Though its methods may be difficult to decipher, the Soviet Air Force has a clear idea about how to ensure that its fighters show up for a war.

READINESS, SOVIET STYLE

BY RICHARD D. WARD

OR ALL too many Western ana- • Low vulnerability, with forces F lysts, the Soviet tactical fighter able to move to and operate from force apparently has become a mili- austere, dispersed bases devoid of tary riddle wrapped in a strategic maintenance facilities. mystery locked inside a readiness • Extensive reinforcement pow- enigma. ers, with thousands of warplanes in Misreadings of Soviet airpower reserve for swift deployment to for- are widespread. The illusion that ward locations. the Kremlin has built a ramshackle The system that produces these force of second-rate fighters masks benefits is complex and alien to the disquieting reality that Mos- Western thought. But an analysis cow's air arm fits its war plans with focused on the aviation support sys- great precision. tem of a Frontal Aviation air reg- Western skeptics seeking to make iment illustrates the point that Sovi- the case against Soviet fighters cite et fighter readiness procedures very high overhaul rates as "Exhibit mesh well with Soviet objectives. A." This, they conclude, can only Those objectives are based on mean that the aircraft are of inferior elements of surprise. In the Soviet quality. view, this requires the ability to In fact, close examination reveals launch or respond to an attack from The USSR keeps its such maintenance to be deliberate, a "standing start," without mobi- planes in constant re- pair. This system keeps the key to a highly unusual war- lization; the ability to protect Soviet close to ninety-five per- readiness system. Far from failing forces by dispersing them widely cent of front-line, de- to achieve high peacetime fighter across European bases; and the ployed fighters ready for durability, the USSR keeps its ability to exploit initial successes of war on Day One. The So- planes in constant repair to ensure a swift attack by rapidly bringing viets—and their allies— also take an innovative their reliability in wartime. Benefits back-up forces to bear on the main approach to ground that flow from this system are action. equipment. For example, many: the ladder being used • High warplane availability, with Unusual Maintenance Cycle here by an East German mechanic to work on the some ninety-five percent of front- The Soviet Union's unusual and vertical stabilizer can line, deployed fighters ready for war much-misunderstood maintenance also be used by the pilot on Day One. cycle provides the key to all three for cockpit access.

50 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1989 objectives. In fact, the frequent overhaul of Soviet fighters is the basis of the Soviet operational ap- proach to readiness. In simplest terms, the cycle can be broken down into three distinct segments: operational aircraft de- ployed at the main base, a complex of large overhaul and repair facilities based in the rear, and a material re- serve stockpile of refurbished weap- ons. The cycle works this way. When an operational aircraft comes due for an overhaul, it is withdrawn from action and replaced with a new or totally refurbished fighter drawn from the strategic stockpiles. The inactive fighter is then shipped to an overhaul facility for a thorough re- habilitation. Once that is complete, the renovated warplane is itself transferred to the stockpile, avail- able for future deployment as a re- The Soviets view the M1G-23 Flogger and its support truck together as the Flogger placement for some other plane. Weapons System. The truck tows the aircraft and functions as a tool chest and a storehouse for test equipment. This arrangement provides efficient support to the When that happens, the cycle be- aircraft both on the main operating base and at any dispersed location. Note the gins again. concrete slabs used for ramps and taxiways at the bare-base location. In stark contrast with Western maintenance practice, however, overhaul takes place after an air- The Soviets maintain a single lo- How "Overhaul Factories" Work craft logs only a few hundred hours gistics support organization, known It is at this strategic level of orga- of flight time. The figure in the West as "Rear Services" or, in Russian, nization that total fighter overhauls is usually several thousand hours. "Tyl." It supports all five of the So- are performed. The Soviets main- This short cycle for Soviet air- viet military services. Rear Ser- tain entire facilities, known as craft, however, stems not from the vices functions are divided into two "overhaul factories," to carry out failure of Soviet components. What principal areas: the Military Central this task. These factories, located needs to be understood is that the Support System and the Field Lo- primarily in the Soviet Union, em- Soviet equipment is returned for gistics Support System. ploy more than 100,000 IAS work- overhaul at the peak of its reliability. Each Rear Services support level ers, most of them former aircraft The Soviets have determined how provides repair installations for So- maintenance troops. many hours each weapon can be ex- viet fighter aircraft. However, be- The principal function of these pected to last in war. By subtracting cause of differences in service centralized, air-army-level overhaul that number from total hours of reli- equipment, each branch has sepa- factories is to renew airframes and able life in an aircraft, they deter- rate engineering support units— aircraft components. In most cases, mine the time at which an overhaul troops who actually perform main- overhaul facilities are former pro- must be performed. This takes tenance. In the Soviet Air Force, duction plants with machinery for place even if the aircraft happens to Aviation Engineering Services the same models still in place. In be working extremely well. (IAS) is responsible for all levels of some cases, current production The overall system ensures that aircraft maintenance. plants are used to overhaul aircraft aircraft equipment goes to refur- At the highest, "national-strate- on lines even as new production bishment immediately when its al- gic" level of organization, the Mili- models continue to roll from adja- lowable peacetime flight hours have tary Central Support System is re- cent assembly areas. been accumulated. This overhaul- sponsible for material acquisition, The Field Logistics Support Sys- before-needed philosophy is in through either the civil economy or tem functions below the national keeping with the Soviet dictum that military procurement agencies. level. It is responsible for opera- all fighter equipment provided to This system is also responsible for tional and tactical-level support of the regimental commander must be maintaining strategic reserve stock- the armed forces. One half of the reliable for a specified period. piles. Soviet storage depots stock Field Logistics Support System, With so much Soviet mainte- 13,000,000 metric tons of arms and called the Operational Logistic Sys- nance being performed at rear in- ammunition and 60,000,000 metric tem, supports fronts, armies, corps, stallations, the Soviet military has tons of fuel, oil, and lubricants. This and divisions. Operational re- developed a gargantuan, highly or- is enough reserve war material to serves—stockpiles of combat-ready ganized, specialized system to car- support intense offensive opera- weapon systems—are positioned at ry it out. tions for up to ninety days. this level.

