Composition of the Russian Aerospace Forces and conditions of service in the formation. Russian Aerospace Forces

Pavel KURACHENKO,

Member of the Presidium of the Non-Departmental Expert Council on Aerospace Issues, Lieutenant General, Chief of the General Staff, First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces.

Based on the materials of the report “Air space force- new shield of Russia"

Russia and the world

The results of the analysis of the military-political situation in the world show that Western states, led by the United States, are returning in their political ambitions to the times cold war. Russia was chosen as the primary target because it represents, on the one hand, a potential organizational core of resistance to Western plans, and on the other, a resource base for any non-Western coalition.

Russia is the only global force capable and ready to counteract militarily and ideologically. To weaken it, fence it off, and deprive it of geostrategic maneuver, information warfare measures, economic sanctions, and demonstrations of military superiority are used. The most dangerous period for Russia will come at the turn of 2020-2025, when technological re-equipment begins developed countries and China, and the United States and other Western countries will emerge from the depression of 2008-2018 and make a new technological leap.

The pattern that “the course and outcome of military operations is largely determined by successful actions in air and outer space” determines the real state of affairs in this area. This is convincingly evidenced by the experience of military conflicts in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

The role of air defense systems in armed struggle

Active actions or inaction national systems air defense (air defense) of the state and strike forces determined the course and outcome of the armed struggle. This was the case in Vietnam, where the active and effective actions of the national air defense forces forced the aggressor to abandon the war. On the contrary, the inaction or weakness of national air defense systems led to the collapse of a number of states. This happened in Iraq, Libya, Yugoslavia.

The problem of ensuring the security of the Russian Federation in the aerospace sector is becoming more relevant than ever. In the interests of its solution, from August 1, 2015 in accordance with the Presidential Decree Russian Federation began to carry out assigned tasks the new kind Armed Forces- Aerospace Forces (VKS). He is both the sword and shield of Russia in the aerospace sphere.

The combat composition of the Aerospace Forces includes: the Main Command of the Aerospace Forces, the Long-Range Aviation Command, the Military Transport Aviation Command, four air force and air defense associations of military districts, the air defense-missile defense association and the aerospace forces association, as well as the state test spaceport.

The Russian Aerospace Forces has three types of troops: the Air Force, the Air and Missile Defense Forces, and the Space Forces. In addition, the Aerospace Forces includes special troops: military units and electronic warfare units; communications, radio engineering and automated systems management; engineering and meteorological.

The decision to create the Aerospace Forces was preceded by a lengthy discussion in the open press, the participants of which were many of the members of the Eastern Economic Forum. The considerations expressed during its course, as well as the positions set out in various documents, were carefully studied by group members General Staff The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which was entrusted with the development of proposals for the creation of a new type of Armed Forces. The final conclusions are formed on the basis of a creative synthesis of different views and accumulated experience in the construction and use of forces operating in the aerospace sphere. At the same time, the experience of both our own and advanced powers was taken into account.

Aviation, missile and space means of armed warfare now form the basis not only of the air forces of the leading states of the world. They are also an integral component of modern navies and ground forces. This has led to the fact that coverage of the air (and, in recent decades, aerospace) sphere has become an indispensable attribute of modern combined arms combat. The struggle for air supremacy has firmly become one of the highest priority tasks of armed confrontation.

The main tasks of the Aerospace Forces are:

Maintaining the potential of troops (forces) at a level that ensures, in interaction with other branches and branches of the Armed Forces, a guaranteed solution to the tasks of strategic deterrence;

Conducting reconnaissance of the aerospace situation and detecting the beginning of an attack;

Reflecting aggression in the aerospace sphere and protecting industrial and economic regions, important facilities of the country and troop groups from attacks from space and air;

Defeat enemy targets and troops;

Providing launches of spacecraft and controlling them in orbital flight.

Strategic deterrence

Considering the participation of the Russian aerospace defense system in strategic deterrence, it should be noted that the primary and relatively low-cost response to the escalation of the threat of a “disarmament” strike, due to the development of the US strategic potential, may be to increase the role of the retaliatory strike of the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (SNF). The task of aerospace defense in these conditions is to improve warning capabilities within the framework of the created system of reconnaissance and warning of aerospace attacks (SRPVKN).

