The defense potential of Russia is now no more than 6% of the level of the USSR
- W. Fottingen, Pentagon
The bold statements of American analysts 10 years ago, supported by colorful pictures of cut planes and missiles, testified at that time about the complete decline of the Russian Armed Forces.
Russia was no longer viewed as a full-fledged rival, giving it the role of a backward “gas station” in the snowy expanses of the Eurasian continent. With a dying science, a halted industry and a collapsed army, unable to effectively solve its tasks even in the post-Soviet space. Without serious adherents and allies in the geopolitical arena. Against the backdrop of the rapidly growing military power of the United States and NATO countries.
The number of combat patrols of nuclear submarine missile carriers of the Russian Navy in the period from 1981 to 2012 The timeline was carefully compiled by the FAS (Federation of American Scientists), an independent think tank that provides services to the US military.
It all happened very quickly.
In 2014, the Russian army carried out a unique military operation, bloodlessly taking control of an area of 27 thousand square kilometers. It corresponds in size to Armenia and is much larger than the area of the State of Israel. Not having lost a single soldier killed. And not allowing civilian casualties in Crimea.
In those February days, the Russian Armed Forces demonstrated their readiness to act in a completely new format. The “hybrid wars” of the new millennium, in which high-precision (not always) weapons are replaced by the rapid deployment of forces, backed by desperate determination and powerful political will.
Russia demonstrated during the exercise the ability to deploy large units of the armed forces at short notice.
- General Bradshaw, Deputy. Commander of the Allied Forces of NATO in Europe.
The following illustrations will tell about what happened to the Russian Armed Forces in recent years.
During the Vostok-2014 large-scale exercises, Russian Air Force helicopters made a record flight over the Sea of Okhotsk. 16 new Mi-8ATMSh helicopters flew from about. Iturup (Kuril ridge) to the Elizovo airfield (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky), having spent over 6 hours in the air and covered 1,300 km during this time.
Transfer of Mi-24 combat helicopters from the Tolmachevo air base of the army aviation (Novosibirsk region) to the Koltsovo airfield (Sverdlovsk region) as part of a sudden check of the combat readiness of the troops of the Central Military District (CVD). June 2014
Unloading a combat vehicle ZRPK Pantsir-S from an Il-76 aircraft at the Elizovo airfield (Kamchatka)
On January 19, 2015, the battle banner of the first Arctic brigade of the Northern Fleet was presented.
The battlefield is the Arctic. It is getting hotter here every day, five countries of the world (Russia, USA, Canada, Norway and Denmark - all who have direct access to the Arctic Ocean) have declared their rights to this vast territory. Moreover, of all the members of the “magnificent five,” only Russia has real technical capabilities for the development of these inhospitable latitudes. A fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers, supported by an extensive network of ports, airfields and military bases beyond the Arctic Circle.
The shelf of the northern seas preserves inexhaustible natural resources. The shortest sea route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean (Northern Sea Route) passes here. Here, under the light of the North Star, the routes of intercontinental ballistic missiles lie and the missile defense systems of both superpowers are deployed.
In the coming years, Russia plans to reconstruct and build 13 airfields and 10 radar technical posts of the Aerospace Defense Forces in these parts in order to establish a continuous radar field over the Arctic.
A detachment of ships of the Northern Fleet is advancing accompanied by nuclear icebreakers to the Novosibirsk Islands (September 2013)
Modernization of the heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov" (Severodvinsk, 2014)
Today, Russia is one of two countries in the world that is pursuing an extensive program to modernize its naval strategic nuclear forces. Over the past five years, a new ballistic missile (R-30 "Bulava") and its carriers - strategic missile submarines, project 955 (code "Borey"), have been adopted for service. In the photo - K-550 "Alexander Nevsky", the second ship in the planned series of eight nuclear submarine missile carriers of the new generation.
New fleet news: November 2014 the lead frigate of project 22350 "Admiral Gorshkov" went on sea trials. The long-awaited firstborn is the first ocean-going surface combat ship built for the Navy in the past 15 years.
Over-the-horizon missile attack warning radar of the Voronezh type. In the period from 2005 to the present. four such objects, located in Lekhtusi (Leningrad Region), Armavir (Krasnodar Territory), Dunaevka (Kaliningrad Region) and Usolye-Sibirskoye (Irkutsk Region), took up combat duty. In the coming years, five more Voronezh + two radars will be built to replace the existing stations of the Daryal type.
The modular design principle allows the construction of huge early warning radars in just 12-18 months. (the construction and commissioning of such facilities under the USSR took from 5 to 9 years). A phased antenna array with an area of tens of thousands of square meters makes it possible to distinguish objects in near-earth space at a distance of 6000 km. One radar station, located in the Leningrad region, is capable of monitoring the space in the sector from Morocco to Svalbard and the east coast of the United States.
Fighter Su-35S at the Shagol airfield (Chelyabinsk). An “old” photo taken in February 2013 during the ferry of a new fighter to GLITs from Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
In 2014, the production of combat aircraft in Russia exceeded the production of aircraft in the United States and approached the USSR arr. 1980s In total, over the past year, the Russian Air Force received 108 aircraft for various purposes, not counting rotary-wing aircraft.
Su-34 tactical bombers
Launch of a new generation carrier rocket "Angara". In 2014, within the framework of flight design tests, two successful launches of the "Angara" family LV from the Plesetsk cosmodrome were carried out: on July 9 - the light version of Angara-1.2PP (pictured); December 23 - heavy version of the Angara-A5.
So the facts. Over the past few years, Russia has made a huge leap forward in military technology. Two types of nuclear submarines. New solid-propellant SLBM "Bulava" (flies!). Fifth generation fighter (also flies). A promising tank based on the Armata heavy tracked unified platform (expected). A family of promising launch vehicles (without any "buts"). First place in the world in terms of the number of space launches performed (stable). And also: equipment of the "soldier of the future" - "Warrior". Family of cruise missiles "Caliber" (from anti-ship missiles with a detachable supersonic warhead to KRBD with a launch range of 2500 km). Operational-tactical missile system "Iskander-M" (2 minutes flight to Warsaw, a NATO Marine will not have time to brush his teeth). Mobile-based solid-propellant missile systems - "Topol-M" and "Yars" (be careful here: whoever fires first will die second). Continuously evolving S-300 air defense system (good luck!).
Even this modest list of existing and promising projects gives every reason to believe that we are facing a first-class power with one of the best armies on Earth. Modern Russia not only did not lose, but even increased the former scientific and technical wealth of the USSR.
The lag in a number of separate areas is fully compensated by the existing realities: one modern ship is worth a whole squadron built in the second half of the twentieth century (both in material terms and in terms of combat capabilities). The same is true for aviation and any other modern technology.
And, of course, the main principle - the courage of the politeness of the city takes!