52 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1989 Within this system, the IAS oper- viet aircraft are available for combat only for a postulated combat life and ates Air Division repair depots, right away and have the staying with sophistication commensurate which perform major maintenance power to last for some time. with the technical qualifications of tasks just short of complete over- If strikes originate from the main the maintenance personnel who are hauls. Most weapons parts needing bases, the aircraft will be launched operating under the stress of war. repairs are crated and sent to rear- very rapidly, alternating from both For example: On every Soviet echelon depots rather than to facili- ends of the runway to minimize ex- fighter, one can remove the after- ties at a forward operating base, as posure time and maximize deploy- burner without having to disconnect would be the case in the West. ment rate. When the sorties start, fuel and electrical lines—a great ad- The other half of the Field Logis- the expectation is that at least vantage when it comes to wartime tics Support System, the so-called ninety-five percent of the combat repairs. Realizing that this is the Tactical Logistics System (TLS), aircraft on each air base would be most frequent maintenance task, supports smaller units such as air flying. the Soviets have simplified it. regiments and battalions. War re- In peacetime, only a small per- Soviet military planners have en- serve stockpiles at this level include centage of Soviet fighters is used for hanced operational effectiveness by expendables such as fuels and lubri- training, the bulk of the training tak- carefully balancing performance cants, munitions, food, water, and ing place on simulators. The train- against readiness. Without doubt, material goods. These are stored on ing aircraft never dip below wartime readiness is the primary considera- motor transports or in containers service hours. Unused standby air- tion, a fact reflected in the rugged- sized for truck and train transport. craft are maintained in a "run-in" ness of Soviet planes. In the words The TLS directly supports air op- state, keeping Soviet air squadrons of one analyst: "The Soviets can erations, a task critical to readiness at almost full strength on a constant 'turn' these aircraft [for combat] of Frontal Aviation units. basis. while they are being bombed, How does this extensive Soviet strafed, gassed, and snowed on in maintenance activity affect the Efficient Wartime Operation below-zero weather. Their aircraft Kremlin's ability to carry out its Reinforcing the inherently high may not be the best performing, but wartime objectives? Clear-cut re- availability of Soviet fighters is an- they're certainly not delicate." sults can be seen in aircraft avail- other factor: The Soviet Air Forces, Equally great is the impact that

