The Future of the Russian Military Russia’S Ground Combat Capabilities and Implications for U.S.-Russia Competition Appendixes

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Future of the Russian Military Russia’S Ground Combat Capabilities and Implications for U.S.-Russia Competition Appendixes ARROYO CENTER The Future of the Russian Military Russia’s Ground Combat Capabilities and Implications for U.S.-Russia Competition Appendixes Andrew Radin, Lynn E. Davis, Edward Geist, Eugeniu Han, Dara Massicot, Matthew Povlock, Clint Reach, Scott Boston, Samuel Charap, William Mackenzie, Katya Migacheva, Trevor Johnston, Austin Long Prepared for the United States Army Approved for public release; distribution unlimited For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR3099 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2019 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface This document presents the results of a project titled U.S.-Russia Long Term Competition, spon- sored by the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army. The purpose of the project was to help the U.S. Army understand the shifting relative capabilities of the U.S. and Russian militaries of the next twenty years. The Project Unique Identification Code (PUIC) for the project that produced this docu- ment is HQD167556. This research was conducted within the RAND Arroyo Center’s Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program. RAND Arroyo Center, part of the RAND Corporation, is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by the United States Army. RAND operates under a “Federal-Wide Assurance” (FWA00003425) and complies with the Code of Federal Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects Under United States Law (45 CFR 46), also known as “the Common Rule,” as well as with the implementation guid- ance set forth in DoD Instruction 3216.02. As applicable, this compliance includes reviews and approvals by RAND’s Institutional Review Board (the Human Subjects Protection Com- mittee) and by the U.S. Army. The views of sources utilized in this study are solely their own and do not represent the official policy or position of DoD or the U.S. government. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. iii Contents Preface .......................................................................................................... iii Figures ...........................................................................................................ix Tables ............................................................................................................xi Summary ...................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................... xix Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xxi APPENDIX A Societal Support................................................................................................ 1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 1 Recent History and Trends .................................................................................... 2 Outlook ......................................................................................................... 17 APPENDIX B Russian Defense Spending .................................................................................. 19 Recent History and Trends ................................................................................... 19 Outlook .........................................................................................................32 Methodology for Estimating Russia’s State Defense Order ...............................................36 APPENDIX C Demographics .................................................................................................37 Recent History .................................................................................................37 Explanatory Variables ..........................................................................................39 Outlook .........................................................................................................46 Implications for Other Factors ............................................................................... 51 APPENDIX D Military Personnel Policy ...................................................................................53 Recent History and Trends ...................................................................................54 Reserves and Mobilization ....................................................................................58 Explanatory Variables ..........................................................................................59 Outlook .........................................................................................................65 APPENDIX E Maneuver Ground Forces ...................................................................................69 Recent History .................................................................................................70 v vi The Future of the Russian Military Current Systems ................................................................................................ 74 Personnel and Training ........................................................................................79 Estimated Resources ...........................................................................................79 Defense Industrial Trends .....................................................................................80 Outlook .........................................................................................................85 APPENDIX F Indirect Fires ..................................................................................................89 Recent History .................................................................................................89 Current Systems ................................................................................................91 Personnel and Training ...................................................................................... 100 Estimation of Resources Spent on Indirect Fires ......................................................... 101 Defense Industrial Trends and Challenges ................................................................ 102 Outlook ....................................................................................................... 108 APPENDIX G Long-Range Strike ...........................................................................................111 Recent History ................................................................................................111 Current Systems ...............................................................................................115 Personnel and Training ...................................................................................... 122 Estimation of Resources Spent on Strike Systems ........................................................ 123 Defense Industrial Trends and Challenges ................................................................ 124 Outlook ....................................................................................................... 137 APPENDIX H Rapidly Deployable Forces ................................................................................ 139 Overview ...................................................................................................... 139 Recent History ................................................................................................ 140 Doctrine and Operating Concepts ......................................................................... 141 Personnel and Training ...................................................................................... 144 Current Systems .............................................................................................. 146 Estimation of Resources Spent on Rapidly Deployable Forces ......................................... 149 Recent Operations ............................................................................................ 150 Outlook ........................................................................................................152 APPENDIX I C4ISR ..........................................................................................................155 Recent History: Late Soviet Ambitions to Twenty-First-Century Mishaps ..........................
