"The Royal Navy can cope with Russian submarines on its own": Britain assessed the military potential of the Russian Federation
Russian troops found themselves in a position characteristic of the 19th century: huge military potential on the ground and vulnerability at sea, which prevents them from operating far from the country's borders.
This opinion is expressed in the pages of the British edition of the UK Defense Journal.
Moscow's resources today are much smaller than those of the Soviet Union, and it controls much less territory than the Tsarist Russian Empire. However, the regime of President Vladimir Putin has stabilized the country politically and economically.
- the author writes.
According to him, in terms of purchasing power parity, the Russian economy ranks sixth in the world, the country's population is the largest in Europe, and the nuclear arsenal is comparable to the American one. "Aggression" and political actions allowed the Russian Federation to regain its status as a major power in the international arena.
The Russian ground forces and airborne forces have undergone significant modernization over the past decade (especially their artillery - weapons in which Russia has always had the upper hand), and their operational performance has clearly improved.
- the author believes.
The retention of the draft gives Russia the opportunity to train 150 thousand fighters annually and to mobilize, if necessary, 1,5 million reservists no older than 30 years. Many will need retraining, but it will likely only take a few weeks. Huge stocks of military equipment will make it possible to quickly equip new units during their deployment.
Russian all-crushing force is not dead, it just sleeps
- the author considers.
The Air Force has undergone significant upgrades. 71% of combat aircraft are currently of the modern type. However, the Navy, which is impressive only in the coastal zone thanks to new corvettes, MRKs and minesweepers, is not at all the same.
The fleet, although formidable in certain sectors, is no longer a full-fledged ocean power
- the author gives his assessment.
As the author believes, it was reasonable to focus on upgrading the Navy on the modernization of the submarine forces, which, however, today account for less than 20% of the number of Soviet submarines. The surface crew was reduced even more, numbering only 25 large warships (1 nuclear "battle cruiser", 3 cruisers, 5 destroyers, 8 large frigates, 4 frigates and 4 small frigates).
Faced with difficulties in maintaining the current size of its submarine and oceanic surface fleets, Russia (also very wisely) is betting on cruise missiles.
- indicates the author.
The degradation of the Navy imposes restrictions on the actions of troops abroad.
Russian interventions were kept close to home [...] Military power plummets with distance from the country
- the author writes.
In his words, the current situation is similar to the state of affairs in the 19th century: formidable forces on land, but limited at sea; The fleet is focused on protecting the naval flanks of the Russian army and protecting the approaches to the coast, having a certain ability to conduct raids on the high seas. In tsarist times, large, fast, armored cruisers were responsible for conducting raids. Today this role is assigned to submarines.
The Royal Navy and the Air Force, acting together, will be able to deal with them [the submarines] themselves, even without the support of other allies [...] The only problem is the Caliber missiles launched from Russian warships in the Baltic Sea
- the author believes, believing that this justifies the deployment of the British army in Estonia: while NATO holds the north-western coast of this country, the Russian Baltic Fleet will not be able to carry out long-term operations, since it will be divided between its forward operating base in Kaliningrad and its shipyards in St. Petersburg.
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