Until the announcement of a new state armament program for Russia for 2018-2025. just over a month left. In early July, this program will be announced by the Russian government. But already now, some patriotic and liberal publications are talking about cutting military programs, abandoning already announced weapons systems, and about a crisis in the country's defense industry. It reminds me of another "cry of Yaroslavna". "Chef, everything is gone" … Therefore, it is worth talking about this topic today.
Probably, any commander always lacks something to successfully, without much stress, carry out an order. For some reason, higher-ranking fathers-commanders always set tasks to the limit of possibilities. And the demands to strengthen the unit or unit with additional forces and means are answered with the standard phrase: "Where will I give you … (what you ask for is listed further)?" And you have to do it. And the higher the position, the more often one has to listen to such "faces" … And he himself must respond with the same words to the demands of his subordinates. And in especially difficult cases, there is a universal phrase: "If it were easy, I would send another." And at the highest level, something like that is probably heard by the Minister of Defense when discussing the military budget for the next year.
This, probably, happened when the Minister of Defense received a message about a sharp reduction in funds allocated for rearmament. On May 16, it became known that the military-industrial complex and the army will receive significantly less funds for modernization than previously planned. The budget has been cut by 3 trillion rubles. From 20 to 17 trillion. Agree, the money is huge. And exactly as I wrote above, the Minister of Defense listens to all the same words from the commander-in-chief. By 2020, the army should be provided with the latest weapons by 70%. "If … I would send another …"
It is clear that the enormity of General Shoigu's plans impresses not only us, but also the "partners" surrounding Russia. Already no one, including you and me, remembers the elementary truths. What for? We are already talking about the "integral". We have already seen the new technique … We have compared the characteristics … We have shown … The enemies know … But let's "go back to the first class".
So, today Russia is forced to confront NATO. Why this is happening is not the topic of today's conversation. Let's take opposition for granted. Almost 150 million Russia opposes almost 500 million Europe. How many faces are there for each Russian? And I repeat, this is only on the western borders. But you can "hit" harder. Remember the economy of the Russian Federation and the EU.
And if we turn our heads slightly to the southwest? Well, or to the south? It is more convenient for someone, depending on the location at a given time. Our country is "wide". What is there? And there is Turkey. Although a NATO member, the player is quite independent. And not weak at all. Turks guys are cunning. They are not particularly interested in issues of morality and compliance with international obligations. The shot down plane reminds us of this very well, and the epic with our goods, and periodic changes in views on the Crimea and the situation in Ukraine.
By the way, I deliberately did not write about Ukraine. I understand that some readers will now criticize my position, but … With all the conversations and statements of the "hawks" from Kiev, there is still hope that the active phase of the confrontation will be avoided. Not because we will be able to "slap" the independent army literally in hours. No. Simply because no matter how puffed up the Ukronazis, thank God, there are a lot of really fraternal people in Ukraine. Kiev is well aware that the most realistic scenario of the Russian-Ukrainian war has already been shown in Crimea. In outline…
But back to serious questions. There, in this side, so much has accumulated today that my head is spinning. Look at Syria, at Iran. Look further south, where the American president has visited. I, like many others, have already written that Trump is a businessman. But today I can add one more quality of this person, which is not very pleasant for us. He's a good strategist. And his actions, oh, how verified. Thanks to the American constitution, which limits the president of the United States in many ways. But more on that in another article. By the way, there are enough guys from this direction in the "faces of the face" too.
We continue to "turn our head". And who is there? Oh, there is the first economy in the world. People's Republic of China. With their ambitions and claims. Can we call China allies? Who has the "big stretch" for that? We are partners. But partners are in opposition to the West. No more. The Chinese will not trade their interests. And they will not give in. Therefore, we need to build relations there with caution. I am generally silent about the number of soldiers. It's a shame as a man …
And if you turn to the East completely? Hello samurai! We somehow completely ignore these guys. We look at the size of their islands and laugh. Nippon Koku (this is how Japan is called) is not just an economically strong state. Who has forgotten, Japan is one of the five most developed economies in the world. And in terms of population it is quite comparable with the Russian Federation. Only the Japanese live compactly. Not "smeared" over a huge territory, like we are.
How do you like the excursion? I liked it, I hope. We haven't looked north yet. So far, the "civilized West" does not survive there. But for now …
Most of the readers of this article are people who have been involved in the military in the past or present. And the question of priorities will be answered quite like an army. In the light of my "excursion". It is precisely the ground component of the army that needs to be strengthened. First of all. The presence of a strong ground army, the possibility of its rapid transfer to any region will give a real guarantee of the country's security.
According to the statements emanating from the Ministry of Defense, we can conclude that this is exactly what our generals think. And not only them. Defense industry leaders share this opinion with Minister Shoigu.
When reading some articles in our media, there is a strong opinion that in the heads of our people horses and people are somehow mixed up in a heap … I am sure that even today readers can give examples from "all the scammers". Where is "Armata"? They promised to transfer the entire army to new tanks … Where is "Kurganets"? Where are the promising aircraft? Where, where, where … I'd like to answer in rhyme. Like a soldier. Forgot your pre-war years? When the rearmament was in full swing, and for some reason Hitler did not want to wait for its completion? Has the memory got rid of the successes of our "defense"?
Our brain is arranged in an interesting way. A promising aircraft appeared. So what? We already perceive our Sukhi, MiG, Tupolev and other Mili and Kamovs already in service as outdated weapons. The "Armata" appeared, and the "old men" T-72 and T-90 seem to be unable to fight on equal terms in western tanks. And at the same time, the majority are happy to watch examples of such confrontation in a real war in Syria. Looks and is proud of our weapon.
