Motor Rifle Troops abandoning brigade structure and reforming divisions?

[John Kettler]

This cogent article says that combat experience in Ukraine and results of large scale combat exercises in Russia have shown the supposedly self-sufficient brigades simply aren't working out in sustained combat, which is why we are seeing Motorized Rifle Divisions reappearing with the familiar earlier structure. If so, that would seem to be a pretty big deal. The embedded video goes into considerable detail on what the Russians are doing to give real teeth to the Motorized Rifle Troops and has lots of good footage. Was particularly nonplussed to see the BTR-82 being parachuted out the back of an Il-76! Will the armored formations follow suit? Further, I find myself wondering what impact, if any, this will have on US brigades. Will the US also return to divisional organizations? 

https://southfront.org/russia-defense-report-motorized-rifle-troops/

Regards,

John Kettler

Edited August 13, 2016 by John Kettler

[antaress73]

5 hours ago, John Kettler said:

This cogent article says that combat experience in Ukraine and results of large scale combat exercises in Russia have shown the supposedly self-sufficient brigades simply aren't working out in sustained combat, which is why we are seeing Motorized Rifle Divisions reappearing with the familiar earlier structure. If so, that would seem to be a pretty big deal. The embedded video goes into considerable detail on what the Russians are doing to give real teeth to the Motorized Rifle Troops and has lots of good footage. Was particularly nonplussed to see the BTR-82 being parachuted out the back of an Il-76! Will the armored formations follow suit? Further, I find myself wondering what impact, if any, this will have on US brigades. Will the US also return to divisional organizations? 

https://southfront.org/russia-defense-report-motorized-rifle-troops/

Regards,

John Kettler

Thats the same southfront who were claiming the russian army would be getting T-90AMs in significant numbers.

Divisions are more suitable for the kind of doctrine the Russians have and also their current less capable equipment. They need mass and numbers to have a chance of being successful. Brigades dont provide that. I believe they are more suitable for low intensity conflicts. They are getting back in the high intensity business, much like the US. Once they get equipment like armata, Boomerang and Kurganets, It could be different.

[John Kettler]

antaress73,

Understood. As I see it, the next questions become: Is the reappearance of the 150th MRD a maskirovka, or does it herald a full-on shift away from the much-ballyhooed and very expensively and painfully created high tech "New Look" brigades? Are the Tank Brigades also going revert and become parts of Tank Divisions? How would a US BCT stack up against an MRD? Likewise, how would a US ABCT rate vs a Russian TD which is now considerably better than the Cold War version--in a bunch of ways? I haven't looked into the matter, but presumably the return of the one MRD would be detectable through a number of Russian official and semiofficial information releases and through OSINT in Ukraine and elsewhere. Right after I wrote the passage I did a bit of quick digging and found? Exactly this sort of information does exist, as seen here. That article is a blistering assessment of both the quality of information from supposed western experts on the Red Army and one just as searing regarding a laundry list of issues which killed the Russian brigade concept. Of immediate interest is that I learned in a quick skim of the meaty piece ithree MRDs in toto are being formed, not just the 150th.

Regards,

John Kettler

Edited August 13, 2016 by John Kettler

[antaress73]

27 minutes ago, John Kettler said:

antaress73,

Understood. As I see it, the next questions become: Is the reappearance of the 150th MRD a maskirovka, or does it herald a full-on shift away from the much-ballyhooed and very expensively and painfully created high tech "New Look" brigades? Are the Tank Brigades also going revert and become parts of Tank Divisions? How would a US BCT stack up against an MRD? Likewise, how would a US ABCT rate vs a Russian TD which is now considerably better than the Cold War version--in a bunch of ways? I haven't looked into the matter, but presumably the return of the one MRD would be detectable through a number of Russian official and semiofficial information releases and through OSINT in Ukraine and elsewhere. Right after I wrote the passage I did a bit of quick digging and found? Exactly this sort of information does exist, as seen here. That article is a blistering assessment of both the quality of information from supposed western experts on the Red Army and one just as searing regarding a laundry list of issues which killed the Russian brigade concept. Of immediate interest is that I learned in a quick skim of the meaty piece ithree MRDs in toto are being formed, not just the 150th.

Regards,

John Kettler

It could also represent a shift from a strictly defensive focus to a more offensive minded one (as in a powerful and mobile counter offensive element). You need mass and numbers for that as I said previously. 

[ikalugin]

Divisions are more manpower effecient per equipment. There are 4 new divisions (tank and motorised rifle) in the south-west axis in the process of formation. Divisions use about half the manpower of an equivalent (in tanks and IFVs) force in brigades. Considering that a standard Russian army type formation had 4 front line combat brigades, with 2 armies assighned to MD, this is a 100-200 percent increase in main weapon items in the south-western axis without accounting for other factors.

Edited August 28, 2016 by ikalugin