Gorbachev's Agenda by Susan L Clark

Author:Susan L Clark [Clark, Susan L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General
ISBN: 9780429713897
Google: x02wDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-09-17T15:57:28+00:00

The Future Battlefield

Dividing the post-war era into periods of military development is a peculiarly Soviet way of looking at the historical development of military affairs. Of late, the exact timing of the more recent of these divisions has become a disputed issue in Soviet military history-evidence that the analysis of the current period is not entirely clear. If this is so, Soviet military analysts argue that future developments cannot be clearly foreseen either. The fact is that the pace of change is accelerating, and it is becoming ever more difficult for Soviet military science to keep abreast of these changes. These rapid changes cause problems, for example, in procurement. The all-important factor today is speed of procurement. Weapons technology becomes obsolescent in the lab, before it ever reaches the field.11 Economics is no longer the sole determinant in the outcome of a conflict; a nation’s ability to mobilize economic potential for war has become as important a factor. Similarly, it is not technology but the ability to field that technology, which will become the more important factor in determining the outcome of future battle. In this context fielding does not mean simply producing or supplying, but also working out an efficient force structure to accommodate the new weapon or equipment; devising tactics or procedures for its employment; and training soldiers to use it effectively. Thus, the quality instead of quantity issue previously referred to becomes a much more complex issue than it might first seem.

Although the development of weapons based on new physical principles is no longer in the realm of military science fiction, it is still some years away from deployment. Any war within the next few years is likely to be fought mainly with the technology of yesterday and today and won by the side that can field these technologies most effectively. To the Soviet Army, this certainly means better weapons but, as noted in the reference to the MiG-29, there is unlikely to be any real fundamental change in the principles by which those weapons will be used. While a greatly reduced reliance on drills is not expected, drills should improve, with more alternatives and more sophisticated standard operating procedures.

This is particularly the case with the modernization of command and control. At the lower level, more junior officer “native wit” will certainly be encouraged to cope with the problems of fluid battle situations and lack of communications, but greater initiative will probably continue to mean a more effective choice of and initiation of improved tactical drills. Less overt tutelage by senior officers will be more likely, leaving more command of detail to the junior officer.

Both soldier and officer will need to show greater versatility on the future battlefield and will need to be able to do a greater variety of jobs. Increasing the soldier’s versatility will be the real test for the training system. Just as radically improved weapons can spring only from a radically improved economy, so radically better soldiers are possible only if the raw material of Soviet society can be improved.

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