Colonel-General Alexander POSTNIKOV, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, answers questions.
Alexander Nikolaevich, the Ground Forces played an important, often decisive role in the defense of our Fatherland. Has their significance changed in modern conditions, taking into account the tendency of an increase in the proportion of forces and means used in the aerospace sphere?
- Indeed, over the past decade, the military importance of aerospace has increased significantly thanks to the use of high-tech systems, especially in the interests of reconnaissance, electronic warfare, communications, navigation, and long-range fire strikes. And in the future, this trend will only grow.
However, one cannot but take into account that the main sphere of human activity today and in the foreseeable future is still the earth's surface. And military conflicts arise, as a rule, because of "earthly" problems: territorial disputes, the desire to establish control over raw materials, redistribution of spheres of influence, political, ideological, religious and other contradictions.
Considering the vastness of our country and the length of its land borders, it is obvious that it is simply impossible to reliably ensure the defense capability of our state without the widespread use of the Ground Forces. They represent a universal and multifunctional type of the Armed Forces, military formations of which are capable of occupying and holding areas and lines for a long time in order to finally consolidate the achieved success. That is, as a "territorial presence" force, the Ground Forces continue to play a decisive role in defeating the enemy and achieving the goals of military operations in modern conditions. Yes, they do it in cooperation with other branches of the Armed Forces and branches of the armed forces. But other types of the Armed Forces and branches of the armed forces, as a rule, act in the interests of the Ground Forces.
You don't have to go far for examples. Only thanks to the decisive and swift actions of the formations and units of the Ground Forces (with the support of the Air Force, of course) in August 2008 it was possible to quickly force Georgia to peace and prevent the genocide of the people of South Ossetia. The same can be said about the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, where the Ground Forces also completed the bulk of the tasks to defeat illegal armed groups. All this testifies to the leading role of the Ground Forces in the system of modern warfare and ensuring the military security of the state.
At the same time, an increase in the proportion of forces and assets operating in the aerospace sphere imposes increased requirements on the organization, equipment and tactics of actions of formations and units of the Ground Forces.
On the one hand, it is necessary to build up their capabilities for reliable protection, camouflage and countering the enemy's aerospace attack, countering his reconnaissance and air-based electronic warfare systems.
On the other hand, they must learn to closely interact with their aerospace forces and assets in order to make the fullest possible use of their capabilities in the field of combat operations (meaning reconnaissance, electronic warfare, communications, navigation, etc.), as well as results missile and air strikes against the enemy.
The implementation of these requirements will, in our opinion, have a positive impact on the effectiveness of the use of formations and units of the Ground Forces, their adaptability to conduct autonomous, highly maneuverable combat operations, including in isolated directions, in isolation from the main forces and in the most difficult physical and geographical conditions. …
Did these requirements become one of the reasons for the large-scale structural transformations in the Ground Forces, during which the divisions were transformed into brigades?
- Oh sure. In our opinion, the divisional format of the organization of the Ground Forces has already outlived its usefulness. Some military experts call the divisions "dinosaurs on the streets of cities", and perhaps one can agree with them. It is especially difficult to use divisions in the difficult conditions of mountainous and wooded areas, in the northern regions and in urbanized areas, where settlements are found at every step. It is no coincidence that the ground forces of most countries of the world have already switched or are moving to a brigade structure.
Compact, maneuverable, equipped with modern weapons, well adapted to autonomous actions, brigades are more effective in conducting modern combined arms operations. And what is also very important, they are kept in constant readiness for use and they can be quickly transferred to the threatened direction, including by transport aviation.
The expediency of the transition to a brigade organization is confirmed by the experience of conducting large military exercises, such as, for example, "Vostok-2010". This has already been said more than once in the media. So I will not repeat myself.
By now, the structural transformations carried out in the Ground Forces as part of giving the Armed Forces a new look have been basically completed. What's next? What tasks of building and developing the Ground Forces are the most urgent in the coming year?
