It is necessary to form a new kind of Armed Forces
This should be the approach to ensuring the security of the Russian Federation in the aerospace sphere.
The creation in 2011 of a new kind of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Troops of the East Kazakhstan Region assumed the closure of the issue of responsibility for the creation of the aerospace defense system of Russia. However, the implemented variant of structural changes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation did not allow to fully ensure the unity of responsibility for the construction of the aerospace defense throughout the country, to organize a single command of troops (forces) solving the tasks of the aerospace defense in the strategic, operational and tactical levels of command, to eliminate duplication in the work of military management.
The current military-political situation in the world once again clearly demonstrates the desire of Western states to achieve their goals by military means. To achieve them, various forces and means are launched: from the actions of trained terrorist groups to massive strikes aviation and cruise missiles. Of course, the Russian Federation cannot be compared with Iraq, Libya or Syria - it is the only world power that possesses nuclear potential commensurate with the United States and is capable of destroying them. However, the scenarios of military conflicts of recent years, as well as trends in the development of weapons of war should be taken into account during military development.
One of the most important of these trends is the qualitative development of the aerospace attack (SVKN), which allows achieving military objectives with minimal losses. In the interests of enhancing the capabilities of the airspace enemy in the Russian Federation, a system of aerospace defense is being created, by which is meant a combination of organizationally and technically interrelated forces and means that ensure the solution of the enemy's aerospace attack attack under a single plan and plan, under a single command, in a single combat control circuit.
Work is being done in the direction of both improving the weapons and military equipment of the East Kazakhstan region, and organizing the troops and defining the rational structure of the Armed Forces. Thus, one of the most important steps of the military-political leadership of the country in the field of aerospace defense was the formation in 2011 of a new kind of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the East Kazakhstani Army. This made it possible to solve one of the main tasks contributing to the construction of the aerospace defense - to form a strategic body of military command - the command of the troops of the aerospace defense responsible for the creation of the aerospace defense system based on the integration of air defense systems and missile defense.
At the same time, the implemented version of the structural changes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation did not allow to fully ensure the unity of responsibility for the construction of the aerospace defense throughout the country, to organize a single command of troops (forces) solving the tasks of the aerospace defense in strategic, operational and tactical levels of command, to eliminate duplication in the work of the military administration.
The half-heartedness of the decisions leads to a large number of publications on this topic, which consider two alternative approaches to the organizational construction of the RF Armed Forces, troops (forces) solving the tasks of the East Kazakhstan region.
The first approach is to create a new type of Armed Forces - the Aerospace Forces (VKS). The second is the further development of the kind of troops, the Armed Forces, and the creation of the Armed Forces - Armed Forces.
Proponents of the first approach believe that the construction and development of the aerospace defense system on an already existing (established in the air force) base will make it possible to create the aerospace defense system of the country with the least time and material costs. In this case, the VKS will be assigned both percussion and defensive tasks.
It should be noted that the interspecific nature of military operations at the strategic level is not in doubt. Strategic operations are planned and carried out under the direction of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the front commander. However, this does not at all mean the expediency of uniting all the troops (forces) participating in the operations into a single universal type of the Armed Forces. Guided by this approach, it is possible to substantiate the need to unite the Strategic Missile Forces, long-range aviation, and the naval component of the strategic nuclear forces, including the EKR Troops in one form operating in a single control system. Or, on the basis of joint actions to defeat enemy targets, include in the Air Force Missile Forces and artillery.
In addition, it should be noted that the formation of the VKS will lead to the excessive consolidation of this type of Armed Forces, entrusting the commander-in-chief of the VKS with a wide range of diverse tasks of building and using aviation, the EKR Troops and space forces and facilities. This is unlikely to provide targeted effective construction of the East Kazakhstan oblast administration system and its application, it will require another review of previously adopted decisions.
In our opinion, the main criterion for deciding on the choice of a variant of the structure of the troops is to ensure the best conditions for the construction of the aerospace defense system and to solve the tasks facing the troops.