Its solution is possible due to the echeloning of the SRPVKN, the inclusion in its composition of space-based, air-based, ground-based and sea-based elements operating on various physical principles. This construction of the SRPVKN will ensure compliance with the requirements for the time of issuance and reliability of warning information. The composition of reconnaissance assets by echelon should be determined taking into account the nature possible actions Enemy SVKN, climatic and geophysical features in a specific strategic aerospace direction.

Despite the importance of increasing the effectiveness of a retaliatory strike, it is necessary to take into account that strategic stability will be most reliable if it is able to inflict unacceptable damage on the aggressor in a retaliatory strike, that is, in the most difficult circumstances for the strategic nuclear forces of the Russian Federation. This ability is ensured by the high survivability of strategic nuclear forces. The participation of aerospace defense in the implementation of such survivability comes down to fire cover of strategic nuclear forces facilities. We propose to consider the facilities of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) as a priority. The primary nature of their cover is due to the fact that these troops contain the main potential of strategic nuclear forces and the entire potential of a retaliatory strike.

An analysis of the development of possible scenarios of military confrontation with the participation of the Russian Federation, based on taking into account factors of a military-political, military-technical and military-geographical nature, allows us to draw the following conclusions.

In wars of various scales using only conventional weapons, armed confrontation in the aerospace sphere will play a decisive role, especially in the initial period of the war.

The tasks of aerospace defense in such wars will be:

Continuous reconnaissance of aerospace space, issuance of reconnaissance information and warning information about the operational deployment of forces and means of aerospace attack, the beginning of an attack, the operational formation and actions of airborne forces groups;

Covering the most important objects of the Armed Forces, strategic reserves from attacks by enemy air defense systems in places of their deployment, concentration, during advancement, deployment and in operations carried out by them, fleet forces at their bases and at sea within the radius of action of aerospace defense forces and assets, key economic and infrastructure facilities in the conflict area.

Effective solution using the forces and means of aerospace defense for information and power tasks will help prevent the enemy from gaining and maintaining air superiority.

In relation to the Russian Federation, it is worth noting the factors that create favorable conditions for the use of airborne attack forces of foreign states and determine the preference for an aerospace invasion compared to a land invasion.

These factors include:

The presence of large groups of airborne attack forces of foreign states near the borders of the Russian Federation;

The proximity of the Russian Federation to centers of instability and increased conflict, the presence of such centers within the borders of the CIS and the Russian Federation itself;

The large length of the borders, the area of the territory, which complicates the possibility of concentrating air defense forces (VKO) in threatened areas;

The presence of an enclave (Kaliningrad region), as well as remote and hard-to-reach areas (Primorye, Sakhalin, Kamchatka, Chukotka);

Availability of strategic nuclear forces, nuclear power plants, chemical plants and other potentially dangerous facilities;

Lack of sufficient information background in the most important areas.

These and other factors together create favorable conditions for the use of airborne attack forces by potential adversaries, determine the preference of an aerospace invasion over a land invasion, and at the same time make it difficult to solve the problems of the country’s aerospace defense.

At certain conditions the goal of aggression can be achieved without a land invasion. If final goal aggression will consist in seizing part of the territory of the Russian Federation and establishing control over it natural resources, then the air (aerospace) phase of the armed confrontation will be aimed at creating favorable conditions for a land (sea) invasion.

Effective solution of information and power tasks by forces and means of aerospace defense will help prevent quick conquest and maintaining unconditional air superiority by the enemy.

Effective solution of information and power tasks by forces and means of aerospace defense will help prevent the enemy from quickly gaining and maintaining unconditional air superiority

Problems and solutions

The experience of wars in the 20th and early 21st centuries convincingly demonstrates that without modern aerospace defense the war will certainly be lost. However, the same experience also shows that with passive defense one cannot, in principle, count on a favorable outcome of the war for the defender, no matter how effective the defense may be.

