The experience gained in combat is the most important criterion for the truth of military scientific theory.
Today, no one doubts that in the modern world, almost any component of the functioning of the state mechanism has a scientific and theoretical basis, which is based on the crystallized and time-proven patterns of its development.
 |
| Colonel-General Vasily Trushin. |
| Source: redstar.ru |
Moreover, this fully applies to the sphere of the military organization of society, which is responsible for fulfilling the most important function of protecting national interests and ensuring the security of the country and its citizens from external threats.
For more than two centuries, the recognized locomotive in the scientific study of the main directions of construction, development, training, use and provision of the Armed Forces have been the domestic military scientific bodies, combining their efforts under the wing of the Military Scientific Committee (VNK) of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Colonel-General Vasily Trushin, Chairman of the Military Scientific Committee of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, spoke about the contribution military scientists make to achieving victory in a special military operation on the eve of Russian Science Day and the 213th anniversary of the formation of the Krasnaya Zvezda Military Science Complex.
– Vasily Viktorovich, Russian military science is firmly based on the vast historical experience of battles and victories. The special military operation currently underway has given another powerful impetus to improving the forms and methods of warfare. And how did this affect military science?
– Undoubtedly, the special military operation was a serious test of military theory, our approaches to the training, use and construction of the Armed Forces. We can say with good reason that they have passed the test. The existing strategic, operational and tactical views outlined in the guidance documents are generally correct. They follow from the nature and nature of modern wars and correspond to modern conditions.
During its time, the practice of conducting military operations has been filled with new content. First of all, this concerns the issues of gaining air supremacy and fire superiority over the enemy, and the disorganization of his control system. The changes affected the organization of counter-battery warfare, long-range fire damage, the use of high-precision weapons in conditions of intense electronic warfare, protection against UAVs, the use of new means of destruction, such as barrage ammunition, FPV drones.
New approaches have been found and implemented to build infantry combat formations on the offensive in conditions of increased exposure to artillery and MLRS, ways to protect troops, maintain their combat capability under intense enemy fire, and ensure the survivability of the control system.
Effective methods have also been developed for organizing the combat use of tactical and army aviation in conditions of an incompletely suppressed enemy air defense system, the use of tanks with dense saturation of combat formations with high-efficiency anti-tank weapons. The methods of command and control of troops and means of fire destruction with the use of automated intelligence and control systems have been significantly improved. All this is the result of the collective creativity of the commanders, commanders, staffs and all personnel of the United Group of Forces (forces). It was he who formed the basis of the combat experience gained during the conduct of hostilities.
Ultimately, this made it possible to seize the initiative and launch an offensive in almost all directions. In this regard, four tasks have become the most important for military science. First of all, it was necessary to "see new phenomena" and reliably describe all the changes in tactics and operational art, new ways that are used on the battlefield. Another task is to comprehend the combat experience gained, uncover problematic issues of training and conducting combat operations, and find and formulate ways to solve them. The third task is to develop sound recommendations on the construction, equipment, training and use of troops and forces, and to make necessary changes to military theory and guidance documents.
And finally, the fourth is to predict which methods of performing combat missions, weapons and equipment will be used in the future and what requirements should be imposed on them. Today, the main efforts of military scientists are focused on solving these tasks.
As a result, all this required a change in the focus of scientific research. Modern scientific work plans differ significantly from the plans that were formed before the SVR. They mainly cover the issues of preparation and conduct of military operations. Issues not directly related to the operation or its comprehensive support have temporarily receded into the background.
 |
| Combat work of the self-propelled gun 2S7M "Malka" calculation in the zone of its own. |
| Source: © RIA Novosti / Evgeny Biyatov |
– Studying the experience of combat operations, conducting any kind of research is almost impossible without working in the field. In your opinion, how scientifically effective is this work organized?
– On the scale of the Armed Forces, the study of combat experience is organized by the Military Scientific Committee of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and in the types and branches of the armed forces, military management bodies - by the military scientific, scientific, technical and maritime committees.
For the continuous study and generalization of combat experience, and its dissemination in the military, groups for the study and generalization of combat experience were established at the relevant headquarters. They are staffed mainly by researchers from research organizations and teachers from military universities. These groups constantly collect information about the methods of military operations used by troops, methods of using weapons and military equipment, analyze the results of battles and operations, describe their essence and content.
The practice of forming temporary teams to solve specific tasks has proven itself positively – studying the most important issues of conducting military operations, preparing recommendations for troops (forces), and developing temporary manuals. Such teams, as a rule, include officers of the central military administration bodies, employees of specialized research institutes and universities. In order to purposefully collect the necessary information, their visits to military units and formations directly involved in combat operations are organized.