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A Soviet pilot and his crew chief prepare for a mission. The trucks as- signed to each aircraft have an off-road capa- bility, and maintenance crews are armed. in the background, several bomb caskets can be seen. The bombs are fuzed and are positioned with the aircraft for rapid upload. The round shape of the casket al- lows for rolling the bombs when necessary. ability—the pivotal factor in Soviet to a degree not seen in the West, the Soviet maintenance cycle has planning for "standing-start" air op- design their fighters to be able to on the ability of a Frontal Aviation erations in event of war. operate efficiently in war's harsh en- regiment to disperse—yet another Unlike his Western counterpart, vironment. of the Soviet Union's wartime re- a Soviet commander does not have Their very simple designs tend to quirements. to worry that many of his planes are keep support requirements to a min- In peacetime, it is true, the main- nearing the end of their reliable imum. Soviets believe that weapons tenance procedure becomes a com- combat lives. The replacement cy- must be supportable in the fog of plicated task requiring long-dis- cle, if it does nothing else, ensures war. In practical terms, this means tance transport and time-consum- that all or virtually all deployed So- that aircraft are designed to last ing repair cycles. But in wartime, AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1989 53 the much smaller number of base- remote bases without breaking ra- sible for upkeep of the airfield, level maintenance troops and equip- dio silence. OBATO personnel maintain run- ment greatly reduces the support In sum, it appears that Western ways, taxiways, and hardstands. "tail" and allows more flexibility in aircraft could attack all Soviet main The group uses specialized runway aircraft deployment. operating bases and their limited re- maintenance vehicles, which in Soviet aircraft appear well suited pair facilities and still have little or wartime would also aid in preparing to combat operations from austere no effect on the overall readiness of austere strips. OBATO is responsi- dispersal bases lacking repair facili- Soviet fighter regiments. ble for fuel dumps, motor vehicle ties. The Soviet view is that an In addition to the contribution it refueling points, portable pumping abundant supply of virtually new makes to wartime fighter availabili- stations, and other logistics enter- aircraft will display few of the rou- ty and dispersal operations, the prises. tine maintenance problems that unique Soviet maintenance cycle All the aircraft servicing and would occur in equipment that has ensures that military commanders maintenance on abase, however, re- been ridden hard in peacetime. With will have sufficient reserve forces to mains the domain of the Air Force little need for repairs, the jets can exploit early successes. engineering service, organized in an operate from a wide variety of The Soviet Union has built a sub- ATB subgroup known as the Tech- strips. stantial stockpile of reserve weap- nical Exploitation Unit (TECh). It The Soviet embrace of dispersal onry—from aircraft components to has responsibility for the operation, as a major wartime objective has entire, battle-ready aircraft—and maintenance, and repair of aircraft, had an impact on USSR base struc- constantly replenishes it. It is esti- helicopters, aircraft engines, weap- ture. The Soviets have decided that mated that well over half of all fight- ons, and equipment. base-level, or intermediate-level, ers the Soviets produce are stored The TECh manages transfer of maintenance and its accompanying in material reserves. The constant equipment to overhaul factories for facilities only complicate the task of inflow from the overhaul factories scheduled maintenance; transfer of building combat readiness. Mainte- prevents any diminution of the re- equipment to repair depots for un- nance is minimized and in most serves. scheduled maintenance; and in- cases eliminated. Most main base War reserves are maintained sep- spection, minor repair, servicing, repair tasks are of the "remove and arately from other weapons, in what and arming of aircraft. It is also re- replace" type. the Soviets refer to as "full read- sponsible for replacement and cal- The configuration of the Soviet iness" for immediate use. In peace- ibration of repairable items. base reflects this. While the Ameri- time, replacement of such emergen- can air base is a stand-alone fortress cy material reserves takes place Mobile Repair Shops from which to launch muftimission when their "shelf lives" have ex- Virtually all of the TECh is mo- air operations, operating in much pired. In wartime, these emergency bile. The TECh provides the per- the same way as an aircraft carrier, material reserves are used for the sonnel and equipment to inspect the Soviets see their typical base as specific purposes of equipping high- and replace components and con- a combat deployment fire base. In a readiness units and replacing com- duct repairs using truck-mounted sense, the Soviets operate their bat losses. specialty service equipment called main operating bases as the US Air The war reserves would also mobile repair shops or "PARMS." Force operates its dispersed bases. greatly reduce the need for base The units are designed specifically The USSR air base, in wartime, maintenance. Malfunctioning air- for dispersal operations. would serve one function—that of craft parts would be replaced from All services can be provided in launching combat sorties, not that war reserve stockpiles, eliminating the field from these portable truck- of a major maintenance facility. the need for repair depots. Such a mounted facilities. Each aircraft is procedure would be especially nec- assigned to a specialized support Rear-Echelon Overhauls essary in the initial period of the truck. It provides AC and DC The Soviets believe that major re- conflict, when the Soviet economy power, compressed air, simple in- pairs and overhauls should be con- would not yet have converted to spection equipment, and an auxilia- ducted at rear-echelon facilities wartime production to replace ry fuel pump. It also has a communi- where skilled labor and precision forces destroyed in battle. cation link with the IAS duty officer. machinery can be concentrated effi- As might be imagined, the unor- This truck actually tows the air- ciently. These high-value facilities thodox Soviet maintenance cycle craft. In fact, the fighter and its would be less vulnerable in those requires the Soviets to deploy a truck together form an aircraft locations. unique support organization with "system." The truck becomes the At a main base, virtually all air- each of its air regiments. This air principal means of wartime dispers- craft support equipment is mounted base support group, known as the al because it can tow an aircraft to a on trucks. Thus, this important Aviation Technical Battalion (ATB), dispersal airstrip and then maintain equipment can be transported is a separate and distinct unit that it at that site. quickly to dispersal sites. Entire combines several functions. Armament and external store ser- tactical aviation units, including One ATB subsection, the Inde- vice are also provided by the TECh. flight-line support, medium-level pendent Air Field Technical Sup- This job is relatively simple because repair shops, inspection and arma- port Group (OBATO), handles the there is little or no assembly of ment vans, and flight operations traditional Rear Services functions bomb, rocket, or external tanks on a control vans, can be convoyed to on base premises. Primarily respon- Soviet air base. All stores are deliv-

