Consistently uphold national interests
When forecasting the nature of the armed struggle of the future, one should boldly look ahead, but not unnecessarily fantasize, but proceed from real trends in the development of weapons and military equipment.
In 2013, the Academy of Military Sciences conducted a number of studies of the military-political and military-strategic situation in the world, the new nature of multi-factor threats to Russia and the organization of the country's defense in order to counter military and non-military threats. The results of the work were presented to the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Security Council of the Russian Federation. On January 25, a general annual meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences will be held at the Cultural Center of the Armed Forces. AVN President, Doctor of Military and historical General of the Army Makhmut Gareev. We present to the readers of the "VPK" the main theses of the report of the prominent Russian military leader.
Several years ago, at an international scientific conference in Washington, a large group of scientists from different countries proved to us that the main problem for earthlings is survival in outer space. We talked about the attenuation of the Sun, asteroids, comets, other space and environmental threats. Compared with them, colleagues believe, all the socio-political, economic, civilizational and other contradictions that humanity itself has generated, look trivial.
Indeed, humanity once must unite efforts to prevent universal threats. It has long been necessary to create a specialized international research center. However, now we have, from our point of view, more urgent problems. The most characteristic feature of the events taking place in the world is globalization. Staying away is impossible. Inevitably every country has to find its place in the general circulation and try to defend national interests.
Under the guise of promoting democracy, cosmopolitan ideas about the need to subordinate all countries to certain international financial centers, as well as perverted values and standards, are being imposed on humanity. In politics - the rejection of sovereignty. In the economy - the worship of the dollar and the creation of a consumer society. The problem is not only in the increasing crises, the monetarist model of capitalism is becoming obsolete. With five percent of the world's population, the United States consumes about 50 percent of raw materials and 25 percent of oil products produced. If all other countries switch to this level of consumption, then energy resources will be enough for no more than 10 years. Water reserves, forests, fertile lands are reduced. All this is fraught with disaster.
In education, the education of an obedient consumer living in conditions of neo-colonialism. In public life and morality - the cult of decadence, the destruction of the family, the promotion of same-sex marriage. In the Swedish parliament introduced a bill according to which incest is allowed, that is, communication between relatives. First of all, the elite of society degenerates. 100 years ago on the Titanic there was a lot of confusion and omissions, but the captain and crew fought to the end to save the ship and passengers. And with the recent crash in the Mediterranean Sea "Concordia" the captain and crew escaped from the board at the first danger.
In the military, the desire to achieve political goals with non-military means, to substitute regular armed forces with private formations, to use terrorists, to create chaos, to draw the masses into conflicts prevails.
In recent years, various expert communities have appeared in Russia, scientific centers, which, with the support of the media, are intensively inculcating into the public consciousness the point of view that all talk about external and, moreover, military threats is far-fetched and ridiculous. For example, the Carnegie Moscow Center issued a brochure on military reform, which says: “The fundamental flaw in military policy and reform in Russia is that their priority system, with an emphasis on nuclear deterrence and aerospace defense (suggesting opposition and rivalry with the United States and its allies) ) does not meet the real security threats that come from the southern directions, and are also associated with the spread of weapons mass destruction and its carriers. "
A well-known American researcher Richard Weitz wrote about the key goal of our reform: “It was to transform the Soviet-era Armed Forces, created to wage a global war with the West, and turn them into the optimal institution for conducting successful military operations in local conflicts and in fighting with armed militant formations. " The director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Ruslan Pukhov and some other domestic experts also interpret this question. But Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is no worse informed about the situation, said in an interview with the newspaper Military Industrial Courier: “For ten years now, the US has been working on the concept of a lightning-fast global strike. American strategists had a vision of how to defeat another nuclear country, while avoiding unacceptable damage for themselves. ” Obviously, not only North Korea and Iran, but also Russia may be subject to a rapid global blow. The presence of US, French and British troops in Germany cannot be ignored either. Unfortunately, Russia is far from being in a safe position and multi-factor threats against it are only increasing.
NATO expansion, direct military intervention in the Middle East and in other regions that cause direct damage to our country means that the long-term policy of compressing and restricting Russia's geopolitical interests continues. The first is the desire to establish control over raw materials. At the same time, emphasis was placed on the development of alternative sources of energy in order to deprive Russia of oil and gas revenues and put them at risk of a socio-economic collapse. Already in 2012, gas exports to Europe dropped markedly. Some Russian scientists and political scientists, for example, Academician Yuri Pivovarov, head of the Center for Scientific Information of the Russian Academy of Sciences, openly offer to abandon the Kuril Islands, Siberia and the Far East, and in the Higher School of Economics they talk about the prospect of putting the Arctic under international control.
There is also a relocation of the center of business life to the Asia-Pacific region. Following the money is moving military force, the US and NATO bases arise in Central Asia, directly threatening the national interests and security of Russia.
The question of whether the Americans will leave Afghanistan is definitely the answer: in any case, they will build up their forces in Central Asia, driving a wedge between China and Russia. With the invasion of Western troops in Afghanistan, the main goal declared the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. But over the past 10 years, the production of drugs in this country has increased 44 times and its flows go to Russia, becoming a real weapon of mass destruction.
Under these conditions, we do not need to closely adjoin the existing centers of power. It is necessary to calmly and consistently uphold national interests, cooperating primarily with those countries that are interested in equal relations. When forecasting the prospects for the development of the geopolitical situation, it is impossible to reduce everything to the statements of statesmen. Do not forget that there are delusions, but also the most sophisticated misinformation, the hidden slipping of elements of the information war. In order not to be mistaken in forecasts and estimates, the main emphasis in research should be made on the analysis of objective factors.
Threats to the modern world
Thus, a giant geopolitical rift in recent years, a completely new alignment of forces, substantially changed forms and methods of counteraction are clearly visible. In this regard, new approaches to organizing defense and ensuring national security in general are required, taking into account the new nature of threats.
The first group of threats is associated with informational and other subversive actions, the creation of controlled chaos with the aim of provoking various kinds of unrest in the opposing countries, overthrowing undesirable power structures from the inside, a violation of the internal stability of the state. This was done in Libya, then in Syria. It has been suggested that the prerequisites for the outbreak of armed conflicts in Europe are smaller than ever. But in recent years, more than a dozen countries of Eastern Europe with their military potential have joined NATO, the European integration of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova is being prepared. Formally, without armed conflicts, but in essence threats of Russia in other forms are realized.
To confront the so-called non-military threats is difficult, but necessary. An important step to ensure the concerted efforts of all government agencies and all departments of the military organization of the Russian Federation is the development of a national defense plan. We do this for the first time. The document should reflect not only the tasks of various departments, but also the general direction of their solution.
In foreign policy, striving for the formation of a multipolar world and the approval of Russia in a worthy geopolitical position, the main emphasis should be placed on the elaboration of fundamental mutually binding international agreements. They would guarantee the observance of the national interests of Russia to the same extent as in determining the western borders of Poland in the 1945 year. Nowadays, the solution of the water problem in Central Asia is becoming crucial for Eurasian integration, so that the countries of this region are more closely connected and integrated with Russia and among themselves.
In the field of economic security, paramount importance should be attached to the creation of a technologically advanced modern economy as the main condition for the stability and viability of the state, its military and national security in general.
On all these issues there are political leadership guidelines, relevant programs and projects have been developed, but proper implementation has not been organized. With a systematic approach, if the goal is outlined, the main direction of movement, then all intermediate decisions and actions should be directed towards this goal and not be deflected. But when they carried out the reorganization of the unified energy system, the program of reviving the Volga, the priority development of Siberia and the Far East, the Eurasian and other projects, many departments did not maintain a common plan and general line. Now, due to the accelerated development of the Arctic, the expansion of shipping in the Arctic Ocean, it is necessary to more closely link all this with the general plan for the development of Siberia and the Far East, which is suggested by the scientists of our Omsk Branch.