In addition, officers temporarily deployed to the SVR zone to perform duties at the headquarters of the United Group of Forces (forces) receive individual assignments to study specific issues of combat experience, analyze problems and develop proposals for their solution. The results of research and the study of combat experience are included in military theoretical works, formalized in the form of analytical reviews, military scientific descriptions, articles in relevant publications, collections of combat examples and other documents. In general, the formed system allows us to quickly study and bring valuable experience to the troops, scientific organizations and universities of the Ministry of Defense.
– What impact does the operation have on making scientifically sound adjustments to the statutory documents, manuals and manuals on conducting military operations?
– The work on identifying and introducing new approaches to the organization and conduct of military operations into the practice of troops is ongoing. These changes entail the need to clarify certain provisions of the guidance documents. Moreover, many of these provisions, which were relevant for the initial period of the SVR, have already been repeatedly revised based on modern realities and based on analytical conclusions.
Since the beginning of the operation, military scientists, together with staff officers, have developed and brought to the troops more than 450 methodological recommendations on the preparation and conduct of military operations, additions to the current combat regulations and manuals. The results of the generalization and analysis of combat experience, confirmed primarily by practice, will also form the basis for future combat regulations and manuals.
Amendments to documents on the organization and conduct of hostilities are preceded by work on the accumulation, systematization and analysis of information. It is necessary to make sure exactly whether this or that event is natural, and not accidental. After that, it is necessary to conduct scientific research in order to reliably qualitative and quantitative substantiate the necessary changes, test the results obtained and confirm them both in field and combat conditions.
Only after completing this entire cycle can we begin to prepare new charters. For this purpose, information and analytical collections are published on a regular basis in the OGV(c) and the branches of the Armed Forces. They reveal the specifics of the actions of the enemy and our troops, describe how to use the latest weapons, and analyze combat examples. They are published two to three times a month and are communicated to the troops through the headquarters of the groups, as well as to military authorities, research organizations and universities in order to introduce them into the educational process.
Finally, since 2022, large-scale work has been underway to prepare military theoretical works that reveal the specifics of conducting military operations from the early days to the present. It is conducted by each military administration body, taking into account the area of responsibility. The central work is being developed by scientists from the Military Academy of the General Staff. The main emphasis in military theoretical works is placed on describing the evolution of ways to solve tactical combat tasks and operational tasks of operations according to the stages of a special military operation.
Another area of work is the preparation of collections of combat examples. They provide the most instructive examples of combat (combined arms, air and anti-aircraft, naval), accompanied by a deep and comprehensive analysis of the actions of units and commanders.
 |
| ZRPC "Pantsir-S1". |
| Source: Photo: RIA Novosti |
– The special military operation has given a serious impetus to the further development of weapons systems and military equipment. What is the place of military science in this field of activity?
– A special military operation has become a catalyst for the development and production of new types of weapons, which today determine the key areas of development of military theory. In many ways, this is the merit of military research institutes, whose specialists analyze the experience of conducting combat operations on a daily basis, evaluate the effectiveness of using weapons samples and, in cooperation with defense industry enterprises, substantiate the directions for their improvement.
In the conditions of the SVR, the work of military scientists has become more substantive and purposeful. It is focused on solving issues dictated by the practice of military operations. For example, one of them today is to increase the effectiveness of the use of UAVs and FPV drones, as well as the development of measures to counter similar enemy means. In 2025, research to solve these problems accounts for about 12 percent of the total research performed by research institutes and universities of the Russian Ministry of Defense. In general, the share of research in the Armed Forces, which is directly aimed at ensuring their own, today reaches 65-70 percent. It is important to note that the results of these works are not shelved in the form of reports, but are being intensively implemented in the military.
Thus, thanks to the work of Russian scientists and engineers, it was possible to achieve a significant breakthrough in the effectiveness of high-precision weapons, which, despite the active use of electronic warfare by the enemy, today amounts to at least 90 percent.
Another striking example was the research that allowed our air defense systems to more effectively counter Western missiles such as Storm Shadow and ATACMS, as well as shoot down enemy drones in a wider range of heights and speeds.
Any technical innovation is based on science. Studying the experience of using weapons and military equipment is an integral and significant part of the overall work on generalizing combat experience. War is a rigorous examiner who gives the most objective assessment of each type of weapon used. Moreover, this assessment takes into account not only the tactical and technical characteristics of the sample, but also how it is integrated into the overall weapon system, what is its effectiveness in combat, taking into account the tactics of the enemy and our troops, and the possibilities for realizing the potential laid down by the designers.
The combat properties of weapons today largely determine the capabilities of troops in terms of how to solve tactical and operational tasks. The experience of the SVO shows that technology has changed both the forms and the nature of war. Technical superiority is immediately transformed into tactical or operational superiority, which gives an advantage in maneuver on the battlefield, in fire damage, and in control.
In the course of military training, military scientists continuously analyze the results of the use and operation in combat conditions of about 500 samples of weapons and military equipment. Information about their advantages and disadvantages comes from the troops through the research institutes of the Russian Ministry of Defense directly to development companies to take measures to improve them and enhance combat capabilities. So, during the SVR, decisions were made to modernize more than 190 weapons and eliminate a number of shortcomings identified in the battles.
