a shack next to a parking lot.
> 
> “For two weeks, I cried when we arrived,” said Nina V. Solyakova, 54, Colonel Solyakov’s wife. “And here we have lived, without any help from them, without anything. Can you imagine it?”


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## blacktriangle

Well I think now would be a perfect time to buy up some Eastern Bloc hardware from some bitter Snr Officers...Akula SSN's anyone?


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## George Wallace

popnfresh said:
			
		

> Well I think now would be a perfect time to buy up some Eastern Bloc hardware from some bitter Snr Officers...Akula SSN's anyone?



You do have quite the imagination.   >


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## Yrys

Russian Military Cuts Leave Soldiers Adrift





_Col. Oleg G. Malgin and other Russian officers are housed in a former flophouse near Moscow._

KUBINKA, Russia — Next to a parking lot here is an orphan of a building that could be mistaken 
for a large toolshed. It was once used as a flophouse by transient workers who put up nearby 
apartments, but was then deemed by health inspectors to be unfit for humans. Mold coats the 
walls like graffiti, ceilings are crumpling and rats skulk about. Yet for the last seven years, the 
building has been home to several high-ranking Russian Air Force officers, their wives and their 
children. “In truth,” said one of them, Col. Vyacheslav V. Solyakov, “the military has turned us 
into vagrants.”

The dismal condition of the assigned housing for the officers is a telling sign of the state of the 
armed forces nearly two decades after the Soviet Union’s fall. And now, the officers are facing 
what they view as a final humiliation: they are to be discharged in the coming months as part 
of the most significant military overhaul in generations. The Kremlin wants to revamp a top-
heavy institution by sharply cutting the number of officers and carrying out a long overdue 
transition from a cumbersome military machine designed for a land war in Europe to a lithe 
force that would handle regional wars and terrorism.

Though praised by military analysts, the plan seems likely to create a corps of tens of thousands 
of disgruntled former officers who are entering an economy suffering from the financial crisis. With 
Russia’s economy strong in the years before the crisis, the Kremlin tried to improve the military by 
increasing spending on equipment and training. But senior officials acknowledge that the war in 
Georgia last August exposed severe deficiencies, despite Russia’s easy victory.

The armed forces have 1.1 million people now, including 360,000 officers, and the plan is to cut 
the officer corps to 150,000, officials said. The reductions, first announced last year, have stirred 
sporadic demonstrations by officers, and some longtime generals have resigned in protest or been 
pushed out. Officers who served in East Germany or fought in Afghanistan in the last days of the 
Soviet empire, who waged Russia’s ferocious campaign to suppress a Muslim insurgency in Chechnya
— no matter, they are being let go.

And the men here in Kubinka said they were convinced that the government, which had already let 
them down by housing them in the shed, would completely abandon them by refusing them the benefits 
that they deserved. “Everyone is very upset,” said Col. Yevgeny S. Ugolnikov, 49, an aviation engineer 
who joined the military in 1983. “There are no prospects for our futures. We have no apartment, no 
possibility of finding a job. How are we going to get by? It’s totally impossible to know.” His neighbor, 
Col. Oleg G. Malgin, 46, said, “Everyone feels that way in our generation of officers.”

The defense minister, Anatoly E. Serdyukov, has become a particular target of officers’ ire across the 
country, in part because he once ran a furniture company and has little military background. Officers 
in Kubinka, 40 miles outside Moscow, referred to him as the “stool salesman.” Some of the officers 
conceded that the military overhaul had merits because Russia must contend with threats far different 
from what the Soviet Union faced. Yet they said their housing situation, which their superiors had 
repeatedly promised to remedy, showed that the military could not be trusted. They said they had 
been forced to spend their own money to make the place barely habitable. Each family has two small 
rooms, with showers and other facilities shared.

The officers, who are assigned to an air force base in Kubinka, said they were no longer reluctant to 
speak out, despite military restrictions on going public with their problems. They said they suspected 
that the only way they would receive proper benefits would be to pay bribes. Corruption is widespread 
in Russia, and the military is considered to be especially afflicted.

Salaries in the Russian military have long been low — some of the officers here said they were paid 
$600 a month — but one perquisite that seemed to compensate for the pay was a rule that long-serving 
officers received a proper apartment when discharged. Col. Anatoly N. Zhuravlyov, 46, a tenant in the 
building until recently, said his superiors told him that he would get an apartment only if he paid a 
kickback of $18,500. “It’s like this: an officer, some stooge, approaches you and whispers in your ear, 
‘Do you want to get an apartment? O.K., just pay a certain amount of money and you’ll get it,’ ” 
Colonel Zhuravlyov said.

Colonel Zhuravlyov said he had sent evidence to prosecutors proving that apartments were being kept 
empty so that bribes could be collected, to no avail. Now on disability because of hypertension, he said 
he finally received an apartment recently only because the military wanted him to stop complaining.
Military officials and prosecutors did not respond to written questions about the housing in Kubinka or 
military reform. In April, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin said the overhaul was clearly necessary, 
though he emphasized that the government would abide by its obligations to officers.

“Everywhere in the world there is a triangle: at the bottom are soldiers and junior officers, and higher 
up the pyramid there are fewer positions, generals, admirals, etc.,” Mr. Putin said. “In this country it 
is an inverted pyramid. At the lower level, those who fight and make critical decisions on the battlefield,
there are not enough people, and the top is overcrowded.”

Military analysts said the government was taking no chances about the possibility of a backlash. They said
it was sparing an elite division, the airborne troops, from reductions in order to have a loyal group of 
soldiers. “These reductions could create a lot of social instability,” said Pavel Y. Felgenhauer, a military 
analyst who writes a column for Novaya Gazeta, an opposition newspaper. “They are making a pragmatic 
move to single out the airborne as a Praetorian Guard, to have no serious discharges there. They then can 
have those troops put down any resistance from inside.”

Most of the officers in Kubinka dismissed talk of revolts, saying that they wanted only a proper discharge 
and to move on. Still, some of the officers and their wives said they would never forget the shock of being 
transferred here and ending up in a shack next to a parking lot. “For two weeks, I cried when we arrived,” 
said Nina V. Solyakova, 54, Colonel Solyakov’s wife. “And here we have lived, without any help from them, 
without anything. Can you imagine it?”


----------



## CougarKing

Yrys,

This article has already been posted at the thread below:

Link

Perhaps a merge is in order?


----------



## CougarKing

Thoughts, anyone?



