sup /k/
so since the start of the Afghan and Iraq wars in 2002/2003, the US forces have started going toward lighter weight, more practical uniforms, rifles, equipment, etc., emphasizing CAS in airpower, more useful camouflages. all of this has been driven by operational experiences.
what have the Russians learned and how have they modernized their forces in response to their post-Cold war experiences? Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine, etc.
>>28325335
bump.
how have russian forces modernized since the cold war due to operational experiences?
Since Chechnya, they've begun moving away from low profile tanks designed to charge the Fulda Gap to larger tanks with more armor and better turret elevation. Also moving to more heavily armored APCs/IFVs since BTRs and BMPs get chewed up by HMGs/RPGs which are widespread in modern warfare.
Drones have become very important for artillery spotting and correction. Entire Ukrainian armored divisions have disappeared in a matter of minutes thanks to the Drone + MLRS combination.
Infantry wise, soldiers are starting to get better gear inspired by western stuff. They've recognized that infantry is very valuable in modern conflicts in roles other than cannon fodder.
I'm old enough to have seen Soviet trained troops and militia in action, and did some relatively basic observation of Eastern Bloc troops (the majority of whom were Soviet) in the early 70s. I am by no means an expert but I do have age on my side.
They've completely abandoned the concept of first class, second class, third class formations. Their doctrine has become a lot more flexible, away from the set piece and toward smaller formations carrying out prolonged operations. I wouldn't necessarily call it a copy of western doctrine, but it's a lot lighter than it used to be. Typically they would have huge field formations with any important asset held at a corps level, but these days they're a lot more willing to give battalion level command control over things that would have been previously taken care of much higher up the chain.
All that said, I don't know how much of that has come from past operational experience and how much of it comes from their future ambitions.
The Ratnik program is heavily influenced by western ideas of military whear, the vests have ceramic plates that provide much better protection that what normal russian soldiers were issued previously.
They seems to be trying to move away from the "conscripts in t shirts with ak74's" look and more towards somthing like the U.S.
their tank platforms T90 series are moving towards full automation. they are already self-loading.
the AK platform is still being refined at version AK106 now.
most of the camo patterns are updated, see the Crimean take over a couple years ago.
there was a document released on soviet doctrine up to 1980 on cryptome I believe but I can't find it, it's an excellent study and like 60-80 pages long.
>>28326088
so like in the air arena, how they're moving away from GCI-directed engagements and toward intra-flight targeting and sorting? that sort of devolution of command authority where you don't require authority for everything from a higher command.
bump
id love to hear about any and all improvements in the last decade, specifically countries like china, south africa, and the ex soviet bloc countries that use odd mixes of post cold war tech with western influences e.g. polands beryl rifle etc.
Also Tactics, how have we advanced in COIN, and also general fighting tactics
>>28326088
Do they still treat their military formations as fire and forget munitions that get chewed up, pulled out, reconditioned, then thrown back in again? Or do they have actual logistics now?
>>28326382
>that sort of devolution of command authority where you don't require authority for everything from a higher command.
Yes. They didn't work like that before because they liked being awkward, but that's how you have to work when you have a large unwieldy army on a hair trigger.
>>28326640
They've made huge gains in logistical capability. Not by improving the infrastructure, but simply by reducing the complexity. Look at their new armoured vehicle programs. Standardised parts, tooling and chassis. It's certainly a step in the right direction.
As for how they treat their formations, that depends entirely on who they're fighting. No one they're likely to fight in the next date is capable of inflicting mass casualties on them so units will spend a lot longer in rotation.
>>28326613
>china
Mystery.
>south africa
Whole lot is rotten and only retains the title of "Most capable African military" due to how dreadful the rest of them are.
>the ex soviet bloc countries
The main improvement has been the move away from conscription, taking political elements out of their military (particularly in Croatia - if we speak of all the former Communist states) and developing alliances with the west.
>how have we advanced in COIN
I generally don't think we have. I could write pages on why I think most recent COIN operations have failed, but it boils down to an over-reliance on it. COIN was always a tool, now it seems to be seen as the solution for everything. Sometimes you need a conventional war.
>general fighting tactics
That depends on which country you're talking about. Small unit tactics in the west haven't changed a great deal since the 1960s, but the sort of things Infantry units are expected to do now vastly exceed their given role throughout most of the 20th century.
coin from the US perspective is a game of whack a mole but in reality it comes to political compromise in order to get the results needed.
right now russians doctrine is to delay forced engagements and don't react to nato based provocations. putin and friends believe they have enough time to outlast the west's inherent problems and I think they are right too. read zerohedge for frequent analysis of this topic.
>>28326804
>"Most capable African military" due to how dreadful the rest of them are.
id like to post this as an interesting read, pic related
>>28325335
One innovative Russian doctrine change is using COTS UAS to direct massed fires against enemy targets, as well as the use of proxy militias supplied with modern equipment. Despite all the memes /k/ will throw at you I think they have been quite adept at overcoming their financial and force projection shortcomings. They are still very much "in the game."
OK, how about China? how have they modernized as a result of their experiences (vs whom? internally vs Tibet/Uyghurs?)
>>28327980
still a soviet style army as far as anyone knows. they will likely have global force projection capability within two decades.
