June 30 2020 Russian Armed Forces Capabilities Since 2008 Russia has sought to modernize its military and engaged in several armed interventions outside its borders The 2018 U S National Defense Strategy prioritizes “longterm strategic competition” with Russia and China To help guide policymaking in response to challenges posed by Russia Members of Congress may have an interest in assessing the capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces This report briefly describes Russia’s current military capabilities including strengths and weaknesses Defense Budget and State Armament Plan Official figures suggest Russia’s military expenditures have ranged between $60 billion and $65 billion a year or roughly 4% of its gross domestic product GDP However the extent of defense spending may be greater if assessed on the basis of purchasing power parity rather than market exchange rates Russia’s long-term defense spending priorities are detailed in State Armament Plans GPVs which run in 10-year increments GPV 2020 which ran from 2011 to 2020 focused on increasing the military’s overall share of modernized equipment to 70% The newest plan GPV 2027 calls for total spending of about $330 billion in 2018 dollars and 3%-4% of GDP from 2018 to 2027 Command and Control Russian military reforms have emphasized the streamlining of command and control structures Russian forces are organized into five military districts MDs and operational joint strategic commands OSK see Figure 1 Russia also has created a Moscow-based central command center the National Defense Management Center Figure 1 Russian Federation Military Districts increased along with upgrading heavy artillery missile artillery and electronic warfare units Additional priorities have included reconnaissance communication and the creation of permanently ready units at full staffing levels Ground forces emphasize mobility and are increasingly capable of conducting short but complex high-tempo operations At the same time Russian ground forces continue to rely on conscription multiple types of similar equipment and relatively limited personnel and units to guard Russia’s expansive borders Russian ground forces are organized into 11 combined arms armies one tank army and four army corps Russia’s most advanced capabilities are in the Western Military District and the Southern Military District appears to have the most competent units Russian units exhibit a mixture of division and brigade structures brigades are utilized primarily in regions or areas where full divisions would be unwieldy Both generate ad hoc task-specific Battalion Tactical Groups which have artillery and air defense units attached and can be combined with other units as needed Even with a focus on permanent readiness however only a few subunits can be considered deployable Recruiting professional soldiers has been a priority Conscription is unpopular and at 12 months considered too short by the Russian military to effectively train new conscripts Most conscripts occupy secondary support roles although in most maneuver units conscripts comprise up to one-third of personnel The Russian military’s experiences in Ukraine and Syria have reaffirmed for it the importance of massed artillery rocket fire and armored forces However ground forces have been a relatively low funding priority in Russia’s modernization most of these efforts went into upgrading existing platforms which decreased standardization across units and increased maintenance costs Aerospace Forces Source Russian Ministry of Defence Notes The Southern MD OSK is responsible for Ukraine’s occupied Crimea region Ground Forces Over the last decade Russia has significantly changed its ground forces Recruiting professional soldiers has The Aerospace Forces VKS combine Air Force Air Defense Space Forces and Army Aviation Alongside the Navy Aerospace Forces received top priority during GPV 2020 allowing for the introduction of new and upgraded legacy systems including substantially improved missiles and precision-guided munitions Additionally effort has gone into expanding training and flight times for pilots and air crews Russia’s air forces feature numerous types of capable fighters fighter interceptors and tactical bombers Russia’s intervention in Syria has given the Aerospace Forces significant operational experience and has been used as a testing ground for new capabilities including precision- https crsreports congress gov Russian Armed Forces Capabilities strike and air-launched cruise missiles by both tactical and long-range assets The development of fifth-generation fighters has run into considerable production and design challenges and Russia lags significantly behind the U S in precision strike bomb capabilities Russia’s strategic bomber force Long Range Aviation has continued to operate with heavily modernized Soviet-era bombers Additionally Russia’s long-range transport capabilities remain limited restricting the rapid movement of ground or airborne forces Strategic air defenses are controlled by the Aerospace Forces VKS systems are responsible for defending critical infrastructure and strategic targets They are separate from Ground Forces air defense units PVO which provide air defense to maneuver units Combined these systems form what many analysts consider to be a formidable integrated air defense system although some contend that its purported capabilities are inflated Navy The Russian Navy benefited from relatively high funding levels during GPV 2020 allowing it to introduce new s hips submarines and precision-strike