Consideration, and even more so planning as alternative options Only strike or only defensive actions during armed confrontation are permissible only in a purely theoretical sense. The advantages of combining defensive and offensive actions have long been proven by the practice of past wars, including the experience of the Great Patriotic War.

Only in the case of the integrated use by the defending side of both defensive and strike weapons to repel aggression does armed confrontation acquire the basic classical features of war. Otherwise, more often than not, something similar to a punitive operation takes place. This is exactly what the actions of the US Air Force and Navy against Libya (1986), the actions of multinational forces against Iraq (1991), and the actions of NATO countries against Yugoslavia (1999) look like. The outcome of all the above military conflicts is known. The absence of the ability of one of the parties to strike the enemy clearly ensures the victory of the other side, no matter how strong air defense the victim of aggression did not possess. The only question is time.

Effective solution of problems of armed confrontation in the aerospace sphere is impossible without the presence modern system control, ensuring the integrated use of strike and defensive components. To date, a system for command and control of troops (forces) of the aerospace defense region has been created and is being improved. Unfortunately, the shock component control system lags behind modern requirements. The solution to this problem will make it possible to create a comprehensive strike and defense system that solves the problem of conducting armed warfare in the aerospace sphere.

The main directions of construction and development of videoconferencing in the aerospace region are:

Creation of promising air defense-missile defense systems and their integration into a unified aerospace defense control system;

Re-equipment of troops with advanced models of air and military equipment of the East Kazakhstan region;

Improving the reconnaissance and information systems of PRN (missile attack warning) and MCP, as well as their integration into a unified reconnaissance and warning system for aerospace attacks;

Increasing the number of personnel and quality characteristics domestic orbital group.

Speaking about the currently most important problem of building up groupings of troops (forces) in strategic directions, it should be noted that its solution should go in three main directions:

Creation of completely new groups of troops (forces), equipped with modern models of military equipment;

Increasing the quantitative and qualitative composition of existing groups of troops (forces);

Ensuring strategic mobility of aviation and air defense troops.

In general, the implementation of planned activities by 2021 will allow the East Kazakhstan region of the Russian Federation to fulfill its tasks.

The capabilities of the SRPVKN will make it possible to provide timely warning of an aerospace attack in order to ensure decision-making on response actions, including the use of strategic nuclear forces.

Missile defense capabilities will increase significantly.

Guaranteed anti-aircraft missile cover will be provided for the most important military and government facilities, primarily strategic nuclear forces facilities and the highest levels of government and the Armed Forces.

The implementation of the planned plans for the construction of the aerospace defense of the Russian Federation is impossible without clear, high-quality and, most importantly, coordinated work of all military command and control bodies, research organizations and enterprises of the military-industrial complex. Wind farms also play a large role in this process on East Kazakhstan region issues.

Work on the creation of the aerospace defense of the Russian Federation should be carried out with a general focus, providing for the creation and development of information and fire assets with mandatory interfacing through a unified combat control and communications system.

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(abbreviated as VKS) are a new branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as they were formed in 2015. Soon it will be a year since they began fulfilling their tasks. After all, on August 1 of that year, a presidential decree was issued on the entry into force of the Aerospace Forces.

Story

The Aerospace Forces is a structure formed as a result of the unification of the air and space forces of our country, therefore the history of their emergence consists of several different stages. It’s worth talking about space units first.

It all started in the middle of the last century. The first parts that dealt with control and launch appeared in Russia back in 1955. Then, in 1957, the so-called Command and Measurement Complex was created, designed to control spacecraft. And in 1961, as everyone well knows, the world’s first manned spacecraft, Vostok, was launched. At that time, this activity was organized and managed by TsUKOS, that is, the Central Directorate of Space Facilities. In 1992, the VKS took up this task. But not the aerospace forces, but the military. But the abbreviation was the same as it is now.

Air Force

They have existed since 1912. Their structure includes not only aviation, but also radio engineering, anti-aircraft missile, aeronautical and many other troops.

