Mathieu Boulègue for Chatham House: Western commentators were obsessed with the numbers of Russian troops being mobilized during the course of exercise and stuck firmly to the “100,000 servicemen” narrative. But Russia proved them wrong by keeping the drills small, managed, and contained. The real numbers are still unconfirmed, but the actual number of troops […]
Russia
Russia growing non-nuclear deterrence
Speaking of Russia’s military transformation Kristin ven Bruusgaard has a terrific article in War on the Rocks called The Myth of Russia’s Lowered Nuclear Threshold: Non-nuclear deterrence involves both military and non-military assets that can convince an adversary that the costs of aggression against Russia would outweigh any benefit. These include precision strike capabilities, effective […]
Russia’s strategic transformation in the light of Zapad
Thoughtful points about the strategic transformation that Russia’s military is going through in this article by BBC in the wake of Zapad 2017: It is interesting that while much of the Western media discussion of [precision-guided munitions] rests upon their use as air-launched weapons in bombing campaigns, intended to increase accuracy and reduce the level […]
Will Russia have 6,000 more tanks in its army?
Dave Majumdar in a piece for War is Boring under the title “Russia Will Have 6,000 More Tanks in Its Army”: Russia is sharply curtailing the number of Soviet-era tanks that is planning to scrap. In previous years, Moscow had planned to send some 10,000 of its older model tanks to the junk yard for […]
Lukashenko not allowed in Russia during Zapad 2017
Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko will not visit the Russian part of exercise Zapad 2017. Kommersant.ru reports that Lukashenko was scheduled to appear at training sites in Russia alongside Vladimir Putin but for unknown reasons the plans have changed. Putin may still show up to spectate the exercise in Russia but Lukashenko will only observe the […]
Exercise scenarios tend to be a waste of time
The fictional scenario for Zapad 2017 has gone viral as a joke on social media, and that has led The Wall Street Journal to write a piece on the made-up settings that militaries use for training: The U.S., its NATO allies, Russia and other militaries around the world use fictional scenarios to make their military […]
Why would the Russians have four tank programs?
If you lost sight of current Russian tank programs, Petri Mäkelä at Vantage Point North has you covered: When these four parallel tank programs are looked at from a strategic perspective few alarming possibilities emerge. If the reason for the new modernization programs are either the delays in the T-14 Armata program on insufficient funds […]
Is Kaspersky a Trojan horse?
Reuters: Best Buy Co, the No.1 U.S. electronics retailer, is pulling Kaspersky Lab’s cyber security products from its shelves and website, amid concerns that the Moscow-based firm may be vulnerable to Russian government influence. Don’t use Kaspersky to protect your computer.
Fatal accident at Russian tank shooting
One military engineer is dead and five are wounded at a tank shooting in Leningrad Oblast, reports RIA Novosti citing an official message from the military. Apparently the accident occurred as a tank shell changed trajectory after hitting the ground and exploded near a shelter where the engineers were located. Now, this is a strange […]
Russia has a new naval doctrine
Interesting rundown of Russia’s new naval doctrine by Dmitry Gorenburg for War On The Rocks: Taken at face value, the doctrine appears to promote a vision of a revived Russian Navy that can maintain its superiority over up and comers like China’s navy, and even pose a serious threat to the U.S. Navy in certain […]
