Ensuring Strategic Stability in the Past and Present:

Mobility, in combination with the uniform data field, and the relevant operational and combattraining and equipment of soldiers and battle groups, makes it possible to conduct multifocalcombat operations in dispersed battle arrays and thus defocus the adversary’s attention. All typesof mobility are extremely important for Russia, with its immense territory and various conditionsfor fulfillment of the military mission and conduct of combat operations by the armed forces. Unfortunately,this importance is not adequately perceived even by the Russian expert community.In a present-day war, with multifocal combat operations and no solid front lines, we are noticingan increase in the share of special assets and forces, which take over a number of tasks that usedto be intrinsic to the ground forces.In the context of the qualitatively new stage of development of aerospace assault weapons, whichpotentially may be used against Russia, it becomes especially important to develop new approachestoward the assets and systems of air defense, missile defense and space defense at all levels(strategic, operational and tactical), and to set realistic tasks for these systems with due regardfor particular theaters, types of military operations, and various scenarios of aggravation of thepolitical-military situation. Again, the role of electronic warfare in this context should becomemore and more important. 82In the past, the strategic air defense forces and, to a lesser extent, the space and missile defenseforces that were extensively developed in the Soviet Union were predominantly stationary, andtheir mobility capabilities were minimal. Today, Russia needs to develop these forces by focusingon their mobility—not just tactically, but in the operational and strategic spheres as well. Thenew tactical and technical requirements and tasks concerning the development of new componentsand the modernization of existing ones must be formulated with this goal in mind. In thiscontext, the means of mobility, which in particular provide for the quick long-distance deliveryof air-defense missile systems (ADMS), and also include heavy cargo aircraft like the An-124 andthe relevant airfield and information infrastructure, will become increasingly important.In all, it is necessary to state that in the modern context, the parameters of evaluation of the balanceof forces and the conditions of strategic stability of general-purpose forces have becomemore complex, multidimensional and multivariate. Today, evaluations of the actual combatstrength of the sides, of the balance of forces, and of the conditions for securing strategic stability,should be based to an even lesser extent on calculations of the number of strike aircraft, tanks,armored combat vehicles (ACV), artillery pieces and helicopters than was the case in the recentpast.However, as was the case during previous revolutions in the military arts, all the latest militaryhardware can be found alongside traditional, prerevolutionary hardware, albeit of the more technologicallyadvanced variety, such as tanks, other ACVs, aircraft carriers and additional systems.Some combat platforms are used in a new way. Certainly, all these aspects should be reflected inthe new provisions of the military doctrine of the Russian Federation, set down in its field manualsand instructions, and clarified in Russia’s programs and plans of development of weaponry andmilitary hardware.42Ensuring Strategic Stability in the Past and Present: Theoretical and Applied Questions