> *How Medvedev plans to reform the military—and why Obama should not be worried.*
> On a chilly day earlier this fall in a forest near the Lithuanian border, Dmitry Medvedev strode out to inspect one of Russia's latest tactical missiles as it was trundled into launch position. The president wore a green officer's jacket with commander-in-chief decals and used a pair of outsize binoculars to watch the rocket soar toward its target.
> 
> Not long ago, such atmospherics would have been left to Vladimir Putin, Medvedev's old boss. But Russia's young, reformist president has become very invested in the country's military, and not just, like his predecessor, to bulwark a tough-guy image. While Putin quadrupled defense spending without making much headway on reform, Medvedev has embarked on a bold campaign to transform the Red Army, trying to turn a creaking Cold War–era institution plagued with a corrupt officer corps, outdated equipment, endemic bullying, suicide, and alcoholism into a modern fighting force able to effectively project power abroad for the first time in a generation. In his state-of-the-empire speech on Nov. 12, Medvedev told the Duma that Russia's "old economic model doesn't work anymore" and said that "our nation's survival will depend on modernization." The same goes for the military. It's an enormous project: to succeed, Medvedev will have to make the Russian Army smaller, better equipped, and more professional. This will mean painful cuts and dismantling deep vested interests that have thrived on the rotting, subsidy-soaked body of Russia's military-industrial complex.
> 
> If it works, however, the payoff could be just as great: a military that might actually live up to the Kremlin's ambitions. Those don't include threatening the West. Medvedev wants to stop preparing for the conventional European war the old Soviet Army was designed to fight and to focus instead on the kind of regional missions Russia may actually face in the years ahead. This will take rapid-reaction forces capable of fighting brushfire wars and clobbering smaller neighbors. Russia's not getting out of the great-power game entirely: Medvedev is also investing heavily in the country's still-gigantic strategic nuclear arsenal in order to preserve Moscow's place at the top table of nations. But even as he builds next-generation nukes, he has made a point of reassuring Washington by agreeing to cutbacks in Russia's aging nuclear stockpile.
> 
> Medvedev embarked on his reform campaign last year, shortly after Russia's dismal performance in the August war against Georgia, according to Pavel Zolotarev of Russia's Academy of Sciences. It was the first time Russia's Army had been tested against a foreign enemy since the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the results weren't pretty. The campaign exposed what independent military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer calls "embarrassing failings" in Russia's fighting ability. At least 11 Russian aircraft and several drones were shot down, and there were reports of extensive burning and looting of abandoned Georgian villages by undisciplined troops. Many Russian soldiers were spotted going to battle in running shoes and polyester sweatpants instead of boots and camouflage uniforms, and one junior officer even asked NEWSWEEK reporters to lend him a Georgian SIM card to call his superiors after radios failed. A line of broken-down Russian armored personnel carriers was also seen on the main road from Tskhinvali to Gori. The ultimate end to the conflict was never in doubt—Georgia has 4.6 million citizens versus Russia's 140 million—but the tiny nation's spiffy U.S.-supplied military vehicles and uniforms made the Russians look as if they'd just stepped out of a World War II documentary.
> 
> Medvedev started to clean house in the days that followed. Nikolai Makarov, a top general he'd appointed just before the Georgia campaign, commissioned a root-and-branch review of the state of the military. It turned out that the troops deployed in Georgia were actually better than average. The review found, among other things, that only 17 percent of Russia's military units had a full complement of men and equipment. "All the other units either had faulty ammunition and weapons or did not have enough people," says Zolotarev. The Army was also seriously top-heavy, with more than 900 generals (the U.S. Army has about 300) and one officer for every 2.5 men, compared with the 1–15 ratio favored by Western armies. Meanwhile, up to a third of conscripts were "mentally un-fit, drug addicts, or imbeciles," according to a public statement last year by Col. Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, the Air Force commander in chief. As for the Army's practices, these weren't stuck in the Cold War—they were downright medieval, with NGOs reporting hair-raising tales of officers hiring out their own men as slave laborers and male prostitutes.
> 
> With these exposés came a recognition that, while Russia may have managed to roll over Georgia, it won't always be so lucky. "If, God forgive us, we start a war with a highly technological nation like the United States, we have no chance of survival," says Alexander Golts, a Moscow-based military analyst. "Now, finally, the Russian government has accepted the gravity of the problem."
> 
> Medvedev's hatchet man is Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, appointed by Putin in 2007 and, like Putin and Medvedev, a graduate in law from St. Petersburg State University. The reform plan he helped draft, which was finalized in the fall of 2008, is impressively ambitious. Nearly 200,000 officers—more than a third of the total—are to be fired, while some of those remaining will get pay raises (up to a total of $5,000 a month, more than five times the current level) in order to improve quality. Compulsory service has been cut from two years to less than one, and the Army is to be organized into modern fast-reacting brigades of 2,000 rather than the old lumbering divisions of 5,000 and more. The overall size of the armed forces is to be cut by a quarter, largely by getting rid of many nonfighting units. And if Serdyukov has his way, resources will be concentrated on elite fighting battalions that will form the core of a new rapid-reaction force.
> 
> Of course, grand plans for reforming the Army have been coming out of the Kremlin for centuries, and most have foundered on institutional resistance and corruption. But there are good reasons to think Medvedev may succeed. The most promising sign is the way he's taken on some very sacred cows. One is procurement. The very idea of buying defense systems abroad would have been considered treason in the Soviet era. In September, however, Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin told the bosses of Russia's weapons industries that he would not hesitate to source matériel from overseas if they couldn't provide it. Sure enough, that month Moscow announced it would buy $50 million in unmanned drones from Israel rather than go with a clunky, overbudget Russian-made drone that had failed to perform in Georgia. This year Russia also bought sniper rifles from the U.K. and pistols from Austria for its elite units. "Acknowledging that Russia cannot produce everything is the first step toward modernizing the system," says Golts.
> 
> 
> Perhaps, but updating the military-industrial complex will be as hard as modernizing the rest of Russia's moribund technology sector. Thanks to injections of cash—Russia's military budget hit $50 billion in 2008, and Putin recently pledged to raise it to $125 billion by 2011—old giants like the aircraft makers MiG and Sukhoi are now cranking out new planes. But the latest generation of Russian hardware—the Su-34 and Su-35 fighter-bombers, the MiG-35 fighter, the S-400 air-defense system, and the Iskander short-range missile—is in fact little more than upgraded versions of projects designed 30 years ago. "As soon as these design bureaus got money, they just dusted off their old projects that were a generation old," says Felgenhauer. Medvedev seems to recognize this problem, and during a visit last month to the Mashinostroyenia factory in Reutov, he blasted the industry and called for a "fundamental modernization."
> 
> (.......)




http://www.newsweek.com/id/223698/page/1


----------



## CougarKing

video link


----------



## Fusaki

~shrugs~ meh.

Maybe sort of cool... Sort of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornershot

Now if they fit it with a bayonet....


----------



## Fishbone Jones

Not a curved barrel. Just a movable holder for a pistol. Not new either. It's about ten years old, in one form or another.

The Germans had, however, an actual curved barrel variant of the MP44 in the 40's.


----------



## CougarKing

??? Isn't this still enough to equip a Russian armoured battalion or even a brigade, even without all the support vehicles like APCs/BMPs? 

AFP link



> Feb 27, 2010
> 
> *Abandoned Russian tanks
> MOSCOW - SOME Russians were amazed to discover dozens of T-80 battle tanks seemingly abandoned in a forest, but army officials insisted there was nothing unusual about it.
> The tanks - nearly 100 in all - were found near the Elanovskaya railroad station about 100km outside the Urals Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, the Kommersant daily reported on Saturday. *
> Their presence was revealed after a local news website posted a video of the tanks, covered in a deep layer of snow and resting peacefully between the railroad and the woods with no military personnel in sight. 'There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned.
> 
> (...)
> 
> *A spokesman for the Volga-Urals Military District, the branch of the Russian army which oversees the area, said the tanks were being transported to a storage site aa part of a routine logistical operation. *
> 
> (...)
> 
> 'It is entirely possible they could have been filmed on video. This is not a military secret, and placing a guard next to each vehicle is impossible.' -- AFP


----------



## GAP

200 Russian tanks found abandoned in forest
The Russian army is embroiled in an embarrassing scandal after 200 of its tanks were found abandoned near a forest in central Russia, unguarded and unlocked.
 By Andrew Osborn in Moscow 28 Feb 2010
Article Link

A news website near the city of Yekaterinburg posted a video of the forgotten tanks showing passers-by clambering inside the vehicles and playing with empty ammunition belts. The only items that seemed to be missing were live rounds and the keys to the tanks' ignitions.

"There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned," an unnamed reporter on the video says. "If you need one, come and get it." 

Locals in a nearby village said the tanks had been sitting there for almost four months covered in snow. The armoured vehicles were identified as a mixture of T-80 and T-72 battle tanks, the workhorses of the Russian army.

"We were shocked," Pavel L, a local, told Russian media. "It is like you can sit behind the wheel, start up the engine and drive off and nobody would notice!"

A military spokesman claimed the tanks were in fact being guarded by special patrols and were in the process of being dispatched to a military base. But military prosecutors appeared sceptical about his claims and opened an official investigation. Wary of further bad publicity, the army has urgently begun relocating the tanks.

The scandal comes days after one of Russia's top military commanders suggested the country did not need half of its 20,000 tanks and might scrap many older models. Tanks played an important role in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, with Russia capturing dozens of Georgian tanks in the short conflict. 
More on link


----------



## CougarKing

Original comments deleted and edited to add:

Thanks to the Mods for the thread merge.


----------



## CougarKing

Associated Press link



> *Former air force chief: Russia's air defenses weak*
> By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV (AP) – 13 hours ago
> 
> MOSCOW —* Russia is lagging 25 to 30 years behind the United States in developing prospective air defense weapons because of a meltdown of its defense industries, a former Russian air force chief said Thursday.
> 
> Retired Gen. Anatoly Kornukov said Russia has only a reduced capability to protect itself from an enemy attack — a statement that contrasted sharply with the government's claim that the nation's military are getting stronger following a post-Soviet decline.*
> *The Defense Ministry has boasted about developing new S-400 air defense missile systems and proudly displayed some of them in Sunday's massive Victory Day parade on Red Square*.
> 
> But Kornukov said that the military now has only two such systems, each including a radar, several launchers and support vehicles, and it was supposed to have 15.
> 
> He said the Soviet-designed S-300s have strong capabilities but are approaching retirement. "Their lifetime can't be expanded indefinitely," he said at a news conference.
> 
> *Another component of the nation's air defense, fighter jets, have been increasingly grounded for lack of engines and parts, Kornukov added.*
> 
> "Regrettably, our air defense forces only have a limited capability to protect the nation's security," Kornukov said.
> 
> Compared to the Soviet times, when the nation's air defense forces were capable of shooting down up to 98 out of every 100 intruding enemy planes, now it would only intercept 20 out of 100, he said.
> 
> "The situation is simply terrible," Kornukov said.
> 
> *Asked whether the military is capable of fending off an attack from Iran or North Korea, he said that the Russian forces would likely find it difficult to shoot down a short-range missile fired by one of them.
> 
> Kornukov said Russia has fallen 25 to 30 years behind the U.S. in air defense technologies and would find it difficult to narrow the gap because of a meltdown of its defense industries which have been plagued by the loss of qualified personnel and key technologies.*
> "The industrial plants producing high-tech weapons are in a pitiful condition," Kornukov said.
> 
> *Retired Col.-Gen. Anatoly Sitnov, who formerly was in charge of weapons procurement for the Defense Ministry, said the nation has lost up to 300 key industrial technologies in aviation and air defense. He said that Russian industries are increasingly falling behind in developing new materials, such as heat-resistant graphite needed to build new faster missiles.*
> 
> Kornukov and Sitnov harshly criticized the government's military reforms, saying they have further crippled the nation's air defense capability by weakening coordination among different branches of the military.
> 
> The government has insisted that the reforms helped bolster the nation's military capability.
> 
> *Kornukov said Russia's five-day war with Georgia in 2008 highlighted the weakness of the Russian military. Russian media said the military accidentally shot down at least one combat jet of its own in the conflict because of confusion and the lack of coordination between forces.*


----------



## sky777

Do you think Russian Army is powerfull?
Look how Russian Officers live at Russian military base  near Moscow (25 km away from Kremlin) 
http://d-schedrin.livejournal.com/8633.html


----------



## gun runner

Powerful,no...broke yes! Poor could equal tough, but not powerful. Their will is strong, and the spirit may be too, but the national fervor is not the same as it was twenty-five years ago. My :2c: Ubique.