From the standpoint of confrontation of various kinds of “color revolutions”, controlled chaos inside the country, social (internal) security, ensuring the unity and solidarity of the peoples of Russia, suppressing extremism, nationalism and other subversive actions are of particular importance. In this connection, it was long overdue to re-establish the Ministry of National Affairs, which would consist not of officials, but of the most wise and authoritative political and public figures.
Extremism must be stopped not only on the streets, but above all at its source. To find those who pay and provoke, including in the media, where there are open provocative calls for the elimination of national autonomies and the creation of unitary provinces, which was not even in tsarist times. On behalf of the veterans, I would like to remind once again that the friendship of the peoples, unity, led by the great Russian people, were the most important factor that ensured our victory in the Great Patriotic War. And it is necessary in the name of the fallen to preserve the heritage of mutual respect and cooperation of peoples.
To create a solid foundation for the patriotic education of citizens and to affirm the ideas of defending the Fatherland, it is extremely important to form an objective historical and defense consciousness of society, first of all, to counter the falsification of the history of the Great Patriotic War. For Russia, the most important condition for ensuring reliable national security of the country is the unity of the army and people. It is impossible to create any combat-ready Armed Forces without popular support for the ideas of defending the Fatherland.
Coordination of the activities of all state bodies in countering non-military threats should be entrusted to the secretary and the staff of the Security Council, thus strengthening its operational staff with the necessary specialists. All activities carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign economic relations, intelligence and counterintelligence agencies of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, FSB, border guards, should be carried out under the guidance of the Security Council and the government.
For the day-to-day coordination of solving defense issues, along with enhancing the role of the General Staff, it is advisable to give the Minister of Defense the rights of Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces not only in wartime, but also in peacetime. Increasing the role of the government in defense matters, especially in the defense industry, is required. There is also a need to clarify the functions and tasks of state bodies designed to more effectively counter and uphold Russia's national interests in the areas of political-diplomatic, economic, informational, cybernetic and other types of state and public activities carried out by non-military means and methods.
According to the Defense Plan, all issues of ensuring military security are assigned to the Ministry of Defense and other departments of the military organization of the Russian Federation. But at the same time, apparently, it is impossible and there is no need to strictly distinguish between which bodies should deal only with military or non-military tasks. For example, counteraction to economic or informational threats is imposed on the relevant government bodies, but the results of solving these tasks should be taken into account in military strategic planning and in the course of warfare. During war, the economic or informational struggle is conducted not only by specific means and methods, but also through the physical destruction of industrial and information objects. So it was in Yugoslavia in the 1999 year and in other wars.
In 1945, in the course of the Vistula-Oder strategic offensive operation, the commander of the 1-th Ukrainian Front, Ivan Konev, planned to surround and destroy the German grouping in Silesia. Stalin did not agree with him and ordered to leave the corridors during the encirclement of the enemy and to enable the enemy to retreat. This was done in order to avoid fierce battles in the Silesian industrial region and to prevent its destruction. If in Yugoslavia, the Americans destroyed information centers with rockets and bombs, in Libya they allocated special forces with relevant specialists who captured local radio and television centers and through them organized programs to influence the local population. Many other tasks will have to be solved by joint concerted efforts of the diplomatic, economic, information, military and other departments.
The second group of threats to the security of Russia is generated by the objectively established circumstance that the nuclear weapons of the majority of the states that have it are aimed mainly at us. Some domestic experts argue that it is enough to have 10 – 15 nuclear weapons, the threat of which would deter a potential aggressor. But there have already been thousands of nuclear explosions in the world around 2,5, of which 570 are airborne. The US strategy has recently given paramount importance to preventing or disrupting a nuclear response by a number of preemptive measures. First of all, the creation of high-precision strategic weapons in conventional equipment is being boosted, space facilities and an extensive missile defense system, special forces are being created that have the task to penetrate the enemy’s rear and destroy strategic nuclear weapons even before the start of the war.
Therefore, we need urgent measures to create our own precision weapons in conventional equipment, further qualitative improvement of strategic carriers of nuclear weapons capable of overcoming the enemy’s missile defense system, opposition to diplomatic and all other means of creating or limiting the deployment of missile defense systems capable of reducing the effectiveness of the use of the strategic nuclear forces on our part. Giving paramount importance to nuclear deterrence, it is impossible to absolutize the role of these weapons. The Soviet Union had nuclear weapons, it remains now, but that country is no more. Therefore, due attention must be paid to the development of the general purpose forces (CPF), including the Ground Forces, the Air Force and the Navy, and the main emphasis should be placed on asymmetric means and methods of neutralizing the technological superiority of the enemy. It is extremely necessary to overcome our lag in the development of communications, automated control systems, intelligence, electronic warfare, and high-precision weapons. Not only to announce their priority, but also to ensure a strong concentration of financial, intellectual, technological resources in this area.
The third group of threats consists in the accelerated qualitative development of the main types of weapons in the leading countries of the world, primarily in the field of information systems, unmanned vehicles, robotics, which transform the entire system of use of weapons and military control.
In general, with the existing threats, the Armed Forces are required to be ready for combat missions in local wars, conflicts, anti-terrorist operations, as well as mobilization readiness for regional and other large-scale wars. There is no full guarantee that wars for the possession of the basic resources of the planet can be limited to a predetermined scope. In predicting the nature of the armed struggle of the future, one must, of course, boldly look ahead, but not unnecessarily fantasize, but proceed from real development trends. In some political and expert circles, it is considered good form to say that mass battles involving a large number of tanks and there will be no more artillery, military clashes in air and space will be limited to a few days and that’s all over. They also argue that in the future it will not be necessary to deal with a breakthrough of defense or centralized fire destruction, that all enemy firepower should be destroyed immediately as it is discovered.
But even with the most highly maneuverable nature of hostilities, the front can stabilize for some time and it will have to be broken through, including in the conditions of impossibility to shoot all targets at once due to lack of ammunition. Therefore, from time to time it is necessary to resort to centralized fire damage. It will not be possible to avoid the massive use of artillery and tanks. In the Persian Gulf zone, about 1991 thousands of tanks participated in the 10 year. This is more than in the Berlin operation in 1945, where there were no more than 6300 tanks on either side.
No need to mythologize international terrorism, to portray it as an independent, unified force. Most of the terrorists are controlled and supplied with specific regimes and special services. Like bin Laden, they sometimes come out of obedience, but they cannot act without proper nourishment. On this issue, more radical UN decisions and actions are required.
In Russia, through state and public organizations, it is necessary to involve the population more closely, to adopt stricter laws on the storage and manufacture of explosives, and local structures to be more attentive to people's needs, not to bring people to despair. Not before the fight against terrorism, if, as in Kushchevskaya in the Kuban, Sagra in the Urals, some regions of the Caucasus, local authorities and law enforcement agencies themselves are dependent on terrorists and other criminal elements.
It should be borne in mind that terrorists do not always act in small groups. Sometimes they seize entire countries and establish their power there, as was the case in Afghanistan. The most powerful aerospace power of the world with more than 50 allies, 10 has not been able to end the war for more than 10 years, although some experts predicted a victory in two or three days.
It is advisable to very soberly assess the nature of the so-called sixth generation wars. According to the experience of operations against Yugoslavia in the world, it was said that the goals of war are achieved by attacks aviation and sea cruise missiles on objects of industry and infrastructure, but it is not necessary to strike at ground forces, they will scatter themselves. According to this theory, in 2008 we were supposed to bomb Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Poti and force Saakashvili to surrender. But a limited air war could lead to a clash with NATO. So in addition to new myths, there are objective geopolitical factors.
In addition, the widespread use of special forces, terrorist and so-called private military formations, peacekeeping forces, manipulation and forcible involvement of the population in conflicts create a complex, tangled situation in the war zone, where it is necessary to take into account and solve not only operational-tactical, but also many -political and military-diplomatic issues. The problems of protecting communications, staffs, airfields, and the disposition of troops arise in a completely different way. Therefore, it is necessary to put obstacles in the way of "fencing" of military service. Workers in the rear, doctors, lawyers, technical specialists must have military training, and officers must be the heads of these services.
