Russian Army: The “X-ray” of one of the most powerful war machines in the world

It is one of the most powerful armies in the world with about 700,000 hoplites, military personnel numbering around… 1,350,000, more than 4,200 fighter jets, at least 7,000 nuclear warheads, space defense systems and secret weapons that few know exactly. magnitude of the disaster they can cause. The reason for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation that have come to the fore lately because of her invasion carried out part of it, on the territory of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursdayprovoking the month of the international community.

Today we will try to decipher the capabilities, size and structure of the Russian army, which is in accordance with the current legislation, under the leadership of the current president of the vast country, in the case of Vladimir Putin.

In 2015, the then President of the United States of America Barack Obama, referring to the military interventions in Crimea and Syria, stated that Russia is only a regional power, and in decline. In recent years, however, not only has it been restructured army but its power is such that it was not intimidated by Western threats to the Ukrainian issue.

From the Red to the Russian army

The truth is that after the fall of the communist Eastern bloc in 1989-1990, the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the creation of the Russian Federation, the army as it was next, was in a phase of complete reorganization and for years fell short of the corresponding of the US and China. Nowadays, however, having changed not only structure but also doctrine, the Russian army became more compact and clearly more efficient, which is mainly due to the high percentage of professionalism that now represents 72% of its potential.

The 250,000 conscripts who are called to serve their term for 12 months are mostly placed in support and internal security units. The main operational force consists of about 700,000 soldiers, half of whom belong to the Land Forces and the rest to the Navy and Aerospace Forces. The bet of Vladimir Putin and his staff was not and is not to have a large army. They do not aim to build the most populous army in the world, as was the case in the Soviet Union, but to maintain a deterrent firepower.

Moscow is surrounded by the new generation of S-500 missiles

First of all, great emphasis has been placed on the construction of new, innovative missiles. It is no coincidence that Russia has undertaken all manned flights to the International Space Station since the withdrawal of the space shuttles in 2012. The country has developed a great deal of know-how in the construction of rocket systems. Following the construction of the S-300 and S-400 anti-ballistic missiles, just last September it completed the testing of the new ground-to-air missile system, the S-500, which it began supplying to its Armed Forces, with the first batch placed before from five months as reported by the RIA news agency, around the city of Moscow.

It has been described as a space defense system that can intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles, Cruz supersonic missiles and aircraft, with the country’s defense industry estimating it to be its best export product. The S-500s are capable of intercepting and destroying ten intercontinental ballistic missiles simultaneously as well as any air target moving at speeds of up to 5 Mach, within a range of… 600 km. This anti-missile system, like those of previous generations, is mobile and can be developed in a short time.

At the majestic military parade in May, new weapons systems are on display

All the new acquisitions of the Armed Forces (apart from the secret ones), however, are expected to be presented next quarter, in the established military parade that takes place in the Red Square of Moscow. This is the most important parade in Russia, held every year on May 9, during the Victory Day events.

It began to be celebrated in the 15 republics of the Soviet Union, after the signing of the German surrender pact on the night of May 8, 1945 (Moscow time was after midnight on May 9), in the context of World War II. The President of Russia is the guest of honor and the keynote speaker, by virtue of his constitutional mandate as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces.

For the record, it should be noted that the Victory Day parade in Moscow did not take place from 1991 to 1994, in part because then-Prime Minister Gennady Bourboulis considered the parades impractical mainly because of the situation in that country. the season, and the cost of events.

You can see here, last year’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, May 9, 2021, in Red Square:

The secret bomber

The United States, along with the Russians, had long ago considered investing in weapons systems of the future. Until recently, the American bomber Stealth B-2 Split, which has the ability not to be easily detected by enemy radar, had no opponent.

But now Moscow has developed a similar bomber codenamed PAK-DA that will not be detectable. At the same time, however, it will be stronger and within the next decade will replace all Russian bombers.

Its role and capabilities are largely unknown, but what we do know is that it will be able to carry nuclear weapons (the country has more than 7,000 nuclear warheads), and will probably be equipped with the infamous supersonic missiles. which the country has been developing in recent years.

In terms of its shape, it will have the shape of a wing, without any other details being clarified, apart from the fact that it will be smaller than the massive Tu-160 bomber, so it will have the advantage of landing even in small airports. The new achievement of the Russians is expected to start its flights in 2025 – 2026 and its normal production from 2028.

“Shots in bursts” is their philosophy

To date, the philosophy of the Russian air force is based on bursts of fire against the enemy, in contrast to most Western countries that follow the “once and for all” tactics.

That is why Moscow has aircraft capable of carrying up to 12 missiles, which by the way have different tracking systems. That is, some are thermal and others are active guidance as they use radar. This makes it theoretically impossible for them to be avoided by the opponent at the same time.

The missiles used by the Air Force in closed air combat can hit a target that is not necessarily in the straight line of the aircraft. This weapon system has been used by the Soviet Air Force since 1982, and the first American missile with this capability (the Sidewinder AIM-9X) was deployed in combat 20 years later.

A torpedo moving at… 370 kilometers per hour under water

At the same time, the Navy is constantly looking for solutions to problems that are considered by many to be insurmountable. Indicatively we mention the torpedo VA-111 Shkval, when it is in the water, it creates around it an air bubble which minimizes the friction, as a result of which it can move underwater at a speed that exceeds… 370 kilometers per hour, many times that of the torpedoes. available to the West. To understand how important a weapon it is, the Shkval torpedo was made in Kyrgyzstan by a state-owned factory. In 2012, the Russian government claimed ownership of 75% of the plant in exchange for the cancellation of Kyrgyzstan’s huge debt to Russia!

Ships with rockets that reach speeds of… 9,878 kilometers per hour

Russia’s lagging behind the other major powers was in the Navy, due in part to inadequate investment programs. In recent years, however, there has been a significant increase, as ships inherited from the Soviet era are being withdrawn and new types are being developed, such as the Admiral Gorshkov class frigates (Russian name Project 22350) built at St. Petersburg shipyards to strengthen the fleet.

The new frigate will be the first Russian Navy ship to be equipped with the Zircon or Tsirkon multi-sounding missile, which Putin himself has described as a “select weapon.” The country’s Ministry of Defense has stated that this missile will reach speeds of more than 8 Mach or… 9,878 km / h, with a range of over a thousand kilometers.

The “superhumans” of Spetsnaz

Finally, the elite of the Russian army is characterized by the Special Forces, the famous Spetsnaz (acronym for Voyska spetsialnogo naznacheniya-Special Purpose Military Forces) whose urban legend describes its members as superhumans. They are equipped with the most modern weapons and we know little about their painstaking training, with the exception of some propaganda videos given from time to time by the Ministry of National Defense, as is the case in every country. After all, the Spetsnaz emblem depicts a bat, which reflects its secrecy and agility.

A former member, Viktor Suvorov, who has surrendered, says: “The Spetsnaz training battalion operates on the principle that before you start giving orders, you must learn to obey them.

The rationale behind training battalions can be put very simply. They say that if you make an empty barrel airtight, you drag it under the water and then release it, you will see it rise above the surface of the water. The deeper you immerse it, the faster it comes to the surface of the water. This is how training battalions work. “Their job is to push their changing human body deeper and deeper.”

He adds: “A soldier who jumps farther away from others on a motorcycle or someone who waits longer than others to open his parachute or someone else who nails nails to a board with the palm of his hand, immediately wins respect “. In case of conflict, the members of the Special Forces are the ones who will undertake to carry out sabotage missions and hit strategic targets, while some of the men accompany the president of the country as a security guard on his visits around the world.

Watch here impressive exercises and demonstrations of the Russian special forces: