Recently, the largest military exercise in Russian history, the "Orient-2018" strategic exercise, came to an end in the border region of post Baikal Russia. This military exercise has attracted strong attention from all parties due to its large scale, many active equipment and strong sense of actual combat. A large number of active main battle equipment shocked the audience, bringing a rare visual feast to people. The transnational participation of the Chinese military has added many highlights to the military exercises. Our reporter Cai Pengcheng takes you to watch the parade on the spot. At the same time, we also invite experts from the Joint Operations School of the National Defense University to interpret the star equipment of the Russian army for you in detail.
Classic steel torrent of land war
Star equipment: T-72 tank TOS-1 flamethrower tank "whirlwind" multi tube rocket
Russia is a traditional land war power with rich experience in implementing large-scale land operations. The important basis for its dominance in the land battlefield is the armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery with excellent performance. They charged in groups and walked while fighting, forming a torrent of steel for high-speed attack. Through the smoke of war and entering the information age, various high-tech has injected new strength into them. During the "Dongfang-2018" strategic exercise, the Russian army made a heavy appearance of steel.
Russian tank design concept has always emphasized the rapid supplement ability and battlefield adaptability of equipment. The T-72 tank family has become a generation of classic combat vehicles that sell well in many countries because of its convenient production, durable leather and simple maintenance. The new modified T-72B3 tank participated in this exercise is equipped with a new engine, explosive reactive armor, gunner sight finder and fire control system. Its 125mm main gun can not only use ordinary ammunition such as armor piercing bullets, but also launch gun launched missiles. Its overall performance has been greatly improved, and it is the main equipment of the current Russian tank forces.
TOS flamethrower tank is mainly responsible for opening up access roads, eliminating concealed fire points, setting fire barriers and other important tasks. In the Second Chechen War, the Spitfire Tank showed great power. This time, the upgraded TOS-1 flamethrower tank was equipped with a precision fire control system, and its long-range rockets were also equipped with radio fuzes, which doubled the operational efficiency.
"Cyclone" multi barrel rocket launcher is the largest caliber rocket launcher in Russia at present, with a maximum range of 90 kilometers. It is easy to load and operate, and can use various types of warheads to attack different targets such as the enemy's command center, troop assembly center, frontier airport, and important technical weapon positions. "Cyclone" can also carry out rocket mine laying and use fragment warhead rockets to shoot 12 at a time, covering nearly 100 football fields. The "Cyclone" command is highly automated, the launch vehicle has good off-road performance, and can respond quickly in battle. The transition time between its marching and fighting states is only 3 minutes. Recently, the Russian army has also equipped it with a new type of rocket equipped with a simple inertial guidance system, which has improved the accuracy of fire strikes.
The Musta self-propelled howitzer launched this time was developed on the basis of the T-80 tank chassis, with a maximum range of 30 kilometers and an automatic loader. Msta's specialty is to use "red earth" laser guided shells to attack the enemy accurately. The gun has good maneuverability and large ammunition carrying capacity, and can provide fire support at any time with the high-speed movement of tanks.
Legendary Family Smiles and Proud in the Sky
Star equipment: Su-35 multipurpose fighter Figure-95MS bomber Figure-22M3 bomber
Russia has inherited the huge aviation assets of the Soviet Union. After nearly 30 years, many equipment are still in the ascendant. The air force equipment participating in the "Dongfang-2018" strategic exercise fully demonstrates the solid foundation, ambition and recent achievements of the Russian air force.
The Su-27 series fighter, with its excellent performance, has become the main equipment of many national air forces, and is still the best card of Russian military industry. At present, the functions of this series of fighters are constantly expanding, and they have become versatile fighters in air control operations and ground to sea attacks. The Su-30SM multirole fighter, Su-34 fighter bomber and Su-35S multirole fighter participated in this performance are all from this family.
The Su-34 is an all-weather, supersonic, two engine, two seat fighter bomber. It can use all kinds of guided weapons. While maintaining the excellent air control ability of the Su-27 series fighter, its ability to attack the ground and sea is greatly enhanced, and it is close to the original medium-sized strategic bomber.
The Su-35S, the latest improved model of the Su-35 multi-purpose fighter, integrates vector engine, new phased array radar and avionics, greatly enhances the detection ability of stealth targets, can cruise at 1.2 times the speed of sound, and has the ability to counter the fourth generation aircraft.
The Su-24 fighter bomber also participated in the performance. This is an all-weather, supersonic, variable sweep wing, two engine, two seat fighter bomber. It is the same as the Su-27 series fighter aircraft and was developed earlier. Its payload is up to 8 tons. It can penetrate at supersonic speed, and has strong ground and sea strike capabilities. Soviet fighter planes frequently appeared in many close military contests between the United States and Russia, and in Russia's military operations against Syria, they were the undisputed protagonists in the battlefield.
The Tu-95MS bomber and Tu-22M3 bomber are the backbone of Russia's air strategic force and can also carry out campaign and tactical tasks.
Tu-95 was developed by the Soviet Union's Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1950s. In addition to being a bomber, it can also be expanded to perform maritime patrol, anti submarine, communication relay, electronic reconnaissance and other tasks. Tu-95MS is an improved model of Tu-95. Its upgrade can be described as a "complete rebirth", greatly improving the life of the airframe. It is equipped with new engines, radars and targeting and navigation systems, comprehensively upgrading the avionics equipment, and can attach the new Kh-101 strategic cruise missile. It has the ability to launch in Russia and complete combat tasks by means of long-range strikes. In Syria, Tu-95MS accurately destroyed many important targets of extremist organizations, fully demonstrating the power of the big "bear".
Figure-22M3 supersonic variable swept wing long-range strategic bomber is currently the fastest active bomber in the world, with strong penetration capability and large operational radius. This bomber can not only carry out strategic nuclear bombing, but also conventional tactical bombing. It can also carry a large number of long-range anti-ship missiles to carry out saturation attacks on aircraft carrier formation. It is one of the core forces of Russia's anti-ship operations.
At present, Russia is still making continuous improvement on Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3. After quenching and steel addition, the "Tu Shi Shuangxiong" will be revitalized.
