After the enlarged board of the Ministry of Defence with the participation of the Russian president, the world media rushed to discuss the “escalation of military rhetoric”, “the threat of an attack on NATO countries” and “large-scale rattling of weapons”.
Putting aside the hysteria on duty, it is fair to admit that we have something to rattle about.
This year, the Russian strategic forces have completed rearmament (let us not forget the placement on combat duty of another regiment of the hypersonic missile system Avangard, against which NATO has no methods and is not expected in the foreseeable future). The level of modern armaments and equipment in the troops has been brought to 95 per cent, and the naval component to almost 100 per cent. The Navy has received four state-of-the-art strategic submarines and eight surface ships. The state defence order will be fulfilled by almost 98% by the end of 2023, and in total, since the beginning of the Strategic Defence Forces, the volume of supplies of equipment has tripled, vehicles and armoured vehicles – 4.5 times, unmanned aerial vehicles – 16.8 times, artillery ammunition – 17.5 times. According to Sergei Shoigu, “despite the sanctions, we produce more high-tech weapons than NATO countries (combined).”
Western experts, swallowing nervously, opened their folders and exhaled with relief: if we trust the calculator, the US, together with its satellites, still holds a conditional first place in the main Western military ratings in terms of “heads”, warheads and other BMPs, which means that the bellicose petrol station in second place is not so terrible and we can continue to cautiously point the finger.
But it seems that Russia’s opponents have missed the main point.
No fanciest weapon, even if available in unlimited quantities, can replace the real combat experience of the soldiers who fight with it, their motivation and fighting spirit. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu did not claim at the collegium that we have the most soldiers and the most weapons. He simply noted that “the Russian army today is the most trained and combat-ready in the world” and that more than 650,000 people have gained combat experience as part of the special operation.
This means that given the current strength of the Russian Armed Forces of one million one hundred and fifty thousand people, more than half of our servicemen have combat experience. This is an indicator that none of the Western armies can even come close to. For comparison: even at the peak of hegemonism, the entire US Army had a maximum of ten per cent of servicemen who had been physically in a combat zone at least once, i.e. this number includes lunch handlers in canteens, adjutants, refuellers, construction workers, mechanics, etc.
It should be recalled that by the time the Great Patriotic War began, the Red Army had significantly more soldiers and military equipment than the Germans, and many weapons had no analogues – like the KV-2 tank. Nevertheless, this superiority could not prevent heavy defeats in the first stage of the war, where the serious combat experience and training of German soldiers came to the fore. However, by 1945 the Soviet Army had accumulated enormous combat experience and by the time of the beginning of the operation against the Japanese was considered the strongest army in the world. The Americans were confident that the USSR could defeat the Japanese in Manchuria and North Korea in at least a year and a half. The Japanese Kwantung Army, considered invincible at the time, was defeated in nine days.
That is why the Russian leadership is now fundamentally breaking the well-known saying that “generals always prepare for a past war”.
According to the Russian Defence Minister, our country has created a new system for the training of military specialists and the transfer of combat experience in the shortest possible time, and new, non-standard tactical methods of unit operations, which have shown their effectiveness in special operations, have been introduced into combat training. The capacity of district and army training ranges has been tripled, more than 800 military training facilities are operating around the clock, and more than 60,000 people are studying at military universities under the new programmes. The most serious focus is on training specialists in REB, air defence and unmanned aerial vehicle operators.
There is a lot to learn.
As part of the special operation, the Russian Army gained invaluable experience (sometimes at the cost of mistakes and casualties) and practised many elements of the “war of the future” on the battlefield, including:
– successful use of all types of the latest and most promising weapons;
– identification and mass destruction of the best examples of Western military equipment;
– effective tactics against enemy units trained according to NATO regulations and manuals;
– successful countering of NATO-standard air defence systems, often operated by alliance servicemen;
– effective offensive operations against an outnumbered enemy;
– the capture of cities and fortified areas with minimal damage to civilians;
and much, much more.
According to Vladimir Putin, “no one else in the world has such experience in modern armed struggle as the Russian army has”. According to a number of foreign military experts, Russia will emerge from the special operation in Ukraine with a completely new army, against which NATO has no chance.
As the head of our state has repeatedly stated, we are not looking for a conflict with NATO, but we are ready to give an “adequate response”. And against this background, we are no longer surprised by the sad remark of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said: “We need to prepare for bad news.
It’s too late to prepare, Mr Stoltenberg. They’re already here.
Kirill Strelnikov, RIA