Russia plans to form new 1st Tank Army and 20th Combined Army by December 1

In the Western Military District, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to create a new tank army by December 1 and another, 20th combined army, will in fact be formed anew. As a senior source at Russia’s General Staff told TASS earlier, most of the units that have been organic to the 20th combined army are being transferred to a newly-created tank army and will have to be replaced by new ones.

The 1st Tank Army will incorporate the Tamanskaya Mechanized Infantry Division and the Kantemirovskaya Tank Division, as well as the 27th Sevastopolskaya Mechanized Infantry Brigade and the 6th Tank Brigade.

“Reformatting the 20th Combined Army, which has been stripped of most of its combat units, is a more complex task,” the source said. “At the moment it has incorporated the 9th tank brigade in Nizhny Novgorod. Other tank and mechanized infantry brigades for that army are being formed.”

The 1st and 20th armies will have one reconnaissance and one air missile brigade, as well as a logistics brigade, missile and artillery units a helicopter regiment and other units, including reconnaissance and attack drone units. Both will be armed with new generation armoured vehicles – Armata platform-based tanks and the mechanized infantry combat vehicle Kurganets.

Another tank army will be formed near Moscow by December.

“This work is already in progress,” a source at the General Staff said. “Research is underway into the locations of control centres and the combat potential and strength of the units. No official documents for creating a second tank army have been signed yet, though,” the official added.

Earlier, Airborne Troops Commander Vladimir Shamanov said that on the basis of Russia’s paratroops a rapid reaction force was to be created. The force would have a dual capability of operating on its own or in combination with ground troops.

“We have plans for building up the strength of our airborne and airborne assault divisions to three regiments,” Shamanov said. A source at the General Staff told TASS the strength of airborne troops would grow from 45,000 officers and men to 60,000.

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Sergey Ishchenko

During tank exercises at the site Kantemir division (Photo by Artem Korotaev / TASS)

Something changed abruptly in the approaches to the organization of the General Staff of National Defense. Here are some facts that the military announced recently.
On Wednesday, an anonymous source in the Defense Ministry told Tass that on 1 December 2015 in the composition of the Western Military District will be recreated 1st Guards Tank Army. The team has already been appointed – Major-General Alexander Chaiko . The headquarters will be deployed in the village Bakovka near Moscow.
This new army commander does not have to be jealous. Its task is complicated in the extreme. It Panzer Army to form in Russia today almost anything else. After destructive “reform” of the last two decades, tank units and formations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is almost gone.

New Russian 1st Tank Army unit will be equipped with T-14 Armata MBTs and Kurganets IFVs

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to create a new tank army in the Western Military District by December 1, a senior source at Russia’s General Staff has told TASS. Major-General Alexander Chaiko has been appointed commander of the 1st Tank Army. Before, he was in charge of the 20th Army. The latter’s new commander is Major-General Sergey Kuzovlyov (previously chief of staff of the 58th Combined Army).

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