Reconnaissance and assault units will be created in all armies and corps
Reconnaissance and assault brigades will be formed in the Russian armed forces. They are designed to storm fortifications and conduct reconnaissance in the immediate rear of the enemy. New military units are created taking into account the experience of a special military operation. The brigades will be part of combined arms armies, as well as newly formed army corps. According to experts, the SVO has shown the need for specialized formations for assault operations.
New formations
As sources in the military department told Izvestia, it has now been decided to create separate reconnaissance and assault brigades. The acquisition of new connections has already begun. The new formations will be part of combined arms armies, as well as newly formed army corps.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
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The organizational and staff structure of the reconnaissance and assault brigades is not disclosed. But it is known that they will include assault detachments designed to break into the enemy's echeloned defense, as well as reconnaissance units capable of conducting reconnaissance at tactical depth. The brigades will receive their own tanks, light armored vehicles, artillery, as well as a wide range of drones. The personnel of the assault detachments will be trained to fight in confined spaces — trenches, buildings, pillboxes and bunkers — and they will not be inferior to the special forces soldiers in their skills.
The Russian troops have been faced with the need to overcome pre-prepared defensive positions since the first days of a special military operation. In particular, in the Donbass, Ukrainian formations have been building long-term fortifications for more than eight years. I had to adapt already during the fighting. Taking into account the experience gained, serious changes took place quite quickly at the tactical level. In units and formations, assault detachments of reconnaissance and maneuver were created to break into enemy defenses both in fortified areas and in urban conditions. Now it has been decided to scale and develop this experience.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Maishev
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— The military operation showed the need to have specialized units for storming fortified areas, — Colonel Valery Yuryev, chairman of the Union of Paratroopers of Russia, told Izvestia. — At the initial stage, there were a lot of problems due to the fact that the scouts were not used for their intended purpose, but as stormtroopers. Because of this, many highly qualified specialists were lost. Separate assault units and formations are needed. Their specificity is that they must be equipped with a variety of firing means — mortars, machine guns, large-caliber artillery.
In fact, the scouts today perform the tasks of assault units, military expert Viktor Murakhovsky told Izvestia.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Galperin
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— As a rule, motivated and result—oriented people go to intelligence, - he noted. — But the staff of modern intelligence units does not allow you to turn the success of a scout into an assault. Reconnaissance and assault units are designed for the instant use of intelligence results in assault operations. The troops already have such experience, but these units are created out of state. Now there is experience, and it needs to be disseminated.
ITS lessons
As reported by Izvestia, the experience gained during the special military operation served to change not only the appearance of the troops, but also the fundamental documents — combat regulations. The Military Department has created a special commission that should amend the statutes and manuals on the combat work of the armed forces and branches of the armed forces.
In the course of its military operations in Ukraine, the fighting is fundamentally different from those conducted by the Soviet and Russian armies in recent decades. The Russian troops are opposed by a large regular army, which has all kinds of conventional weapons, and the line of contact stretches for about 1 thousand km.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Maishev
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In February of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the steps to strengthen the Russian army and navy should be based on real combat experience gained during the SVO in Ukraine. According to him, officers and sergeants who have proved themselves competent, modern and determined commanders will be promoted to higher positions as a priority, sent to military universities, academies, serve as a powerful personnel reserve for the armed forces, will be in demand in civilian life, in authorities at all levels.
Soviet and post-Soviet experience
In the Soviet Army, which is inherited by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, there were practically no specialized assault formations. The doctrine of that time assumed that motorized rifle and tank forces would crack the enemy's defenses on a wide front. In the course of local conflicts in recent decades, Russian troops have regularly faced the need to storm enemy fortified positions. At that time, formations that were considered the most prepared were often involved for these purposes: marines, airborne units, special purpose units. However, this was not the use of troops for their intended purpose, especially since they did not have heavy equipment and weapons to break into serious fortifications.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov
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The experience gained by the Russian armed forces in Syria led to the emergence of units specializing in assault operations. They were created as part of the engineering troops. As part of a large-scale reform, they have turned from security parts into an independent strike force that is capable of participating in modern warfare. If earlier the actions of sappers were reduced to the construction of fortifications, clearing the route of troops and building bridges, now they are also oriented to assault operations in cities, covert mining and rapid clearing of enemy explosive devices. Battalions of sappers-stormtroopers are created in all brigades of district and naval subordination, and engineering regiments in the armies are replenished with the same companies.
Roman Kretsul
Alexey Ramm