Recommended publications
  • The Russia You Never Met
    The Russia You Never Met MATT BIVENS AND JONAS BERNSTEIN fter staggering to reelection in summer 1996, President Boris Yeltsin A announced what had long been obvious: that he had a bad heart and needed surgery. Then he disappeared from view, leaving his prime minister, Viktor Cher- nomyrdin, and his chief of staff, Anatoly Chubais, to mind the Kremlin. For the next few months, Russians would tune in the morning news to learn if the presi- dent was still alive. Evenings they would tune in Chubais and Chernomyrdin to hear about a national emergency—no one was paying their taxes. Summer turned to autumn, but as Yeltsin’s by-pass operation approached, strange things began to happen. Chubais and Chernomyrdin suddenly announced the creation of a new body, the Cheka, to help the government collect taxes. In Lenin’s day, the Cheka was the secret police force—the forerunner of the KGB— that, among other things, forcibly wrested food and money from the peasantry and drove some of them into collective farms or concentration camps. Chubais made no apologies, saying that he had chosen such a historically weighted name to communicate the seriousness of the tax emergency.1 Western governments nod- ded their collective heads in solemn agreement. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank both confirmed that Russia was experiencing a tax collec- tion emergency and insisted that serious steps be taken.2 Never mind that the Russian government had been granting enormous tax breaks to the politically connected, including billions to Chernomyrdin’s favorite, Gazprom, the natural gas monopoly,3 and around $1 billion to Chubais’s favorite, Uneximbank,4 never mind the horrendous corruption that had been bleeding the treasury dry for years, or the nihilistic and pointless (and expensive) destruction of Chechnya.
    [Show full text]
  • Gerasimov Doctrine’: Why the West Fails to Beat Russia to the Punch
    King’s Research Portal Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication record in King's Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Fridman, O. (2019). On ‘Gerasimov Doctrine’: Why the West Fails to Beat Russia to the Punch. Prism, 8(2), 101- 112. Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on King's Research Portal is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Post-Print version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognize and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. •Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. •You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain •You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the Research Portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
    [Show full text]
  • The Siloviki in Russian Politics
    The Siloviki in Russian Politics Andrei Soldatov and Michael Rochlitz Who holds power and makes political decisions in contemporary Russia? A brief survey of available literature in any well-stocked bookshop in the US or Europe will quickly lead one to the answer: Putin and the “siloviki” (see e.g. LeVine 2009; Soldatov and Borogan 2010; Harding 2011; Felshtinsky and Pribylovsky 2012; Lucas 2012, 2014 or Dawisha 2014). Sila in Russian means force, and the siloviki are the members of Russia’s so called “force ministries”—those state agencies that are authorized to use violence to respond to threats to national security. These armed agents are often portrayed—by journalists and scholars alike—as Russia’s true rulers. A conventional wisdom has emerged about their rise to dominance, which goes roughly as follows. After taking office in 2000, Putin reconsolidated the security services and then gradually placed his former associates from the KGB and FSB in key positions across the country (Petrov 2002; Kryshtanovskaya and White 2003, 2009). Over the years, this group managed to disable almost all competing sources of power and control. United by a common identity, a shared worldview, and a deep personal loyalty to Putin, the siloviki constitute a cohesive corporation, which has entrenched itself at the heart of Russian politics. Accountable to no one but the president himself, they are the driving force behind increasingly authoritarian policies at home (Illarionov 2009; Roxburgh 2013; Kasparov 2015), an aggressive foreign policy (Lucas 2014), and high levels of state predation and corruption (Dawisha 2014). While this interpretation contains elements of truth, we argue that it provides only a partial and sometimes misleading and exaggerated picture of the siloviki’s actual role.