In the 1930s, the Air Force developed very rapidly. Russian aviation took a direct part in Soviet-Finnish war, which took place in 1939. More than one hundred thousand flights were carried out then. Losses amounted to 627 aircraft. Most of them were shot down, some were lost during disasters or accidents. Many received such damage that it was simply impossible to return the vehicles to service. 14 percent missing.

Creation of video conferencing

As can already be understood, both cosmic and air force are associated with the same environment, and therefore the reasons for their unification are quite clear. Sergei Shoigu, who is the Minister of Defense of our country, also spoke about this. He argued that if we organized the aerospace forces, it would be possible to improve the overall defense system of the state. Firstly, responsibility for the formation of both military and technical policies will be concentrated in one hand. Secondly, by combining several structures together, their effectiveness will be significantly increased. And, thanks to all of the above, the aerospace forces will develop more dynamically. So the premises are quite clear and logically justified.

It is interesting that less than two months have passed since the creation of the Aerospace Forces, when the troops of the new structure were already sent to Syria to carry out military operation. It was on the last day of September 2015. Not only attack aircraft and bombers, but also strategic aircraft took part in the operation.

Tasks

Russia is carrying out very important activities. One of the main tasks is to detect ballistic missile launches and planned enemy attacks. The Russian aerospace forces should notify the highest levels of management about this.

They can also hit the warheads of enemy ballistic missiles if he intends to attack an important government facility and provide protection to control points.

More peaceful tasks include launching aircraft and satellites into orbit. Aerospace Forces structures are also obliged to ensure that Russia is not threatened by a threat emanating from air and outer space.

Another task is carried out by a new type of armed forces. Aerospace structures are obliged to maintain all equipment in full readiness, so that at any time, in the event of a threat, it can be launched and put into action.

Command

The Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation have a very extensive structure and a considerable range of tasks that they are required to perform. This could already be understood based on all of the above. And the management team, accordingly, is also large. The Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces is Colonel General Nikolaevich. It will be discussed in more detail a little later.

The main headquarters is commanded by Viktor Nikolaevich's first deputy, Lieutenant General Pavel Pavlovich Kurachenko. The same title is held by Sergei Vladimirovich Dronov. He is the second deputy commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces. As a matter of fact, the entire command staff of the Russian Aerospace Forces are lieutenant generals, there are no other ranks. The not yet listed composition also includes Yudin A.V., Gumenny V.V. and Golovko A.V.

Head of structure

So, now it’s worth telling in more detail about Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev. He is the chief commander of the Aerospace Forces. Born in 1959, December 7, in the Voronezh region. Since 2012, he has been Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force. After the creation of the aerospace forces was implemented, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin appointed a colonel general as the head of the new structure. On March 16 of this year, the President of the Russian Federation presented V.N. Bondarev with the Battle Banner of the Aerospace Forces.

It is worth noting that in 2000, Viktor Nikolaevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Bondarev is also a participant in the first and second Chechen war. He flew more than 400 combat missions. It must also be said that Bondarev is an honored military pilot of Russia and is qualified as a sniper pilot.

What is the future

It is safe to say that the structure of the videoconferencing will continue to develop in the Russian Federation. Now there are several specialized educational institutions where you can get the appropriate specialty. They are located in Voronezh, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Yaroslavl and Tver. In 2017, it is planned to open a presidential school (in the capital of Russia). Surely they will be created educational establishments in this direction and in other places in our state.

And, of course, there are training units in different Russian cities where conscripts are sent to serve in the army, and from there they are transferred to combat. Previously, all units belonged to the Air Force, but after 2015 they were naturally renamed.

By the way, the Aerospace Forces is a branch of the military in which recruits will not only have to train a lot and engage in physical activity, but in these units they also need to carry out mental activity. After all, everything is connected with aircraft and other devices. Therefore, once in the VKS, a recruit must be prepared for the fact that he will have to learn a lot of very important and necessary material.