----------



## sky777

gun runner said:
			
		

> Powerful,no...broke yes! Poor could equal tough, but not powerful. Their will is strong, and the spirit may be too, but the national fervor is not the same as it was twenty-five years ago. My :2c: Ubique.


For protection,yes, powerful .If somebody wants to conquer Russia - russian people will protect with the will and spirit .But if Russia wants to conquer some countries- I don't think Russian military will be powerfull. They don't have contract army.
Privates have hungry life there. A lot of violence there as between soldiers and violence from officer too. Not strong moral atmosphere there - corruption, even prostitution- officers can send soldier to earn money selling the body or build houses for colonels  for free
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17121117/


----------



## Yrys

Army dogs use phones and cameras - BBC

9 April 2011

The Russian army has begun training sniffer dogs to use cell phones and
video cameras. The army believes that once they have mastered the
gadgets they will be well equipped to help prevent terrorist attacks.

Steve Rosenberg has been to see them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13025361

is a 2 minutes video


----------



## a_majoor

Photo essay of Russian equipment from a Motor Rifle Brigade posted in Georgia.

This is quite interesting since it highlights a lot of support equipment, including transport trucks, maint vehicles and even a mobile sauna(?). EW and C4I equipment is also on display. A fair mix of relatively new equipment and still a sprinkling of old equipment (including a BRDM used as a PSYOPS vehicle mounting a loudspeaker on the turret rather than a machinegun:

http://englishrussia.com/2011/10/17/military-equipment-of-a-rifle-brigade/


----------



## jollyjacktar

Interesting to see what they have on offer.  Thanks.


----------



## OldSolduer

jollyjacktar said:
			
		

> Interesting to see what they have on offer.  Thanks.


With out new fur hats, some old greatcoats and CF Green Wedges we could start our own MRR. hmmmmmmmmmmm  8)


----------



## jollyjacktar

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> With out new fur hats, some old greatcoats and CF Green Wedges we could start our own MRR. hmmmmmmmmmmm  8)


Da, Tovarich.  Or is that Commissar?   >


----------



## OldSolduer

Comrade Jolly!

Parade dress is new fur hat, with big green coat and black rubber boots!

Do not forget big Red Star for fur hat!


----------



## The Bread Guy

Thanks for that - love the translation:


> Let’s have a look at the military equipment of the 18th motorized rifle brigade *dislocated* in Georgia.


----------



## CougarKing

*Russian Leadership to Get Sneak Preview of New Armata Tank*
09/07/2013
<snipped>


> “The Armata will be unveiled during a closed showing at the *Nizhny Tagil arms expo*,” Rogozin said on Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio. “Several prototypes will be shown exclusively to the Russian leadership.”
> 
> The Armata’s design incorporates aspects of other projects, including  *Object 195 and Black Eagle*, according to manufacturer Uralvagonzavod.



From: Full article >>

===
Old Article
<snipped>

*Russian Military May Receive New Tank for Testing in 2013*
<snipped>


> The tank, dubbed Armata, is being developed by tank manufacturer *Uralvagonzavod* in Russia’s Urals region. The Defense Ministry earlier said the field testing of the MBT was expected to start in 2014.
> 
> “Uralvagonzavod tells us they will supply a first prototype under the Armata project for testing 10 months ahead of schedule,” Sukhorukov said.
> 
> The first deliveries of the tank to the Russian Armed Forces are scheduled for 2015. A total of 2,300 MBTs are expected to be supplied by 2020.



Source: en.rian.ru


----------



## vonGarvin

From the interwebs, an artist's rendering of said tank:







Edit to add:

According to this Wikipedia article, "Armata" refers to an AFV platform that will be used as a basis for tanks, APCs, engineering vehicles, etc.


----------



## George Wallace

Technoviking said:
			
		

> From the interwebs, an artist's rendering of said tank:



A rear end shot.....Exhausts over the tracks and mounts for external fuel drums visible.


----------



## a_majoor

A bit more on the project. This is actually 1/3 of a much greater modernization program, the chassis will be the basis of a family of heavy vehicles, but there are also a light tracked and wheeled platform in development as well (to replace the BTR series and the various tracked platforms like the BMP/BMD/MTLB and so on).

This version of the paper tank is different, having a remote control 57mm grenade aluncher and separate remote HMG on the turret. It will be interestng to see what the final result will look like (and if Russia actually has the economic ability to get these programs into production):

http://www.armyrecognition.com/russia_russian_army_tank_heavy_armoured_vehicles_u/armata_russian_main_battle_tank_technical_data_sheet_specifications_information_description_pictures.html


----------



## CougarKing

An update with another image of the Armata tank:

From Russia's RIAN:








> * The prototype of Russia’s next generation Armata main battle tank is ready for testing, which will begin by November, the head of the Russian Tank Forces said Saturday*.
> 
> “The prototypes will be unveiled soon at an exhibit in Nizhny Tagil, and their tests will kick off within a month or two, I believe,” Lt. Gen. Alexander Shevchenko said on Echo Moskvy radio.
> 
> *The biannual Russian Arms Expo will run in the Urals city in September 25-28 this year.* Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in July that the country’s leadership will get a sneak preview of the new tank during the arms fair.
> 
> *An unmanned version of the Armata main battle tank is also on the cards, Shevchenko said*.
> 
> Armata is a universal combat platform that is to be utilized for production of various armored vehicles. Shevchenko said on Friday that prototypes are already created for an Armada-based main battle tank, heavy infantry fighting vehicle and armored recovery vehicle.
> 
> *The combat platform, named after a 14-century Russian cannon, is being designed since 2009 by the state-run corporation Uralvagonzavod, headquartered in Nizhny Tagil.*
> 
> ........
> 
> RIA


----------



## CougarKing

Putin continues to overhaul the Russian military...

*Russia 'to double' size of airborne forces* 

[IHS Janes] - 8 August 2014





Russia is planning to double the size of its airborne force, according to local media. Source: PA



> ITAR-TASS reports that a third manoeuvre regiment will join existing airborne divisions and brigades, and entirely new formations will also be established. The airborne's current Spetsnaz regiment will be expanded to a brigade before the end of this year.
> 
> Meanwhile, the commander of the Airborne Troops, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov, told news agencies on 1 August that his branch *intends to acquire more than 1,500 new BMD-4M airborne infantry fighting vehicles, and 2,500 BTR-MD/BTR-D3 Rakushka troop transporters by 2025*.
> 
> Four thousand new combat vehicles would more than fully re-equip the airborne's current manoeuvre battalions. As recently as 2009 he believed only 200 of the new tracked BMD-4Ms would be purchased.
> 
> Gen Shamanov said that in 2015 the airborne will receive two "battalion sets" of 32 BMD-4Ms, along with more than 20 Rakushkas. Airborne units are currently field-testing both new combat vehicles.


----------



## CougarKing

Russia and their "Southern Slavic" cousins holding drills:

Military.com



> *Russian Troops Hold Drills in Serbia*
> 
> (...SNIPPED)
> 
> The "anti-terrorist' drill on Friday — the first such by the Russians outside the former Soviet Union — of elite Russian troops in northern Serbia, not far from NATO-member Croatia, has stirred controversy both here and abroad.
> "Serbia's government wants to try and keep everyone happy," said prominent Balkan political analyst Tim Judah. "So, the U.S. helps finance and modernize Serbia's army while now Serbian soldiers train with Russians. In normal times there would be little to say about this, but post-Crimea, these are not normal times anymore."
> Although Serbian officials say they respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and do not support Russia's annexation of Crimea, they have refused to impose sanctions against Russia like the EU and the U.S. have. Russia and Serbia have traditionally close historic and cultural ties, and Moscow has backed Belgrade's bid to maintain its claim over Kosovo — a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008 with the support of Washington and its allies.
> 
> (...SNIPPED)


----------



## CougarKing

A video of the Armata MBT:

Military.com video link

Plus the video description:



> The "Armata" Universal Combat Platform is a Russian advanced next generation heavy military tracked vehicle platform. The "Armata" platform is intended to be the basis for a main battle tank, a heavy infantry fighting vehicle, a combat engineering vehicle, an armoured recovery vehicle, a heavy armoured personnel carrier, a tank support combat vehicle and several types of self-propelled artillery under the same codename based on the same chassis. It will also serve as the basis for artillery, air defense, and NBC defense systems. The new tank is under development at Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil. *The first deliveries of the tank to the Russian Armed Forces are scheduled for 2015 and mass production is due to begin in 2016. A total of 2,300 MBTs are expected to be supplied by 2020, modernizing 70 percent of the Russian tank fleet.According to the General Director of Uralvagonzavod the first vehicles will be shown in the 2015 Victory parade. *


----------



## Cdn Blackshirt

I'm pretty certain I read the other day that the Russians are unhappy with the costs of the Armata and are instead looking at a further evolution of the T-90S as their MBT of the future.


Matthew.


