The Russian Air Force begins its history on August 12, 1912 - then by order of the General Staff they created the state of the aeronautical unit. And when the First World War was going on (1914-1918), aviation became a necessary means of aerial reconnaissance and fire support for ground troops from the air. It is safe to say that the military-space forces of Russia have a rather rich and extensive history.
Bitter lessons
The pre-war time and the first year (1942) of World War II showed with a bitter example how tragic the absence of a central command of the Air Force units can turn out to be tragic for the country's defense.
It was at this time that the country's air force was fragmented. Moreover, in such a way that commanders of military districts as well as commanders and commanders of army corps could control the air forces.
As a result of the lack of centralized leadership over the country's air forces, the Nazi Luftwaffe troops, which, incidentally, were directly subordinate to German Minister of Aviation Reichsmarschall German Goering, inflicted heavy damage on the Soviet Air Force.
The result was bitter for the Soviet army. 72% of the air forces from the border districts were destroyed. Having gained dominance in the air, the Luftwaffe troops provided an offensive on the fronts of the Wehrmacht ground forces.
Such hard lessons of the first period of the war served as the basis for the introduction by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (1942), a concentrated command of the Air Force. Air armies were re-formed on the basis of the Air Force military districts.
All these measures led to the fact that by the summer of 1943, Soviet aviation had gained a dominant position in the air.
New era
At the moment, the Russian Air Force is experiencing a new time in its development. We can say that we all live in an era of change when the Russian army is rapidly renewing. The space forces officially began to operate on August 1, 2015 as a new form of the Russian Armed Forces .
In 2010 alone, the Space Forces recorded more than thirty launches of foreign ballistic missiles by warning systems.
In the same 2010, about 110 spacecraft could be included in the structure of the Russian VKS. And 80% of these were spacecraft, both military and dual-use.
The plans of the VKS leadership, also over the course of several years, update the key elements of the entire orbital group. This will increase the productivity of the entire space system. Thus, the Space Forces of the Russian Federation were able to solve various problems.
Destruction of military aircraft in the USSR
But, given the current experience in the leadership of the videoconferencing, it must be remembered that in the 1960s, the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev, in fact, destroyed the bomber aircraft.
The basis for this defeat was the myth that missiles can completely replace the existence of aviation as a kind of troops.
The result of this initiative was that a large fleet of aircraft, consisting of fighters, attack aircraft, bombers, was simply sent for scrapping, despite the fact that they were fully operational and able to carry out combat duty.
Tasks that the videoconferencing can solve
Modern military-space forces of Russia are able to solve various problems:
- protection against striking by means of an enemy aerospace forces and repulsing aggression
- striking at enemy targets and troops, both conventional and with nuclear weapons;
- air support during combat operations by other types of troops;
- ensuring the defeat of not only ballistic missiles of a potential enemy, but also their warheads;
- detection and warning of a missile attack by senior management at the launch of ballistic missiles.
VKS constantly monitor space objects and identify threats to the interests of Russia, both in space and from space. Spaceships are launched into orbits, while both military and dual-use satellites are controlled. Satellite systems and means of launching satellites and controlling them are kept in constant readiness.
Air Force recovery efforts
Today's Air Force, like the pre-war forties, went through the same stage of decentralization of front-line aviation control. The Ministry of Defense of the USSR in 1980 issued a directive according to which instead of air armies they began to form the Air Force in military districts. And the process went so far that to solve strategic tasks, special permission was required to attract the air forces of any of the military districts!
It took a full eight years, while there was a stubborn struggle to restore the principle of centralized command of the Russian Air Force. Which, in turn, significantly increased maneuverability when transferring for operational purposes parts of the Air Force from one direction to another.
The structure of the Russian aerospace forces at the moment looks so that aviation, air defense forces, missile defense, as well as space forces are united under a single command. Colonel General Viktor Bondarev became Commander-in-Chief. As a result of this, a new type of troops arose - the Aerospace Forces.
Air Force Revival
If we talk about the modern air forces of the Russian Federation, this is a completely different level of aviation. To begin with, it should be noted that by the presidential decree (from 08.16.1997) the air defense and air forces were reorganized and combined into the Air Force. This decision helped increase the return on the use of aviation and air defense forces and improved cooperation with the Ground Forces and the Navy.