These tasks include:
the first is participation in nuclear deterrence by timely warning of "decapitating" and "disarming" nuclear strikes and the protection of the strategic management system and the SNF facilities against them;
the second is to protect the state border of the Russian Federation in the airspace, control the airspace and prevent violations of its use. Space control;
the third is the aerospace defense of troops and objects during local (regional) wars.
All three groups of tasks are solved by the defensive component of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the troops (forces) of the East Kazakhstan region.
From the standpoint of the construction of the aerospace defense system, the best conditions will be created when the main forces and means of the aerospace defense of the Russian Federation are subordinated to one official and personal responsibility for organizing the aerospace defense throughout the country is assigned to him. The experience of successful construction of the country's Air Defense Forces showed that during the period of 70 – 80-s of the last century, weapons systems of anti-aircraft missile and radio engineering troops, fighter aviation, and rocket-space defense were created, that is, the material basis of the country's aerospace defense was built.
The most important factors, among others, that contributed to the successful development of air defense and missile defense during this period were the organizational unity of the Air Defense Forces and the Russian Space Strategic Service and the personal responsibility of one official, the commander-in-chief of the Air Defense Forces for creating systems and solving air defense and airborne defense problems. In subsequent years, the positive role of this factor was not taken into account in the course of the ongoing reforms of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. During the last fifteen years after the liquidation of the Air Defense Forces and the transfer of the Air Defense Forces and Strategic Missile Forces troops to various types (branch of the armed forces) of the RF Armed Forces, practical work on the creation of the country's aerospace defense was frozen by interdepartmental contradictions that arose in solving the problems of the aerospace defense. It resumed only with the formation of the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region.
The aerospace defense system is a complex organizational and technical system that includes the following interrelated subsystems: reconnaissance and warning of an aerospace attack, destruction and suppression of SVCNs, comprehensive support and control. Experience in creating such complex systems shows that the basis of all scientific research and activities carried out in the interests of the development of the aerospace defense of the country should be a systematic approach, involving the complex development and use of all forces and means solving the problems of aerospace control under the unified leadership.
Creating a system of the East Kazakhstan region is a complex task that requires the targeted allocation of substantial material and financial resources, and the optimization of their use for creating subsystems. Its effective solution in conditions when, in fact, it is necessary to restore the aerospace defense system and carry out its further development, it is possible only under the supervision of one official directly subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff.
Consideration of the problem of choosing the optimal structure from the standpoint of ensuring the effective execution of tasks also demonstrates the preference of the second approach.
When solving strategic deterrence tasks, all reconnaissance assets on the territory of the Russian Federation intended to warn about “decapitating” and “disarming” strikes by ballistic and aerodynamic means must be located in a single control loop, act under a single command and issue information to a single warning path. In this case, a single control loop and unified command are necessary to ensure the requirements for the reliability of information and the time it was communicated. After the decision has been taken, the response is conducted by the Russian strategic nuclear forces, for the effective use of which a special control system has been created.
In terms of solving the task of protecting the state border of the Russian Federation in airspace, controlling the airspace and preventing violations of its use, controlling outer space, the second approach is also preferable, since the solution of this task does not involve the impact forces and is carried out only by defensive means.
However, at present the task of organizing the protection of the state border in the airspace of Russia and controlling its use is actually distributed between the commander of the EKO and the commanders of military districts, which contradicts the principle of unity of responsibility for the fulfillment of the tasks of EKR and does not contribute to its effective solution.
The subordination of all troops and aerospace defense forces to the Commander of the East Kazakhstan Air Force, that is, the creation of an organizational structure similar to the Air Defense Forces of the country, will ensure sole responsibility for the solution of this task.
In the course of a local (regional) war, combat operations are conducted by interspecific groups, actions are being planned and carried out to protect their troops and objects and to destroy enemy troops and objects. As applied to the aerospace sphere, the striking actions are conducted by the Air Force, the Navy and the Missile Forces and artillery from the Ground Forces, and the defensive are conducted by the troops (forces) of the East Kazakhstan region.