----------



## CougarKing

The Russian response to the US parading of military vehicles in these countries last week:

Defense News



> *Russian Paratroopers in Drills on Border with Estonia, Latvia*
> 
> MOSCOW — Up to 2,000 Russian soldiers took part in drills in the country's west on Wednesday as Moscow conducted an inspection of its paratrooper units in the latest show of strength likely to alarm its neighbors.
> 
> Some 500 units of equipment were also to be included in drills in the western Pskov region which borders EU members Estonia and Latvia, defence ministry spokeswoman Irina Kruglova told AFP.
> 
> The drills, which will see some 1,500 paratroopers parachute en masse, were to continue until Saturday, she said, adding that soldiers would also capture and destroy a fictional enemy's airfield.
> 
> (...SNIPPED)


----------



## a_majoor

The Russian army takes delivery of the first Armata tanks. While the descriptions are quite breathless, I will be interested to see how these things "really" work. The suite of advanced systems are similar to proposals dating back to the great Soviet tansk scare of the 1980's (either what the Red Army was about to get, or what future Western tanks needed to have to fight them. Think of the "Block 3" program). No official photographs have been released, so the picutres are still artists conceptions. The idea of using the basic hull as a platform for multiple uses is simply common sense, and I suppose the automotive components are fairly straightforward so a modular program like that isn't too difficult to achieve:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/03/twenty-russian-t-14-armata-main-battle.html



> *Twenty Russian T-14 Armata main battle tanks delivered in February and review of Armata variants*
> 
> The first 20 T-14 Armata main battle tanks were handed over to the military earlier in February. It was initially thought that the new tank would be revealed then, but authorities decided to keep the tank's details a secret.
> 
> The T-14 (Object 149) main battle tank is based on the Armata platform, which has been in development at Uralvagonzavod since 2009. Other than the tank, the platform will be used for armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), self-propelled guns (SPGs), engineering vehicles and other uses.
> 
> The Armata tank will reportedly feature a remotely controlled gun and fully automated loading, as well as a separate crew compartment made from composite materials and protected by multilayered armor.
> 
> The tank will go through state trials in 2016, and it is expected that by 2020, over 2,300 tanks on the Armata platform will be supplied to the military.
> 
> The platform’s chief tank (T-14) sports an unmanned remotely controlled turret armed with a brand new 125 mm 2A82-1M smoothbore cannon. Its muzzle energy is greater than one of the world’s previously considered best cannons: the German Leopard-2 Rheinmetall 120 mm gun. The 125 mm gun has 15-20 percent improved accuracy and its rolling fire angular dispersion has improved 1.7 times. According to Russian media, the Armata tank might also come with a specially developed 152 mm gun, the most powerful ever cannon to be mounted on a main battle tank.
> 
> The Armata is designed as a modular universal combat platform that could be used as a basis for a variety of combat vehicles, including main battle tanks, fire support, mine clearing, heavy flame throwing and bridge laying vehicles, according to Russian state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport.
> 
> Variants that will use the Armata chassis
> 
> The "Armata" platform is intended to be the basis for a main battle tank, a heavy infantry fighting vehicle, a combat engineering vehicle, an armoured recovery vehicle, a heavy armoured personnel carrier, a tank support combat vehicle and several types of self-propelled artillery under the same codename based on the same chassis
> 
> According to preliminary reports, the new tank designated T-14 will be less radical and ambitious than the canceled ‘Object 195’ or T-95, it will weigh less, therefore, become more agile and will be more affordable, compared to its more ambitious predecessors. Additionally, the Kurganets-25 tracked armored vehicle provides high degree of commonality with the new Armata tank. The Kurganets-25 will evolve into various models, gradually replacing BMP and BMD and MT-LB and other types of tracked armored platforms. The Kurganets-25 will have modular armor that can be upgraded for specific threats, be armed with a 2A42 30 mm autocannon, and have four Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missile launchers.
> 
> The Armata will use a new type of lightweight armor designated 44S-SV-SH, developed by Steel Scientific Research Institute enterprise. This armor does not lose its qualities when used in extremely low temperatures, an indication of Russia's military interest in the Arctic.
> 
> The Armata tank will have a remote weapon station turret and an automated control system, with the crew protected by an armored capsule. It will have an externally mounted 125 mm gun with 32 rounds of ammunition; in addition to tank rounds, a new laser-guided missile able to be fired from the main gun with a tandem anti-tank warhead and a range of 5,000 m (16,000 ft) is planned to be created. The secondary armament will consist of a 30 mm cannon and a 12.7 mm machine gun. (_Interpolation by me: Many early reports suggested the secondary weapon would be a high velocity grenade launcher. It is interesting to note they have not copied the Israeli practice of mounting a 60mm mortar on the vehicle_)
> 
> Kurganets-25: Tracked infantry fighting vehicle
> 
> Strategy Page indicates in 2014 Russia began testing the newly built prototypes of its new Kurganets 25 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle). This is based on the Armata chassis and will eventually replace all the existing BMP and BMD IFVs. The 25 ton Kurganets 25 will have a front mounted engine, a crew of three and carry six or seven infantry.
> 
> Two other variants
> 
> BREM-T T-16: recovery vehicle
> 
> BM-2 (TOS-2): short range rocket artillery, similar to flamethrower system TOS-1 Buratino
> 
> SOURCES - Sputnick News, Wikipedia, youtube, military-today, Strategy page, rt.com


----------



## CougarKing

Armata tanks parading in Moscow:

*New Russian heavy armour breaks cover*  

IHS Jane's 360 - 22 April 2015



> The flagship of the new armoured vehicles is the Armata main battle tank (MBT), also known as the T-14 and built by UralVagonZavod. The images show an MBT much more in keeping with recent western philosophies on tank design, appearing larger and taller than the T-72/90 it will replace.
> 
> The key feature of the Armata is its unmanned turret, with all three crew members (commander, gunner, driver) seated in a crew capsule at the front of the vehicle's hull. Although the turret is covered in the MoD image, Armata is understood to be armed with a 2A82A 125 mm smoothbore main gun fed by a bustle-mounted automatic loader equipped with 32 rounds.







The Russian Ground Forces' new Armata main battle tank (MBT) seen during rehearsals for the Victory Day Parade in Moscow. (Russian Ministry of Defence)
-




The Russian Ground Forces' new heavy infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) based on the Armata main battle tank (MBT) chassis seen during rehearsals for the 9 May Victory Day Parade in Moscow. (Russian Ministry of Defence)


----------



## CougarKing

Pictures of the Armata MBTs without the clothing covers on their turrets are at the link below:

Military.com



> *Russia's New Armata Tank Makes Debut in Parade Rehearsal*
> 
> Associated Press | May 05, 2015
> MOSCOW  — Russia's new Armata tank appeared in public for the first time Monday, rumbling down a broad Moscow avenue on its way to Red Square for the final rehearsal of the Victory Day parade.
> The Russian Defense Ministry last month released photographs of the tank, but its turret was covered with fabric and only the platform was visible. Monday was the first time that the tank was shown uncovered.
> *The Armata will be a highlight of the military parade on Saturday, the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. About 200 pieces of military hardware and 16,500 troops will take part in the parade on Red Square.*
> 
> (...SNIPPED)


----------



## CougarKing

More pics of the Armata MBT:



> Show of force: A new Russian Armata T-14 tank speeds through Moscow for final rehearsals for the Victory Day parade, where it be the highlight of celebrations on Saturday marking the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany
> -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> New Russian military vehicles including the new Russian T-14 Armata tank, foreground, make their way to Red Square during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade
> source: dailymail.co.uk


----------



## George Wallace

More photos and write up at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3067609/Putin-unveils-new-Russian-tank-1993-powerful-gun-huge-arsenal-sophisticated-military-hardware.html


----------



## The Bread Guy

Elsewhere in the RUS mil machine ....


> *Russia's Airborne Troops to Receive Tanks*
> 
> MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia’s Airborne Troops will soon be reinforced with tank units, Airborne Troop Commander Col.-Gen. Vladimir Shamanov told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
> 
> “In the near future we plan to receive a tank unit to reinforce our firepower,” Col.-Gen. Shamanov said.
> 
> Russian Airborne Troops have armored vehicles, but tanks have never been included in their inventory.
> 
> The elite military force, nicknamed in Russia the “blue berets” after the hats its soldiers wear, trace its origins to 1930, when the first parachute jump by the airborne troops took place.
> 
> Since then, Soviet and subsequently Russian Airborne Troops have participated in a number of military conflicts, including important battles in World War II, conflicts in Afghanistan, Chechnya and South Ossetia.


Original article (not much detail) in Russian here.


----------



## CougarKing

Ha! So much "next-generation" Russian technology. A planned breakdown? Riiiiight.  ;D

Foreign Policy

*Russia’s Patriotic Preparations Run Into Tank Troubles*



> *Ahead of what’s meant to be their triumphant debut, one of the handful of Armata T-14s in the rehearsal ground to a halt directly in front of Lenin’s tomb in Moscow’s Red Square, stalling in place with the engine still running. *On May 9, Red Square will be the epicenter of one of Russia’s largest commemorations ever, for the 70th anniversary of the World War II Allies’ defeat of the Nazis.
> 
> “The tank’s driver raised a small red flag to show he had problems but managed to drive on about 30 minutes later after an attempt to tow it away was abandoned,” Reuters reports. *“The parade announcer later announced that the stoppage had been planned to demonstrate how military equipment could be evacuated from the battlefield, prompting laughter from the rehearsal audience.”*
> 
> (...EDITED)


----------



## The Bread Guy

Suuuuuuuuuuuure these weren't Russian troops in Crimea ....