- There are still a lot of tasks to be solved, they are quite complex and multifaceted. First of all, we will continue to improve the organizational and staff structure of formations and units, taking into account the experience of military exercises, trends in the content and nature of wars and armed conflicts, and the emergence of promising weapons of warfare.
Another important task is to re-equip the Ground Forces with new, modern models of weapons and military equipment. As you know, the President of the Russian Federation has set a task to bring their share to 30 percent by 2015, and to 70 percent by 2020. This is not an easy task, but we must fulfill it in any case.
It is also necessary to increase the efficiency of command and control of military formations of the Ground Forces, primarily through the introduction of a unified automated command and control system of troops and weapons at the tactical level, as well as digital communications.
It is necessary to carry out transformations in the system of combat training aimed at increasing its intensity, efficiency and quality by introducing new programs, improving the educational and material base, increasing the methodological skill of commanders of all degrees and introducing outsourcing, which makes it possible to exclude the separation of personnel from classes. The course of combat training will have to be directed towards the search for and development of new forms of application and methods of operation of troops inherent in modern wars and armed conflicts.
Another very important task is the introduction of the institution of professional sergeants in the Ground Forces. It is necessary to attract really worthy candidates to these positions, train them with high quality and ensure that they strive to serve in the army for a long time. Without this, one can hardly speak of reaching a qualitatively new level in the training and employment of the Ground Forces.
As you can see, the scope of work on the further construction and development of the Ground Forces is very significant, requiring our unremitting attention and energetic actions.
As reported, in 2010, the Ministry of Defense revised the functions of all officials and military command and control bodies and carried out a significant reduction in the latter. How have the tasks and areas of responsibility of the High Command of the Ground Forces changed in this regard? And how can this affect the quality of the solution to your tasks?
- The revision of the functions, which you are talking about, was made in order to exclude continuous duplication, when everyone was responsible for everything, but at the same time it turned out that no one was fully responsible for anything. Naturally, these transformations also affected the Main Command of the Ground Forces.
Some of our tasks have passed to the joint strategic commands, some to other central bodies of military command.
Nevertheless, we retained such important functions as planning and organizing the implementation of measures for the construction and development of the Land Forces, organizing, conducting and monitoring combat training activities, training junior specialists and sergeants in the interests of the Land Forces. At the same time, the Main Command of the Ground Forces is also responsible for organizing inter-service combat training, in connection with which the status of the command body for combat training of the Ground Forces has been raised. It was reorganized into the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Ground Forces.
In addition, in the sphere of activities of the High Command of the Ground Forces, the leadership of peacekeeping activities, the determination of the main directions for the development of the weapons system of the Ground Forces for a 15-year prospect, participation in the development and implementation of the State Armament Program in terms of our branch of the Armed Forces, and some other functions remained.
Along with this, the task of managing measures to eliminate the consequences of emergency situations at the facilities of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and when providing assistance to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia was added. This was dictated by the events of the past year related to the extinguishing of forest and peat bog fires.
All of the above tasks of building and developing the Ground Forces, which are in the competence and sphere of responsibility of the High Command, we, despite significant reductions, are able to solve efficiently and in a timely manner.
- This year, the formations and units of the Ground Forces are engaged in new combat training programs. What is the essence of the changes? And can we already talk about the positive effect of the introduction of new programs?
- Yes, since December 1, 2010, the formations and units of the Ground Forces are engaged in 10-month combat training programs (instead of 5-month), and junior specialists are trained within three months (previously it was 5, 5 months).
The essence of the changes is to increase the intensity and quality of combat training, increase the duration of the stages of single training of servicemen and combat coordination of units. Thus, the duration of the school day increased to 8 hours instead of six, and during field trips - 10 hours. Moreover, Saturday is a full day off. Every day, servicemen are engaged in 4-5 hours of physical training, taking into account, of course, morning physical exercises and sports work.
The most important classes, exercises and field trips are planned and carried out in a comprehensive manner with the participation of military formations of other branches of the Armed Forces, combat arms and power structures of the Russian Federation. This makes it possible to achieve a high-quality development of the issues of organizing and maintaining interaction when they jointly solve combat missions in modern combined arms combat.
