ikalugin

I think you are still not getting my point. It is not that they dump incompetent people into non-combat roles, it is that they could fill those roles with competent if mediocre people. Ie for truck drivers you do not need for them to be the top percentile in terms of fitness or eyesight, you need them to be adequate (fit for service in general) and have the relevant driving skills/driving license (which they as a rule would get before being conscripted, via DOSAAF). This allows you to use contract soldiers where military specific complex skills (that people do not get pre-conscription and which require lengthy training) are required and exceptional conscripts (most motivated, in top percentile fitness wise etc) where talent is required (ie special forces), scouting those conscripts for the follow up contracts.

Paywalled.

De-facto the end game objective is to make the bulk of the troops in combat roles to be contract troops, across the board. Conscripts get rear or non-combat duties unless they are exceptionally talented. Currently we have 126 BTGs that are both at constant readiness and staffed with contract troops only (there are around 150 BTGs staffed with contract troops at this time, with 2-3 per unit meaning that the force is being ~2/3 professional in combat roles). I would suggest reading Grau on the career paths, etc.

It is a strange war indeed.

More photos: https://bmpd.livejournal.com/3348197.html

https://russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/vostok-2018-day-7-september-17/ Kofman day-7

https://russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com/2018/09/17/vostok-2018-days-5-6-september-15-16/ Kofman day 5-6

Eye protection from fragments.

Yes, they are part of the direction IR ECM package, advert of the export variant: It is increasingly common for the new helicopters.

Fording the river.

https://russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com/2018/09/15/vostok-2018-day-4-september-14/ Kofman day 4

To return to that map from original presentation, you can note that the operation is 21 squares broad and some 11 squares tall, this translates into 105 and 55 km respectively. Depth appears to be around ~70km, frontage ~60km. While this is not broad enough for simulating an operation in Ukraine in it's entirety (after all training grounds are finite in size) the general staff wargames around the Cugol grounds component may have been, as other maps imply.

O dear, it is a political thread.

https://www.google.ru/amp/s/russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/vostok-2018-day-3-september-13/amp/ Kofman day 3

https://translate.google.ru/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=ru&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftvzvezda.ru%2Fnews%2Fforces%2Fcontent%2F201809131431-mil-ru-ws6ta.html&edit-text= Interesting to see the MFZ being used in those exercises. Also, where is Steve?

Chinese servicement claimed that they got those recently and only had one year to train with the new gear. That is Eastern MD for you, they have the least priority in terms of AFVs. They did however have the Tor-M2U and other modern SAM systems.

In some ways this is true, Chinese have deployed their top of the line Ground Forces with the new Type99a2 tanks and other modern AFVs while the bulk of our Eastern MD uses older equipment, such as the T72B with K1 era. Central MD on the other hand had fairly modern T72B3 tanks etc. However: - PLA was using older fixed wing aircraft (we have deployed new production Su35S and Su34). - we have deployed some new systems, mainly SAMs, such as S-400, Buk-M2, Tor-M2U and so on.

BTG on BMD-2s being loaded. The paradrop was used to cut off the escape of the BLUEFOR after the REDFOR counter offensive began.

https://riafan.ru/818094-brigada-pvo-na-dalnem-vostoke-poluchila-noveishie-kompleksy-buk-m3 http://dfnc.ru/c106-technika/zenitno-raketnaya-brigada-zapadnogo-voennogo-okruga-nachala-perevooruzhenie-na-novye-zrk-buk-m3/ Note that for some reason Buk-M3s are fairly shy and are not shown on the parrade.

From the video's audio (did not verify): - BMP2 of 60th det MR BDE - BTR82A 40th det NI BDE - BTR82A 155th det NI BDE - AFV08 Chinese moto-infantry (unspecified) - Type11 combat vehicles (unspecified) - BMD2 11th det VDV BDE - BMD4M 31st det VDV BDE - T72B3 37th det MR BDE - T72B3 36th det MR BDE - T72B3 38th det MR BDE - T72B3 212th MD training center - Type99A2 (unspecified) - Msta-S 30th art BDE of 36th Army - Type07 SPG (unspecified) - Type09 SPG (unspecified) - Tornado-G 5th det tnk BDE - TorM2U 5th det tnk BDE - BukM2 35th AA BDE - TOS1A and their transloaders from eastern MD (unit unspecified) - Iskander-M 3rd missile BDE - Iskander-M 107th missile BDE - mil police and PLA wheeled vehicles

Yes, the issue with the BMD-4M is that it is heavier/bulkier so it is hard to fit 2 per IL-76.

Actually the border was deconflicted for over a decade now, there are also trust building treaties like limits on the forces deployed in the border area, etc. If anything there were several decades of consistent trust building and de-confliction with China, which was followed by joint organisations, exercises and now growing economic base.

They do not operate in Russia, plus the law in Russia is selectively enforced. It was covered, however some sources (ie Strelkov) over inflated the numbers. Kofman had good coverage here: https://russianmilitaryanalysis.wordpress.com/2018/02/14/u-s-strikes-and-russian-pmc-casualties-in-syria-fact-vs-fiction/

I think that it would dominate the region, especially with it's naval build up (if you compare how much PLA-N gets in terms of tonnage it is greater than what USN gets from my understanding), provided things stay the way they are ofcourse. Which is one of the reason why they seek greater cooperation through SOC, with countries like Russia, Pakistan, India etc.