Military reform in Europe: who seeks what
Recently, the reform of the armed forces has affected not only Russia, but also other states, which, due to various circumstances, have decided on the need to transform their armies.
So, for example, the UK began to reform the armed forces. However, despite the fact that Lieutenant General Nick Cather was involved in developing the new structure, her final plan has not yet been approved by the Ministry of Defense.
The reorganization plan for the army is calculated to 2020 year. The same year is indicated as the deadline for the rearmament program and the Russian army.
The British plan assumes that the national armed forces will be largely reduced, and these reductions will also affect the ground forces. Before the 2020, all of them will be staffed in three divisions, two of them will be used for conducting intensive actions, and the third will be intended for guerrilla warfare and will be called “soft power division”.
These divisions will have 33 battalions. In two divisions, the so-called heavy, there will be three mechanized brigades, each of which will have two motorized infantry battalions, tank regiment, reconnaissance regiment and mobile motorized infantry regiment. Support will be provided by individual artillery and engineering regiments, as well as military formations of rear support. The divisions will be armed with an upgraded Warrior infantry fighting vehicle, Challenger 2 battle tanks, promising Scout SV reconnaissance vehicles, and FREA UV armored personnel carriers.
In addition to the heavy brigades, the assault force and the special forces brigade from the royal marines with two shelves of Apache helicopters will also be included in the response force.
The "soft power" brigade will have seven infantry brigades located in various districts. As for the number and armament of these brigades, it will be different. Each of these brigades may have a battalion 2-4 and several reconnaissance units. The equipment will be light armored vehicles MRAP and light wheeled armored vehicles.
Heavy divisions will be led by a single command. In addition, the security forces will also be one. They will consist of eight brigades with artillery, reconnaissance, medical and engineering units, as well as logistic and communications units. All support teams will be specialized.
In the composition of the ground forces there will be a joint helicopter command.
As for the personnel, by the year 2020 it is planned to reduce it by about 20 percent. Thus, 82 will serve thousands of people in the British Army. But at the same time, the number of reservists will double, and by the year 2020 there will be thousands of 30 people. The number of service personnel - logistics and engineers - will be reduced by 30 percent.
Such a significant reduction in the British armed forces is dictated by the need to make the budget more balanced in times of crisis and reduce government spending. Back in 2010, it was decided to reduce defense spending by 8 percent. But then it only affected fleet и aviation. The ground forces were left unchanged, as hostilities were still ongoing in Afghanistan. But until 2015, the complete withdrawal of British troops from Afghan territories, as well as the closure of British military bases in Germany, is planned.
The next step in reforming the British armed forces will be the creation of adaptable forces, which will include both regular troops and reservists. This, according to the Ministry of Defense, will create the effect of cooperation, especially in the process of intelligence activities and information gathering.
Despite the fact that reforming the army is aimed at reducing costs, there are certain risks. So, for example, before 2020, it is necessary to lay off about 12 thousands of people. Those who decided to quit voluntarily have already written a report, but about 10 thousands will need to be dismissed by the department. And this at a time when the UK is engulfed in a crisis and high unemployment.
The opposition is not satisfied with the reorganization plan. Since the dismissal of professional military men and the transfer of their functions to the reserve can cost the government much more than maintain a regular army, the reserve also needs to be paid for service, but the level of professional training will be much lower.
The Bulgarian armed forces also expect reductions. As the Minister of Defense of the country, General Simeon Simenov, declared, from July 1 on July 2012, the personnel of the Bulgarian army will be reduced to 2700 soldiers. The state budget provides funds for the payment of compensation, as well as funds for the retraining of those who fell under reduction. In total, reforming the Bulgarian army will lead to a reduction of seven thousand people, of whom 5700 thousand are military and 1300 are civil servants.
A similar reduction in personnel can be observed in the Portuguese armed forces. The country's leadership decided on the need to reduce the army to 230 officers and 11 admirals and generals. All pruning processes must be completed by the end of 2013. To date, the total number of Portuguese army is 18,5 thousand people. After reductions in the composition of the naval forces, 94 personnel officers and three admirals will be abolished, and the permanent staff will be approximately equal to 8 thousands of people. As part of the air force 71 officer post will be eliminated, the generals will be less than three people, about the staff will be almost 4 thousands of people.
Least of all the reform will affect the ground forces. It is planned to dismiss only 65 officers and 5 generals, and the number of personnel will be equal to about 6,5 thousand people.
According to the government, such cuts are due to the need to cut costs.
The Italian army is also awaiting reformation. In the conditions of the economic crisis, the Italian Minister of War J. Di Paola presented to the parliament and the government a plan for a large-scale reform of the structure of the national armed forces. First of all, the reorganization of the army will be associated with a reduction in its number. In addition, it also provides for the creation of a new modern army. However, in the near future a significant reduction in the budget and investment in military construction is projected.
It is assumed that the reform will become the basis for the creation of a new model of the armed forces, which will balance the expenses for the maintenance of personnel with other expenditures of the military budget. Thus, but to the new standards, approximately 50 percent will be spent on personnel, 25 percent - on the maintenance of the army and the same amount on purchases of weapons and equipment.