An example is the modernization of military vehicles by installing armored cabins and additional booking of individual elements, as well as the fact that cars are already equipped with electronic warfare systems in factories. In addition to the means of defense, our means of attack are also being upgraded. Thus, the unified planning and correction module made it possible to increase the range of aerial bombs, turning them into weapons at minimal cost, from which Ukrainian troops still cannot find effective means of protection.
A number of successful improvements have been made to increase the noise immunity of our high-precision weapons, which made it possible to fend off the active use of modern electronic warfare by the enemy. In addition, work continues to explore the possibilities of non-standard samples supplied to the troops by regional authorities, public organizations and volunteers. Today, the list of such samples includes several hundred UAVs and RTCs of various bases, communications and electronic warfare equipment, as well as means of countering enemy robotic complexes. Many of these samples, made mainly by the "national defense industry", have proven themselves positively, and in the near future their purchase will be carried out through the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In addition, groups of military scientists, representatives of enterprises and design bureaus regularly travel to military groups to conduct military-technical experiments, test new weapons in combat conditions and collect the necessary background information for research and development.
Over the past year alone, more than 150 military-technical experiments have been conducted, and over 400 in total since the beginning of the special military operation. The purpose of this work is to achieve superiority over the enemy and surpass him. It should be borne in mind that the achievements of our designers are an impetus for new research for the enemy. Therefore, in the course of this high-tech conflict, situations are observed when an effective weapon model literally loses its relevance after three to four months of hostilities. It is refined and after a short time appears at the front with new characteristics and becomes an effective weapon again.
– No one hides anymore that the so-called collective West is actively arming the Kiev regime with its weapons, often the most modern. Thanks to the bravery of our soldiers, many of his samples can be captured. How are captured samples studied in this regard and how does this help our science and industry to develop means of protection against them?
– The West's support for the Kiev regime in the form of regular arms supplies has enabled our scientists and engineers to study in detail foreign weapons captured from the enemy in battle.
Over the past year alone, more than 90 samples of foreign-made weapons and military equipment have been studied, including various BEKS, the ATACMS operational and tactical missile, the M777 155-mm towed howitzer, the M224 60-mm mortar, the NLAW ATGM, the AT4 CS RS, RGW 90 grenade launchers, the Kozak-2, VARTA, MASTIFF and protected vehicles. KIRPI.
The information obtained was used by military scientists to substantiate and clarify the tactical and technical requirements for Russian military-industrial complex designs developed by defense industry enterprises both under government contracts and on their own initiative. In addition, before
The troops are informed of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of enemy weapons samples, as well as recommendations for combating enemy equipment, which ultimately allows the troops to conduct combat operations more effectively.
In addition, data on the study of captured equipment is used in the preparation of analytical materials. So, before
Over 70 documents have been submitted to the troops revealing the advantages and disadvantages of Western weapons, including more than 40 collections of materials on the analysis of the use of individual samples and classes of weapons, the results of military-technical experiments, and experience in the use and operation of weapons samples. The results of the work carried out are valuable not only for the troops, but also for engineers and designers of weapons, as well as officials who organize the operation and combat use of weapons and military equipment.
– Vasily Viktorovich, it is gratifying that Russian scientists, including the military, have their own holiday. What would you like to tell them from the pages of Krasnaya Zvezda on the eve of this significant event for you and them?
– The Day of Russian Science, which we will celebrate tomorrow, February 8, is certainly special for all those who have chosen this difficult but very necessary life and career path for the country. Let me remind you that on this day in 1724, the Russian Academy of Sciences was founded. In addition, on February 8, 213 years ago, the Military Scientific Committee was established, which was the prototype of the current VNK.
Over the past centuries, Russian science has traveled a long and thorny path, proving its right to be considered one of the leading in the world. Military science is rightfully an integral part of it, remaining at all times the basis of advanced development and a reliable foundation for new achievements for Russia and its Armed Forces.
Even today, in the context of a special military operation, military science continues to successfully solve the tasks of military scientific support. The main merit in this belongs to the staff of scientific research organizations of the Russian Ministry of Defense and military universities, who day after day comprehend new peaks of military theory, generalize the experience of combat operations, make an invaluable contribution to the development of forms and methods of armed struggle, create new models of weapons and military equipment, train new generations of military scientists.
I would like to express my special gratitude and appreciation to the veterans of the Armed Forces who have connected their lives with military science and laid the foundations for its further improvement.
I thank the personnel of the scientific departments of the military administration, research organizations and universities of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for their work for the benefit of military science. I wish you all good health and success in solving scientific problems for the sake of the security and prosperity of our Fatherland!
– Thanks for the conversation.
Oleg the Terrible