This from the RUS MoD:


> The monument to a soldier is opened in Belogorsk city of Amur region. Solemn event took place close to city wall of fame.
> 
> The idea of the monument has being discussed for months after presidential enactment Vladimir Putin establishing new celebration date – Special Task Force Day. People call February 27 – Polite People Day.
> 
> The concept of the monument comes from photo image made by TASS reporter Andrey Ryumin. The picture shows moment when special task soldier hands over a kitten to a child.
> 
> The ceremony was attended by commander of all arms Army Lieutenant-General Sergei Solomatin, Acting Governor of Amur region Aleksandr Kozlov, representatives of regional administration, veterans and servicemen of Belogorsk garrison.


Some pix from yesterday's "Special Task Force Day" statue dedication ....


----------



## Oldgateboatdriver

That is the most heavily guarded statue of a "soldier returning a cat" I have ever seen.

BTW, the statue soldier is out of uniform: You can see his face


----------



## vonGarvin

milnews.ca said:
			
		

>


That young lad's "K": Крым (Russian) and not Крим (Ukrainian), I'm sure


----------



## The Bread Guy

Technoviking said:
			
		

> That young lad's "K": Крым (Russian) and not Крим (Ukrainian), I'm sure


 :nod:

Also, I find it interesting that this monument went up sooooooooooooooooooo far away from Ukraine ....


----------



## George Wallace

OK

Who needs the threat of NATO, the Americans, or anyone else starting WW IV, if the possibility of one Nuclear Power committing hari-kari in the center of its capital exists.


This looks like a fluid leak on fire on an Anti-aircraft Missile Launcher, with fluid dripping onto street, and ICBM Missile Launchers following.  All with full loads of missiles.  Possibilities of a catastrophe causing multiple deaths are there.   Definitely a lot worse than a tank breaking down in the parade.

https://www.facebook.com/235931176424547/videos/1028360997181557/


----------



## tomahawk6

A bit more detail about the T-14 Armata tank.Unusual placement of the 3 man crew up front albeit in an armored compartment.Low silhoutte.anti-missile defense and very sleek.Heavily armored.

http://www.armyrecognition.com/russia_russian_army_tank_heavy_armoured_vehicles_u/armata_russian_main_battle_tank_technical_data_sheet_specifications_information_description_pictures.html


----------



## The Bread Guy

And here, attrached, are the RUS military Info-machine's graphics of their new hardware - more to follow ....


----------



## The Bread Guy

.... with the rest here - enjoy!


----------



## MilEME09

Right away I see two big flaws of the T-14, one huge exposure of the turret ring to the rear, two the turret being completely automated, i'd aim to hit it, not to take it out but to throw the electronics off enough that it is no longer combat effective. finally if suffers from driver error  >


----------



## tomahawk6

The big advantage the Russians have in tank design is that they dont have to worry about weight.Their tanks wont be flown for rapid deployment beyond Russia's borders.They can rly on rail or by ship.Cost is a factor as well.How many T-14's can Russia afford ?


----------



## George Wallace

MilEME09 said:
			
		

> Right away I see two big flaws of the T-14, one huge exposure of the turret ring to the rear, two the turret being completely automated, i'd aim to hit it, not to take it out but to throw the electronics off enough that it is no longer combat effective. finally if suffers from driver error  >



I see way too many flaws in the T-14.  They range from the number of crew, crew placement, remote control turret with an autoloader, remote control machine gun, gas turbine engine, and on and on.  Tank maintenance isn't really hard; mostly just HEAVY.  Just cleaning the main gun takes four or five people.  Russian auto-loaders are notoriously slow and dangerous.  Gas is one very volatile fuel, that most other nations have gotten away from.  There are many here who now have an opportunity to slice and dice this tank's design.


----------



## MilEME09

George Wallace said:
			
		

> I see way too many flaws in the T-14.  They range from the number of crew, crew placement, remote control turret with an autoloader, remote control machine gun, gas turbine engine, and on and on.  Tank maintenance isn't really hard; mostly just HEAVY.  Just cleaning the main gun takes four or five people.  Russian auto-loaders are notoriously slow and dangerous.  Gas is one very volatile fuel, that most other nations have gotten away from.  There are many here who now have an opportunity to slice and dice this tank's design.



My biggest question is ammo still stored around the turret ring? if so combined with the gas engine this thing is a driving bomb and death trap rather then a tank


----------



## George Wallace

MilEME09 said:
			
		

> My biggest question is ammo still stored around the turret ring? if so combined with the gas engine this thing is a driving bomb and death trap rather then a tank



Agreed, but this time they have removed most of the crew from the turret and placed them in "safe" compartments.  How much confidence that builds, I am not sure.   ;D


----------



## Old and Tired

You have to remember that "Gas-Turbine" has nothing to do with Gasoline. It's simply the way in which the fuel/air mix is burned and the resultant power is harnessed for use.  Most turbine engines use fuels from the lower end of the distillate column because of their inherent lubrication properties.  The only two references that I've seen so far simply say it's powered by a "Gas-Turbine Engine" that produces somewhere in the region of 1,500 HP.  Nether of them say what kind of fuel or how much.  If the fuel consumption of previous Gas-Turbine tanks (M-1 Family and T-80 family) is anything to judge from, this tank must have very large fuel reserves to have a range of 500km.


----------



## MilEME09

true but lets say the ammo still is around the turret ring, if that gets hit and goes up, the explosion would be powerful enough to ignite said fuel reserves to either go boom or burn off for a long time


----------



## Old and Tired

True enough.  It all comes down to what the internal layout is.  How the compartments are divided and separated from each other.  I've looked over the photos as best I can, and I think there may be blow-off panels on the turret roof.  As well from the length of the bustle on the back I wonder if perhaps the 32 rds of ready load ammo for the main guns is stored there, with the idea being that it is a sacrificial storage unit that is easily replaced.  It would be the first time that the Russians make that type compromise in design.


----------



## MilEME09

In which case we are seeing a fundamental shift in Russian AFV designs which means unless we see these in combat we may not know what to expect


----------



## tomahawk6

More like an Abrams gas turbine I suspect.No Abrams was ever lost due to an enemy tank.No brew ups.Some mobility kills.


----------



## Retired AF Guy

Here, reproduced under the usual caveats of the Copyright Act, are some detailed analysis of the Armata vehicles (T-14 and T-15), Kurganets-25, and Boomerang 8×8 AFV. 

 New Russian Armor – First analysis: Armata

 New Russian armor – First analysis Part II: Kurganets-25

 New Russian armor – Part III: Boomerang 8×8 AFV 

Lots of photos not previously seen and a good preliminary analysis.


----------



## Old and Tired

More on the engine. Apparently its a 12C X configuration. I've seen two different numbers for displacement. One says 36 litre the other says 48 litre. Both agree that it is a 1,500 hp class engine.  The was also a photo of the engine, less transmission.  Looks to be a very compact machine.  Of note, it also said that the engine is common to all variants of the Armata family. Tank, BMP/IFV and the SPH.  If this is the case it seems that the Russians have also taken a long hard look at their logistics and maintenance support systems and have decided that the commonality will significantly lighten the burden.  It also explains the road range quoted since the internal fuel load isn't all that large.  1,125litres if I remember correctly.


----------



## The Bread Guy

.... when you can buy a "polite folks in green t-shirt" - here's the t-shirt store link in Russian, with some designs attached.

The kitty cat reference is even thrown in to an official statue in Russia.

P.S. - If you're interested in checking out Russian airborne shirts, check here, or for Spetznaz shirts here.

Edited to add:  That last t-shirt says "Thanks for Crimea"


----------



## tomahawk6

More on the reactive armor.The Russians think their's have no equal. :camo:

http://www.businessinsider.com/russias-new-tank-can-resist-nato-anti-tank-weapons-2015-6


----------



## GR66

Curious noob question.  Has there ever been any research on a shotgun type munition that blankets the whole tank with a large number of sub-munitions that cause all of the reactive armour plates hit to detonate and possibly cause the target tanks to expend much of their active counter-measures on non-threatening incoming targets?


----------



## Underway

GR66 said:
			
		

> Curious noob question.  Has there ever been any research on a shotgun type munition that blankets the whole tank with a large number of sub-munitions that cause all of the reactive armour plates hit to detonate and possibly cause the target tanks to expend much of their active counter-measures on non-threatening incoming targets?