The decoding of the relatively recently appeared in the media abbreviation “VKS” is known to almost everyone: “Aerospace Forces”. The Russian Aerospace Forces were formed in 2018. However, the prerequisites for the formation of these forces emerged in the second half of 2008. Forcing Georgia to peace forced the command of the Russian armed forces to completely reconsider the structure of the Russian Air Force, which in practice turned out to be morally outdated and imperfect.

The current state of the Russian Aerospace Forces

After August 1, 2015, as a result of the merger of the Air Force and Aerospace Defense, a new type of armed forces was formed - the Russian Aerospace Forces. The commander of the Aerospace Forces was General Viktor Bondarev, who repeatedly participated in various military conflicts, Hero of the Russian Federation and Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation.

The creation of the Aerospace Forces made it possible to concentrate all the country's air defense assets - air force and air defense troops with the latest equipment, - in a single structure.

BBC today

The Air Force of the Russian Aerospace Forces performs the following tasks:

Air and space reconnaissance;
Detection of the beginning of hostilities against the country in aerospace. After detection, the aerospace forces must notify the control authorities, and using all available weapons, repel the attack;
Protection of important and strategic management facilities and economic areas of the country. In addition to defense, aerospace forces must strike at enemy strategic targets;
Air support for other types of troops.

In addition to combat operations, the Russian Aerospace Forces must ensure launches of vehicles into space and control them using the latest equipment.

Prospects for Air Force modernization

The General Headquarters of Space Defense stated that the Aerospace Forces in the coming years will be equipped with more than a hundred units of new aircraft, mainly for military purposes. This statement was made after the MAKS-2017 aerospace salon. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, General Bondarev, the tasks of updating the aircraft fleet are being solved at an accelerated pace, and by 2019 it is planned to increase the combat effectiveness of the Aerospace Forces aviation to 95 percent.

In addition to admission new technology to military units, expected major renovation and modernization of older aircraft and helicopters. Bondarenko emphasized that the equipment of the Russian Aerospace Forces is in no way inferior to the air fleets of world powers.

To the questions whether VKS will receive increased funding and what general course state armament program until 2025, the general replied that there would be more than enough funds for equipment and performing the tasks of the Aerospace Forces. It was also said that by 2025, 80-90 percent of combat aviation will be latest models technology.

Tactical level of the Air Force today

Today the Air Force fleet contains more than 3,800 aircraft, 1,400 helicopters various types and has the latest equipment, some models of which have no equal in the world. Considering the total number of aircraft, it is difficult to believe that in 7 years it will be possible to replace more than 80 percent of it. Such colossal expenses are beyond the capabilities of even the NATO army. Although observing the renewal trend, which has been clearly visible since 2011, it should be recognized that every year the Aerospace Forces management purchases hundreds of combat equipment.

According to information service VKS, each The educational center Pilot training will receive new Sr-10 training aircraft in 2018. They will be used in pilot training along with the Yak-152 and Yak-130. Since the Air Force is expected to receive many new fighters and bombers in the coming years, there is no need to worry about the safety of the country’s airspace.

Problems of import substitution and ways to solve them

In the recent past, most helicopter engines were supplied to Russia from Ukraine. However, as a result of the aggravation of the situation and the change of government in Ukraine, these supplies almost completely stopped. As a result of the enormous work done by the United Engine Corporation, this problem managed to solve it literally in three years. Now the production of helicopter engines has been established in Russia. Fast build-up production capacity made it possible to supply the entire Russian helicopter industry.

A similar situation arose with the production of engines for cruise missiles. Fast reaction Russian designers allowed us to cope with this problem.

Unfortunately, not all problems with import substitution were successfully resolved. The military transport aviation of the VKS was left without AN series aircraft. After the change of power in Ukraine, the joint program was curtailed, and there are no Russian analogs of the AN series military transport aircraft yet.

Editor's response

On October 4, Russia celebrates Space Forces Day. The holiday is timed to coincide with the launch day of the first artificial Earth satellite PS-1 (Simple Satellite-1). It was launched into orbit on October 4, 1957 by an R-7 launch vehicle from the 5th research site of the USSR Ministry of Defense, which later became known as the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft was a ball with a diameter of 58 centimeters, weighed 83.6 kilograms, and was equipped with four whip antennas 2.4 and 2.9 meters long. The successful launch of the world's first satellite became a revelation in the annals of astronautics, including military ones.