New technologies are not absolute
The system of strategic actions of the Armed Forces and other troops is changing. Depending on the nature of wars (conflicts), here are the main forms of their application.
First, strategic deterrence. It is carried out in peacetime by the whole complex of conventional and nuclear forces and facilities. This is the maintenance of the Armed Forces in the necessary degree of combat readiness, combat and mobilization readiness, intelligence and counterintelligence activities, assistance to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FPS, and the Emergencies Ministry in neutralizing internal conflicts, in emergency situations, in protecting and defending the state border.
Secondly, strategic deployment, partial for local and full for large-scale wars.
Thirdly, use in armed conflict. It is advisable to single out this section in the system of strategic actions because the nature of operations and military actions has significant differences.
Of particular importance is the accelerated creation of an aerospace defense system (WKO).
With the modern nature of warfare, the center of gravity and the main efforts are transferred to aerospace. Leading states rely on gaining dominance in the air and space through massive operations in the initial stages, striking strategic and vital targets throughout the depths of the country. During the Great Patriotic War 89 percent of enemy aircraft were destroyed by the Air Force in air battles and as a result of strikes on airfields. This requires solving the tasks of the aerospace defense not only by means of air defense and missile defense, but also by the combined efforts of all types of armed forces under the leadership of the Supreme Command and the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
In the course of a strategic operation in the theater of operations, the main tasks of defeating the enemy will be solved mainly by fire destruction from a distance. In modern wars, NATO conducts the so-called non-contact air operations, that is, without the arrival of strike aircraft in the air defense zone. Fights and battles will become dispersed volumetric in nature, encompassing all spheres of military actions along the front, depth and height. In general, hostilities will be highly maneuverable, without solid fronts or with their temporary stabilization.
It is necessary to appreciate, but not absolutise new technologies and high-precision weapons. We should not conduct combat operations under conditions dictated by the enemy, on the contrary, it is required to impose upon it methods of action that minimize technological advantages. In terms of diplomacy and information, the West surrounds its actions in such a way that its opponents have not really fought. In the 1991 year, Iraq indifferently watched as the grouping of aviation and troops concentrated in Saudi Arabia for months, and did not take a preemptive strike. Yugoslavia did not dare to conduct at least sabotage against NATO forces in Macedonia.
A special place in the system of indirect actions will be occupied by special methods of warfare, including psychological and informational, subversive. The organizational structure of the troops must be adapted to conduct local and large-scale hostilities. For example, in the east of the country, not only mobile brigades, but also more powerful divisions, aviation, artillery, air defense, engineering and other formations and units may be required.
In non-governmental organizations that reflect foreign interests, even mention of the call or elements of mobilization is most of all rejected and condemned. Proposals are being submitted to the State Duma to abandon the draft in the Far East, where it is most needed. But national interests require a rational combination of conscription and contractual systems. From the first days of hostilities, the troops always suffer losses. In the Chechen wars, people had to gather from all over the country. In order not to engage in hasty actions, we need previously prepared reserve formations that would be engaged in compensating for the losses, reinforcing the groupings of troops in the most important areas. Approximately in the form in the structures of the National Guard and the organized reserve of the United States.
At conferences on patriotic education, at exhibitions, we are increasingly reporting to the public. But war veterans and military service have the moral right to appeal to society as a whole, cultural organizations, writers with a proposal to fundamentally improve the work on preparing young people for military service, reviving the ideas of defending the Fatherland.
Some human rights activists insist that due to the lack of healthy young men, it is necessary to completely abandon the draft system, to reduce the number of Armed Forces. But this is not an option. If it continues this way, then not only will they serve, but also there will be no one to work, no one from whom to take contract soldiers. Only one way is real - improvement of health care, introduction of free food at least in rural schools, proper pre-conscription training for young people, assistance to DOSAAF, sports, and patriotic public organizations.
Management
The main proposals on the organization of command and control of the Armed Forces will be laid down in the National Defense Plan. In accordance with the new regulation on the General Staff approved by the President of the Russian Federation, when planning strategic actions, the tasks and procedures of actions of other troops of the Russian military organization will also be coordinated. Of great importance will be the creation of the National Center for the Defense of the State (NCUOG), which unites all defense structures. But in this general system, the special position of the Central Staff of the General Staff, primarily of the control rooms of the Strategic Nuclear Forces and East Kazakhstan, operating under the direct supervision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, should remain. Together with the General Staff, it will form a single integrated strategic management body under the leadership of the Supreme Command and the Minister of Defense.
The commanders-in-chief of the types of aircraft can participate in strategic planning, create the necessary groupings, be responsible for their construction, development, technical equipment, training of personnel and troops (forces), and comprehensive support. Operational management can be carried out only through the Supreme Command (including the Minister of Defense as deputy Supreme Command) - General Staff - Joint Strategic Command (USC). For example, only the commander of a strategic alliance, having all the necessary reconnaissance equipment and constantly knowing the operational situation in the theater of operations, can control the combat employment of aviation, air defense, fleets, and other forces and assets.
Georgy Zhukov is still reproached for the harsh measures that he undertook in the defense of Leningrad. Critics forget that by the time of his arrival there were more than 600 thousand people in the front, and the city was defended by 125 thousand. Parts of the NKVD could not be sent into battle, the ships were preparing for explosions, not battles. I had to force everyone to fight. That dilemma has been preserved even now: to introduce the subordination of the troops of all departments to a single command, or the war will force to resort to the most ferocious measures.
An absurd and non-viable innovation was an attempt to divide the vertical of unity of command into operational and administrative functions. Some commanders were supposed to be engaged in combat planning and control, others - in logistics, in combat training of troops. But it quickly became clear that it was impossible to engage in combat control without managing repair, armaments, the supply of ammunition, fuel and lubricants, and food. It is also impossible to competently and objectively solve the tasks of supplying troops or combat training if you do not know in detail the plan of the operation and the needs of the troops.
In modern local wars, special operations are becoming increasingly important. Proposals for the creation of a special operations command seem to merit attention. But you can not go on about some of the experts who offer to withdraw from the subordination of the USC, the fleets, the Air Force and East Kazakhstani, the reconnaissance and special units. Others added that 1941’s year failures were reportedly due to the fact that aviation and mechanized connections were distributed to districts. If tanks and machine guns are now withdrawn from the military districts and fleets and combined in the center, then the USK will not be able to fight and respond in a modern way.
On the territory of the country, the Airborne Forces and special troops cannot fight apart from the command and troops of the military districts, in the zone of military operations all are subject to a single command. In our opinion, the cutting of military districts and their areas of responsibility established now with the entrusted to them of the duties of the Joint Strategic Command during wartime meets the prevailing conditions. However, over time, it is desirable to work on the restoration of the Moscow Military District. In peacetime, it is necessary for command and control and organization of military service in the center of the country, for holding ceremonial events in the capital, and in the military for organizing the depth of defense and solving mobilization tasks.
This suggests the need for a command-staff exercise or military game under the direct supervision of the Supreme Commander and the Minister of Defense with all the strategic management bodies of the military organization of the Russian Federation, which should perform the functions assigned to them, act on the exercise as trainees, with “closed” maps. This will make it possible to verify, visually see all the positive and negative aspects in the organizational structure and the preparation of management bodies, to draw the necessary conclusions. Members of the Academy of Military Sciences can be used at the headquarters of the leadership and as mediators, given their extensive experience.
The creation and implementation of a network-centric control system in the Armed Forces is intended to increase the effectiveness of troop command and control at all levels. But here it is not necessary to wishful thinking. There are few specialists themselves, the qualification available leaves much to be desired. In addition, to improve the efficiency of automated management tools, it is necessary, along with the creation of new technologies, to improve the working methods of commanders and staffs, and first of all to abandon cumbersome documentation. To do this, it is necessary to hold a special gathering with the leadership of the types of the Armed Forces, military districts and fleets.
All authorities, including the strategic level, must be carefully prepared to perform their duties during the war. Due to the changing nature of war, new forms of exercises (strategic games) are needed with the involvement of the headquarters of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the government, other government agencies, all departments of the Russian military organization, where defense tasks related to countering both non-military and military threats would be worked out.
