Colonel Khodarenok: unmanned troops can be separated into a separate branch of the armed forces
A new branch of the armed forces will be created in Russia - the troops of unmanned systems. The formation of the new structure is planned to be completed in the third quarter of 2025. This was stated at the final board of the Ministry of Defense by the head of the military department Andrei Belousov. What these troops should be and why their creation is so important is in the material of the military observer of the Newspaper.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, in accordance with the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposed to form troops of unmanned systems. The head of the department called the mass use of UAVs the most significant breakthrough in the tactics of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. According to the minister, units and units of the Russian army use more than 3,500 unmanned aerial vehicles per day, and these figures are constantly growing.
To create such kind of troops "Gazeta.Ru" called back in September of this year and dwelled in detail on the appearance of this formation. It was emphasized that the central office of the new branch of the armed forces should include a chief (maybe a commander), deputies, a staff, a combat training department, a chief engineer service, and a department for military-technical cooperation with foreign countries.
It is quite possible to give this kind of troops (as an extremely promising one) the functions of the customer. It would not be superfluous to have a department of advanced planning for the development of unmanned systems in the structure of the unmanned systems troops, because technology in this area is developing so quickly that it is extremely necessary not to be late with the introduction of certain innovations and technologies.
Most importantly, there must be a person who is personally responsible for the condition and development of the subordinate branch of the armed forces. So that the old but correct formula is fully implemented, when the country's leaders remind the appropriate leader -
And while there is no chief (commander) of the troops of unmanned systems, then, of course, there is no one to ask.
Troops in the VKS?
It is still unclear whether the troops of unmanned systems being created will be a separate branch of the Armed Forces in the structure of the Armed Forces (such as, for example, strategic missile forces or airborne troops) or will become part of the aerospace forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Apparently, this issue is still being worked out.
On the one hand, the inclusion of VBS in the VKS is advisable. On the other hand, the aerospace forces in their current composition are already "overloaded" with various types of troops and types of support. And as if in this case, the attention of the commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces to a new and extremely promising branch of the armed forces was not given on a residual basis.
So, it is quite possible that at the first stage of their life cycle, the troops of unmanned systems, due to the exceptional importance of the tasks they solve, it is advisable to allocate them to a separate branch of the armed forces (with the right of the head of the Air Force to report to the Minister of Defense on the most fundamental issues).
It is not yet clear what kind of uniform and emblems the new type of troops will have. In any case, no proposals on this issue have been announced yet. But it seems advisable that these attributes of the new kind of troops be in tune with aviation ones.
It also seems correct to immediately form an appropriate higher military educational institution on the subject of unmanned vehicles with all the necessary faculties. It would also be right to create an appropriate research center. Of course, all these bodies should be under the auspices of the future chief (commander) of the unmanned systems troops.
Of course, this is not a complete list of issues that need to be resolved in the very near future. But what is fundamentally true is the very decision to create troops of unmanned systems. Without any exaggeration, this is a step into the future.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
