The Bear Facts: Russians Appraise the Stryker Brigade Concept
Abstract
The Stryker brigade concept is a matter of some interest to the Russian Army, which has inherited a long tradition of using wheeled personnel carriers in concert with tracked personnel carriers. In Soviet times, Motorized Rifle Divisions normally had three motorized rifle regiments, a tank regiment and an artillery regiment. Two of the motorized rifle regiments were mounted on wheeled armored personnel carriers (BTRs), while the third was mounted on tracked armored personnel carriers (BMPs). BMPs were recognized as the tougher, more effective combat vehicle, but even the Soviet Army occasionally had to watch its rubles. The wheeled BTRs were used on secondary attack routes or as a follow-and support force while tracked BMPs were used for the main break-thorough attack in conjunction with the tank regiment. The cheaper wheeled carriers were a cost-cutting measure. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Russian Army continued this TO&E (table of organization and equipment), but formed a special peace keeping division. The 27th Guard Motorized Rifle Division kept their BTRs and BMPs, but stored their artillery and tanks. They used their BTRs primarily for peace keeping roles. The Russians saw the peace keeping division as a patrolling and stability unit, not a combat unit, so the prominence of the more road-bound wheeled carriers made sense. When the Russians joined NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina, they contributed an airborne regiment. The regiment was mounted on the cramped, air-droppable BMD tracked armored personnel carriers. Once the ground situation settled, the Russian regiment was augmented with a number of BTRs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA593528
Entities
People
- Elena Stoyanov
- Lester W. Grau