Traditionally, it is customary to plan operational and combat training of command and control bodies for each subsequent year. This leads to the fact that some operational-tactical tasks are solved from year to year, and some remain unworked. For example, covert reduction of troops to the highest levels of combat readiness, regrouping for a long distance, some methods of conducting offensive and defensive operations. Therefore, it is necessary, at least in the most general form, to carry out long-term planning in operational and combat headquarters. In modern conditions, appropriate qualitative changes in the content and methods of operational and combat training, especially in military training and education of officers, are urgently needed. First of all, it is desirable to restore the teaching in high schools of military history, so that officers study military art not in its current, frozen form, but in its development.
On the essence of war
Recently, in connection with the increased role of non-military means, attempts have been made to revise the very concept of the essence of war. They propose, for example, any cybernetic intervention, other economic and informational actions to be considered equivalent to a declaration of war. Meanwhile, such actions are carried out constantly and it turns out that all countries are in a state of permanent war with each other. So it should be borne in mind that in war different forms of struggle are carried out in a different way.
In connection with the emergence of new, highly dangerous forms of international confrontation, carried out on the verge of war, by veiled or open violence, there is an urgent need to address these issues at a special emergency conference of the UN General Assembly and to develop additional international legal norms (decisions) that limit the use of peacetime so-called non-military means by violent means. We held a meeting of the Academic Council of the Academy of Military Sciences with the involvement of leading scientists. Most of the speakers came to the conclusion that it is illegal to consider any economic, informational or other confrontation as a war. The main specifics of the war are still the use of violent means. The division of wars into classical and non-classical, depending on the nature of the means used, gives little, since all means are inevitably used in any war. But there are some established provisions that require clarification.
The federal law "On Defense" (Art. 18) says: "Since the declaration of war or the actual outbreak of hostilities comes the wartime ..." But as historical experience shows, often (Hasan, Khalkhin-Gol, Damansky, Georgia in 2008) there were quite large armed clashes (conflicts), and there was no state of war. In such cases, it is necessary to impose at least a martial law or a state of emergency. The absence of this limits the use of military equipment. It is necessary to conduct military actions on the basis of the laws and regulations of peacetime, which puts the troops in a difficult and uncertain position. Recall Chechnya or South Ossetia.
Certain changes are needed in the knowledge system. We had a doctrine of war and the army, and the fleet and other military structures were not even mentioned. We came to the conclusion that in modern conditions there should be a doctrine of war and defense of the country or a “theory of war”. As in previous years, attempts are being made overly broadly, apart from the object and subject of research, to examine the structure and content of military science. They are trying to tear off their defense (military) issues from the social and natural sciences and include them directly in military science. For example, the military economy, military geography, military psychology and pedagogy, etc. But this is illegal.
Firstly, because it requires the knowledge of completely different objective factors and laws that are not typical of the military sphere. It is impossible to have a deep knowledge of the psychological, pedagogical or economic processes in isolation from the root sciences. The military problematics of these sciences in relation to the corresponding branches of the social, natural sciences are butt, contiguous in relation to military science.
Secondly, the separation of defense (military) issues from the corresponding social and natural sciences leads to the fact that these branches of science are excluded from the research programs of the Russian Academy of Sciences and their financing, and military science and scientists are not able to independently learn the underlying laws of economic, pedagogical, psychological and other human processes. They can not be the subject of military science.
What to do
At one time, the Ministry of Defense, instead of ordering the corresponding research in the Russian Academy of Sciences and other scientific centers, tried to create its own scientific research institutes for each problem. It turned out to be extremely irrational. With a scientifically based approach to this issue, when war is viewed as an object of study not only of military science, but also of all social, natural, technical sciences, a wide front of research on war and defense issues is created, which simultaneously ensures greater efficiency and effectiveness of scientific research on defense issues .
Of particular importance is the closer interaction of military science with research in the defense industry. With the relative weakness of our economic potential, it is desirable to place the main emphasis on asymmetric means and methods of action. It is known, for example, that modern leading states have communications, navigation, reconnaissance, control of strategic nuclear forces, missile defense, and high-precision conventional weapons through space. The collapse of the entire system by radio-electronic and other asymmetric means can greatly reduce the advantage of the opposing side. During the war in Iraq, even the simplest microwave ovens with their electromagnetic radiation forced rockets to deviate from the target.
Constantly creating the best samples in the world for all types of weapons, we probably can never, although we must strive for this. At some stage, certain types of weapons will have to be yielded, so it is equally important to improve the methods of their effective use. The combat properties of different types of weapons should complement each other and to some extent neutralize weak points. In this connection, the constant interaction of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense with the Advanced Research Fund of the MIC is especially important.
For decades we proceeded from the assumption that the development of weapons and equipment determines the art of war. In principle, this provision remains in force. But now, when weapons are becoming more and more expensive, one cannot limit one side of the matter. In our time, military science is called upon to more objectively and purposefully determine the main directions of arms development, develop more specific operational-strategic and tactical requirements, describe the weapons and equipment of the future.
Of particular importance is the prediction of the military-strategic situation, the prospects for the development of the nature of warfare. In order to stimulate scientific work in this area, special grants of the Minister of Defense can be established.
When reorganizing the scientific sphere in the Ministry of Defense, it is desirable to thoroughly review the funding system, which has long been outdated. Even in previous times, it provided for the financing of any tasks, but there was no article on combat and mobilization readiness. In the scientific field, even today it is possible to finance work on the improvement of technology, but payment for work on operational-strategic and military-political issues is extremely difficult. The above-considered defense problems in accordance with the new conditions require deep scientific study in the overall system, carrying out complex scientific research of a number of complex military-political, military-economic, strategic and military-technical problems. In China, to solve these problems, a state committee (ministry) of defense science has been created.
In Russia, many state scientific organizations are involved in defense security problems, starting with the Russian Academy of Sciences and ending with departmental research institutes. A number of tasks solves and AVN. But according to the established tradition, all important, but separate, specific problems are investigated, and a systematic study of defense security problems in general is not achieved on the basis of common military-political, strategic goals and a common plan for their implementation.
To eliminate the gaps noted above and to increase the effectiveness of scientific research in the field of defense security, the following actions seem appropriate.
First, when transforming the Russian Academy of Sciences and the entire scientific sphere of the country, along with the general objectives of innovative, technological modernization, provide for the necessary measures to expand the front and increase the proportion of scientific research in the interests of defense, including the Russian Academy of Sciences. In turn, the Ministry of Defense, instead of trying to create scientific institutions for each problem, as in previous years, makes fuller use of the scientific potential of existing research organizations. For example, during the reorganization of the RAS, to clarify the composition of the Scientific Council on defense issues, the focus of its work, taking into account the changing nature of security threats with a wider use of non-military means (soft power). To establish in the RAS a scientific department of defense problems, to clarify the composition and focus of the work of the section of defense problems at the RAS in order to track scientific achievements in the interests of the country's defense in the field of not only natural and technical sciences, but also social (human) sciences.
Secondly, to reorganize the scientific work in the Armed Forces. To transform the Military Scientific Scientific Committee of the Armed Forces into the Main Military Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Defense, to raise its role and status, entrusting the planning and coordination of all scientific work in the interests of defense. Increase the role and responsibility of the high command (command) of the Armed Forces (combat arms) of the Armed Forces in the management of scientific work in the field of development, technical equipment and combat use. It is natural to submit them to the relevant research organizations and universities.
Thirdly, to create a Center for Scientific and Technical Information of the Ministry of Defense to quickly compile, analyze and communicate to the interested authorities and scientific institutions information on the latest achievements of domestic and foreign scientific and technical thought.
Fourth, to establish a systemic study of defense security problems, establish the Academy of Defense Problems or create a Center for Defense Problems at the National Security Agency, providing for state funding.
Fifth, to more effectively manage the activities of the defense industry, research and design work, create a Ministry of Defense Industry with the appropriate research and development management bodies. Identify other necessary measures to improve the interaction between government bodies and scientific organizations of the Ministry of Defense and the military-industrial complex.