RPG 30 tries to do something like that, but on a smaller scale, both to activate reactive armour and/or activate Active counter measures. / BACK ON TOPIC


----------



## The Bread Guy

2 August:  Happy 85th birthday, Russian Airborne Forces!  This from the Russian info-machine (original in Russian, Google English in quote box):


> Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on July 30, 2015 № 222
> 
> Comrades, soldiers and sailors, sergeants and petty officers, warrant officers and warrant officers! Dear comrades!
> 
> August 2, the Day of Airborne Troops.
> 
> Over 85 years of paratroopers honored their duty in the most difficult areas.
> 
> The dedication and courage of the river Khalkhin-Gol, on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, were multiplied in the post-war conflicts. In the armed conflict, counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations "winged infantry" has always demonstrated professionalism, mutual support and unparalleled heroism than earned the right to be called the elite of the Armed Forces.
> 
> Today, airborne troops still play an important role in ensuring the military security of the state. Military units of the Airborne Troops are actively equipped with the latest weapons, equipment and ammunition. The personnel is constantly improving military skills, each year expanding the geography of landing and solving more complex problems.
> 
> I am sure that the soldiers in blue berets, and will continue to be the pride and glory of Russia.
> 
> I congratulate you on the Day of anniversary of the Airborne Troops! I wish you good health, prosperity, success and a clear sky in the noble cause of serving the Fatherland!
> 
> Russian Defense Minister
> 
> Army General



Interestingly enough (but not surprising, given its Soviet history), today's also Ukrainian Airborne Forces Day - this (in Ukrainian) from the UKR info-machine (Google English in quote box):


> Congratulations NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov on the Day of highly mobile airborne troops Ukraine
> 
> Dear soldiers paratroopers!
> 
> Please accept my sincere congratulations on the occasion of Ukraine highly mobile airborne troops.
> 
> The professionalism, courage and ability to perform the tasks of any complexity, devotion to his people and to military duty - is that you combine.
> 
> On your account countless successful operations conducted in the area of ​​anti-terrorist operation in the east of our country. This year violent struggle for freedom and independence of our country you won fame adamantine soldiers.
> 
> In this difficult time for our country in your strength, experience and courage rests all the people of Ukraine. This day marked not only the Marines, soldiers of the Ukrainian army and the entire nation, honoring their brave defenders.
> 
> I am convinced that thanks to your professionalism we will restore peace and territorial integrity of our native homeland.
> 
> I wish you good health, peace and success as soon as possible and return to your families with the victory. May God bless you and your family.
> 
> 
> Secretary of National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov


----------



## CougarKing

Aren't their reserves already substantial?

Reuters



> *Russia's Putin orders formation of new military reserve force*
> Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:35am EDT
> 
> MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the creation of a new reserve armed force as part of steps to improve training and military readiness at a time of international tensions with the West over Ukraine.
> 
> The new reserve force has been discussed for several years and was first ordered by Putin in 2012 shortly after his re-election as President. The latest decree was published late on Friday.
> 
> It will be distinct from Russia's existing military reserves because the part-time personnel will be paid a monthly sum and train regularly.
> 
> (...SNIPPED)



Also, more on Russia's moves in the Kuriles near Japan:

Diplomat



> *How Russia Tries to Intimidate Japan
> Moscow is stepping up its military presence on the disputed Kuril Islands.*
> 
> By Franz-Stefan Gady
> July 25, 2015
> 
> Russia plans to massively invest in military and civilian infrastructure projects on the Kuril islands, TASS reports quoting Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
> 
> “We’re restoring both the civilian and defense infrastructure of the Kurils,” he said this Thursday at a news conference where he also announced a visit to the islands located in the Sea of Okhotsk in the Northwest Pacific.
> 
> “I am planning to go there and have a look how matters stand there. And I invite the others,” Medvedev told members of his cabinet. He already visited the disputed islands –  known in Japanese as the Shikotan, Kunashiri, Etorofu and the Habomai islets – once before in 2010 becoming the first incumbent Russian president to do so.
> 
> (...SNIPPED)


----------



## CougarKing

What a load of cr*p! Next thing you know, they're gonna claim their tank hovers!

Diplomat



> *Is 'Russia’s Deadliest Tank' Really Invisible to the Enemy?
> Some experts are skeptical over recent Russian claims.*
> 
> By Franz-Stefan Gady
> August 13, 2015
> 
> In July, the deputy director of Uralvagonzavod, the largest main battle tank manufacturer in the world, boasted in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station that its deadliest new weapon, the T-14 Armata main battle tank (MBT), is invisible to enemy radars, The Moscow Times reports.
> 
> *“We essentially made the invisible tank,” Vyacheslav Khalitov said claiming that the T-14 is coated with a special radar-absorbing paint and also has its “emitters” *– heat signatures that make the tank vulnerable to modern anti-armor weapons – buried deep inside the hull of the vehicle in order to reduce emissions.
> 
> However, according to American and Russian experts interviewed by IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly, the invisibility claim should be taken with a grain of salt. “These claims would have to be proven. Placing heat-generating components ‘deep inside’ in the vehicle won’t help; modern thermal technology is very sensitive and when the tank is moved, or a weapon is fired, or a person is exposed, the thermal signature will light up. Plus, no matter where the engine is, when an engine big enough to move a 40- to 50-ton tank is fired up, it will have a signature,” a retired U.S. senior military officer told Jane’s.
> 
> (...SNIPPED)



Plus a picture of the front of the Armata MBT, courtesy of the World of Tanks Blitz game facebook page:


----------



## CougarKing

A rather delicate place to hold a multilateral exercise with Russia's Central Asian allies:

Diplomat



> *Russia Engages in Military Drills on Europe’s Doorstep
> The drills will practice “localizing an armed conflict and eliminating illegal armed formations in the Eastern European region.”*
> 
> By Catherine Putz
> August 25, 2015
> 
> Russia and its military partners across Asia have been busy practicing. While the Russian Navy is engaging in exercises with China in the Sea of Japan (which The Diplomat’s Franz-Stefan Gady covered here), its air force has been exercising with units from the* Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)’s Rapid Reaction force (CRRF) is also engaging in exercises. While the CSTO exercises are an annual event, this year’s location has drawn increased attention.*
> 
> Cooperation 2014 unfolded in Kazakhstan, attended by over 3,000 soldiers from* Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan,* focused on “psychological and cyber warfare for the first time.”
> 
> *The 2015 edition is being staged in Pskov, a city in western Russia less than 25 miles from the Estonian border. According to the CSTO, about 2,000 soldiers are participating, with 200 vehicles and 40 aircraft and helicopters. Half of the troops participating are Russian.* Kazakhstan reportedly sent a nuclear, chemical, and biological defense unit comprising of about 70 soldiers. Kyrgyzstan sent 50 soldiers and Tajikistan sent a platoon.
> 
> 
> (...SNIPPED)


----------



## CougarKing

This Russian S-400 battery's Arctic deployment might impact which fighters nations like Canada and Denmark will choose...or not since Justin's probably not paying attention.

RT



> *Russia deploys S-400 missile defense systems in Arctic*
> Published time: 8 Dec, 2015 13:12
> 
> Two cutting-edge S-400 missile systems have been deployed to Russia’s Arctic region north of the polar circle over the past year, a military source has revealed. The news comes as Russia reasserts its military presence in the Arctic.
> 
> The surface-to-air missile systems have been deployed to the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and to the Yakutian port of Tiksi in the Arctic Ocean, a source at the Russian General Staff of Armed Forces told TASS news agency.
> 
> (...SNIPPED)


----------



## The Bread Guy

Outstanding gas bill = no new BMP-1/2/3's?....


> *Russia’s sole manufacturer of armored vehicles may grind to a halt over debts
> *
> Russia’s Kurganmashzavod, the country’s sole manufacturer of infantry fighting vehicles, is balancing on the brink of full stoppage over debts for natural gas consumption.
> 
> Kurganmashzavod, which is part of Tractor Plants Group, has been able to repay only about 20 million rubles ($280,000) out of a total debt of 55.5 million rubles ($780,000) to Gazprom mezhregiongaz Kurgan, a subsidiary of gas monopoly Gazprom.
> 
> "Considering the payment, which has been made, and also a guarantee letter provided to Gazprom mezhregiongaz Kurgan on further debt payment, no new restrictions on gas supplies to the enterprise in 2015 are planned," the gas supplier’s press office told TASS.
> 
> Kurganmashzavod produces seven modifications of infantry fighting vehicles purchased by three dozens of countries and standardized chassis for various armament systems ...


More at the company's web page here, the vehicles it builds here, and at Wikipedia (usual GIGO caveats) here.


----------



## a_majoor

NBF with a short article and video of the T-14.

Once again they replay the claims about the special coatings and systems which are supposed to render the T-14 "invisible".

I supect that these are the sorts of things which work well in the test track, but exposure to the "real world" is going to be where this all counts:

http://nextbigfuture.com/2016/01/video-of-russian-armata-t14-tank.html


----------



## The Bread Guy

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Outstanding gas bill = no new BMP-1/2/3's?....
> 
> 
> 
> *Russia’s sole manufacturer of armored vehicles may grind to a halt over debts*
> 
> Russia’s Kurganmashzavod, the country’s sole manufacturer of infantry fighting vehicles, is balancing on the brink of full stoppage over debts for natural gas consumption ...
> 
> 
> 
> More at the company's web page here, the vehicles it builds here, and at Wikipedia (usual GIGO caveats) here.
Click to expand...

The latest from RUS state media ...


> A bankruptcy petition regarding Kurganmashzavod (KMZ) - Russia’s only enterprise manufacturing infantry fighting vehicles (BMP) - has been filed with the Kurgan Arbitration Court, the court press service told TASS Tuesday.
> 
> The petitioner is MTE Group registered in Moscow.
> 
> "The petition is connected with arrears on lease contracts of MTE Group and KMZ. Earlier the companies struck an amicable agreement, under which KMZ was to pay in two stages 41 million rubles ($515,000) of total debt on lease payments and some 1.9 million rubles ($23,800) of cancelation penalty," the press service said.
> 
> The court said Kurganmashzavod only paid 276,000 rubles ($3,460) out of the debt. "That’s why MTE Group demands that the plant be recognized bankrupt and that a bankruptcy commissioner be appointed," it said.
> 
> The petition was filed February 5 and has not yet been accepted for hearing. TASS was unable to get a comment from the plant ...


