Would-be show of strength highlights Moscow’s military shortcomings
Vladimir Putin likes to use Moscow’s Victory Day parade, the annual event to mark the triumph over Nazi Germany, as a means of messaging the West.
There had been speculation the Russian leader might use his speech to call for a mobilisation of Russian society and the economy, better to fight his increasingly expensive assault on Ukraine.
In the event, he did not declare “war”, but a strong message about Russia’s military might was sent anyway – just not the one Mr Putin would have wished.
Instead yesterday’s parade – hugely reduced in size and lacking a flypast – was the usual display of equipment in service today and a smattering of “new” kit designed to make us quake at Russia’s armed forces.
Look closer though, and all is not as Moscow would have us believe.
We were treated to a view of the T-14 Armata tank. Yet another view, as it turns out, because this “new” piece of equipment was first introduced in 2015’s Victory Day parade and is so complex and, hence, expensive, it has yet to go into mass production.
The tank promises to be a very capable beast. The three-man crew are contained in a special armoured capsule at the front of the vehicle and completely absent from the turret.
This design means the crew have a much greater chance of survival should the vehicle be hit with anti-tank weapons that, as Russian forces have found to their cost in Ukraine, are likely to come through the relatively unarmoured top of the turret.
Also on display was the Bumerang infantry vehicle. This 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier also made its debut at the 2015 parade and has been beset with problems ever since.
With a crew of three and room for up to eight soldiers, the Bumerang is designed to “swim” through rivers. However, trials in 2019 showed the vehicle to be unstable in water. It is yet to enter service.
There was also one stalwart of the Victory Day event on parade again. The RS-24 Yars is central to Moscow’s strategic nuclear deterrent and perhaps the only piece of equipment on show that is truly impressive. The Yars system of mobile and silo-based solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, was introduced into service in 2010, but manufacturing issues meant the build-up of numbers was slow.
Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces field nuclear missiles that can be launched from land, submarines or from aircraft. The forces are organised into three Rocket Armies comprising 12 missile divisions, with eight of the 12 divisions equipped with the Yars.
In recent years Russia has invested in escort systems to protect the land-based launchers. The Typhoon-m surveillance vehicle protects the missiles from ground-based threats while the Peresvet laser system is thought to be capable of blinding observation satellites.
Perhaps the most extraordinary piece of equipment on show was the Uran-9 unmanned ground vehicle.
This robotic vehicle was first seen in 2019 and with a 30mm cannon and anti-tank missiles it packs a punch.
However, with only about 20 in service it is debatable whether the Uran-9 is a tangible military capability or still an experiment.
Armed forces around the world have been trialling robotic vehicles for years. The ability to resupply troops, remove wounded soldiers from the battlefield or perhaps assault enemy positions without the need to put humans in harm’s way has long been an aspiration.
Just like driverless cars, though, the technology is not quite there yet.
Autonomous vehicles still struggle to select the best routes across broken ground and can easily get bogged in, or stuck, in ditches. It is also difficult to programme the weapon systems to act as a human might. Should it fire on any movement – which may be an enemy soldier but could also be an animal – or would that too easily reveal its position and waste ammunition?
Many systems – such as the Uran-9 – are also expensive. Part of the attraction of robotic systems is that they are much cheaper than tanks or other armoured vehicles. If the vehicle costs so much it is not expendable and must be heavily protected by other systems, it may not be worth the trouble of developing and fielding them in the first place.
Overall, the equipment on display in Red Square was very shiny, but largely out of date and not as special as Mr Putin would want us to think.
A bit like his army in Ukraine.