In 2013, the Academy of Military Sciences conducted a number of studies of the military-political and military-strategic situation in the world, the new nature of multi-factor threats to Russia and the organization of the country's defense in order to counter military and non-military threats. The results of the work were presented to the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Security Council of the Russian Federation. On January 25, a general annual meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences will be held at the Cultural Center of the Armed Forces. AVN President, Doctor of Military and historical General of the Army Makhmut Gareev. We present to the readers of the "VPK" the main theses of the report of the prominent Russian military leader.
Several years ago, at an international scientific conference in Washington, a large group of scientists from different countries proved to us that the main problem for earthlings is survival in outer space. We talked about the attenuation of the Sun, asteroids, comets, other space and environmental threats. Compared with them, colleagues believe, all the socio-political, economic, civilizational and other contradictions that humanity itself has generated, look trivial.
Indeed, humanity once must unite efforts to prevent universal threats. It has long been necessary to create a specialized international research center. However, now we have, from our point of view, more urgent problems. The most characteristic feature of the events taking place in the world is globalization. Staying away is impossible. Inevitably every country has to find its place in the general circulation and try to defend national interests.Under the guise of promoting democracy, cosmopolitan ideas about the need to subordinate all countries to certain international financial centers, as well as perverted values and standards, are being imposed on humanity. In politics - the rejection of sovereignty. In the economy - the worship of the dollar and the creation of a consumer society. The problem is not only in the increasing crises, the monetarist model of capitalism is becoming obsolete. With five percent of the world's population, the United States consumes about 50 percent of raw materials and 25 percent of oil products produced. If all other countries switch to this level of consumption, then energy resources will be enough for no more than 10 years. Water reserves, forests, fertile lands are reduced. All this is fraught with disaster.
In education, the education of an obedient consumer living in conditions of neo-colonialism. In public life and morality - the cult of decadence, the destruction of the family, the promotion of same-sex marriage. In the Swedish parliament introduced a bill according to which incest is allowed, that is, communication between relatives. First of all, the elite of society degenerates. 100 years ago on the Titanic there was a lot of confusion and omissions, but the captain and crew fought to the end to save the ship and passengers. And with the recent crash in the Mediterranean Sea "Concordia" the captain and crew escaped from the board at the first danger.
In the military, the desire to achieve political goals with non-military means, to substitute regular armed forces with private formations, to use terrorists, to create chaos, to draw the masses into conflicts prevails.
In recent years, various expert communities have appeared in Russia, scientific centers, which, with the support of the media, are intensively inculcating into the public consciousness the point of view that all talk about external and, moreover, military threats is far-fetched and ridiculous. For example, the Carnegie Moscow Center issued a brochure on military reform, which says: “The fundamental flaw in military policy and reform in Russia is that their priority system, with an emphasis on nuclear deterrence and aerospace defense (suggesting opposition and rivalry with the United States and its allies) ) does not meet the real security threats that come from the southern directions, and are also associated with the spread of weapons mass destruction and its carriers. "
A well-known American researcher Richard Weitz wrote about the key goal of our reform: “It was to transform the Soviet-era Armed Forces, created to wage a global war with the West, and turn them into the optimal institution for conducting successful military operations in local conflicts and in fighting with armed militant formations. " The director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Ruslan Pukhov and some other domestic experts also interpret this question. But Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is no worse informed about the situation, said in an interview with the newspaper Military Industrial Courier: “For ten years now, the US has been working on the concept of a lightning-fast global strike. American strategists had a vision of how to defeat another nuclear country, while avoiding unacceptable damage for themselves. ” Obviously, not only North Korea and Iran, but also Russia may be subject to a rapid global blow. The presence of US, French and British troops in Germany cannot be ignored either. Unfortunately, Russia is far from being in a safe position and multi-factor threats against it are only increasing.
NATO expansion, direct military intervention in the Middle East and in other regions that cause direct damage to our country means that the long-term policy of compressing and restricting Russia's geopolitical interests continues. The first is the desire to establish control over raw materials. At the same time, emphasis was placed on the development of alternative sources of energy in order to deprive Russia of oil and gas revenues and put them at risk of a socio-economic collapse. Already in 2012, gas exports to Europe dropped markedly. Some Russian scientists and political scientists, for example, Academician Yuri Pivovarov, head of the Center for Scientific Information of the Russian Academy of Sciences, openly offer to abandon the Kuril Islands, Siberia and the Far East, and in the Higher School of Economics they talk about the prospect of putting the Arctic under international control.
There is also a relocation of the center of business life to the Asia-Pacific region. Following the money is moving military force, the US and NATO bases arise in Central Asia, directly threatening the national interests and security of Russia.
The question of whether the Americans will leave Afghanistan is definitely the answer: in any case, they will build up their forces in Central Asia, driving a wedge between China and Russia. With the invasion of Western troops in Afghanistan, the main goal declared the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. But over the past 10 years, the production of drugs in this country has increased 44 times and its flows go to Russia, becoming a real weapon of mass destruction.
Under these conditions, we do not need to closely adjoin the existing centers of power. It is necessary to calmly and consistently uphold national interests, cooperating primarily with those countries that are interested in equal relations. When forecasting the prospects for the development of the geopolitical situation, it is impossible to reduce everything to the statements of statesmen. Do not forget that there are delusions, but also the most sophisticated misinformation, the hidden slipping of elements of the information war. In order not to be mistaken in forecasts and estimates, the main emphasis in research should be made on the analysis of objective factors.
Threats to the modern world
Thus, a giant geopolitical rift in recent years, a completely new alignment of forces, substantially changed forms and methods of counteraction are clearly visible. In this regard, new approaches to organizing defense and ensuring national security in general are required, taking into account the new nature of threats.
The first group of threats is associated with informational and other subversive actions, the creation of controlled chaos with the aim of provoking various kinds of unrest in the opposing countries, overthrowing undesirable power structures from the inside, a violation of the internal stability of the state. This was done in Libya, then in Syria. It has been suggested that the prerequisites for the outbreak of armed conflicts in Europe are smaller than ever. But in recent years, more than a dozen countries of Eastern Europe with their military potential have joined NATO, the European integration of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova is being prepared. Formally, without armed conflicts, but in essence threats of Russia in other forms are realized.
To confront the so-called non-military threats is difficult, but necessary. An important step to ensure the concerted efforts of all government agencies and all departments of the military organization of the Russian Federation is the development of a national defense plan. We do this for the first time. The document should reflect not only the tasks of various departments, but also the general direction of their solution.
In foreign policy, striving for the formation of a multipolar world and the approval of Russia in a worthy geopolitical position, the main emphasis should be placed on the elaboration of fundamental mutually binding international agreements. They would guarantee the observance of the national interests of Russia to the same extent as in determining the western borders of Poland in the 1945 year. Nowadays, the solution of the water problem in Central Asia is becoming crucial for Eurasian integration, so that the countries of this region are more closely connected and integrated with Russia and among themselves.
In the field of economic security, paramount importance should be attached to the creation of a technologically advanced modern economy as the main condition for the stability and viability of the state, its military and national security in general.
On all these issues there are political leadership guidelines, relevant programs and projects have been developed, but proper implementation has not been organized. With a systematic approach, if the goal is outlined, the main direction of movement, then all intermediate decisions and actions should be directed towards this goal and not be deflected. But when they carried out the reorganization of the unified energy system, the program of reviving the Volga, the priority development of Siberia and the Far East, the Eurasian and other projects, many departments did not maintain a common plan and general line. Now, due to the accelerated development of the Arctic, the expansion of shipping in the Arctic Ocean, it is necessary to more closely link all this with the general plan for the development of Siberia and the Far East, which is suggested by the scientists of our Omsk Branch.
From the standpoint of confrontation of various kinds of “color revolutions”, controlled chaos inside the country, social (internal) security, ensuring the unity and solidarity of the peoples of Russia, suppressing extremism, nationalism and other subversive actions are of particular importance. In this connection, it was long overdue to re-establish the Ministry of National Affairs, which would consist not of officials, but of the most wise and authoritative political and public figures.
