Sleeve patch of Russia's Motorized Rifle Troops
Tank and MR division have reverted to the traditional 3+1 organization. The earlier replacement of one tank regiment with a motor rifle regiment in each tank and motor rifle division was motivated by the need to meet arms control treaty requirements and was only temporary in nature. Far from raising the divisions' combat power, as was claimed by a number of Western analysts at the time, this restructuring in fact reduced it, to the point that many Russian officers criticized the new division TO&Es as non-battleworthy and unbalanced.
Individual regiments still adhere to the standard square (3+1) organizations. Several BMP regiments, however, had their tank battalion downgraded to a tank company, a trend not apparent in BTR regiments. TO&E for tank battalions assigned to regiments has been standardized, with each battalion (in Tank and Motor Rifle Regiments alike) being composed of 3 10-tank companies. Divisional Independent Tank Battalions and tank battalions assigned to Motor Rifle Brigades appear to have 4-5 10-tank companies.
Tank regiments did not experience significant organizational changes. The vast majority of MBTs in the European part of Russia are T-80s and T-72s. T-64s have apparently all been withdrawn from line units, and nearly all (with the exception of 2 examples located at R&D facilities) of the newer T-90s have been sent to units east of the Urals, outside the treaty verification area.
Artillery units' strength has been slightly reduced. Regimental artillery battalions have only 12-18 SP howitzers, though they are increasingly 152mm 2S3s and even 2S19s in place of the 122mm 2S1s. Some regiments have only a single battery while many others have no artillery at all. Divisional artillery regiments tend to have 2-3 battalions (12-18 tubes each) of 152mm SP howitzers. Of those, at least one battalion is equipped with the new 2S19s, the rest with 2S3s. In addition, most divisions have an MRL battalion with 12-18 BM-21s. The weakness in divisional artillery may be somewhat offset by the powerful Army-level artillery brigades. Most of them are equipped with 72 towed or SP 152mm guns, mostly modern 2A36 and 2S5 models, though at least 3 of those brigades have an increased TO&E, with 72 towed and 72 self-propelled guns each. The newer, more powerful MRLs like the 9P149 Uragan and the 9A52 Smerch are concentrated in Rocket Artillery Regiments of 36 vehicles each.
The several Motor Rifle Brigades resemble the units formed during the Afghan war, although no two are exactly alike. Their organization tends to be as follows: 1 tank battalion (40-50 tanks, in 4-5 companies), 3-4 MRBs, 1 sp arty bn (12-24 2S1s, 2S3s or even 2S19s), a couple have 12-24 BM-21s. ADA and recon assets of some are similar to old-style MRDs, since many brigades have been formed by deactivating divisions. Most brigades are equipped with BMPs, while only a couple have BTRs, though some have one or two battalions of each. The brigades' MRBs tend to be larger than their equivalents assigned to MRR. The 166th Separate MRBde in Tver' (Moscow Military District) , for example, has 82 T-80s, 190 BMP-1/-2s, and 24 2S3s. The 205th which fought in Chechnya has 44 T-72s, 117 BMP-2s, 12 2S3s and 12 BM-21s. It appears to have a full-strength recon battalion as well.
The airborne units did not experience significant organizational changes since the Soviet Union's collapse. Each parachute regiment has three parachute battalions (equipped with a mix of BMD-1s and -2s, though there are now enough BMD-3s to equip a battalion in at least 2 regiments) and a self-propelled artillery battalion with 18 2S9s, in addition to usual supporting units. With large-scale airborne operations being considered a thing of the past, there has been a trend for airborne units to acquire heavier equipment and operate as conventional infantry, possibly as airlanding rather than true airborne units. The 21st Separate Airborne Brigade, for example, now has at least 80 BMP-2s and a battalion of 18 D-30 122mm towed howitzers. There has been some discussion of airborne units acquiring MBTs and self-propelled howitzers, but to date none have been allocated.
Although plans to transform the Ground Forces organization from a Regiment/Division/Army-based system to a Brigade/Corps one have been talked about for years, dire financial straits have precluded any such dramatic reforms. The only movement in this direction has been the creation of about a dozen or so Motorized Rifle Brigades (described above), but their main mission seems to that of a screening force to allow the bulk of Russian Ground Forces, still consisting mainly of Motorized Rifle and Tank Divisions, to mobilize in the event of military emergency. For the moment, the military's main priority is organizational survival. The Russian military leadership is looking forward to a brighter future, however, and a large proportion of military spending is devoted to R&D rather than procurement. It can be safely assumed that Russian General Staff is devoting considerable efforts to developing new military doctrine and force structure with which to enter the era of Information Warfare. General Sergeyev, the Russian Minister of Defense, recently announced the creation of four rapid reaction units (size and composition unknown) to be stationed in Moscow Military District, Far East, and northern Caucasus. No details have yet emerged regarding their size and composition, but it is likely those units will represent the nucleus of the new Russian military.
Sovremennye Tanki (Modern Tanks) published in 1996 in Moscow by Arsenal-Press gave the following TO&E for a tank battalion of a prospective tank or mechanized brigade. Unfortunately, it did not state where this TO&E originated and whether it represented a blueprint for new Russian formations or merely one of many alternatives being considered.
Tank Battalion of a Tank/Mechanized Brigade
Headquarters,
3 Tank Companies, with 3 tank platoons each
1 Motorized
Rifle Company, with 3 motor rifle platoons and 1 antitank platoon
1 Artillery
Battery, with 2 firing platoons and 1 command platoon
1 Support Company, with
Reconnaissance, Air Defense, Communications, Technical Support, Transport and
Supply, and Medical platoons.
Altogether, this tank battalion would have 360 troops, 31 MBTs, 18 BMPs, 6 BTRs, 1 BRM, 6 SP 120mm gun-mortars, 2 ARVs, 3 man-portable SAM launchers, 3 man-portable ATGM launchers, 36 RPGs, and 32 cars and trucks.
Mike J.