The Jamestown Foundation – Eurasia Daily Monitor:
Since Moscow initiated its long-term military modernization program over a decade ago, an important focal point in this complex process has proved to be the emphasis upon automated command and control (C2). The digitization of Russia’s C2 structures aims to enhance the speed and efficiency of the military decision-making process in order to achieve an edge over any potential adversary during combat operations (see EDM, June 11, 2019). While such technologies also include the other elements of C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), Russian military terminology uses the phrase “automated control system” (avtomatizirovannoy sistemy upravleniya—ASU). Among the variants of the ASU, depending on the arm or branch of service, there are the Akatsia-M, Andromeda (Airborne Forces variant) and the Unified System for Command and Control at the Tactical Level (Yedinaya Sistema Upravleniya v Takticheskom Zvene—YeSU-TZ). Now, Moscow has introduced an advanced ASU to boost the capabilities of air defense for the Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS); yet this latest breakthrough in automated systems offers benefits for other arms of service (Riafan.ru, March 15).
The new ASU introduced into the VKS in the Central Military District (MD), designated as “Fundament-M,” greatly enhances air-defense capabilities by integrating the various platforms such as the S-400 and Pantsir-S1 with related radars and unites these in a single circuit. The Fundament-M has been successfully tried and tested during military exercises in 2020, and it will be procured throughout the national MD system. Earlier this month, the Fundament-M went on combat duty in the Central MD, unifying the entire Urals and Volga regions as well as the Engels airbase, marking a significant boost for the VKS (Riafan.ru, March 15).
The former head of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Russian Air Force, Alexander Gorkov, explained: “The foundations of this system were laid thirty years ago. Now its implementation is only being completed using the technologies that are available today. Previously, we had automated systems in the western, north-western and eastern directions. The center of Russia did not have this at the level of divisions and air-defense armies, only at the level of regiments. To complete the transition of forces into a single space, there was not enough manpower and resources” (Izvestia, March 14)…
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