Such a character of actions does not dictate the need to include troops in the Air Force of the East Kazakhstan region. Rather, on the contrary, it shows the expediency of the development of the troops of the EKR in a single form, with the responsibility for solving the tasks of the aerospace defense of the troops and objects on the Commander of the EKR Troops. At the same time, in our opinion, it should be possible to decentralize the control of the troops (forces) of the East Kazakhstan region with their transfer by the decision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to the operational subordination of the commander of the military district.
In this case, the Commander of the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region must ensure the solution of the complex of the problems of the East Kazakhstan region in the rest of Russia. In addition, the most important task of the Commander of the East Kazakhstani Armed Forces in organizing the Airborne Troops of troops and facilities in the theater of operations, given the real balance of forces of the parties in strategic areas, is the strategic regrouping of forces and facilities of the East Kazakhstan region to the area of military conflict.
One of the arguments put forward in substantiating the need for the creation of HQs is that multifunctional aviation complexes of operational-tactical aviation, capable of affecting both air and ground and sea targets, arrive at the armament of aviation.
These aviation complexes are a universal aviation platform that allows them to be transformed into an interceptor fighter, bomber or naval aircraft capable of hitting naval targets. However, to do this, it is necessary to prepare the flight crew accordingly (there are no universal pilots), to have appropriate specific weapons (air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles, etc.).
In reality, the entire resource of these complexes should be divided in advance into the above tasks and the corresponding sets of aircrews and armaments should be formed. From these positions, it is necessary to separate these complexes into solving shock tasks (in the structure of the Air Force) and defensive tasks (in the structure of the East Kazakhstan Army).
The argument in favor of the first approach is the experience of military construction in developed foreign countries.
However, the real experience of the organization of air defense appears only as a result of the generalization of real hostilities to protect a particular state from the means of air attack. Few countries have this experience. During the Second World War, Germany, Great Britain, and the USSR gained considerable experience in solving air defense tasks. Russia is one of such countries. Egypt, Syria, Israel, Vietnam and a number of other countries have gained practical experience in air defense during local wars and armed conflicts. The analysis of this real practical experience of the organization of air defense says that a single air defense should be created within the country, headed by one official responsible for the defense of the objects of economic and military potential.
In many countries of the world there is no independent type of armed forces that solves only the tasks of air defense. The development of air defense is carried out, as a rule, within the framework of the ground forces and the air force. This is explained by only one factor - an insignificant compared to the Russian Federation territory, which must be protected from the enemy air.
And the experience of organizing US air defense is not an example for us to follow. For them, the threat of air attack is scanty. Despite this, the established system of the East Kazakhstan Region of the North American “Norad” continues to actively develop as an independent organizational and technical system.
One of the arguments in favor of the creation of the VKS is the preservation of the system of forms of use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation that has now been established. In our opinion, it is important not to preserve the system of forms of use of the Armed Forces, but their further development in the interests of the effective use of troops (forces), including those solving the tasks of the aerospace defense.
For the practical implementation of the second approach to the creation and application of the East Kazakhstan Oblast system, in our opinion, it is advisable to carry out the following organizational measures.
1. Kind of forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region converted into a type of the Armed Forces - the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region
2. To transform the commands of the Air Force and Air Defense into operational commands of the East Kazakhstan region, removing the air bases from their composition. To enter the formed command in the structure of the troops of the East Kazakhstan region
3. To transform the command of air defense-missile defense in the operational command of the aerospace defense.
4. Brigade of EKR (Air Defense) to reorganize into corps (divisions) of EKR with the transfer of part of the forces of fighter aviation.
5. To create a unified control system for fighter aviation that solves the problems of aerospace defense by transferring the corresponding points of guidance to the corps (divisions) of aerospace defense.
