"In this companion volume to his photographic history of Soviet tanks and armoured vehicles, Anthony Tucker-Jones provides a visual guide to the vast array of aircraft, warships and missiles the Soviet armed forces deployed at the height of the Cold War. Although the superpowers never came to blows, the so-called 'Cold War' was far from cold, with numerous 'hot' proxy wars being fought in Africa and the Middle East. All these conflicts employed Soviet weaponry which has been captured in action in the colour and black-and-white photographs selected for this book. Between the 1950s and 1980s Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries churned out thousands of weapons ready for the Third World War. They also embarked on a technological arms race with NATO in an attempt to counter each new piece of equipment as it appeared. The MiG fighters, the Badger and Backfire bombers, the nuclear submarines have achieved almost iconic status, but, as Anthony Tucker-Jones's book shows, there was much more to the Soviet armoury than these famous weapons. Much of it, despite its age, remains in service with armies, guerrilla forces and terrorist organizations around the world today."
The T-54, T-62 and T-72 main battle tanks along with the personnel carriers, assault guns, self-propelled guns and anti-tank missiles that are illustrated in this photographic history represent the high point in the design and manufacture of armoured vehicles by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Although the superpowers never came to blows, the 'Cold War' was far from cold, as numerous 'hot' proxy wars were fought in Africa and the Middle East, and these conflicts employed the Soviet weaponry that is shown in action in the colour and black-and-white photographs selected for this book.Between the 1950s and 1980s Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries produced thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles ready for the Third World War. They embarked on a technological arms race with the NATO allies in an attempt to counter each new piece of equipment as it appeared in service. Much of this Soviet weaponry has achieved almost iconic status and, despite its age, remains in service with armies, guerrilla forces and terrorist organizations around the world today. It is also of enduring interest to collectors, re-enactors and modellers who are fascinated by the military equipment of the late twentieth century.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Army was perhaps the deadliest fighting force the world had ever seen. Within its mechanized forces, the Soviets accomplished something that their American counterparts never could – the fielding of a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) that could keep pace with its heavy armored formations. This volume examines the design, development and operational history of the Soviet Union's Cold War SPAAGs: the ZSU-37, ZSU-57-2, the infamous ZSU-23-4, and the 9K22 Tunguska (better known by its NATO reporting name: SA-19 'Grison'). These vehicles excelled in their air defense role, and many US Department of Defense publications were dedicated to examining how to defeat the ZSU and its radar tracking system. These formidable weapons equipped Russian forces in Afghanistan and were encountered again in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, cementing their place in the landscape of modern warfare. This study explores the full history of the SPAAGs with revealing photographs, technical illustrations and detailed analysis.
A fully illustrated study of the Soviet Navy's biggest and most powerful surface combatants of the Cold War. Heavily armed and formidable, guided missile cruisers formed the core of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. From the last class of conventional Sverdlov-class cruisers through to increasingly complex and formidable missile cruisers, these ships ensured that NATO took the Soviet naval threat seriously. Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers covers all classes of these impressive warships, from the early Sverdlov through the Kynda, Kresta, Kara and Slava to the enormous Kirov classes. Together, these vessels marked the apogee of Soviet naval technology and capability and they remain today the largest non-aircraft carrier warships built since 1945. Containing material previously only available in Russian and fully researched from specialist defence journals, this comprehensive volume examines the design, development, and intended role of these impressive, hi-tech warships, and recounts their dramatic operational history as NATO and Soviet warships faced off against each other during the long Cold War at sea.
“It covers, chapter by chapter the anti-air battle in wars from Yom Kippur (1973) onwards . . . a readable, well researched and well-presented book.” —Army Rumour Service (ARRSE) Anti-aircraft artillery truly came into prominence during the Second World War, shooting down more aircraft than any other weapon and seriously affecting the conduct of air operations. Development continued into the Cold War, resulting in the extensive introduction of surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs. Though the first combat success of such weapons was during the Vietnam War, when a Soviet-designed S-75 Dvina missile shot down a USAF F-4C Phantom on 24 July 1965, it was the Yom Kippur War of 1973 which brought surface-to-air missiles to the center stage. During this short but bitter conflict, Egyptian and Syrian air defenses shot down nearly fifty Israeli aircraft in the first three days alone—almost a fourth of Israel’s entire combat aircraft fleet. In all, Israel lost 104 aircraft during the war and, for the first time, more aircraft were lost to SAMs than any other cause. The age of surface-to-air missiles had dawned. In this unique examination, the author details the development of not just surface-to-air missiles, but all anti-aircraft artillery, since 1972. The part that such equipment played in all of the major conflicts since then is explored, including the Soviet Afghan War, the Falklands War, in which Rapier was deployed, the conflict in Lebanon, Kosovo and Bosnia, the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 1993. The investigation is brought right up to date by a study of the weapons, tactics and engagements seen in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
For this study, a group of Russian authors were commissioned to describe and assess the arms trade policies and practices of Russia under new domestic and international conditions. The contributors, drawn from the government, industry, and academic communities, offer a wide range of reports on the political, military, economic, and industrial implications of Russian arms transfers, as well as specific case studies of key bilateral arms transfer relationships.
Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces The mighty Soviet Army is no more. The feckless Russian Army that stumbled into Chechnya is no more. Today's Russian Army is modern, better manned, better equipped and designed for maneuver combat under nuclear-threatened conditions. This is your source for the tactics, equipment, force structure and theoretical underpinnings of a major Eurasian power. Here's what the experts are saying: "A superb baseline study for understanding how and why the modern Russian Army functions as it does. Essential for specialist and generalist alike." -Colonel (Ret) David M. Glantz, foremost Western author on the Soviet Union in World War II and Editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. "Congratulations to Les Grau and Chuck Bartles on filling a gap which has yawned steadily wider since the end of the USSR. Their book addresses evolving Russian views on war, including the blurring of its nature and levels, and the consequent Russian approaches to the Ground Forces' force structuring, manning, equipping, and tactics. Confidence is conferred on the validity of their arguments and conclusions by copious footnoting, mostly from an impressive array of primary sources. It is this firm grounding in Russian military writings, coupled with the authors' understanding of war and the Russian way of thinking about it, that imparts such an authoritative tone to this impressive work." -Charles Dick, former Director of the Combat Studies Research Centre, Senior Fellow at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, author of the 1991 British Army Field Manual, Volume 2, A Treatise on Soviet Operational Art and author of From Victory to Stalemate The Western Front, Summer 1944 and From Defeat to Victory, The Eastern Front, Summer 1944. "Dr. Lester Grau's and Chuck Bartles' professional research on the Russian Armed Forces is widely read throughout the world and especially in Russia. Russia's Armed Forces have changed much since the large-scale reforms of 2008, which brought the Russian Army to the level of the world's other leading armies. The speed of reform combined with limited information about their core mechanisms represented a difficult challenge to the authors. They have done a great job and created a book which could be called an encyclopedia of the modern armed forces of Russia. They used their wisdom and talents to explore vital elements of the Russian military machine: the system of recruitment and training, structure of units of different levels, methods and tactics in defense and offence and even such little-known fields as the Arctic forces and the latest Russian combat robotics." -Dr. Vadim Kozyulin, Professor of Military Science and Project Director, Project on Asian Security, Emerging Technologies and Global Security Project PIR Center, Moscow. "Probably the best book on the Russian Armed Forces published in North America during the past ten years. A must read for all analysts and professionals following Russian affairs. A reliable account of the strong and weak aspects of the Russian Army. Provides the first look on what the Russian Ministry of Defense learned from best Western practices and then applied them on Russian soil." -Ruslan Pukhov, Director of the Moscow-based Centre for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) and member of the Public Council of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense. Author of Brothers Armed: Military Aspects of the Crisis in Ukraine, Russia's New Army, and The Tanks of August.
The first recipient of Soviet military hardware in the Americas was Cuba in 1959. Since then the Cuban Air Force has operated the MiG-15 to the MiG-29, An-26 and Il-76MD transports and more. Cuban combat aircraft have seen action against the ships and aircraft used by the CIA in its subversive activities against Cuba. Other Latin American nations have also ordered Russian military aircraft - based on common sense and economic expediency rather than political affiliations. These include Mexico; Brazil; neighboring Colombia; the Argentina Air Force and Bolivia which is among the latest customers for the Mi-17, with plans to use for drug-busting operations. Another major customer for Soviet aircraft was Peru, which ordered An-26 and An-32 transports, MiG-29 fighters, Su-20/Su-22 fighter-bombers and Su-25 attack aircraft. Peruvian Su-22s have been involved in the border conflict with neighboring Ecuador and Soviet aircraft (notably Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopters) have been actively used by the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua against the US-backed Contras insurgents during the civil war. More recently, Venezuela, another country noted for its anti-US stance, purchased a large batch of Su-30MKV multi-role fighters, as well as Mi-17 and Mi-26 helicopters. Written by the acknowledged experts in the field and illustrated throughout with photographs and color artwork, this is the definitive record of Soviet and Russian military aircraft and their combat operations in this region.