Extremism must be stopped not only on the streets, but above all at its source. To find those who pay and provoke, including in the media, where there are open provocative calls for the elimination of national autonomies and the creation of unitary provinces, which was not even in tsarist times. On behalf of the veterans, I would like to remind once again that the friendship of the peoples, unity, led by the great Russian people, were the most important factor that ensured our victory in the Great Patriotic War. And it is necessary in the name of the fallen to preserve the heritage of mutual respect and cooperation of peoples.
To create a solid foundation for the patriotic education of citizens and to affirm the ideas of defending the Fatherland, it is extremely important to form an objective historical and defense consciousness of society, first of all, to counter the falsification of the history of the Great Patriotic War. For Russia, the most important condition for ensuring reliable national security of the country is the unity of the army and people. It is impossible to create any combat-ready Armed Forces without popular support for the ideas of defending the Fatherland.
Coordination of the activities of all state bodies in countering non-military threats should be entrusted to the secretary and the staff of the Security Council, thus strengthening its operational staff with the necessary specialists. All activities carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign economic relations, intelligence and counterintelligence agencies of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, FSB, border guards, should be carried out under the guidance of the Security Council and the government.
For the day-to-day coordination of solving defense issues, along with enhancing the role of the General Staff, it is advisable to give the Minister of Defense the rights of Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces not only in wartime, but also in peacetime. Increasing the role of the government in defense matters, especially in the defense industry, is required. There is also a need to clarify the functions and tasks of state bodies designed to more effectively counter and uphold Russia's national interests in the areas of political-diplomatic, economic, informational, cybernetic and other types of state and public activities carried out by non-military means and methods.
According to the Defense Plan, all issues of ensuring military security are assigned to the Ministry of Defense and other departments of the military organization of the Russian Federation. But at the same time, apparently, it is impossible and there is no need to strictly distinguish between which bodies should deal only with military or non-military tasks. For example, counteraction to economic or informational threats is imposed on the relevant government bodies, but the results of solving these tasks should be taken into account in military strategic planning and in the course of warfare. During war, the economic or informational struggle is conducted not only by specific means and methods, but also through the physical destruction of industrial and information objects. So it was in Yugoslavia in the 1999 year and in other wars.
In 1945, in the course of the Vistula-Oder strategic offensive operation, the commander of the 1-th Ukrainian Front, Ivan Konev, planned to surround and destroy the German grouping in Silesia. Stalin did not agree with him and ordered to leave the corridors during the encirclement of the enemy and to enable the enemy to retreat. This was done in order to avoid fierce battles in the Silesian industrial region and to prevent its destruction. If in Yugoslavia, the Americans destroyed information centers with rockets and bombs, in Libya they allocated special forces with relevant specialists who captured local radio and television centers and through them organized programs to influence the local population. Many other tasks will have to be solved by joint concerted efforts of the diplomatic, economic, information, military and other departments.
The second group of threats to the security of Russia is generated by the objectively established circumstance that the nuclear weapons of the majority of the states that have it are aimed mainly at us. Some domestic experts argue that it is enough to have 10 – 15 nuclear weapons, the threat of which would deter a potential aggressor. But there have already been thousands of nuclear explosions in the world around 2,5, of which 570 are airborne. The US strategy has recently given paramount importance to preventing or disrupting a nuclear response by a number of preemptive measures. First of all, the creation of high-precision strategic weapons in conventional equipment is being boosted, space facilities and an extensive missile defense system, special forces are being created that have the task to penetrate the enemy’s rear and destroy strategic nuclear weapons even before the start of the war.
Therefore, we need urgent measures to create our own precision weapons in conventional equipment, further qualitative improvement of strategic carriers of nuclear weapons capable of overcoming the enemy’s missile defense system, opposition to diplomatic and all other means of creating or limiting the deployment of missile defense systems capable of reducing the effectiveness of the use of the strategic nuclear forces on our part. Giving paramount importance to nuclear deterrence, it is impossible to absolutize the role of these weapons. The Soviet Union had nuclear weapons, it remains now, but that country is no more. Therefore, due attention must be paid to the development of the general purpose forces (CPF), including the Ground Forces, the Air Force and the Navy, and the main emphasis should be placed on asymmetric means and methods of neutralizing the technological superiority of the enemy. It is extremely necessary to overcome our lag in the development of communications, automated control systems, intelligence, electronic warfare, and high-precision weapons. Not only to announce their priority, but also to ensure a strong concentration of financial, intellectual, technological resources in this area.
The third group of threats consists in the accelerated qualitative development of the main types of weapons in the leading countries of the world, primarily in the field of information systems, unmanned vehicles, robotics, which transform the entire system of use of weapons and military control.
In general, with the existing threats, the Armed Forces are required to be ready for combat missions in local wars, conflicts, anti-terrorist operations, as well as mobilization readiness for regional and other large-scale wars. There is no full guarantee that wars for the possession of the basic resources of the planet can be limited to a predetermined scope. In predicting the nature of the armed struggle of the future, one must, of course, boldly look ahead, but not unnecessarily fantasize, but proceed from real development trends. In some political and expert circles, it is considered good form to say that mass battles involving a large number of tanks and there will be no more artillery, military clashes in air and space will be limited to a few days and that’s all over. They also argue that in the future it will not be necessary to deal with a breakthrough of defense or centralized fire destruction, that all enemy firepower should be destroyed immediately as it is discovered.
But even with the most highly maneuverable nature of hostilities, the front can stabilize for some time and it will have to be broken through, including in the conditions of impossibility to shoot all targets at once due to lack of ammunition. Therefore, from time to time it is necessary to resort to centralized fire damage. It will not be possible to avoid the massive use of artillery and tanks. In the Persian Gulf zone, about 1991 thousands of tanks participated in the 10 year. This is more than in the Berlin operation in 1945, where there were no more than 6300 tanks on either side.
No need to mythologize international terrorism, to portray it as an independent, unified force. Most of the terrorists are controlled and supplied with specific regimes and special services. Like bin Laden, they sometimes come out of obedience, but they cannot act without proper nourishment. On this issue, more radical UN decisions and actions are required.
In Russia, through state and public organizations, it is necessary to involve the population more closely, to adopt stricter laws on the storage and manufacture of explosives, and local structures to be more attentive to people's needs, not to bring people to despair. Not before the fight against terrorism, if, as in Kushchevskaya in the Kuban, Sagra in the Urals, some regions of the Caucasus, local authorities and law enforcement agencies themselves are dependent on terrorists and other criminal elements.
It should be borne in mind that terrorists do not always act in small groups. Sometimes they seize entire countries and establish their power there, as was the case in Afghanistan. The most powerful aerospace power of the world with more than 50 allies, 10 has not been able to end the war for more than 10 years, although some experts predicted a victory in two or three days.
It is advisable to very soberly assess the nature of the so-called sixth generation wars. According to the experience of operations against Yugoslavia in the world, it was said that the goals of war are achieved by attacks aviation and sea cruise missiles on objects of industry and infrastructure, but it is not necessary to strike at ground forces, they will scatter themselves. According to this theory, in 2008 we were supposed to bomb Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Poti and force Saakashvili to surrender. But a limited air war could lead to a clash with NATO. So in addition to new myths, there are objective geopolitical factors.
In addition, the widespread use of special forces, terrorist and so-called private military formations, peacekeeping forces, manipulation and forcible involvement of the population in conflicts create a complex, tangled situation in the war zone, where it is necessary to take into account and solve not only operational-tactical, but also many -political and military-diplomatic issues. The problems of protecting communications, staffs, airfields, and the disposition of troops arise in a completely different way. Therefore, it is necessary to put obstacles in the way of "fencing" of military service. Workers in the rear, doctors, lawyers, technical specialists must have military training, and officers must be the heads of these services.
New technologies are not absolute
The system of strategic actions of the Armed Forces and other troops is changing. Depending on the nature of wars (conflicts), here are the main forms of their application.