In general, the analysis shows the feasibility of the formation of a new type of Armed Forces on the basis of the EKR Troops - the EKR Army. This will allow to create a unified management system of the aerospace defense that meets modern requirements, to ensure unity of responsibility for the construction and development of the aerospace defense of the Russian Federation, the use of troops (forces) of the aerospace defense in the person of the commander-in-chief of the aerospace defense forces.
The creation in 2011 of a new kind of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Troops of the East Kazakhstan Region assumed the closure of the issue of responsibility for the creation of the aerospace defense system of Russia. However, the implemented variant of structural changes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation did not allow to fully ensure the unity of responsibility for the construction of the aerospace defense throughout the country, to organize a single command of troops (forces) solving the tasks of the aerospace defense in the strategic, operational and tactical levels of command, to eliminate duplication in the work of military management.
The current military-political situation in the world once again clearly demonstrates the desire of Western states to achieve their goals by military means. To achieve them, various forces and means are launched: from the actions of trained terrorist groups to massive strikes aviation and cruise missiles. Of course, the Russian Federation cannot be compared with Iraq, Libya or Syria - it is the only world power that possesses nuclear potential commensurate with the United States and is capable of destroying them. However, the scenarios of military conflicts of recent years, as well as trends in the development of weapons of war should be taken into account during military development.
One of the most important of these trends is the qualitative development of the aerospace attack (SVKN), which allows achieving military objectives with minimal losses. In the interests of enhancing the capabilities of the airspace enemy in the Russian Federation, a system of aerospace defense is being created, by which is meant a combination of organizationally and technically interrelated forces and means that ensure the solution of the enemy's aerospace attack attack under a single plan and plan, under a single command, in a single combat control circuit.
Work is being done in the direction of both improving the weapons and military equipment of the East Kazakhstan region, and organizing the troops and defining the rational structure of the Armed Forces. Thus, one of the most important steps of the military-political leadership of the country in the field of aerospace defense was the formation in 2011 of a new kind of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the East Kazakhstani Army. This made it possible to solve one of the main tasks contributing to the construction of the aerospace defense - to form a strategic body of military command - the command of the troops of the aerospace defense responsible for the creation of the aerospace defense system based on the integration of air defense systems and missile defense.
At the same time, the implemented version of the structural changes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation did not allow to fully ensure the unity of responsibility for the construction of the aerospace defense throughout the country, to organize a single command of troops (forces) solving the tasks of the aerospace defense in strategic, operational and tactical levels of command, to eliminate duplication in the work of the military administration.
The half-heartedness of the decisions leads to a large number of publications on this topic, which consider two alternative approaches to the organizational construction of the RF Armed Forces, troops (forces) solving the tasks of the East Kazakhstan region.
The first approach is to create a new type of Armed Forces - the Aerospace Forces (VKS). The second is the further development of the kind of troops, the Armed Forces, and the creation of the Armed Forces - Armed Forces.
Proponents of the first approach believe that the construction and development of the aerospace defense system on an already existing (established in the air force) base will make it possible to create the aerospace defense system of the country with the least time and material costs. In this case, the VKS will be assigned both percussion and defensive tasks.
It should be noted that the interspecific nature of military operations at the strategic level is not in doubt. Strategic operations are planned and carried out under the direction of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the front commander. However, this does not at all mean the expediency of uniting all the troops (forces) participating in the operations into a single universal type of the Armed Forces. Guided by this approach, it is possible to substantiate the need to unite the Strategic Missile Forces, long-range aviation, and the naval component of the strategic nuclear forces, including the EKR Troops in one form operating in a single control system. Or, on the basis of joint actions to defeat enemy targets, include in the Air Force Missile Forces and artillery.
In addition, it should be noted that the formation of the VKS will lead to the excessive consolidation of this type of Armed Forces, entrusting the commander-in-chief of the VKS with a wide range of diverse tasks of building and using aviation, the EKR Troops and space forces and facilities. This is unlikely to provide targeted effective construction of the East Kazakhstan oblast administration system and its application, it will require another review of previously adopted decisions.