    [Show full text]
  • ISSUE 5 AADH05 OFC+Spine.Indd 1 the Mortar Company
    ARTILLERY AND AIR DEFENCE ARTILLERY ISSUE 5 HANDBOOK HANDBOOK – ISSUE 5 PUBLISHED MARCH 2018 THE CONCISE GLOBAL INDUSTRY GUIDE ARTILLERY AND AIR DEFENCE AADH05_OFC+spine.indd 1 3/16/2018 10:18:59 AM The Mortar Company. CONFRAG® CONTROLS – THE NEW HIGH EXPLOSIVE STANDARD HDS has developed CONFRAG® technology to increase the lethal performance of the stan- dard High Explosive granade for 60 mm CDO, 60 mm, 81 mm and 120 mm dramatically. The HE lethality is increased by controlling fragmentation mass and quantity, fragment velocity and fragment distribution, all controlled by CONFRAG® technology. hds.hirtenberger.com AADH05_IFC_Hirtenberger.indd 2 3/16/2018 9:58:03 AM CONTENTS Editor 3 Introduction Tony Skinner. [email protected] Grant Turnbull, Editor of Land Warfare International magazine, welcomes readers to Reference Editors Issue 5 of Shephard Media’s Artillery and Air Defence Handbook. Ben Brook. [email protected] 4 Self-propelled howitzers Karima Thibou. [email protected] A guide to self-propelled artillery systems that are under development, in production or being substantially modernised. Commercial Manager Peter Rawlins [email protected] 29 Towed howitzers Details of towed artillery systems that are under development, in production or Production and Circulation Manager David Hurst. being substantially modernised. [email protected] 42 Self-propelled mortars Production Elaine Effard, Georgina Kerridge Specifications for self-propelled mortar systems that are under development, in Georgina Smith, Adam Wakeling. production or being substantially modernised. Chairman Nick Prest 53 Towed mortars Descriptions of towed heavy mortar systems that are under development, in CEO Darren Lake production or being substantially modernised.
    [Show full text]
  • Hezbollah's Missiles and Rockets
    JULY 2017 CSIS BRIEFS CSIS Hezbollah’s Missiles and Rockets An Overview By Shaan Shaikh and Ian Williams JULY 2018 THE ISSUE Hezbollah is the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor, with a large and diverse stockpile of unguided artillery rockets, as well as ballistic, antiair, antitank, and antiship missiles. Hezbollah views its rocket and missile arsenal as its primary deterrent against Israeli military action, while also useful for quick retaliatory strikes and longer military engagements. Hezbollah’s unguided rocket arsenal has increased significantly since the 2006 Lebanon War, and the party’s increased role in the Syrian conflict raises concerns about its acquisition of more sophisticated standoff and precision-guided missiles, whether from Syria, Iran, or Russia. This brief provides a summary of the acquisition history, capabilities, and use of these forces. CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & middle east INTERNATIONAL STUDIES program CSIS BRIEFS | WWW.CSIS.ORG | 1 ezbollah is a Lebanese political party public source information and does not cover certain topics and militant group with close ties to such as rocket strategies, evolution, or storage locations. Iran and Syria’s Assad regime. It is the This brief instead focuses on the acquisition history, world’s most heavily armed non-state capabilities, and use of these forces. actor—aptly described as “a militia trained like an army and equipped LAND ATTACK MISSILES AND ROCKETS like a state.”1 This is especially true Hwith regard to its missile and rocket forces, which Hezbollah 107 AND 122 MM KATYUSHA ROCKETS has arrayed against Israel in vast quantities. The party’s arsenal is comprised primarily of small, man- portable, unguided artillery rockets.
