July 20 2020 Russian Armed Forces Military Modernization and Reforms Since Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 Russia has undertaken extensive efforts to modernize and upgrade its armed forces In the years ahead these efforts are expected to continue focusing on modernizing military equipment as well as improving combat readiness and coordination across service branches Command and control electronic warfare recruitment of professional soldiers force structure changes and logistics also are likely to be priorities for development Some Members of Congress have expressed interest in understanding the extent of Russia’s military modernization and reform efforts as they assess the nature of Russian threats to the United States and its allies and partners in Europe and other regions State Armament Plan Priorities Russia’s military modernization priorities are detailed in 10-year plans called State Armament Plans GPVs GPV 2020 covering the years 2011-2020 focused on funding the Navy and Aerospace forces The plan also prioritized increasing the military’s professionalization and readiness—including through recruitment campaigns and snap military exercises The latest plan GPV 2027 covering 2018-2027 prioritizes Russia’s ground forces and improving its rapid reaction forces including elite Spetsnaz Naval Infantry and Airborne and Air Assault Troops VDV In particular strengthening mobility and command and control remains a focus as well as implementing lessons learned from Russian interventions in Ukraine and Syria—such as the importance of reconnaissance and heavy artillery Equipment procurement likely will continue to stress heavily upgraded legacy systems The ability of Russia’s defense industry to produce new systems is limited and financial constraints likely will push procurement decisions toward cheaper but proven designs Despite low oil prices and a negative economic forecast Russia likely will prioritize funding GPV 2027 $330 billion in 2018 dollars which has more limited scope and aims than GPV 2020 Economic pressures may curtail ambitions for GPV 2027 Precision Strike A central priority for GPV 2027 is the development of longrange and precision-strike capabilities This includes sea and air-launched cruise missiles 3M-54 Kalibr Kh101 102 land-based short and intermediate-range missiles 9K720 Iskander-M 9M729 Novator air-launched ballistic missiles Kh-47M2 Khinzhal and hypersonic missiles 3M-22 Zircon Avangard Russia has invested resources into developing long-range precision-strike capabilities in large part because it has long viewed the U S advantage in this area as a serious threat Due to cost and technological challenges it remains unclear whether Russia will be able to fully produce and deploy these systems Personnel Russia’s official authorized personnel strength is 1 013 628 The Russian Ministry of Defense in late 2019 stated the Armed Forces were 95% staffed while experts estimate the actual number is lower Two major goals of the reforms started in 2008 were a reduction in personnel strength and a focus on professionalization Opposition from the military and recruiting realities meant those goals were scaled back Subsequently Russia has relied on a hybrid mix of draftees on one-year conscription terms and volunteers under term contracts Professional contract soldiers are prioritized for front-line combat and elite units The Navy and Aerospace Forces have higher levels of professional personnel due to technically demanding missions Additionally although the Russian Armed Forces have experienced some success in recruiting professional soldiers poor retention rates mean that staffing goals remain unmet The goal of 425 000 professional soldiers by 2017 went unfulfilled the goal has been revised to 476 000 by 2025 Additionally efforts to create a Western-style noncommissioned officer NCO corps have been abandoned with junior officers filling NCO positions and professional soldiers instead focusing on fulfilling technically complex roles Figure 1 Russian Armed Forces Personnel Source IISS Military Balance 2020 Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessment Rapid Reaction Forces Reforms VDV Spetsnaz and Naval Infantry forces form the core of Russia’s elite rapid reaction forces and are some of the most capable and modernized units in Russia’s military They play a crucial role in Russia’s power projection capabilities with many units having gained operational experience in Ukraine and Syria Rapid reaction forces are a focus for GPV 2027 under which they are to receive increased funding for professional troops and equipment The VDV and Naval Infantry are expected to gain capabilities such as tank battalions and army air support which would increase their ability to operate independently Additionally since 2015 the VDV has sought to expand its personnel numbers and is likely to do so in the near future https crsreports congress gov Russian Armed Forces Military Modernization and Reforms Ground Forces Reforms Russian ground forces have undergone significant changes in staffing organization and equipment in recent years and are set to receive relatively high levels of funding under GPV 2027 Reforms started in 2008 sought to transition the ground forces away from the Soviet legacy of partially staffed divisions into fully staffed brigades that could operate independently These modular brigades were believed to be better suited to counterinsurgency conflicts in Russia’s immediate region It was also seen as important to reduce the size of what many