Also, the modern air forces of Russia have mainly become rocket-propelled, since mounted air-to-air missiles with a range of destruction of targets up to tens of kilometers have become the main weapons of fighter aviation.
But the new Russian military-space forces are capable of hitting air targets, using only anti-aircraft missile defense systems on approach up to 150 km and at altitudes up to 40 km.
VKS Flag History
The VKS flag has a small but its history. On the first version of the flag was the inscription "Military Space Forces."
But already in May 2004, by order of the RF Ministry of Defense, a new flag was established. The VKS symbol remained, but the inscription disappeared.
The flag of the new Space Forces was restored by order of the RF Ministry of Defense dated 05/30/2004.
The emblem of the Space Forces is depicted on a blue panel (with a 2: 3 aspect ratio). It displays a stylized image of the globe, divided into stripes in the colors of the national flag of the Russian Federation. And in the very center of the banner is placed the emblem of the Space Forces in the form of a stylized rocket.
And when already in 2015, the airborne forces were created, combining aviation, air defense forces, missile defense forces and the capabilities of space forces, the flag of the Russian Space Forces did not change.
The structure of the military space forces of Russia
Technically, the Russian Aerospace Forces infuse three types of troops :
- Air Force
- air defense and missile defense troops;
- Space troops.
From this point of view, the creation of an aerospace forces is an important but first step in creating a combat-ready type of Russian Armed Forces.
Much still needs to be done to ensure that the most important strategic objects, both military and industrial, are under reliable cover from attack, both from air and from space.
Fleet
The total number of VKS aircraft consists of the availability of new-built vehicles and the modernization of the existing fleet.
By 2020, the Russian Aerospace Forces will have in their fleet up to 2430-2500 aircraft and helicopters.
Here you can mention a small list of aircraft already in the fleet of aircraft and promising:
- Yak-141 - fighter vertical take-off and landing;
- Tu-160 "White Swan";
- the Berkut fighter Su-47 (S-37);
- PAK FA T-50:
- Su-37 "Terminator";
- MiG-35;
- Su-34;
- Tu-95MS "Bear";
- Su-25 Rook;
- An-124 Ruslan.
Along with updating the fleet of VKS combat vehicles, infrastructure is also actively being created in the places of basing. Also important in terms of improving combat readiness is the timely maintenance and repair of military equipment.
Space Threats and VKS
According to Defense Minister S. Shoigu, the aerospace forces will protect Russia from a space threat. For this, the created type of aircraft combines:
- Aviation
- troops and parts of air defense and missile defense;
- Space troops;
- funds of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The Minister of Defense explained the need for such a reform by the fact that in the new realities of hostilities the emphasis is increasingly shifting to the space sphere. And without involvement in hostilities in the modern conditions of the Space Forces it is no longer possible to do, but they themselves cannot exist.
But it was specifically noted that the existing system for managing aviation and air defense forces is not subject to change.
General leadership will continue to be carried out by the General Staff, and direct leadership, as before, by the High Command of the air forces.
Alternative look
But there are those who disagree. According to the president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, Doctor of Economics K. Sivkova, the Russian Aerospace Forces were created without taking into account the specifics of the work of the Air Force and the East Kazakhstan region. They are so different that the transfer of control in one hand is fundamentally inexpedient.
If combined, it would be more logical to do this by combining the space command and command of the missile defense system. According to the doctor of military sciences, they both solve one common problem - the fight against objects that pose a threat from the space sphere.
The use of all the capabilities of space systems by all leading military powers is regarded as an important security factor. Modern armed conflicts begin with aerospace reconnaissance and surveillance.
The US military is actively implementing the concepts of "total strike" and "total missile defense." At the same time, they provide in their doctrine for the rapid defeat of the enemy’s forces anywhere in the world. In this case, the damage from a retaliatory strike is minimized.
The main focus is on the prevailing dominance both in airspace and in space. For this, as soon as hostilities have begun, massive aerospace operations are carried out with the destruction of vital enemy targets.
Aerospace forces will replace the Russian Air Force. For this, such reforms are carried out in the country.
But according to the Minister of Defense, the new Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation will make it possible to concentrate all funds in one hand, which will allow for the formation of a military-technical policy for the further development of troops responsible for security in the aerospace sphere.
All this is done to ensure that all citizens of Russia are always confident that they will be protected by the army and the aerospace forces.