Another feature is that the new programs include a section on preparing all units for the implementation of peacekeeping tasks. Previously, this issue was studied only by formations and units intended for peacekeeping activities, according to a special program. With this approach, any unit of the Ground Forces will be able to begin performing these specific tasks in a short time.
The transition to 3-month training programs for junior specialists allows them to graduate three times a year, which, in our opinion, will lead to an increase in the combat effectiveness of formations and units of the Ground Forces, where after training they will serve for 9 months, and not six, as it was earlier. True, this will require an extension of the spring conscription campaign by 1, 5 months, until the end of August.
New programs are being tested, and it is too early to talk about any effect of their implementation. This can only be substantively judged by the results of final checks and major military exercises. That is, at the end of the school year.
How is the training of professional sergeants for the Ground Forces organized? What are the conditions of their life and life? Do the selected candidates cope with the training programs?
- We began training professional sergeants back in 2009 in a specially created center for their training on the basis of the Ryazan Airborne School, which is now a branch of the Military Training and Scientific Center of the Ground Forces "Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation." In this center, sergeants are trained in the specialties of the Ground, Airborne Forces, Communications and Automobile Forces. The term of study is 2 years 10 months according to the programs of secondary vocational education.
In 2010, the second recruitment of candidates passed, and not only to the Ryazan Center, but also to some other military educational institutions of the Ground Forces. The number of students, of course, is still small, which is generally understandable. Firstly, there are still few people who want to connect their lives with the army due to the insufficient attractiveness of military service, and secondly, very strict requirements are imposed on candidates and many of them do not pass the selection sieve. However, we will not soften the requirements, quality in this case is more important than quantity.
As for the living conditions of future sergeants, they are pretty good. So, in the Ryazan center, they are housed in two four-story cadet dormitories, in separate rooms for 3-4 people. There is everything you need for life, everyday life and ensuring the educational process.
Cadets are doing quite well with training programs in both civil and military disciplines. This is largely due to the fact that the size of their pay depends on the results of their studies. For example, in the Ryazan center, excellent students already receive 21 thousand rubles each, and good students - 5 thousand less.
After graduation and appointment to positions, the size of the sergeants' salary will increase significantly and should exceed the average salary in the country. So, the sergeant - the squad (tank) commander from 2012 will receive about 34 thousand rubles.
Will there be a new recruitment of candidates this year? To which educational institutions and to what extent?
- Necessarily will. In addition to the Ryazan Center, it is planned to enroll in other branches of the Military Educational and Scientific Center "Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation". These are, first of all, the Moscow and Far Eastern Higher Military Command Schools, as well as the Omsk Tank Engineering Institute.
In addition, the admission of candidates for training for the positions of sergeants will be organized at the Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy (St. Petersburg), the Military Academy of the Air Defense Forces of the Ground Forces (Smolensk) and the Military Academy of the RHBZ and Engineering Forces (Kostroma) in the relevant specialties …
The specific number of recruits for each military educational institution will be determined somewhat later, after clarifying the needs of the troops for these specialists.
Where should a guy who wants to become a sergeant go? What are the selection criteria?
- We are considering two categories of candidates for training for sergeants in secondary vocational education programs. The first is the citizens of the Russian Federation who have completed military service, whose age does not exceed 24 years. They should contact the military registration and enlistment office at their place of residence and submit an application there before April 20 of the year of admission.
The second category is military personnel who are in military service under contract (who do not have officer ranks) until they reach the age of 30. They submit a report to the commander of the military unit before April 1 of the year of admission.
Both categories of candidates must have a state-recognized document on secondary (complete) general education. The main selection criteria are as follows: conscious choice of the sergeant's profession; medical compliance; high motivation for long-term military service; no previous convictions; high moral and psychological qualities and discipline; good level of physical development; consent to the conclusion of contracts for the period of study and for 5 years of military service after graduation from a military educational institution.
Alexander Nikolaevich, what kind of weapons will professional sergeants and their subordinates receive in the near future? In general, what are the main directions and priorities for the development of the system of weapons of the Ground Forces?