capabilities after years of limited funding Shipbuilding has prioritized smaller warships with high levels of firepower often with modular or multipurpose designs allowing for flexibility In particular the Russian Navy has focused on developing long-range and precision-strike capabilities Most of Russia’s larger surface ships are over 30 years old and undergoing various retrofits to extend their service life as Russia’s shipbuilding industry struggles to produce ships over 7 000 tons As a result Russia increasingly relies on heavily armed frigates as its primary surface combatants These ships are equipped with Vertical Launch Systems to house an array of cruise missiles anti-submarine missiles and hypersonic anti-ship missiles However this is not without complications as Russia has struggled to produce engines since its relationship with Ukrainian producers was severed in 2014 Even with high levels of funding Russia’s production of new surface ships has fallen far short of initial plans Russia’s submarine forces continue to make advances in both manufacturing and capabilities deploying new nuclear-powered ballistic submarines nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines and diesel-electric attack submarines Organized into four fleets Northern Pacific Black Sea and Baltic and one flotilla Caspian the Russian Navy’s primary objectives are sea denial and protecting Russia’s submarine-based nuclear deterrent Recognizing resource and shipbuilding constraints Russia’s Navy focuses on littoral defense with limited expeditionary capabilities The Northern and Pacific fleets are home to Russia’s nuclear submarine force The Northern Fleet is the most advanced with responsibility for the Arctic and the Northern MD OSK Additionally since Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region the Black Sea Fleet has grown in size and capabilities and has contributed most of the ships to the Navy’s Mediterranean task force Coastal Defense Troops The Navy is responsible for Coastal Defense Artillery units and Marine Infantry Coastal Defense Artillery units are designed and equipped to protect Russia’s ports and coastlines They are equipped with a variety of mobile and stationary artillery as well as advanced anti-ship missiles Each fleet commands at least one brigade of Naval Infantry around 10 000-12 500 troops total These brigades are almost completely professionally manned are considered an elite force and form part of Russia’s rapid reaction and intervention forces Naval Infantry forces are similarly equipped to and structured like other Russian ground force units with reintroduced tank battalions but few landing ships mean they have a limited amphibious capability Spetsnaz and Special Operations Command Spetsnaz are Russia’s elite light infantry force responsible for long-range battlefield reconnaissance and sabotage as well as overseeing local allied units in eastern Ukraine and Syria They are considered a strategic-level asset under the Main Directorate of the General Staff although they are deployed under the command of local military districts Totaling around 17 000 troops they are organized into seven regular Independent Special Designation Brigades Despite efforts to fully professionalize Spetsnaz units are still composed of some conscripts although they along with the Airborne and Air Assault Troops VDV have their first pick of conscripts The Russian military’s tier-one Special Forces unit is the Special Operations Forces Command built around the 346th Independent Spetsnaz Brigade This unit was modeled on Western Special Forces and represents Russia’s most capable intervention force Airborne and Air Assault Troops Russia’s airborne and air assault troops represent some of Russia’s most capable units Considered a strategic asset under the command of the General Staff they are wellequipped have the highest state of readiness and like Spetsnaz receive priority for professionalization and the first pick of conscripts the VDV is about 30% conscript based Consisting of around 45 000 troops Russia’s airborne divisions are organized into two airborne divisions two air assault divisions four independent air assault brigades and an elite Spetsnaz reconnaissance regiment However Russia’s limited air transport capabilities mean most units focus on air assault with armored vehicles and reintroduced tank battalions Two divisions focus on strategic-level parachute operations Additional Resources Russian Military Capability in a Ten Year Perspective2019 eds Fredrik Westerlund and Susanne Oxenstierna Stockholm Swedish Defence Research Agency FOI 2019 Defense Intelligence Agency Russia Military Power Building a Military to Support Great Power Aspirations 2017 Keith Crane Olga Oliker and Brian Nichiporuk Trends in Russia’s Armed Forces An Overview of Budgets and Capabilities RAND Santa Monica CA 2019 https crsreports congress gov Russian Armed Forces Capabilities Andrew S Bowen Analyst in Russian and European Affairs IF11589 Disclaimer This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service CRS CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role CRS Reports as a work of the United States Government are not subject to copyright protection in the United States Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS However as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party you may need to obtain the permissio n of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material https crsreports congress gov IF11589 · VERSION 3 · NEW
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