In our opinion, the main criterion for deciding on the choice of a variant of the structure of the troops is to ensure the best conditions for the construction of the aerospace defense system and to solve the tasks facing the troops.
These tasks include:
All three groups of tasks are solved by the defensive component of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the troops (forces) of the East Kazakhstan region.
From the standpoint of the construction of the aerospace defense system, the best conditions will be created when the main forces and means of the aerospace defense of the Russian Federation are subordinated to one official and personal responsibility for organizing the aerospace defense throughout the country is assigned to him. The experience of successful construction of the country's Air Defense Forces showed that during the period of 70 – 80-s of the last century, weapons systems of anti-aircraft missile and radio engineering troops, fighter aviation, and rocket-space defense were created, that is, the material basis of the country's aerospace defense was built.
The most important factors, among others, that contributed to the successful development of air defense and missile defense during this period were the organizational unity of the Air Defense Forces and the Russian Space Strategic Service and the personal responsibility of one official, the commander-in-chief of the Air Defense Forces for creating systems and solving air defense and airborne defense problems. In subsequent years, the positive role of this factor was not taken into account in the course of the ongoing reforms of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. During the last fifteen years after the liquidation of the Air Defense Forces and the transfer of the Air Defense Forces and Strategic Missile Forces troops to various types (branch of the armed forces) of the RF Armed Forces, practical work on the creation of the country's aerospace defense was frozen by interdepartmental contradictions that arose in solving the problems of the aerospace defense. It resumed only with the formation of the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region.
The aerospace defense system is a complex organizational and technical system that includes the following interrelated subsystems: reconnaissance and warning of an aerospace attack, destruction and suppression of SVCNs, comprehensive support and control. Experience in creating such complex systems shows that the basis of all scientific research and activities carried out in the interests of the development of the aerospace defense of the country should be a systematic approach, involving the complex development and use of all forces and means solving the problems of aerospace control under the unified leadership.
Creating a system of the East Kazakhstan region is a complex task that requires the targeted allocation of substantial material and financial resources, and the optimization of their use for creating subsystems. Its effective solution in conditions when, in fact, it is necessary to restore the aerospace defense system and carry out its further development, it is possible only under the supervision of one official directly subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff.
Consideration of the problem of choosing the optimal structure from the standpoint of ensuring the effective execution of tasks also demonstrates the preference of the second approach.
When solving strategic deterrence tasks, all reconnaissance assets on the territory of the Russian Federation intended to warn about “decapitating” and “disarming” strikes by ballistic and aerodynamic means must be located in a single control loop, act under a single command and issue information to a single warning path. In this case, a single control loop and unified command are necessary to ensure the requirements for the reliability of information and the time it was communicated. After the decision has been taken, the response is conducted by the Russian strategic nuclear forces, for the effective use of which a special control system has been created.
In terms of solving the task of protecting the state border of the Russian Federation in airspace, controlling the airspace and preventing violations of its use, controlling outer space, the second approach is also preferable, since the solution of this task does not involve the impact forces and is carried out only by defensive means.
However, at present the task of organizing the protection of the state border in the airspace of Russia and controlling its use is actually distributed between the commander of the EKO and the commanders of military districts, which contradicts the principle of unity of responsibility for the fulfillment of the tasks of EKR and does not contribute to its effective solution.
The subordination of all troops and aerospace defense forces to the Commander of the East Kazakhstan Air Force, that is, the creation of an organizational structure similar to the Air Defense Forces of the country, will ensure sole responsibility for the solution of this task.
In the course of a local (regional) war, combat operations are conducted by interspecific groups, actions are being planned and carried out to protect their troops and objects and to destroy enemy troops and objects. As applied to the aerospace sphere, the striking actions are conducted by the Air Force, the Navy and the Missile Forces and artillery from the Ground Forces, and the defensive are conducted by the troops (forces) of the East Kazakhstan region.