    [Show full text]
  • Avoiding Another War Between Israel and Hezbollah
    COUNTING THE COST Avoiding Another War between Israel and Hezbollah By Nicholas Blanford and Assaf Orion “He who wishes to fight must first count the cost.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War ABOUT THE SCOWCROFT MIDDLE EAST SECURITY INITIATIVE The Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative honors the legacy of Brent Scowcroft and his tireless efforts to build a new security architecture for the region. Our work in this area addresses the full range of security threats and challenges including the danger of interstate warfare, the role of terrorist groups and other nonstate actors, and the underlying security threats facing countries in the region. Through all of the Council’s Middle East programming, we work with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region. You can read more about our programs at www.atlanticcouncil.org/ programs/middle-east-programs/. May 2020 ISBN-13: 978-1-61977-099-7 This report is written and published in accordance with the Atlantic Council Policy on Intellectual Independence. The authors are solely responsible for its analysis and recommendations. The Atlantic Council and its donors do not determine, nor do they necessarily endorse or advocate for, any of this report’s conclusions. This report is made possible by general support to the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs. COUNTING THE COST Avoiding Another War between Israel and Hezbollah CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................2
    [Show full text]
  • Policing in Federal States
    NEPAL STEPSTONES PROJECTS Policing in Federal States Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler (Eds.) Policing in Federal States Edited by Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) www.dcaf.ch The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces is one of the world’s leading institutions in the areas of security sector reform (SSR) and security sector governance (SSG). DCAF provides in-country advisory support and practical assis- tance programmes, develops and promotes appropriate democratic norms at the international and national levels, advocates good practices and makes policy recommendations to ensure effective democratic governance of the security sector. DCAF’s partners include governments, parliaments, civil society, international organisations and the range of security sector actors such as police, judiciary, intelligence agencies, border security ser- vices and the military. 2011 Policing in Federal States Edited by Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler Geneva, 2011 Philipp Fluri and Marlene Urscheler, eds., Policing in Federal States, Nepal Stepstones Projects Series # 2 (Geneva: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2011). Nepal Stepstones Projects Series no. 2 © Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2011 Executive publisher: Procon Ltd., <www.procon.bg> Cover design: Angel Nedelchev ISBN 978-92-9222-149-2 PREFACE In this book we will be looking at specimens of federative police or- ganisations. As can be expected, the federative organisation of such states as Germany, Switzerland, the USA, India and Russia will be reflected in their police organisation, though the extremely decentralised approach of Switzerland with hardly any central man- agement structures can hardly serve as a paradigm of ‘the’ federal police organisation.
    [Show full text]
  • What Peace Plan Between Russia and Ukraine ?
    RUSSIA UKRAINE WHAT PEACE PLAN BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE ? REPORT OF THE COMMISSION "TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE WITH THE MEDIATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION" MaxxjaNe / Shutterstock.com RUSSIA - UKRAINE WHAT PEACE PLAN BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE ? REPORT OF THE COMMISSION "TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE WITH THE MEDIATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION" Resolutions of the four seminars organized in France and Ukraine in 2018-2019 SUMMAY PREFACE 1ST SEMINAR 2ND SEMINAR 3RD SEMINAR 4TH SEMINAR EDITORIAL PRESS REVIEW "There is still today a chance for peace between Russia and Ukraine" (CTJR, December 2019) Drop of Light / Shutterstock.com PREFACE In this general report of the Commission "Truth, Justice and Reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine with the Mediation of the European Union" (TJR), you will find the results of the four sessions held in 2018-2019 in France and Ukraine at the initiative of the Collège des Bernardins (Paris), the Mohyla Academy (Kyiv), the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv) and the NGO "Memorial" (Moscow), in partnership with several media outlets: French (ouest-france.fr), Russian (graniru.org), Ukrainian (radiosvoboda.org), English (uacrisis.org) and with the support of several organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Forum Normandy for Peace, the Open Dialogue Foundation or the Oeuvre d’Orient. This Commission is the only existing structure in the world that has been able to bring together eminent institutions, recognized by the States and the civil societies to which they belong, and having been able to produce a peace plan taking into account the strategic interests of the Russian and Ukrainian nations.