First, strategic deterrence. It is carried out in peacetime by the whole complex of conventional and nuclear forces and facilities. This is the maintenance of the Armed Forces in the necessary degree of combat readiness, combat and mobilization readiness, intelligence and counterintelligence activities, assistance to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FPS, and the Emergencies Ministry in neutralizing internal conflicts, in emergency situations, in protecting and defending the state border.
Secondly, strategic deployment, partial for local and full for large-scale wars.
Thirdly, use in armed conflict. It is advisable to single out this section in the system of strategic actions because the nature of operations and military actions has significant differences.
Of particular importance is the accelerated creation of an aerospace defense system (WKO).
With the modern nature of warfare, the center of gravity and the main efforts are transferred to aerospace. Leading states rely on gaining dominance in the air and space through massive operations in the initial stages, striking strategic and vital targets throughout the depths of the country. During the Great Patriotic War 89 percent of enemy aircraft were destroyed by the Air Force in air battles and as a result of strikes on airfields. This requires solving the tasks of the aerospace defense not only by means of air defense and missile defense, but also by the combined efforts of all types of armed forces under the leadership of the Supreme Command and the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
In the course of a strategic operation in the theater of operations, the main tasks of defeating the enemy will be solved mainly by fire destruction from a distance. In modern wars, NATO conducts the so-called non-contact air operations, that is, without the arrival of strike aircraft in the air defense zone. Fights and battles will become dispersed volumetric in nature, encompassing all spheres of military actions along the front, depth and height. In general, hostilities will be highly maneuverable, without solid fronts or with their temporary stabilization.
It is necessary to appreciate, but not absolutise new technologies and high-precision weapons. We should not conduct combat operations under conditions dictated by the enemy, on the contrary, it is required to impose upon it methods of action that minimize technological advantages. In terms of diplomacy and information, the West surrounds its actions in such a way that its opponents have not really fought. In the 1991 year, Iraq indifferently watched as the grouping of aviation and troops concentrated in Saudi Arabia for months, and did not take a preemptive strike. Yugoslavia did not dare to conduct at least sabotage against NATO forces in Macedonia.
A special place in the system of indirect actions will be occupied by special methods of warfare, including psychological and informational, subversive. The organizational structure of the troops must be adapted to conduct local and large-scale hostilities. For example, in the east of the country, not only mobile brigades, but also more powerful divisions, aviation, artillery, air defense, engineering and other formations and units may be required.
In non-governmental organizations that reflect foreign interests, even mention of the call or elements of mobilization is most of all rejected and condemned. Proposals are being submitted to the State Duma to abandon the draft in the Far East, where it is most needed. But national interests require a rational combination of conscription and contractual systems. From the first days of hostilities, the troops always suffer losses. In the Chechen wars, people had to gather from all over the country. In order not to engage in hasty actions, we need previously prepared reserve formations that would be engaged in compensating for the losses, reinforcing the groupings of troops in the most important areas. Approximately in the form in the structures of the National Guard and the organized reserve of the United States.
At conferences on patriotic education, at exhibitions, we are increasingly reporting to the public. But war veterans and military service have the moral right to appeal to society as a whole, cultural organizations, writers with a proposal to fundamentally improve the work on preparing young people for military service, reviving the ideas of defending the Fatherland.
Some human rights activists insist that due to the lack of healthy young men, it is necessary to completely abandon the draft system, to reduce the number of Armed Forces. But this is not an option. If it continues this way, then not only will they serve, but also there will be no one to work, no one from whom to take contract soldiers. Only one way is real - improvement of health care, introduction of free food at least in rural schools, proper pre-conscription training for young people, assistance to DOSAAF, sports, and patriotic public organizations.
Management
The main proposals on the organization of command and control of the Armed Forces will be laid down in the National Defense Plan. In accordance with the new regulation on the General Staff approved by the President of the Russian Federation, when planning strategic actions, the tasks and procedures of actions of other troops of the Russian military organization will also be coordinated. Of great importance will be the creation of the National Center for the Defense of the State (NCUOG), which unites all defense structures. But in this general system, the special position of the Central Staff of the General Staff, primarily of the control rooms of the Strategic Nuclear Forces and East Kazakhstan, operating under the direct supervision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, should remain. Together with the General Staff, it will form a single integrated strategic management body under the leadership of the Supreme Command and the Minister of Defense.
The commanders-in-chief of the types of aircraft can participate in strategic planning, create the necessary groupings, be responsible for their construction, development, technical equipment, training of personnel and troops (forces), and comprehensive support. Operational management can be carried out only through the Supreme Command (including the Minister of Defense as deputy Supreme Command) - General Staff - Joint Strategic Command (USC). For example, only the commander of a strategic alliance, having all the necessary reconnaissance equipment and constantly knowing the operational situation in the theater of operations, can control the combat employment of aviation, air defense, fleets, and other forces and assets.
Georgy Zhukov is still reproached for the harsh measures that he undertook in the defense of Leningrad. Critics forget that by the time of his arrival there were more than 600 thousand people in the front, and the city was defended by 125 thousand. Parts of the NKVD could not be sent into battle, the ships were preparing for explosions, not battles. I had to force everyone to fight. That dilemma has been preserved even now: to introduce the subordination of the troops of all departments to a single command, or the war will force to resort to the most ferocious measures.
An absurd and non-viable innovation was an attempt to divide the vertical of unity of command into operational and administrative functions. Some commanders were supposed to be engaged in combat planning and control, others - in logistics, in combat training of troops. But it quickly became clear that it was impossible to engage in combat control without managing repair, armaments, the supply of ammunition, fuel and lubricants, and food. It is also impossible to competently and objectively solve the tasks of supplying troops or combat training if you do not know in detail the plan of the operation and the needs of the troops.
In modern local wars, special operations are becoming increasingly important. Proposals for the creation of a special operations command seem to merit attention. But you can not go on about some of the experts who offer to withdraw from the subordination of the USC, the fleets, the Air Force and East Kazakhstani, the reconnaissance and special units. Others added that 1941’s year failures were reportedly due to the fact that aviation and mechanized connections were distributed to districts. If tanks and machine guns are now withdrawn from the military districts and fleets and combined in the center, then the USK will not be able to fight and respond in a modern way.
On the territory of the country, the Airborne Forces and special troops cannot fight apart from the command and troops of the military districts, in the zone of military operations all are subject to a single command. In our opinion, the cutting of military districts and their areas of responsibility established now with the entrusted to them of the duties of the Joint Strategic Command during wartime meets the prevailing conditions. However, over time, it is desirable to work on the restoration of the Moscow Military District. In peacetime, it is necessary for command and control and organization of military service in the center of the country, for holding ceremonial events in the capital, and in the military for organizing the depth of defense and solving mobilization tasks.
This suggests the need for a command-staff exercise or military game under the direct supervision of the Supreme Commander and the Minister of Defense with all the strategic management bodies of the military organization of the Russian Federation, which should perform the functions assigned to them, act on the exercise as trainees, with “closed” maps. This will make it possible to verify, visually see all the positive and negative aspects in the organizational structure and the preparation of management bodies, to draw the necessary conclusions. Members of the Academy of Military Sciences can be used at the headquarters of the leadership and as mediators, given their extensive experience.
The creation and implementation of a network-centric control system in the Armed Forces is intended to increase the effectiveness of troop command and control at all levels. But here it is not necessary to wishful thinking. There are few specialists themselves, the qualification available leaves much to be desired. In addition, to improve the efficiency of automated management tools, it is necessary, along with the creation of new technologies, to improve the working methods of commanders and staffs, and first of all to abandon cumbersome documentation. To do this, it is necessary to hold a special gathering with the leadership of the types of the Armed Forces, military districts and fleets.
All authorities, including the strategic level, must be carefully prepared to perform their duties during the war. Due to the changing nature of war, new forms of exercises (strategic games) are needed with the involvement of the headquarters of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the government, other government agencies, all departments of the Russian military organization, where defense tasks related to countering both non-military and military threats would be worked out.