----------



## tomahawk6

Pre-delivery testing of the Ka-52 attack helo has begun.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2016/03/10/Russian-factory-test-flies-attack-helicopter/5221457635055/

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, March 10 (UPI) -- Russia's Progress Arsenyev Aviation Company is testing new all-weather reconnaissance and attack helicopter Kamov Ka-52 Alligator.

The pre-delivery tests are being conducted in Arsenyev, which is Located in the Russia's Far Eastern Primorsky territory and involve the helicopter gunships performing basic air maneuvers.


----------



## tomahawk6

It has been revealed that the Armata family of combat systems is in full production.Will we see them on the export market maybe in Iran and or China ?


----------



## tomahawk6

With its recent experience in Syria,the Russians have decided to upgrade 150 T-72B's to the new T-72B3M standard.At $234000 each the upgrade is very cost effective.

http://www.nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/russias-first-post-syria-move-stronger-t-72-battle-tanks-15500

While the world has been focused on Russia’s air campaign in Syria, Moscow continues its military modernization closer to home. The Kremlin is planning on modernizing one hundred and fifty additional Soviet-era T-72B main battle tanks to the T-72B3M standard. The upgraded vehicles would offer performance comparable to the much more modern T-90, but for a fraction of the price.


----------



## CougarKing

Armata production in full swing?

Diplomat



> *Is Russia's Deadliest Tank Already in Serial Production?*
> 
> In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, the CEO of Russian Technologies State Corporation (Rostec), Russia’s largest defense industrial conglomerate, claimed that the *third-generation T-14 main battle tank (MBT), an armored vehicle based on the ‘Armata’ universal chassis system, has already entered serial production.*
> 
> “[T]hat’s already in serial production. There are things that are in the development and testing stages, things that we’re only just starting, we’ll stop,” Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov said in the interview, answering a question about how shrinking government revenues have impacted the company’s business.
> 
> “There was a decision by the president and prime minister that what has already been started should be carried out to the end. You can’t quit when you’re halfway there. Money has already been invested, and if we stop without finishing, then that will be lost money,” he explained. Chemezov expects government defense orders to be reduced by 10 percent in 2016.
> 
> (...SNIPPED)


----------



## tomahawk6

Russian SAM development hasnt missed a beat.The attention grabber for me is the S-500 which will be able to engage ICBM's at 400 miles !!

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/russias-deadly-s-500-air-defense-system-ready-war-660000-16028

The new weapon—which will form the upper tier of Russia’s layered integrated air defense system—is expected to be able to engage targets at altitudes of about 125 miles—or 660,000 feet. That means that S-500 will be able to engage targets such as incoming ballistic missiles in space at ranges as great as 400 miles. The first regiment of S-500 will be deployed to protect Moscow and central Russia.


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## The Bread Guy

Tanks to RUS Air Assault units?


> Tank battalions will be set up within six air assault large units of Russia’s Airborne Force before the end of 2018, a high-ranking source in the Airborne Force told TASS on Tuesday.
> 
> "All our air assault large units, i.e. two divisions and four brigades, will start setting up tank companies in the second half of the year. We are planning to complete this work by the end of the year to transform these companies into battalions," the source said.
> 
> "Thus, each air assault large unit will have a T-72B3 tank battalion by 2018," the source added ...


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## tomahawk6

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2016/07/06/Russian-Tor-M2U-air-defense-system-arrives-in-Siberia/2321467813208/

ULAN-UDE, Russia, July 6 (UPI) -- Russia's new Tor-M2U anti-aircraft missile defense systems have arrived in Siberia's Eastern Military District.

The system arrived at a tank formation stationed in the Buryatia republic, Russia's Tass news agency reported.

The tank formation's air defense units had undergone retraining to qualify to work with the new system, studying the equipment, tactical and technical characteristics while learning to load the launcher and search and detect air targets.

Russia's Ministry of Defense said in March that air defense units had carried out the first Tor-M2U firings at the Telemba specialized range in Buryatia.

The system detected, tracked and identified small-sized aerial target simulators.

Tor-M2U is the next generation off the Tor short-range air defense series, and is designed to protect military and state facilities from warplane and helicopter strikes by cruise missiles, guided missiles, glide and guided aerial bombs and drones.


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## The Bread Guy

Interesting & slick video from an interesting site, southfront.org -- the URL's registered to a Russian proxy service with servers in Holland.  

The site says it's " maintained by an independent  team of experts from the four corners of the Earth focusing on international relations issues and crises and working through a number of media platforms with a special emphasis on social networks," reminding us that "There is far too much “dirty work” from the western mass media that attempts to hide the real truth behind the causes that provoke the various conflicts facing the world today. They create a false image of a fictitious enemy, steer public opinion, and engineer the consent of people in different countries by controlling the narrative of events."  They claim to be independent, but when you click on #Donbass, the page is marked "Novorossia", so I call this one on the pro-Russian end of the bias continuum.

Interesting thing about the video, highlighting RUS motor rifle brigade org and equipment is 1) the comparison to Soviet orgs, and 2)  admitting that experience in UKR is driving changes in the RUS system.

Enjoy!


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## cupper

*Russian Military Army-2016 Expo: 10 Weapons Of War On Display At Annual Forum Near Moscow [PHOTOS]*

http://www.ibtimes.com/russian-military-army-2016-expo-10-weapons-war-display-annual-forum-near-moscow-2414635


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## tomahawk6

Recent Armata MBT going through its paces.It has a 125mm gun but the Russians say they could upgrade that to a 152mm gun.Its a nice looking tank and looks capable enough in open country.How would it fair in an IED environment ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jx-Oak8mfI#t=31


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## The Bread Guy

Almost 10 minutes of video from Russian-state TV (via the _Washington Post_) on Russian special forces training, and blowing things up/killing people in Syria.


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## Cloud Cover

milnews.ca said:
			
		

> Almost 10 minutes of video from Russian-state TV (via the _Washington Post_) on Russian special forces training, and blowing things up/killing people in Syria.



Neat little robot...


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## MilEME09

http://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/09/russia-claims-this-new-howitzer-shoots-farther-than-any-nato-gun/?utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=alt&utm_source=militarymemes



> Russia claims this new Howitzer shoots farther than any NATO gun
> The Russian Ministry of Defense released a statement on Monday saying that its new Koalitsiya-SV howitzer, which Moscow claims shoots farther than any western gun, will be ready for service by 2020.
> 
> While Russia is well known for making outlandish claims about its military hardware, the new 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV, by all accounts, may live up to the hype.
> 
> First unveiled in 2015, the Koalitsiya-SV, also known as “Coalition-SV,” is a 152mm self-propelled gun that can reportedly fire up to 15-20 rounds a minute, according to The National Interest.
> 
> This range of automation is far superior to western guns, like the US M109 Paladin, which fires 6 rounds a minute.
> 
> The Coalition-SVs high level of automation also allows it to be operated by a two or three-man crew, while the Paladin requires six.
> 
> The Koalitsiya-SV can reportedly fire rounds up to 43 miles, much farther than the Paladin at 18 miles and Great Britain’s AS90 Braveheart at 24 miles.
> 
> It’s also capable of firing a variety of rounds, like standard and rocket-assisted high-explosive fragmentation projectiles, cluster projectiles and jammer projectiles, according to military-today.com. These projectiles, however, unlike Russia’s new long-range precision-guided shell, have firing ranges of less than 43 miles.
> 
> Given Moscow’s budgetary problems, we’ll have to wait and see if the Coalition-SV is mass produced.
> 
> In any event, the “introduction of … the Koalitsiya-SV [is] a significant boost to the Russian Ground Forces’ artillery forces,” Dave Majumdar wrote in The National Interest in June.



youtube video in the link


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## Loachman

Some entertaining video: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/zapad-2017-war-games-russia-helicopter-rockets-journalists-injured-belarus-a7955281.html


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## jollyjacktar

Shooting at reporters, seems legit. ;D


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## The Bread Guy

Guess they thought it was a Syrian hospital or something ...  >


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## jollyjacktar

A young troop burns out his ACP after trying to heat his rations.  Not surprised his first name is Semen as he's screwed.  Video of him getting chewed out at link.