    [Show full text]
  • Russian Airborne Troops Descend
    fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/oewatch Vol. 4 Issue #4 April 2014 Foreign Military Studies Office OE WATCH FOREIGN NEWS & PERSPECTIVES OF THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT LAND POWER RUSSIA AFRICA 4 A Glimpse of the Russian Rapid Reaction Force 39 U.S. Military Assistance Pays Off in Africa: In the Crimea? Somali Army and AMISOM Liberate Strategic Town 6 Russian Military in Crimea: 40 French Expeditionary Forces and African Armies Convoys from the North Caucasus and Land Mines Turning the Tide Against Extremists 8 Ukraine Crisis Reverberates in Russia: 41 Nigerian Special Forces Strike Crucial Blow the Caucasus Connection to Boko Haram Land Operation 10 Russian Airborne Troops Descend 42 Nigeria: Disbanding of Joint Task Force was a 12 Baltic View of Crimea Mistake 14 Polite Green Men in Crimea-Origins 43 Nigeria Ramps up Military Production Capabilities 15 Russia’s Use of Strategic Landpower during the Crimean Crisis: the Media LATIN AMERICA 17 Russian Military Mulls Further Organizational 45 War Imagined between Colombia and Venezuela Reforms 47 Colombian Land-Power 23 Much Ado about Russian SOCOM 25 Russian Federation Ground Forces and UAVs INDO-PACIFIC ASIA 49 Regional Ground Forces Exercise Programs TURKEY in the Indo-Pacific on the Rise 27 A Look at the Turkish Land Forces Command’s Modernization Efforts CHINA 28 Weapons Systems of the Turkish Land 52 Chinese Special Operations – Viewed with Forces’ Maneuver Units Increasing Importance 29 Turkish Land Forces Command’s Air 54 The Mission, Motives and Morale of China’s Defense and Military Aircraft
    [Show full text]
  • EURASIA Russia Fielding Two New Self-Propelled
    EURASIA Russia Fielding Two New Self-Propelled Mortar Systems OE Watch Commentary: The accompanying excerpted article from Rossiyskaya Gazeta discusses Russian plans to field two new self-propelled mortar systems that are intended to support motorized rifle, airborne, and alpine infantry battalions. The 2S42 Lotos self-propelled mortar consists of a 2A60 120mm turret-mounted mortar mounted on a BMD- 4M airborne fighting vehicle chassis. The 2S41 Drok self- propelled mortar consists of 82mm turret-mounted mortar mounted on a Tayfun armored personnel carrier chassis. Russia already has self-propelled mortar systems in the inventory, including the 2S4 Tyulpan 240mm self-propelled mortar and the 2S23 Nona-SVK 120-mm battalion self- propelled gun, which functions as a hybrid mortar, gun, and howitzer. End OE Watch Commentary (Bartles) Russian Missile Troops and Artillery Emblem. Source: Russian government, via Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medium_emblem_of_the_Russian_Missile_Troops_and_ Artillery.svg, Public domain “New self-propelled mortars designed for the Russian army -- the 2S42 Lotos self-propelled artillery gun and the 2S41 Drok wheeled self-propelled piece... are destined for the inventories of motorized rifle, air assault, and alpine infantry battalions.” Source: Aleksey Petrov and Yegor Badyanov, “Выстрелил и скрылся: зачем нужны новые самоходки “Лотос” и “Дрок” (Fire and Take Cover: Why the Need for the New Self-Propelled ‘Lotos’ and ‘Drok’),” Rossiyskaya Gazeta Online, 22 July 2019. https://rg.ru/2019/07/22/ vystrelil-i-skrylsia-zachem-nuzhny-novye-samohodki-lotos-i-drok.html Fire and Take Cover: Why the Need for the New Self-Propelled Lotos and Drok As we know, mortars are utilized as the basic means of delivering suppressive fire against enemy manpower, destroying an adversary’s concealed artillery positions, and hitting his military hardware.
