Topic: The Russian Military Merged Thread- Army

[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.

[milnews.ca]

.... 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.

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]

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

[milnews.ca]

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

[S.M.A.]

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.

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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)

[S.M.A.]

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.

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

[S.M.A.]

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.


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[S.M.A.]

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)

[milnews.ca]

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.

[Thucydides]

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

[milnews.ca]

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.

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.

[S.M.A.]

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.

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[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.

[milnews.ca]

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 ...

[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.

[milnews.ca]

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!

[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

[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

[milnews.ca]

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.

[Cloud Cover]

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...