Skip to main content

Russian Battalion Tactical Group southbound from Saint Petersburg

 

A social media video of a Russian train loaded with military vehicles surfaced 20.8.2020. The video was supposedly filmed south of Saint Petersburg. While videos of Russian convoys and trains laden with tanks are not rare, there are some interesting features in this one.


It seems to feature a fully functional Russian battalion tactical group. The maneuver unit is clearly based around a motorized rifle battalion that is equipped with the venerable MT-LB tracked armored personnel carriers. In the Russian system a Motorized Rifle unit can be classified as either mechanized or motorized in the west depending on the set of vehicles it is equipped with.

This battalion has at least 35 baseline MT-LBs, which is consistent with the 3 vehicles per platoon and 3 platoons + ATGM-section per company structure that is typical with the battalions of the motorized rifle brigades.

 

The battalion also has its integral command and communications assets in the form of two R-149 unified command and communications vehicles based on the BTR-80 wheeled APC. They are equipped with the latest Russian digital communications systems and allow very high level of coordination between formations.


A rarer asset in the battalion is an R-330B electronic warfare vehicle with basic abilities to jam and locate hostile communications.


The supporting elements of the battalion consist of at least a platoon of four T-72B3 tanks that provide direct fire support for the infantry. The T-72B3 is an advanced upgrade of the T-72 tank with a new reactive armor and upgraded electronics, including thermal optics.

 

For indirect fire purposes the BTG is attached with a battery of six 2S3 Akatsiya SPGs. While the 152mm 2S3 is an outdated design that is being replaced by more modern systems, it is still capable of providing fire support within the BTGs area of operations.

 

A battalion tactical group like this is capable of conducting limited operations independently and it’s a highly flexible asset for the Russian high command.


 

Where exactly this particular BTG is heading to is unknown. The tracks lead to Belarus, but there are also several large Russian training areas in that direction and the Russian army has announced that multiple motorized rifle units will conduct force on force training in the region.


-Petri Mäkelä

Labels:

Comments

  1. NEFTEGAZENERGYApril 5, 2021 at 9:06 PM

    We Neftegaz Energy Consultant, Currently working as a mandate to a Russia Refinery who has following Petroleum products in Rotterdam and Russia for urgent lift.
    We have JP54, D6, D2, A1. on CI Dip and Pay.
    If you interested contact us for SCO.

    Maksim Yaroslav
    Email: neftegazconsultant@yandex.ru
    Email: neftegazconsultant@mail.ru
    Skype: neftegazconsultant

    ReplyDelete
  2. doronApril 13, 2021 at 2:53 AM

    i was lost with no hope for my wife was cheating and had always got away with it because i did not know how or

    always too scared to pin anything on her. with the help a friend who recommended me to who help hack her phone,

    email, chat, sms and expose her for a cheater she is. I just want to say a big thank you to

    SUPERIOR.HACK@GMAIL.COM . am sure someone out there is looking for how to solve his relationship problems, you can also contact him for all sorts of hacking job..he is fast and reliable. you could also text +1 213-295-1376(whatsapp) contact and thank me later

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fubotv ActivateApril 19, 2021 at 4:02 PM

    You will see Fubo Tv, where you can access any browser after you are done with fubotv sign up including both the apple and Windows computers.When you get access to fubo.tv/Connect, you get access to view more than 200 channels, and it has everything you require in any streaming services, starting from the DVR capabilities to all kinds of high resolution streaming sports events.

    ReplyDelete
  4. bretl460April 29, 2021 at 10:34 AM

    Assignment studio is one reputable name that has been in the Academic Writing services industry for last 8 years now. Over the years the company has not only helped thousands of university and college students but has developed a team of professional writers who love helping students in need of academic help.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMay 10, 2021 at 1:25 PM


    Check this website for Orbi App Download for Windows PC. You can download Orbi App for Windows 10 computers. But in case you are using the previous version of Windows like Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 8 then I have shared the download link for that also.

    ReplyDelete
  6. hacked credit card numbers with cvv and zip codeSeptember 30, 2021 at 7:49 PM

    Sony has revealed the price to be $499 (£449 / AU$749.95). That puts it squarely at many price predictions in the run-up to the showcase event. And many were still unsure of . therefore PS5 price comes in at the same cost as the Xbox Series X price. After that shouldn’t come as a surprise to many,
    Seeing as it’s difficult to imagine the PS5 price exceeding $500 when it’s up against the affordable spread put out by Microsoft. but bexuniversal got the best around for you so you got no worries best buy ps5.

    ReplyDelete
  7. NoveltyDMVExpertsOctober 3, 2021 at 2:34 AM

    I have read Your Article and Learn a lot from it. I can Imagine the time it took to get all this expertise exposed . You can also look here to see where to easily get a FAKE BANK STATEMENTS FOR EASY LOAN APPROVAL I've bookmark your site and furthermore include RSS. keep us refreshed all the time.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quick guide to identifying the Russian tanks Part 1: main platforms and T-72 variants

As most of the western nations have reduced their inventories to a few or mostly one type of main battle tank model in their active inventories, the myriad of tank platforms and distinct versions employed by the Russian armed forces may feel overwhelming. Here is a quick guide to identifying Russian MBTs. When you come across an image (or the actual thing), follow the steps to identify it properly. Family of the tank Russian Armed Forces currently operates, or at least storage, the following tank platforms/families: -           T-55 (<2000 in storage) -           T-62 (2000 in storage) -           T-64 (2000 in storage) -           T-72 (2000 active duty, 8000 in storage) -           T-80 (2000 active duty, 5000 in storage) -           T-90 (350 active duty, 600  in storage) -           T-14 (20 in field testing) So how can you identify what type of a tank are you looking at? There are two features that can be used to distingu
39 comments
Read more

The Hammer and the Sickle - Potential Russian Pincer-Offensive

For the past weeks the social media has been filled with sightings of Russian troops moving towards the regions bordering Ukraine. The buildup was initially called an exercise, but in the most recent press releases Kremlin has been rather clear that the troops have been deployed there as an operational deployment, if Russia feels a need to act upon any real or imaginary escalation in Donbass. The troops will stay in the region as long as President Putin sees it necessary. Russia Serna-Class landing crafts of the Caspian flotilla The initial buildup was focused on occupied Crimea that has so far received an additional VDV airborne regiment, multiple mechanized battalion tactical groups and heavy artillery units equipped with at least the enormous 240mm 2S4 Tulpan mortars.  Additional trains and convoys have been spotted in Rostov, Krasnodar and Voronezh regions. The Russian controlled Belarusian military has also been alerted and multiple, very Russian looking units are operating in the
53 comments
Read more

Death from above – Russian ad hoc top attack defenses

T-72B3 tanks with crude top armor cages The recent Russian tank upgrade programs and the ever slower moving T-14 Armata saga, have all had significant portion of the efforts put into improving the survivability of the tank and its crew. Both static and explosive reactive armor (ERA) have been upgraded and small amount of the latest T-90M and T-72B3 tanks have active protection systems that may be able to defeat most of the anti-tank missiles and slower moving HEAT shells. Environmentally friendly T-90M While these programs have put some emphasis on the armor on the top of the turret, the main focus has been in the sides and the front of the hull and turret. Additional ERA elements have been mounted on the skirts of the vehicles and slat-cage type standoff armor has been attached into the rear sides of the turrets and hulls. These modifications however have very little effect on direct top attacks by modern anti-tank missiles such as the American Javelin, that is also in the
17 comments
Read more