A new book shed more light on the organisation of the Russian military and how it sees the electromagnetic spectrum as a zone of competition.
Excitement always grips the Armada editorial office when a new book is published by the Lightning Press. We have reviewed several of these readable and robust volumes in the past. Subjects tackled by this publishing house include subjects as diverse as the militaries of the Democratic People’s Repubic of Korea (DPRK) and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Lightning Press’ author and publisher Norm Wade has penned volumes on the Chinese military, and he has been a guest on Armada’s podcasts.
In late November the company published its latest volume examining Russia’s armed forces. OpFor Smartbook-3: Russian Military Forces, Operations and Tactics comes at an opportune moment. The Russian military remains committed to its occupation of parts of Ukraine and continues to pressure Kyiv’s forces. Nonetheless, Moscow’s presence in Syria is in doubt. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has deployed forces to Syria since 2015. Russian forces there have aimed to shore-up the regime of Syria’s erstwhile dictator during that country’s long civil war. Syria hosts two large Russian military installation; a naval base at Tartus and a large deployment at Khmeimim airbase, both on the Mediterranean coast. Mr. Assad fled on 7th December following a dramatic advance across the country by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham Islamist movement. With the Assad regime now deposed the future of Russia’s presence in Syria remains unclear.
As with previous volumes examining national militaries, Mr. Wade gives a detailed yet succinct discussion of Russia’s strategic and operational considerations and preoccupations. A useful guide to the composition of the Russian armed forces, their operational art and tactical doctrines also forms part of the volume. Understandably, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine forms a significant part of the book, as does Russian military modernisation; a process which remains ongoing despite the conflict. Also of interest is Mr. Wade’s discussion of the role of private military companies like the Wagner Group in Russia’s military posture.
Russia and the spectrum
Of particular interest to Armada is the book’s discussion of Russia’s Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities. Frequent Armada readers will know that this is an area of great interest to us, and any new works that can shed light on these subjects are highly sought. Mr. Wade’s latest work contains a chapter examining ‘Radio-Electromagnetic Warfare’ and this title reflects the Russian term for EW; ‘Радиоэлектромагнитная война’.
The author reflects that Russia’s combat experience during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War was a catalyst for the revitalisation of Russia EW capabilities, particularly in the land environment. For Russian land forces, EW plays a key role in attacking the ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and Command and Control (C2) capabilities of their adversary. EW units and systems are integrated at every echelon in the land manoeuvre force. Not only are EW capabilities vital for conventional air-land battle, but they are also indispensable for supporting counter-insurgency operations.
Electronic warfare units comprise part of the Russian land forces’ Reconnaissance-Strike Complex (RSC), Mr. Wade continues. Hostile targets can be detected, identified and located by manoeuvre force electronic warfare systems, particularly those performing signals intelligence collection. Radars, radios and communications networks can be located via their electromagnetic emissions. The coordinates of these hostile assets are then shared with kinetic manoeuvre force elements like artillery, close air support or battlefield interdiction.
The book provides the reader with a good summary of Russian land forces’ EW unit orders-of-battle, particularly the interplay between operational-level EW brigades and their subordinate battalions. Mr. Wade makes the important point that EW brigade battalions can also be ‘fragged’ to the manoeuvre force. This process lets these operational EW capabilities directly support the tactical battle. Particularly useful is the author’s description of how EW capabilities furnish Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). As the war in Ukraine shows, UAVs equipped with EW payload can be particularly effective. Similarly welcome is the description of the spectrum management role played by platforms like Dziudoist, Plavsk and the RB-636 Svet-KU.
Mr. Wade’s latest work provides a detailed yet readable discussion of the centrality of electronic warfare in the operational and tactical doctrines of Russia’s land forces. The work also provides a good starting point for wider study of the Russian military. As the Lightning Press’ collection of works also explores the militaries of near-peer adversaries like the DPRK, Iran and the People’s Republic of China, the EW postures of these nations can be compared to those of Russia and vice-versa. Readers wishing to learn more about OpFor Smartbook-3: Russian Military Forces, Operations and Tactics, or wanting to purchase a copy, are advised to follow this link.
by Dr. Thomas Withington