 :rofl:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5262279/Soldier-destroys-armoured-vehicle-trying-cook-rations.html


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## MarkOttawa

John Schindler on US Army vs Russian army (King of the Battlefield)--excerpts:



> Outgunned US Army Isn’t Prepared For War With Russia
> 
> Ever since our lopsided victory in the Gulf War in early 1991, the U.S. military has been venerated by many Americans as an unbeatable force. How rapidly our combined air-ground offensive crushed Saddam’s large yet ponderous army gave the Pentagon an aura of invincibility. Military leaders and defense thinkers proclaimed the dawn of new era in warfare. With our advanced technology and precision strikes, everything was different.
> 
> But was it? In hindsight, the Gulf War merely confirmed what military historians always knew, namely that better weaponry and command-and-control habitually crush large numbers of less well-equipped enemies. A generation on, the “lessons” of 1991 appear no more noteworthy than the “lessons” of Omdurman in Sudan in 1898, when two brigades of British regulars easily crushed a force of 50,000 jihad-fueled natives because, as the wags of the day put it, “We have got the Maxim Gun, and they have not.”
> 
> Yet since the Gulf War, the U.S. Army’s technological edge over its potential foes— what defense doyens term overmatch—has dwindled, slowly but irrevocably. Through the decade after 1991, the army was busy managing post-Cold War cutbacks and peacekeeping in the Balkans and saw no peer-competitors anywhere. Since 9/11, as plausible rivals like Russia and China have slowly come into focus, our army has been busy managing costly and ultimately futile campaigns in the Greater Middle East. Our diffident war in Afghanistan, America’s longest by a good margin, is in its 17th year, and strategic victory is now as far off as it has ever been there...
> 
> Genuinely shocking, though, is how far ahead the Russians have gotten in artillery. That arm is the great killer on the modern battlefield, for over a century now, and Russian gunnery has always been impressive. Their artillery was fearsome in the time of the tsars (“The Irish fight well, but the Russian artillery’s hotter than Hell,” as a popular ditty had it during the Crimean War), and so it has remained. Stalin referred to his guns as “the God of War” and it’s no exaggeration to state that the Red Army in 1944-45 blasted its way clear to Berlin with its massive artillery corps.
> 
> But the U.S. Army’s gunnery was no less impressive [Canadians and Brits very good too]. Our artillery was the guarantor of victory in the Second World War on all battlefronts. Contrary to Hollywood myth making, the U.S. Army had serious defects in the fight against the Wehrmacht. Outside a few elite units, our infantry was subpar, while our tanks were death traps compared to German models. Our gunnery, however, was world class, and the U.S. Army’s field artillery outpaced Hitler’s gunners in precision and weight of shell. For all his bluster about tanks, General George S. Patton spoke the truth when he stated, “I do not have to tell you who won the war. You know our artillery did.”..
> 
> In the generation since the Cold War ended, the Russian military has maintained its traditional competence in gunnery, fielding new classes of field artillery, both guns and missiles, while the U.S. Army has stagnated. A brief look at the current situation reveals the extent of the problem. Russian maneuver brigades possess a regiment’s worth of artillery, two battalions of self-propelled 152 mm howitzers plus a battalion of rocket-launchers, 54 artillery pieces in all. In contrast, our heavy brigades possess just a single battalion of no more than 24 155 mm self-propelled howitzers (and in Stryker brigades the howitzers are towed, not self-propelled).
> 
> The situation repeats above the brigade level...
> 
> Underestimating the Russians, particularly in gunnery, has a long and undistinguished history. In the summer of 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Army went to war against the tsar’s forces with unwarranted confidence. Vienna’s artillery situation resembled ours today, with their units facing Russians armed with more, better, and longer-ranged guns. Disaster followed, as recounted in my recent book Fall of the Double Eagle [ https://www.amazon.ca/Fall-Double-Eagle-Galicia-Austria-Hungary/dp/1612347657?tag=ca-skim1x163875-20 ], with Habsburg forces being literally blasted off the battlefields of Galicia by superior enemy artillery. Austria-Hungary lost 420,000 men in just three weeks, the entire strength of the prewar army, and never recovered. This is the fate the U.S. Army must avoid.
> http://observer.com/2018/08/post-gulf-war-us-army-unprepared-for-war-with-russian-military/



Mark
Ottawa


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## tomahawk6

The S400 is popular in the export market.  

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/why-do-countries-want-to-buy-the-controversial-russian-s-400/ar-BBO5D9m?ocid=spartanntp


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## OldSolduer

When we studied the old Soviet formations the ratio of guns to a kilometre frontage on the main effort was 1000 tubes to 1000 metres frontage.


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## Retired AF Guy

Link to photos from 09 May 2019 Moscow parade. All photos courtesy of Vitaly Kuzmin.


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## Old Sweat

Hamish Seggie said:
			
		

> When we studied the old Soviet formations the ratio of guns to a kilometre frontage on the main effort was 1000 tubes to 1000 metres frontage.



Soviet artillery command and control bore a remarkable resemblance to that of the BEF at the end of the Great War. Effective, but slow and difficult to adapt to changes in the situation. Modern technology has introduced some flexibility, but I get they impression it is still a bit cumbersome.


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## tomahawk6

The Russians are dusting off old artillery pieces like the 2S7 Pion with a range of 37.5 km and 2S4 240mm heavy mortar. In effect their investment in artillery has given them an edge over the US Army.  

https://www.ausa.org/articles/king-battle-russia-breaks-out-big-guns


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## tomahawk6

Syria has seen Russia field resting new weapons such as the Uran 9 robot tank but its had issues.  

https://www.yahoo.com/news/robot-tank-russia-used-syria-101500897.html


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## daftandbarmy

Russian army's hazing culture drove son to kill soldiers, says father 

Ramil Shamsutdinov opened fire on eight fellow soldiers on Siberian military base

The father of a Russian conscript who allegedly shot and killed eight fellow soldiers on an army base last month has blamed a culture of brutal bullying for driving his son to carry out the attack, raising fresh concerns over a poisonous culture of hazing that Russia claimed to have eliminated from its army.

Ramil Shamsutdinov opened fire from his service weapon last week on a military base in Russia’s Transbaikal region, killing two officers and six soldiers. Some media reports said he targeted the heads of his victims during the rampage.

Defence officials have looked for factors besides hazing that may have caused the incident, saying that Shamsutdinov may have suffered a nervous breakdown unrelated to his service. But his father told Russian journalists on Wednesday that he believed his son had been bullied mercilessly by his fellow soldiers.

“What could have driven him to this?” Shamsutdinov’s father told the Russian outlet RBC. “It’s immediately clear: hazing. Persistent bullying over a long period of time. That drove him to this state.”

The brutal killings last month raised new concerns about the hazing of army conscripts, called “dedovshchina” in Russian, which the Kremlin has sought to root out during its decade-long reform of the army.

The ritualised bullying of new recruits, which can include beatings and psychological torture by officers and older soldiers, has been a suspected cause for hundreds of suicides and thousands of desertions in the Russian army.

Several cases have caused major scandals. One soldier had to have his genitalia amputated in 2006 after being beaten and forced to squat for several hours on New Year’s Day by a likely intoxicated sergeant. Despite a decade-long reform of the army and shortening of the conscription period to one year, reports of brutal hazing and suspicious suicides have continued to plague army units.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, earlier this year claimed in an interview that hazing was no longer a systemic problem in the Russian army. He said: “There is simply no place for hazing in the army now”.

In Shamsutdinov’s case, defence officials have claimed there was no animosity among soldiers on the base in south-eastern Siberia. The head of the Union of Russian Officers, an NGO that regularly takes a pro-Kremlin stance, said the rampage may have been inspired by violent video games.

But regional reports suggest otherwise. The news outlet 72.ru from Shamsutdinov’s native region of Tyumen said that a lieutenant on the base was known to demand money from conscripts, force them to stay awake for days on end, and bullied young soldiers in other ways.

“Clearly he ended up in this type of group,” Shamsutdinov’s brother told RBC. “Maybe over several months he was bullied, persecuted, things were said to him. I myself served, I know how it can happen.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/06/russian-armys-hazing-culture-drove-son-ramil-shamsutdinov-to-kill-soldiers-says-father


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## The Bread Guy

daftandbarmy said:
			
		

> ... The head of the Union of Russian Officers, an NGO that regularly takes a pro-Kremlin stance, said the rampage may have been inspired by violent video games ...


_This_ is the best "couldn't possibly be bad officers" narrative they could come up with?


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## Kirkhill

tomahawk6 said:


> Recent Armata MBT going through its paces.It has a 125mm gun but the Russians say they could upgrade that to a 152mm gun.Its a nice looking tank and looks capable enough in open country.How would it fair in an IED environment ?



Before we get bent out of shape about the BMPT-72 Terminator 3 (9 in service)

A reminder about the development of the T-14 Armata

"In June 2015, the Russian government unveiled the Armata, which was designed to replace older T-72B3 and T-80 tanks in the arsenals of the Russian Ground Forces. Moscow promised to build 2,300 Armata tanks by 2020, enough for about eight tank and motor rifle (mechanized) divisions. Equipped with a new engine, dual-reactive armor, lower radar cross section, and the Afghanit active defense system, NATO tank forces viewed the Armata as a formidable new threat.

But despite the lofty promises, the Armata project was mired in financial and technological difficulties that slowed development to a crawl. Today, the Russian Ground Forces have precisely zero Armata tanks, with serial deliveries now promised for later this year."









						Russia May Have a Secret Main Battle Tank
					

The troubled T-14 Armata could give way to the mysterious Burlak, according to a leak.




					www.popularmechanics.com
				




The Terminator was originally unveiled on a T-72 hull.   Now it is being built on the Armata hull while the Armata is still pending fielding.

In the meantime there are rumours of a new turret for old tanks 

"The Burlak takes a new tank turret and puts in on a modified T-80 tank chassis. The turret’s hexagonal geometry is derived from the T-90A tank that’s currently in service, but lengthened considerably in the rear to accommodate a dual-feed auto loading system for the main gun. This would allow the 125-millimeter main gun, the same caliber as the Armata’s gun, to quickly load two types of ammunition."

Vlad continues to build villages that would make Potemkin proud.


----------

