<tit>IN CHASE OF AMERICA
<aut>Alexander Sharavin, Alexander Khramchikhin
<src>Vremya Novostei, January 31, 2006, p. 6
<sum>The Russian Army is prepared for local conflicts, since it has been involved in them for 25 years. However, it cannot resist the US in a high-technology war.</sum>
<cov>THE RUSSIAN ARMY IS NOT PREPARED FOR A HIGH-TECHNOLOGY WAR
(…)
The Russian Army now (…) does not practically have anything like what helped the US defeat Hussein's Army as quickly and efficiently. It does not have automatic control systems. The global satellite navigation system lacks satellites, which is why Russian troops have to use the US system. Troops cannot receive reconnaissance data in real-time mode. Only the central departments and the strategic nuclear force have space communication systems. There are only a few units of high-precision weapons. Cruise missiles are armed only with nuclear warheads. Long-range radio-locating surveillance planes do not have systems capable of detecting ground-based targets. The front and army aviation cannot fly and use weapons at night (except for the Su-24 bomber). There are no operational and strategic drones. Two scores of fueling planes perform several flights a year and fuel only strategic bombers.
The nuclear arsenals cannot ensure Russia's security. The growing technological gap with the US will soon let America destroy Russia's strategic centers using high-precisions weapons. All that stops the US is the fact that a such strike would mean China's victory, and the US does not need this.
The Defense Ministry and the General Staff guess that the Russian Army cannot resist the US in a high-technology war. The situation aggravates because Russia continues considering the US as the main potential enemy. As a result, the military leadership generated "a great idea" to thrust a classical war (…) on the potential enemy. Generals emphasized this in the Topical Tasks of the Development of the Russian Armed Forces, "The Army must turn the non-contact war into a contact war as the most unwanted for the potential enemy armed with long-range high-precision weapons."
It should be noted that the Iraqi Army tried to do this in March 2003. However, the US Air Force destroyed the major part of the Iraqi Army before it managed to engage the aggressor's Ground Force.
The Russian Army is prepared for local conflicts, since it has been involved in them for 25 years. It can teach the US Army, taking into account the fact that the significance of the technological superiority decreases in such wars.
(…)
Russia needs a new Army. (…) It's a political and ideological task to solve the Army's problems.
RVR