54 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1989 voy receives directions en route, ei- ther from highway control troops or from a series of beacons. In this convoy, each aircraft-ser- vicing vehicle is towing a high-per- formance aircraft. Speeds on the highway reach up to twenty kilo- meters per hour. The remote sites, only a few kilometers from the main base, are reached quickly. Through- out, the regiment succeeds in mask- ing its redeployment to new loca- tions. At the dispersed base, elements of Soviet remote-site philosophy are apparent—mobile flight operations control towers, camouflaged shel- ters, mobile pipelines and road- ways, and simple power support equipment. The advance units are finishing the preparation of the airstrip, a highway section about 2,200 meters long and twenty-two meters wide. In the "runway" portion of the air- field, the median strip has been paved over, with an apron at either This Mikoyan test pilot's expression at the Farnborough Air Show last fall reflects the end, measuring 100 meters long and Soviets' determination to have their aircraft operate under any conditions. The MiG-29 in the background has doors that cover the intakes when the landing gear is lowered. thirty meters wide. Automatic land- This prevents foreign object damage to the engines at austere strips. ing systems and crash barriers are deployed at both ends of the run- ered to the base crated and ready to support-area preparation, and setup way. load. of command and control areas and In less than eight hours after the In all its features, the peacetime regimental headquarters all would regimental dispersal began, the unit Soviet tactical aviation support or- take place swiftly. Activities at the launches its first combat sorties. ganization is designed for efficient regimental headquarters would in- Support depth is minimal, with and rapid transition to war. How clude preparation of the central the fighter unit having access to would the various components of command and control system, an only the most critical parts, basic Soviet readiness come into play in a intermediate-level maintenance repair and inspection equipment, conflict? center, helicopter pads, and garri- fuel bladders, and ammunition. As If Soviet leaders choose to con- son areas. the war continues and the stockpiles duct operations from the main base, While the advance units are en are depleted, resupply of certain the entire system would function route to the deployment sites, other critical materials and cadres for much as it does in peacetime. It is in support teams at the main operating both the ground and air forces are a dispersal operation, however, that base load mobile aircraft and air- provided by air transport, which the true strength of the Soviet sys- field service equipment onto trucks. use the dispersal bases to stage their tem would become apparent. Even Strict radio silence is maintained operations. The largest aircraft in after a Western attack that disables during performance of all these the world, the An-124 Ruslan trans- the main base runways, the Soviets tasks. port (whose NATO code name is would be able to rebound and keep When the loading is complete, a Condor), can operate from the high- fighting. All evidence indicates that convoy of the mobile garrison and way strip and appears frequently. such an operation might resemble support units, led by the regimental Such is the style in which the So- the following scenario. commander and his staff, leaves viet Union has planned to go to war. At the main operating base, the through several different exits and While the Kremlin's ways may be first step is the immediate dispatch proceeds to the initial checkpoint. mysterious to many in the West, the of an advance airfield-activation At this time, even the commander is problems they pose are only too ap- unit to planned dispersal areas. unaware of his destination. The con- parent. • Work begins on preparation of de- ployment sites for dispersal of air- As a Project Engineer at General Dynamics Corp. in Fort Worth, Tex., Richard D. craft and aircraft-support units that Ward leads the Comparative Systems Analysis Group of the advanced-design are to follow within hours. section. His career in aviation has included work at Rockwell and McDonnell These would prepare at least Douglas. He has participated in the X-15, XB-70A, F-4, F-15, and FIA-18 three dispersed airfields in each dis- programs. His most recent article for AIR FORCE Magazine, "M1G-2000," appeared persal area. Runway clearance, in the March 1985 issue.

AIR FORCE Magazine / March 1989 55