Traditionally, it is customary to plan operational and combat training of command and control bodies for each subsequent year. This leads to the fact that some operational-tactical tasks are solved from year to year, and some remain unworked. For example, covert reduction of troops to the highest levels of combat readiness, regrouping for a long distance, some methods of conducting offensive and defensive operations. Therefore, it is necessary, at least in the most general form, to carry out long-term planning in operational and combat headquarters. In modern conditions, appropriate qualitative changes in the content and methods of operational and combat training, especially in military training and education of officers, are urgently needed. First of all, it is desirable to restore the teaching in high schools of military history, so that officers study military art not in its current, frozen form, but in its development.
On the essence of war
Recently, in connection with the increased role of non-military means, attempts have been made to revise the very concept of the essence of war. They propose, for example, any cybernetic intervention, other economic and informational actions to be considered equivalent to a declaration of war. Meanwhile, such actions are carried out constantly and it turns out that all countries are in a state of permanent war with each other. So it should be borne in mind that in war different forms of struggle are carried out in a different way.
In connection with the emergence of new, highly dangerous forms of international confrontation, carried out on the verge of war, by veiled or open violence, there is an urgent need to address these issues at a special emergency conference of the UN General Assembly and to develop additional international legal norms (decisions) that limit the use of peacetime so-called non-military means by violent means. We held a meeting of the Academic Council of the Academy of Military Sciences with the involvement of leading scientists. Most of the speakers came to the conclusion that it is illegal to consider any economic, informational or other confrontation as a war. The main specifics of the war are still the use of violent means. The division of wars into classical and non-classical, depending on the nature of the means used, gives little, since all means are inevitably used in any war. But there are some established provisions that require clarification.
The federal law "On Defense" (Art. 18) says: "Since the declaration of war or the actual outbreak of hostilities comes the wartime ..." But as historical experience shows, often (Hasan, Khalkhin-Gol, Damansky, Georgia in 2008) there were quite large armed clashes (conflicts), and there was no state of war. In such cases, it is necessary to impose at least a martial law or a state of emergency. The absence of this limits the use of military equipment. It is necessary to conduct military actions on the basis of the laws and regulations of peacetime, which puts the troops in a difficult and uncertain position. Recall Chechnya or South Ossetia.
Certain changes are needed in the knowledge system. We had a doctrine of war and the army, and the fleet and other military structures were not even mentioned. We came to the conclusion that in modern conditions there should be a doctrine of war and defense of the country or a “theory of war”. As in previous years, attempts are being made overly broadly, apart from the object and subject of research, to examine the structure and content of military science. They are trying to tear off their defense (military) issues from the social and natural sciences and include them directly in military science. For example, the military economy, military geography, military psychology and pedagogy, etc. But this is illegal.
Firstly, because it requires the knowledge of completely different objective factors and laws that are not typical of the military sphere. It is impossible to have a deep knowledge of the psychological, pedagogical or economic processes in isolation from the root sciences. The military problematics of these sciences in relation to the corresponding branches of the social, natural sciences are butt, contiguous in relation to military science.
Secondly, the separation of defense (military) issues from the corresponding social and natural sciences leads to the fact that these branches of science are excluded from the research programs of the Russian Academy of Sciences and their financing, and military science and scientists are not able to independently learn the underlying laws of economic, pedagogical, psychological and other human processes. They can not be the subject of military science.
What to do
At one time, the Ministry of Defense, instead of ordering the corresponding research in the Russian Academy of Sciences and other scientific centers, tried to create its own scientific research institutes for each problem. It turned out to be extremely irrational. With a scientifically based approach to this issue, when war is viewed as an object of study not only of military science, but also of all social, natural, technical sciences, a wide front of research on war and defense issues is created, which simultaneously ensures greater efficiency and effectiveness of scientific research on defense issues .
Of particular importance is the closer interaction of military science with research in the defense industry. With the relative weakness of our economic potential, it is desirable to place the main emphasis on asymmetric means and methods of action. It is known, for example, that modern leading states have communications, navigation, reconnaissance, control of strategic nuclear forces, missile defense, and high-precision conventional weapons through space. The collapse of the entire system by radio-electronic and other asymmetric means can greatly reduce the advantage of the opposing side. During the war in Iraq, even the simplest microwave ovens with their electromagnetic radiation forced rockets to deviate from the target.
Constantly creating the best samples in the world for all types of weapons, we probably can never, although we must strive for this. At some stage, certain types of weapons will have to be yielded, so it is equally important to improve the methods of their effective use. The combat properties of different types of weapons should complement each other and to some extent neutralize weak points. In this connection, the constant interaction of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense with the Advanced Research Fund of the MIC is especially important.
For decades we proceeded from the assumption that the development of weapons and equipment determines the art of war. In principle, this provision remains in force. But now, when weapons are becoming more and more expensive, one cannot limit one side of the matter. In our time, military science is called upon to more objectively and purposefully determine the main directions of arms development, develop more specific operational-strategic and tactical requirements, describe the weapons and equipment of the future.
Of particular importance is the prediction of the military-strategic situation, the prospects for the development of the nature of warfare. In order to stimulate scientific work in this area, special grants of the Minister of Defense can be established.
When reorganizing the scientific sphere in the Ministry of Defense, it is desirable to thoroughly review the funding system, which has long been outdated. Even in previous times, it provided for the financing of any tasks, but there was no article on combat and mobilization readiness. In the scientific field, even today it is possible to finance work on the improvement of technology, but payment for work on operational-strategic and military-political issues is extremely difficult. The above-considered defense problems in accordance with the new conditions require deep scientific study in the overall system, carrying out complex scientific research of a number of complex military-political, military-economic, strategic and military-technical problems. In China, to solve these problems, a state committee (ministry) of defense science has been created.
In Russia, many state scientific organizations are involved in defense security problems, starting with the Russian Academy of Sciences and ending with departmental research institutes. A number of tasks solves and AVN. But according to the established tradition, all important, but separate, specific problems are investigated, and a systematic study of defense security problems in general is not achieved on the basis of common military-political, strategic goals and a common plan for their implementation.
To eliminate the gaps noted above and to increase the effectiveness of scientific research in the field of defense security, the following actions seem appropriate.
First, when transforming the Russian Academy of Sciences and the entire scientific sphere of the country, along with the general objectives of innovative, technological modernization, provide for the necessary measures to expand the front and increase the proportion of scientific research in the interests of defense, including the Russian Academy of Sciences. In turn, the Ministry of Defense, instead of trying to create scientific institutions for each problem, as in previous years, makes fuller use of the scientific potential of existing research organizations. For example, during the reorganization of the RAS, to clarify the composition of the Scientific Council on defense issues, the focus of its work, taking into account the changing nature of security threats with a wider use of non-military means (soft power). To establish in the RAS a scientific department of defense problems, to clarify the composition and focus of the work of the section of defense problems at the RAS in order to track scientific achievements in the interests of the country's defense in the field of not only natural and technical sciences, but also social (human) sciences.
Secondly, to reorganize the scientific work in the Armed Forces. To transform the Military Scientific Scientific Committee of the Armed Forces into the Main Military Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Defense, to raise its role and status, entrusting the planning and coordination of all scientific work in the interests of defense. Increase the role and responsibility of the high command (command) of the Armed Forces (combat arms) of the Armed Forces in the management of scientific work in the field of development, technical equipment and combat use. It is natural to submit them to the relevant research organizations and universities.
Thirdly, to create a Center for Scientific and Technical Information of the Ministry of Defense to quickly compile, analyze and communicate to the interested authorities and scientific institutions information on the latest achievements of domestic and foreign scientific and technical thought.
Fourth, to establish a systemic study of defense security problems, establish the Academy of Defense Problems or create a Center for Defense Problems at the National Security Agency, providing for state funding.
Fifth, to more effectively manage the activities of the defense industry, research and design work, create a Ministry of Defense Industry with the appropriate research and development management bodies. Identify other necessary measures to improve the interaction between government bodies and scientific organizations of the Ministry of Defense and the military-industrial complex.
Information