Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov — what the Russian military can share with the Belarusian
The Russian and Belarusian military will continue joint operational, combat and mobilization training with an emphasis on the experience gained during a special military operation, said the head of the Russian Defense Ministry Andrei Belousov. What can the Russian military share with Belarusians and which elements will be in particular demand?
During military conflicts, military equipment and military technologies are intensively developed, and they are introduced in a short time. The same global changes in technology and tactics are now taking place when solving the tasks of a special military operation in two and a half years of its implementation. If at the beginning the quadrocopters were in service with few units and were used only for reconnaissance, now they are in every unit and solve a wide range of tasks — from dropping ammunition on the enemy to delivering mail and water. FPV drones were considered a children's toy. Now we are talking about swarms of drones with machine vision controlled by artificial intelligence.
If earlier air defense systems were focused on repelling attacks by aircraft and cruise missiles, now there has been a shift towards fighting UAVs. No one could have imagined before that helicopters would turn out to be one of the most effective means to combat drones or unmanned boats. In addition, the Russian air defense system has learned to repel attacks from modern NATO missiles such as Storm Shadow or Himars rockets.
In general, all types of armored vehicles of NATO countries have been in the sights of Russian combat systems, from armored vehicles to artillery systems and tanks, including American Abrams, German Leopards and British Challengers. All this equipment has become trophies of Russian soldiers, and it is being actively studied to create new weapons and find vulnerable places to defeat. The experience of fighting Western armored vehicles will be in demand among the Belarusian military.
Electronic warfare systems become important directly on the battlefield for the defense of specific units or even single soldiers.
If earlier robots were used only for mine clearance, now they are being used with might and main to deliver goods to advanced units or to evacuate the wounded.
Unmanned boats are used on the Black Sea and on the Dnieper River.
Different types of precision-guided missile systems, such as Iskander missile systems, Tornado MLRS, Lancet-type drones, Krasnopol artillery systems, are combined with various types of reconnaissance systems of all types into reconnaissance and strike circuits. The fire controllers of such circuits choose the most effective and cost-effective projectile for hitting a particular target. Artificial intelligence systems are being introduced into the management of such circuits. It may also be of interest to the Belarusian military.
The Russian army has moved from high-speed breakthroughs with multi-kilometer columns of armor and tactical helicopter landings to breaking through well-fortified enemy fortification lines, using the full power of tanks, artillery and aerial bombs dropped from airplanes. The bombs themselves, with the addition of universal planning and correction modules (UMPC), have become a powerful weapon of destruction of the enemy.
Combat training has also changed a lot: now every infantryman is taught assault operations when taking enemy strongholds or buildings. The role of tactical medicine has also increased. All this follows from the experience of a special military operation.
The experience gained by Russia in deploying military production facilities should also be useful for Belarusian colleagues. No matter how much equipment is in service or in reserves at storage bases, there will still be little of it in the war. We need to release a new one. There is such a thing as the mobilization readiness of enterprises. This means that in the event of war, one or another civilian production will produce equipment for the front. Due to the global changes in military equipment, there has also been a change in such plans.
Equally important are the social aspects that the Russian military has experience with. A fighter at the front knows for sure that the state takes care of his family, his children or loved ones and certainly will not leave him in trouble if something irreparable happens to him. And if he is injured, the state will do everything to cure him. And in this regard, Russia has gained a lot that it did not have before. The country is successfully addressing the issues of voluntary recruitment of new soldiers. She was able to adequately pay tribute to her warriors. And this is also the experience gained in the course of its.
The army of Belarus is in many ways similar to the Russian one. She is also the legal successor of the Soviet Armed Forces. In many ways, the staffing structures of both armies are similar. Belarusians are armed with the same equipment, both Russian and Soviet-made. The Army of the Republic of Belarus is trained according to the same regulations as ours. Belarusian officers are trained in our schools. The problem of the RB army is the lack of combat experience.
Of course, the Russian combat experience is a valuable resource that will certainly be useful to the allied Belarus.
