Russian Army No Match For Modern Enemy

Russian Army No Match For Big, Modern Enemy-Report

Dmitry Solovyov
Source: Reuters North American News Service
Oct 23, 2008 11:29 EST
Courtesy Of WireDispatch

MOSCOW, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Russia's war in Georgia showed its military would be no match for a bigger enemy because it has not adapted to post-Cold War realities, said an independent report released on Thursday.

In a five-day war in August, Russian troops launched a massive counter-attack and took control of large swaths of Georgian territory after Tbilisi tried to retake its rebel South Ossetia region by force in early August.

"While ostensibly a military success, the August war actually exposed many of the Russian military's deep-seated weaknesses," Jane's Strategic Advisory Services (JSAS), a specialist consultancy firm, said in a report.

"A central problem is that of a Russian political and military leadership commitment to a Cold War scenario," it said.

"Focus remains on a large army able to deploy overwhelming firepower ... There is little demonstrable interest in a smaller, better trained and flexible force."

"Improvements in command, training levels and the employment of flexible, modern weapons systems are required before the Russian military can face any opponents larger or better equipped than the Georgian military."

One of the authors of the report said the Georgia conflict may have been a catalyst for radical military reforms that were announced last week to create a more modern, mobile army.

Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov last week revealed plans to slash the number of officers and generals and create mobile, combat-ready units.

On Thursday, the defence ministry said Russia's Pacific fleet will cut more than 4,500 officer jobs by the end of 2009.

The Pacific fleet, headquartered in Vladivostok, is one of four fleets that make up the Russian navy. It includes four nuclear submarines and other warships and support vessels.

SOVIET TACTICS

Western military planners studied the Russian performance in Georgia because they have to plan for the possibility of a war with Russia and because many other states -- including Iran -- also use Russian arms and equipment.

The report said Russian troops swiftly crossed into Georgia -- assuring a decisive victory -- partly because many had been taking part in military exercises in a nearby region.

Reuters journalists in the conflict zone witnessed a highly-motivated Russian force. In one case, two heavy trucks that had broken down were pushed off a bridge into a river so the advance was not slowed down.

But the report highlighted a number of deficiencies and cases of Soviet-style tactics being used:

* The most widely-used armour was the T-72 main battle tank designed in the 1970s, while there was also a large number of even older T-62s and T-64s. "None of the new T-90s appear to have been present," JSAS said.

* Russia deployed a force of about 10,000 soldiers in the first days after the conflict started "suggesting a continued reliance upon mass manoeuvre and fire power with minimal indications of modern weapons," the report said.

* Evidence suggests Russia used "dumb bombs" to attack Georgian targets and that they failed to inflict significant damage. "Russia does not possess a sufficient arsenal of modern precision weapons," the report said.

* It said a Russian Tu-22 long-range bomber that was shot down over Georgia appeared to have been used for intelligence gathering because of a shortage of unmanned aerial vehicles. (Additional reporting by Christian Lowe and Oleg Shchedrov; Editing by Dominic Evans)