considered to be a bloated officer corps Resistance from the military and lessons learned in Ukraine however convinced the military leadership to transition some units back into a division regiment structure which is better suited to largescale conventional conflict the result is now a mixture of divisions and brigades These units are further organized into combined arms armies along with brigade division level artillery air-defense missile rocket support and reconnaissance units Increasing mobility and firepower are priorities for Russia’s ground forces Russia’s experience in the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria underscored the importance of artillery and tank units as well as the importance of integrating reconnaissance and intelligence capabilities Modernized equipment such as tanks has centered on heavily upgraded versions of Soviet-era weaponry that are cheaper to produce and maintain Additionally the ground forces are being equipped with updated missile artillery mobile artillery and heavy caliber artillery and mortar systems At the same time Russia is experimenting with certifying company or platoon size units within each division as air-mobile capable and increasing the size of reconnaissance units Increasing the share of professional soldiers remains a key modernization goal for the ground forces Most combat units are composed of professional soldiers which are crucial to improving both combat readiness and effectiveness Conscripts however still make up a large percentage of the overall force despite being excluded from combat by Russian law Additionally scheduled and snap exercises are increasingly important for improving the readiness of the Russian ground forces testing new equipment and tactics and improving coordination with other service branches Aerospace Forces Reforms Since 2008 the Aerospace Forces VKS have introduced new fighters helicopters and upgraded long-range bombers Most new systems are based on Soviet-era designs but are upgraded to include the latest technology The first stage of the modernization effort focused on designing and accepting these new systems for service— including new multi-role and attack helicopters Some procurement decisions appear to be aimed at boosting export markets and sustaining domestic defense sector interests In the future VKS is expected to strive to increase the share of modern fighters and fighter bombers and to continue struggling to produce new fifth-generation systems Design issues and production flaws have delayed the introduction of new fifth-generation fighters Su-57 and bombers PAK-DA Additionally VKS continues to suffer from a lack of transport early warning and air-to-air refueling planes The separation from Ukrainian aircraft producers since 2014 has negatively affected Russia’s ability to modernize its transport fleet with domestic producer Ilyushin struggling to fulfill orders Russia has relied upon upgrading Soviet-era bombers Significant effort also has been put into developing new air-launched cruise air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles Russia struggles to produce precision-guided bombs The Air Defense Forces VKS also have introduced new advanced air-defense systems including new long-range and ballistic air defense S-400 medium-range S-350 and short-range point-defense systems Pantsir-S1 M Russia also is testing a new generation S-500 air-defense system which is to complement current systems Observers generally consider Russia’s air-defense systems to be some of the world’s most capable Naval Reforms The Russian Navy’s modernization efforts have led to an increase in the number of ships and in certain capabilities During GPV 2020 the Russian Navy introduced a new frigate class Project 22350 smaller corvette class Project 20380 85 Project 22800 and numerous smaller coastal and patrol craft Project 21630 1 Project 22160 Additionally new ballistic missile submarines Project 955 A and attack submarines Project 885 M Project 636 6 are being introduced into service Russian shipbuilding has struggled to fill production gaps created by the severing of relations with Ukrainian shipbuilders and to maintain production rates of new ships and submarines Another priority is the development of the Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missile to complement the Kalibr cruise missile for use on both ships and submarines With less funding under GPV 2027 the Russian Navy plans to prioritize increasing the number of new designs in the fleet as well as modernizing certain older Soviet-era designs including submarines to extend their service life Design projects for larger ships have been put on hold with the Navy centering its power projection capabilities on the new classes of frigates and sea-worthy corvettes Russia’s sole aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov is undergoing repairs but accidents and complications have delayed its return Russia’s expeditionary capabilities also were hampered by the 2015 canceled sale of two French-built Mistral-class amphibious ships due to sanctions over Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region For additional background and resources see CRS In Focus IF11589 Russian Armed Forces Capabilities by Andrew S Bowen Andrew S Bowen Analyst in Russian and European Affairs https crsreports congress gov IF11603 Russian Armed Forces Military Modernization and Reforms 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 IF11603 · VERSION 2 · NEW
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