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ikalugin

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Posts posted by ikalugin

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Are those cameras mounted on the wings + tail -- or some sort of EW thing?

    Yes, they are part of the direction IR ECM package, advert of the export variant:

    It is increasingly common for the new helicopters.

  4. 5860287_original.jpg

    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.

    5859799_original.jpg
    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.

     

  5. 7 minutes ago, DerKommissar said:

    Oh, most certainly. They really put on their Sunday's best for this occasion. I wasn't even aware of the 8x8 -- let alone all the various modules available. It all looks fresh off the production line. Only thing that looked remotely cold war were the JH-7s. One of the last fighter-bomber breeds, it's still a perfectly serviceable plane.

    Chinese servicement claimed that they got those recently and only had one year to train with the new gear.

     

    7 minutes ago, DerKommissar said:

    Sadly no sight of BMP-3Ms, T-80BVM or even T-90s. I did catch a glimpse of a T-72B3 obr. 2016. But way more T-72BVs, which I haven't seen in a while. BMP-2s are still kicking it seems. Also saw a troop or two of Shilkas. All these relics look clean, functional and ready to rock, it looks to me. Which makes this look less like a glorified dress rehearsal and an actual military training exercise. 

    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.

  6. 3 minutes ago, Peter Cairns said:

    Just watched this summary; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ec7Wohdt0

    is it just me or is everything Chinese, more advanced modern and in better condition than Russia's?

    Peter.

    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.

  7. 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

  8. 5 minutes ago, Sublime said:

    you and the PRC guys better get more definitive border zones on your Siberian border - all Trump/Nixon comparisons aside if Putin calls Trump offering a massive nuke strike on PRC we may say yes this time ;)

    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.

  9. 1 minute ago, Sublime said:

    Im surprised - of course I could just be completely ignorant of it - that Russias leaders arent more wary of contractors becoming a shadow army of sorts. I guess perhaps thats why theyre technically illegal.

    I wonder how the PRC handles this - they have odd approaches (to western eyes) on mil matters, like militarizing their fishermen..

    They do not operate in Russia, plus the law in Russia is selectively enforced.

     

    Just now, Sublime said:

    also @ikalugin on the supposed US strikes on Wagner group troops several months back - is this getting any coverage in Russia? Or is it considered bs?

    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/

  10. 1 minute ago, Sublime said:

    Do you think China will become a threat to its neighbors for example say in another 20 years? See for example the South China Sea..

    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.

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