Russia's weapons are rightfully considered one of the best in the world. The technical developments of Soviet and Russian designers are constantly being improved and are in no way inferior to their foreign counterparts.
Weapon
The foundation of any army in the world is the infantry. Russian infantry are armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. For a long time, the AK-74, an assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union, was in service. The operation of this model began in 1974, and four years later it was adopted. Easy to operate and maintain, the machine has become truly iconic: it has regularly appeared in feature films and Hollywood action films. About the Soviet machine gun even sang songs. When the gaming industry was able to afford to make high-quality 3D shooters, Kalashnikov migrated to computer games. It’s hard to name a game in which, among other weapons, there is no Soviet machine gun.
The Soviet assault rifle with a caliber of 5.45 and a magazine for 30 rounds was convenient enough, but not universal, there were three different modifications of the AK-74, tailored to different conditions and goals. To reduce the load on production and give universality to the main infantry weapon, in 1991 a new version of the assault rifle, the AK-74M, was invented and put into service. The modified Kalashnikov combined all the variants of the previous models: a folding butt, a bar for mounting the sight and night vision devices, and the ability to install a grenade launcher were now present in one version.
Also, in addition to a universal machine gun, any army is armed with machine guns. They have more destructive power, but at the same time deprive the shooter of mobility. In the Russian army, the most common machine gun from the same Kalashnikov concern - PC.
A Kalashnikov machine gun is defined as a “single machine gun”, a universal model of a weapon that can be used both manual and easel. Thanks to this multitasking, PCs can be used manually, or can be installed on tanks or other combat vehicles. In today's army, a modernized version of the machine gun, adopted for service in 1969 (PKM), is used. The new version of the machine gun differs from the original in less weight and ease of transportation. The PKM caliber is 7.62 traditional for the Soviet army, the cartridges with cartridges differ in volume: from 100 to 250 rounds.
Almost every unit has a sniper, there are also whole groups and special schools for their training. The most common type of weapon for these specialists is the Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD). It was developed in the late 50s and put into service in 1963. Caliber rifle 7.62, store for 10 rounds. SVD rate of 30 rounds per minute.
In the modern army of Russia, in addition to the original model, there are several modifications. SVDS - a rifle designed for the Airborne Forces, the main difference from the SVD: a folding butt and a slightly shortened barrel. Another option adopted by the modern army is SVDK: it has a folding butt and is distinguished by a 9.3mm caliber.
Officers and warrant officers of the Russian army are armed with pistols. The main type is the Makarov pistol (PM), developed back in 1948. It was put into operation three years later and remains in service until now.
The Makarov self-loading pistol has a caliber of 9 mm, a cartridge capacity of 8 rounds plus one can be located in the barrel. The rate of fire of this type of weapon is 30 rounds per minute.
Battle tanks
One of the best representatives of the MBT class in the Russian army is the T-90 tank. It was developed by the famous Russian designer Vladimir Ivanovich Potkin and put into operation in 1992. After his death, the Russian government approved a new name for the car: T-90 "Vladimir". The tank has impressive characteristics: the main gun’s caliber 125mm, two single machine guns and a rocket launcher to combat air targets. T-90 is equipped with combined and anti-shell armor. At its core, the T-90 (or Object-188) is an improved version of the Soviet T-72B.
From 2001 to 2010, various modifications of the T-90 became the best-selling weapons on the world arms market. Despite the high efficiency of these vehicles, the armament of the Russian army with Vladimir tanks has been discontinued since 2011.
The largest number of tanks in service is the Soviet T-72B, the prototype T-90. The development of this tank was carried out in the early 1980s, and release was carried out until 1992. The tank has combined armor and a dynamic protection system "Contact-5". The caliber of the main gun is 125 mm.
The loudest development of recent years in the Russian army was the T-14 tank based on the universal Armata platform created by Uralvagonzavod. The main and almost unique feature of this tank was an uninhabited tower - the entire crew is in a well-protected tank base, which reduces the risk of disabling combat vehicle soldiers.
Another feature of the T-14 was its cost, one copy of "Almaty" costs 3-5 times more expensive than its predecessors. The operation of the tank began in 2014, in 2015 it was presented at the victory parade in honor of May 9. But by 2019, they still cannot arrange the supply of tanks for the army, the priorities of orders and the cost of tanks are constantly changing. Some experts quite reasonably argue that such a technique is not required at all by the Russian army; the T-90 and T-72 are quite capable of handling the tasks.
Armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles
BTR-80 and BTR-82 make up the bulk of all armored personnel carriers in the Russian army. These machines replaced the obsolete BTR-70, which proved extremely poorly during the Afghan war. Production of the "eighties" began in 1984, and since 1990 they have become the main armored personnel carriers in Russia. BTR-82 is a more modern version, which was developed already in the zero years and put into production in 2013. The cars are armed with 30 mm automatic guns.
The most common infantry vehicle in the Russian army is the BMP-2. Developed and released back in Soviet times, this technique still forms the basis of landing vehicles in the army. The BMP-1 differs from its prototype in a more capacious turret and weaponry. The caliber of the main automatic gun is 30 mm.
Iskander-M
The most famous tactical missile system in Russia is Iskander-M. The installation capable of launching medium and short-range missiles (up to 500 kilometers) has practically become a cult, after the official deployment of several complexes in the Kaliningrad region. The foreign press called the appearance of the Iskander “an alarming and frightening event.” To date, the Russian army has about 10 manned Iskander brigades.
All this equipment is only a small part of the armament of the Russian army. To get a deeper acquaintance with all instances of military vehicles, tanks, rocket launchers or small arms, it is worth using Wikipedia or the official website of the Ministry of Defense, which details the characteristics of all instances of deadly vehicles that are in service with the Russian Federation.