Emblem of the Aerospace Defense Forces. Photo: ommons.wikimedia.org

AiF.ru talks about what the space forces do, their composition and the history of their origin.

Tasks

Space Forces are a branch of the military within the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation. Their main tasks are:

a warning to the country's top military-political leadership about a missile attack;
missile defense of the city of Moscow;
control of outer space;
creation, deployment, maintenance of the domestic orbital constellation and control of spacecraft for military, dual, socio-economic and scientific purposes.

Composition of the space forces:

Space Forces Command;
Main missile attack warning center;
Main center for space reconnaissance;
Directorate for the Introduction of New Systems and Complexes of the Space Forces;
Missile defense formations;
Main Test Center named after German Titov;
State test cosmodrome Plesetsk.

The number of personnel of the Aerospace Defense Forces of the Russian Federation is 165,000 people.

Orbital constellation

As of September 2015, the Russian orbital satellite constellation is the second in the world and consists of 149 devices. Together with orbital constellations of the CIS countries - 167 devices.

For comparison, the largest orbital constellation is owned by the United States, which owns 446 artificial satellites. In third place is China with 120+ satellites. India maintains 40+ operational Earth imaging satellites in polar orbits.

Pilots during an exercise to test the combat readiness of the Aerospace Defense Forces, the 1st Air Force and Air Defense Command of the Western Military District at the Baltimore airfield in Voronezh. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Utkin

Names

Central Directorate of Space Facilities (TSUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) (1964-1970),
Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) (1970-1981),
Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (1981-1986),
Office of the Chief of Space Facilities (UNKS) of the USSR Ministry of Defense (1986-1992),
Military Space Forces (VKS) (1992-1997),
as part of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) (1997-2001),
Space Forces (SF) (2001-2011),
Aerospace Defense Forces (VVKO) (from December 1, 2011 - August 1, 2015),
Space Forces (HF) of the Aerospace Forces (since August 1, 2015).

Major General, Commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces (VKO) Alexander Golovko. Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Klimentyev

Commanders

1964-1965 — K.A.-A. Kerimov
1965-1979 — A. G. Karas
1979-1989 — A. A. Maksimov
1989-1996 — V. L. Ivanov
2001-2004 — A. N. Perminov
2004-2008 — V. A. Popovkin
2008-2011 — O. N. Ostapenko
2012 — V. M. Ivanov- acting temporarily
from December 2012 — A. V. Golovko

Educational establishments

The training of officers for the space forces is carried out by:

Military Space Academy named after A.F. Mozhaisky,
Military Academy of Aerospace Defense named after Marshal Soviet Union G. K. Zhukova.

Story

The first space units were formed in 1955 as part of the Reserve artillery Supreme High Command(RVGK), when by decree of the USSR Government it was decided to build a research site.

In 1964, to centralize work on the creation of new assets, as well as to quickly resolve issues of using space assets, the Central Directorate of Space Assets (TSUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) was created. In 1970, it was reorganized into the Main Directorate of Space Facilities (GUKOS) of the Strategic Missile Forces.

In 1986, GUKOS was transformed into the Office of the Chief of Space Facilities of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Military personnel of the Aerospace Defense Forces greet Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during the parade dedicated to the 68th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War, on the Red Square. Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Ostapkovich

In 1992, the Office of the Chief of Space Facilities was transformed into a branch of centrally subordinate forces - the Military Space Forces (VKS).

In 1997, the Military Space Forces, in order to increase the efficiency of command and control and save the defense budget, were included in the Strategic Missile Forces.

In connection with the increasing role of space assets in the military and national security system of Russia, a Presidential Decree in 2001 created the independent genus forces - Space Forces. At the same time, it was taken into account that space forces and means, forces and means of the RKO have a single sphere of problem solving - space, as well as close cooperation of industrial enterprises, ensuring the creation and development of weapons.