Such a character of actions does not dictate the need to include troops in the Air Force of the East Kazakhstan region. Rather, on the contrary, it shows the expediency of the development of the troops of the EKR in a single form, with the responsibility for solving the tasks of the aerospace defense of the troops and objects on the Commander of the EKR Troops. At the same time, in our opinion, it should be possible to decentralize the control of the troops (forces) of the East Kazakhstan region with their transfer by the decision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to the operational subordination of the commander of the military district.
In this case, the Commander of the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region must ensure the solution of the complex of the problems of the East Kazakhstan region in the rest of Russia. In addition, the most important task of the Commander of the East Kazakhstani Armed Forces in organizing the Airborne Troops of troops and facilities in the theater of operations, given the real balance of forces of the parties in strategic areas, is the strategic regrouping of forces and facilities of the East Kazakhstan region to the area of military conflict.
One of the arguments put forward in substantiating the need for the creation of HQs is that multifunctional aviation complexes of operational-tactical aviation, capable of affecting both air and ground and sea targets, arrive at the armament of aviation.
These aviation complexes are a universal aviation platform that allows them to be transformed into an interceptor fighter, bomber or naval aircraft capable of hitting naval targets. However, to do this, it is necessary to prepare the flight crew accordingly (there are no universal pilots), to have appropriate specific weapons (air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles, etc.).
In reality, the entire resource of these complexes should be divided in advance into the above tasks and the corresponding sets of aircrews and armaments should be formed. From these positions, it is necessary to separate these complexes into solving shock tasks (in the structure of the Air Force) and defensive tasks (in the structure of the East Kazakhstan Army).
The argument in favor of the first approach is the experience of military construction in developed foreign countries.
However, the real experience of the organization of air defense appears only as a result of the generalization of real hostilities to protect a particular state from the means of air attack. Few countries have this experience. During the Second World War, Germany, Great Britain, and the USSR gained considerable experience in solving air defense tasks. Russia is one of such countries. Egypt, Syria, Israel, Vietnam and a number of other countries have gained practical experience in air defense during local wars and armed conflicts. The analysis of this real practical experience of the organization of air defense says that a single air defense should be created within the country, headed by one official responsible for the defense of the objects of economic and military potential.
In many countries of the world there is no independent type of armed forces that solves only the tasks of air defense. The development of air defense is carried out, as a rule, within the framework of the ground forces and the air force. This is explained by only one factor - an insignificant compared to the Russian Federation territory, which must be protected from the enemy air.
And the experience of organizing US air defense is not an example for us to follow. For them, the threat of air attack is scanty. Despite this, the established system of the East Kazakhstan Region of the North American “Norad” continues to actively develop as an independent organizational and technical system.
One of the arguments in favor of the creation of the VKS is the preservation of the system of forms of use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation that has now been established. In our opinion, it is important not to preserve the system of forms of use of the Armed Forces, but their further development in the interests of the effective use of troops (forces), including those solving the tasks of the aerospace defense.
For the practical implementation of the second approach to the creation and application of the East Kazakhstan Oblast system, in our opinion, it is advisable to carry out the following organizational measures.
1. Kind of forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region converted into a type of the Armed Forces - the Armed Forces of the East Kazakhstan region
2. To transform the commands of the Air Force and Air Defense into operational commands of the East Kazakhstan region, removing the air bases from their composition. To enter the formed command in the structure of the troops of the East Kazakhstan region
3. To transform the command of air defense-missile defense in the operational command of the aerospace defense.
4. Brigade of EKR (Air Defense) to reorganize into corps (divisions) of EKR with the transfer of part of the forces of fighter aviation.
5. To create a unified control system for fighter aviation that solves the problems of aerospace defense by transferring the corresponding points of guidance to the corps (divisions) of aerospace defense.
In general, the analysis shows the feasibility of the formation of a new type of Armed Forces on the basis of the EKR Troops - the EKR Army. This will allow to create a unified management system of the aerospace defense that meets modern requirements, to ensure unity of responsibility for the construction and development of the aerospace defense of the Russian Federation, the use of troops (forces) of the aerospace defense in the person of the commander-in-chief of the aerospace defense forces.
Information