- The current system of weapons of the Ground Forces has three main problems. The first is a small share of modern weapons, military and special equipment (AME). The second is its imbalance, when outdated, ineffective support means of reconnaissance, control, communication, navigation, target designation, identification, protection, camouflage do not allow to fully realize the capabilities of existing weapons, not to mention promising ones. And finally, the third is the lack of uniformity, i.e. too large "different size" of AME samples, which significantly complicates their use, maintenance and material and technical support in the course of hostilities.
To solve these and other problems of the Armament System of the Ground Forces and prevent them in the future, as well as to determine the further ways of its development, the High Command has developed a Concept for the Development of the Armament System of the Ground Forces for the period up to 2025. Its main purpose is to ensure interdepartmental standardization, multifunctionality, balance and modularity of weapon designs, information and technical compatibility of individual samples during their interaction during joint use. And in addition, the concept should help to achieve a unanimity of views of military command authorities, developers and enterprises of the military-industrial complex on the strategy for the development of weapons and military equipment for the Ground Forces, taking into account the opinion of consumers, that is, those who will directly use them in battle.
When developing the concept, a new approach was applied to the development of weapons and military equipment as a single integral system, which includes integrated subsystems of the combined-arms formations of the Ground Forces. It is proposed to have about 16 such integrated subsystems operating in a single information space. The main ones are subsystems of armored weapons and military vehicles; barreled artillery and multiple launch rocket systems; ground-based missile weapons; anti-tank weapons; air defense equipment; intelligence and information support; unmanned aerial vehicles; means of communication; automated command and control systems for troops and weapons; combat equipment and melee weapons, etc.
Taking this approach into account, the concept defines the following priority directions for the development of the Land Forces weapons system:
- formation of a unified automated system for reconnaissance and information support of the Ground Forces at all levels of command on the basis of further development and integration on the basis of ESU TK of highly effective means of reconnaissance, communications, electronic warfare, navigation, target designation, identification, exchange of information, communication of control signals and combat missions, etc.. NS.;
- development and equipping of troops with various types of high-precision weapons, both long-range and short-range, non-lethal weapons, as well as weapons based on new physical and technological principles;
- the introduction of robotic systems and complexes of weapons and military equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes, as well as other sets of equipment that ensure the use of weapons in the remote control mode;
- improvement of combat equipment with elements of intelligent systems, which allows to maximize the efficiency of actions of military personnel of various specialties in modern combat;
- Creation of small-sized and ultra-small weapons of warfare based on microminiaturization and nanotechnology, especially for solving reconnaissance and combat control tasks;
- increasing the security and survivability of personnel, combat and support vehicles, meeting the requirements for ergonomics and habitability of the latter.
The implementation of these and other directions for the development of the weapons system presented in the concept will make it possible, in our opinion, to give the combined-arms formations of the Ground Forces the appearance of reconnaissance and destructive systems (RPS) in the future, capable of ensuring the timely conquest and retention of information and fire superiority over the enemy, and under favorable conditions - its defeat in the initial or subsequent phases of a military conflict of any scale.
What effect do you expect from the introduction of a unified automated tactical control system? When will it be put into service?
- We are going to introduce a unified automated tactical control system (ESU TK) not in connection with the fashion for digital technologies, but in order to significantly increase the efficiency, responsiveness, reliability and stability of command and control of troops and weapons.
The fact is that the current management algorithms developed in the 1940s-1950s are no longer suitable, since they do not correspond to the nature of modern combined-arms operations, which have become more dynamic and highly maneuverable. In addition, the speed and capabilities of samples and complexes of weapons, communications, reconnaissance and electronic warfare have significantly increased.
In such conditions, working on paper maps, manually collecting, generalizing, assessing the situation and making decisions after long-term hearings of various bosses and setting tasks with paper orders or using outdated communication means is a real anachronism. If we control the troops in this way, we simply will not be able to respond in a timely manner to changes in the situation and will lose the initiative, which will inevitably lead to defeat.