    [Show full text]
  • Foreign Military Studies Office
    community.apan.org/wg/tradoc-g2/fmso/ PENDING PUBLIC RELEASE/APPROVAL - QUESTIONS: 757-501-6236 Foreign Military Studies Office Volume 9 Issue #10 OEWATCH October 2019 FOREIGN NEWS & PERSPECTIVES OF THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT EURASIA 28 New Chinese Aircraft Carrier to Carry 50 Percent More 3 Sinking the Armata? Fighters AFRICA 4 Where is Strelkov Aiming? 30 China and Kazakhstan Upgrade Ties 59 Urban Deployment Reveals South African Military Deficiencies 5 Northern and Eastern Military Districts Get S-300V4 Air 32 China and Russia Sign Heavy Helicopter Deal 60 South Africa’s Xenophobic Violence: Foreigners as Scapegoats Defense Systems 34 China Reports the Launch of Unmanned ‘Mini-Aegis-Class for Failing Economy 7 Russian Ground Forces’ Air Defense: A Look At Russia’s Destroyer’ 61 Somalia’s Newest Military Commander Also Its Youngest Threat-Based Military 35 Contrasting Chinese and Foreign Media Accounts on 62 African Union Raises Concerns Over Foreign Military Bases in 8 The Modernization of Russian Coastal Defense Missiles Xinjiang Africa 10 Mines Seen as Key Capabilities for Russian Naval and Coastal 37 Papuans Hope for Independence, but is it Possible? 63 Regional Rivalries Heat Up as AMISOM Leaves Somalia Defense 39 Another Counter-Terrorism Operation in Palu, Indonesia 64 China’s Investment in African Aviation 12 Russia Developing On-Orbit Fueling Technologies 40 India to Create New Chief of Defence Staff Position 65 International Connections to Guinea-Bissau Drug Trafficking 13 Public Protests and “Hybrid War” 66 Borno Governor
    [Show full text]
  • Download Your Copy
    FUTURE MORTARS REQUIREMENTS AND HOLDINGS REPORT 2016 Contents Introduction 3 Mortar requirements and programmes 4 Future Mortars 2016 8 Mortar global holdings Europe 9 Middle East and Africa 12 North America 17 Latin America 18 Asia-Pacific 20 This report is available as a complimentary resource for all those involved within the industry and those attending Future Mortars 2016, taking place in London, UK (25-26 October 2016). Book your place by contacting: Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 20 7368 9737 Introduction The most commonly operated towed or Although 81mm self-propelled (SP) mortar hand-held indirect fire mortar calibres are systems are still operated by some 60mm, 81mm and 120mm, but others, countries, including the U.K., there is now a such as 82mm and 107mm are also in use. trend towards the larger 120mm SP There are over 85,000 towed/hand-held systems, which have a longer range and and self-propelled (SP) mortars in use generally more effective ammunition. worldwide. Of these, around 5,500 are SP Traditional High Explosive (HE), systems. Asia-Pacific countries hold 41.5% Illumination and Smoke ammunition is still of the world’s towed/hand-held mortars, widely used, but new HE variants and while Europe has 14.5% and the Middle- Insensitive Munitions (IM) are being East has 16.9%. Europe dominates in SP introduced. mortars, with 62% of the world total. PROGRAMMES AND REQUIREMENTS Azerbaijan The 2531 Vena tracked 120mm gun/mortar system has been exported by Russia to Azerbaijan. The CARDOM was integrated on the Soviet-designed BMP-1 tracked IFV for an undisclosed customer and deliveries are reported to have begun.
    [Show full text]