Due to the reform of the Italian army in the next decade, you can save about 2 billions of dollars that can be invested in arms purchases. But for the time being, armaments programs should save as much as possible, because it was only in 2012 that the purchasing budget of the military department lost about 970 million euros. In 2012-2014, it is planned to cut another 3 billion from the military budget, which will hit primarily on procurement. And the total volume of the military budget of Italy for this period will be at the level of 12-14 billion euros.
Already, in a crisis, it was announced that the 41 unit of purchase of F-35 fighters was reduced. This will save up to 5 billion euros. There is no doubt that in the near future other procurement programs will also be significantly curtailed, in particular, programs for NH90 helicopters and U212 submarines may be affected.
The number of personnel will be reduced to 151 by thousands of people instead of the existing 190 thousand today, thousands of vacancies will fall under the reduction of 43, which will allow to save two billion already announced earlier. The number of admirals and generals will be reduced by 30 percent.
But the authorities promised that all those affected by the reform of the army would be transferred to other government agencies, in particular, to the defense industry.
With regard to the reform of the structure, it is intended to merge duplicate command structures in the three types of troops, as well as the abolition of territorial commands. In addition, the planned elimination of 2 brigades, the sale of military real estate, which is not used, and the closure of military bases. Thus, in five to six years, the military infrastructure in the form of barracks, polygons and other things will be reduced by 30 percent, the number of brigades will be equal to 9, a number of heavy weapons, helicopters and artillery units will be eliminated. As part of the naval forces will remain only 10 from 18 patrol ships, and the number of minesweepers and submarines will be equal to 4 instead of 6. The number of fighters and tactical strike aircraft will be reduced in the Italian Air Force.
Croatia still in 2008 year refused to be drafted into the army, fully becoming a contract. At the same time, the plan for the development of the army up to 2015 was adopted. The government allocated 16 million euros to reform the armed forces. In this case, in the case of voluntary replenishment of the 2 army with thousands of contract soldiers annually, the number of personnel will be kept at the level of 16 thousands. The reserve also amounted to more than 750 thousand people. The next step in reforming troops was rearmament. Kalashnikovs were replaced by the Croatian HS VHS, which are a copy of the Israeli Tavor. Finnish Patria armored personnel carriers, Lockheed Martin AN AN / FPS 117 American radars are being purchased, the cost of which was 100 million dollars. The 10 Iveco armored vehicles have already been purchased, and the process of modernizing the Yugoslav M-84 tanks has begun.
Modernization touched and aviation. Outdated models are planned to be replaced by Swedish JAS39 “Grippen” aircraft. To date, the reform of the national armed forces of Croatia is in full swing. It should be noted that, compared with its neighbors, the state greatly benefits in terms of the size and level of development of the army.
But Montenegro is reforming very interesting. Recall that in 2006, the country became independent. And from that very moment began the reform of its armed forces. After the collapse of the alliance with Serbia, 6,5 thousands of servicemen turned up in the Montenegrin army. Immediately it was announced that its number would be reduced to 2,5 thousand, and, as part of it will be exclusively professional volunteers. And then the government abolished the call into the armed forces.
With regard to weapons and equipment, at the time of independence in Montenegro turned 62 tank T-55, but in 2007, 61 of them was destroyed in order to reduce military spending, because this technique was recognized as obsolete. And the only tank that survived, is used as a museum exhibit.
It is also planned to reduce the size of the navy and reduce its status - the fleet will turn into coast guard troops. The air force was armed with 15 assault aircraft, but in the future it is planned to go exclusively to helicopters.
As for Russia, reform is also being carried out here, but, according to analysts, for some ingenious winding paths. Of course, the Russian military reformers would like to take an example from the NATO countries and also refuse to be drafted into the army. The government wants to have an army that will consist entirely of professionals who come to serve voluntarily on long-term contracts. On the one hand, such a desire is fully justified, because the quality of service of professional military personnel is much higher than the conscripts. But on the other hand, much more is needed to support professionals. Therefore, at present, the transition to a fully contractual basis has not yet been implemented.
Fixed assets that are allocated from the state budget to the military department will be determined for the purchase of weapons and equipment. Thus, before 2020, the provision of new equipment and weapons should reach the 70 percent indicator. Until then, the armament will contain an incomplete, which is about 30 percent.
As for the salaries of military personnel, it is significantly higher than the average indicators for the country. So, professional military personnel, according to the order signed in January of this year, will receive from 25 to 36 thousand rubles, and in some cases - 42 thousand rubles. Thus, approximately 1,3 trillion rubles will be paid out of the state budget for wages and pensions to the military. The average for the year is about 15,5 billion euros. If we consider these amounts on an international scale, it is worth noting that approximately the same amount is allocated by the Italian government for the needs of the military budget. And the rearmament program will cost even more. It is planned that prior to 2020, 20 trillions of rubles will be allocated for this purpose.
As you can see, the crisis has affected a large number of European countries. However, the reform of the armed forces, in addition to reducing costs, has other goals. As they say - everyone is committed to his ideal, but what will come of it ...
Materials used:
http://voennovosti.ru/2012/08/armejskie-reformy-evropejskix-stran/
http://www.opoccuu.com/uk-army.htm
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