Our weapons are not inferior to those of the West. Somewhere we are losing. In some components. But we win somewhere. So it was, is and will be. There will always be. Engineers and designers work not only in Russia, but also in other countries. They work daily. And everyone has the results of this work.
Hence a simple conclusion, which, one must assume, has already been drawn not only by me, but also by those who have information in general. It is necessary not only to re-equip our army with more recent models. It is necessary to modernize the already existing systems that have shown their combat potential. Military operations are an excellent "testing ground" for testing military equipment.
It is not for nothing that a little earlier the Ministry of Defense announced a reduction in purchases of the same "Armat". 20-30 vehicles per year instead of 100. So, hello to tank builders, get ready to work in three shifts to modernize the rest of the tank fleet. Hello aircraft manufacturers. Wait for your products to upgrade. In short, hello to the entire defense industry. Work!
Naturally, now representatives of SKB and other "smart heads" are outraged. And we? And who said that they forgot about scientists, designers and engineers? What is the most difficult thing in the design and production of military equipment? Especially when it comes to fundamentally new approaches to this? A new layout, a new filling, a new concept of combat work? Any constructor will answer unambiguously. The most difficult thing is "fine-tuning" weapons and equipment. When in the process of testing some completely "wild" things come to light.
In addition to all of the above, the Ministry of Defense will pay sufficient attention to other issues. Issues without the solution of which all efforts to strengthen the ground forces will be reduced to zero. Namely, the issues of air defense, missile defense and videoconferencing.
Here, too, an interesting tendency is outlined among the readers. Most probably remember the appearance of messages about the S-400. The army was fully equipped with excellent S-300 complexes. Modernized, with characteristics that were not even close to the first samples. But they started talking about the S-400, and that's it … NATO and other "partners" are afraid of these complexes like the devil of incense, but we are already not enough. Give me the S-400! Today? Give me the S-500! And the most zealous are already "swinging" the S-600, 700, 800 … Well, and further.
Dear "military experts"! Nobody has surpassed the S-400 yet. Western analysts say that it is impossible to withstand this complex even with the latest aircraft and missiles. Put the cart back in place. Let the "horse" still be, as it should be, in front. And you shouldn't forget about other systems either. The same "Buki-M3" or "Torah-M2". The letters with which they are supplemented mean a lot.
By the way, the same applies to videoconferencing. Where is the promising bomber? And what about the new Tu-160 strategists, what does not suit you? More precisely, Tu-160 M2? Is there something similar in the world? The resumption of the construction of these machines increases our power at times. How many of these machines do we need? Hundreds, thousands? No. Enough 5-6 dozen cars. Perhaps a little more, given the course to replace the Tu-95 turboprop.
Hence, again, by analogy with the ground forces, in the future, the purchase of Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35 planes that have proven themselves well in operations in Syria. Moreover, there is complete confidence that the "deceased", according to our and Western media reports, "MiG" will begin to supply its MiG-35s. The need for such machines is obvious.
More recently, shock units and units have appeared in the Russian army. We talked about this in detail in one of the previous articles. However, today this fact "plays" on the side of aircraft manufacturers as well. Accordingly, in the light of the prospects for the army rearmament program. In my opinion, in the coming years, design bureaus and factories producing delivery vehicles for such parts will be provided with orders up to the neck. Helicopters will be needed. Both Kamovs and Mili …
But there is an area that confuses me a little. This is the Navy. The need to build new ships is not just ripe. This is the primary task today. The Baltic, the Black Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic … Wherever you go, there is a wedge everywhere. We, of course, try to "squeeze" out of the "Soviet" ships everything that is possible and impossible, but we understand that this is the limit. No matter how proud we are of the successful operation of "Admiral Kuznetsov", it is clear that he needs major repairs and modernization for a long time. And the cost of these events is prohibitive.
Hence, most likely, we should not wait for the laying of ships of large displacement. The time for the new Kuznetsovs has not come yet … Light frigates, missile boats, missile corvettes, diesel submarines. Perhaps a submarine missile carrier or two … And again, repair, modernization of the ships already in service. Well, and new bases for the Navy …
Today, many of our "partners" and "colleagues" would very much like to drag us into the arms race. Russia's independent foreign policy is stuck in the throat of many Western politicians. And the sanctions, which are constantly extended, serve just that. It is necessary not only to undermine the Russian economy, but also to make it work against the people. Make people spend huge amounts of money on defense.
However, if you analyze the situation today, you can clearly see that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation understands this very well. Both the government and the president of Russia have calculated this option. Let me remind you of Putin's long-standing words about the necessary sufficiency of armaments. Said many times, but never understood by many "couch generals" in the West, and even here.
What Russia has today is enough to respond to any provocation. Enough! An increase in the number of weapons and equipment is simply not necessary. Today we need to create a fundamentally new weapon. Putin spoke about this, again, more than once. Moreover, he said that such a weapon already exists. At the level of the country's president, these words mean a lot. And those who were supposed to hear it heard it.
There is no need to panic, let alone sprinkle ashes on your head. And it is patriotic to "tear the shirt on the chest" too. The army gets what it needs, and engineers, designers and scientists develop what will be needed tomorrow. We are ready for any aggravation of the situation. We are ready today and, again, judging by the statements of the heads of the power ministries, we will be ready tomorrow. The army rearmament program that will soon be presented to us is realistic. Namely, this is the main thing.
And yet another "Yaroslavna" should not cry about the weakness of our army. The army has already proved so many times that it knows how to fight, that it has something to fight with, that it probably already has the right to send "Yaroslavna" back to where we all came to this world …