Only the introduction of ESU TK will make it possible to radically improve and speed up the processes of command and control of troops and weapons. This unified system will integrate forces and means of reconnaissance, automated collection and generalization of the situation, satellite navigation and digital radio communications. Each piece of equipment, be it the command and staff vehicle of the brigade commander or the armored personnel carrier of the squad leader, will be equipped with a software and hardware complex - an on-board computer. With their help, commanders of all levels will be able to display an electronic map with constantly updated real-time data of the combat situation on the monitor screen, determine the coordinates of their location and enemy targets (objects), set tasks for their destruction, promptly issue combat orders, monitor the security of subunits everything necessary to solve the assigned tasks, etc.
Thus, with the introduction of the ESU TK in the tactical echelon, a single information space will be created, which will ultimately lead to a significant increase in the effectiveness of the use of formations and units on the battlefield, will allow to get ahead of the enemy at all stages of the operation, to seize the initiative, to deliver powerful strikes against him with unexpected directions and achieve success with little blood.
To date, ESU TZ has practically been created and is undergoing military tests in one of the formations of the Ground Forces. An experimental KShU conducted in the fall of 2010 generally confirmed its effectiveness and compliance with the requirements, although some shortcomings were also identified. Therefore, we decided to give the industry one more year to bring the ESU TK in line with our requests. And then we will check the system during a brigade tactical exercise scheduled for the end of 2011, where it will be used not only by the controls, but by the entire unit. And only then, if the result suits us, we will adopt the ESU TK into service.
What are the features of this year's state defense order in terms of equipping the Ground Forces? What modern weapons will be delivered to ground forces and units in 2011-2012?
- The main feature of the state defense order this year is the transition from the repair and modernization of the existing AME fleet to the procurement of only new, modern models for complete equipment of formations and military units of the Ground Forces.
First of all, it is planned to purchase modern digital communications and automated control systems, such as, for example, the automated control system of the anti-aircraft missile brigade (mixed grouping) of the air defense forces "Polyana-D4M1", a new complex automation station for the tactical level of command and control of the military air defense and others.
In addition, the Air Defense Forces of the Ground Forces will receive upgraded S-300V4, Buk-M2 and Buk-M3 complexes, Tor-M2U (M) short-range anti-aircraft missile systems, Igla-S portable anti-aircraft missile systems and "Willow".
We will continue to equip formations and units of missile forces and artillery with Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems, new multiple launch rocket systems, Khosta and Nona-SVK self-propelled guns, Chrysanthem-S anti-tank missile systems and Sprut cannons -SD.
From armored weapons and vehicles, procurement of armored personnel carriers of a new modification BTR-82A, modern recovery vehicles BREM-K based on BTR-80 and BREM-L based on BMP-3, special armored vehicles with a carrying capacity of up to 2.5 tons (Iveco, "Tiger", "Wolf"), as well as new KamAZ trucks of the Mustang family.
Highly efficient models of equipment will also be supplied to equip formations and units of special forces. Thus, the RCB protection troops will receive heavy flamethrower systems TOS-1A, infantry jet flamethrowers of increased range and power in thermobaric RPO PDM-A equipment and airborne radiation reconnaissance systems VKR. And the engineering troops - the latest complex water treatment and desalination stations on the KamAZ vehicle base chassis (SKO-10/5), universal road vehicles (UDM) and other effective means of engineering weapons.
All these purchases will greatly contribute to increasing the combat capabilities of formations and units of the Ground Forces. So we will change and improve in order to play a decisive role in ensuring Russia's military security in modern conditions.
Alexander Nikolaevich, our conversation is taking place on the eve of one of the most beloved holidays by our people - Defender of the Fatherland Day. What would you like to wish subordinates and colleagues on this holiday?
- I would like to heartily congratulate the personnel, veterans and civilian personnel of the Ground Forces, as well as all those who contribute to the noble cause of increasing the defense capability of our state, on the Defender of the Fatherland Day. I wish you all good health, happiness, success in service and work for the good of our Russia.
