Russia had 168 battalion tactical groups as of August 2021, spread out across the country’s 12 time zones. As the Russian Army gets more professional, its leaders can handle these more difficult responsibilities.” “Western armies have been moving in that direction for decades. “Having supporting arms at lower levels provides commanders with more tools and flexibility,” Cancian says. The result is a unit that, unlike a Russian tank regiment, could enter all types of terrain and take on the enemy, and can make a 155-mile self-sustained push in combat.Ī battalion tactical group might be equipped with as many as six Pantsir S-1 mobile air defense systems, each equipped with eight short-range anti-air missiles and two 30-millimeter rapid fire guns. Rounding all of this out are ambulances, wrecker vehicles, supply trucks, medical units, and headquarters units. They also include up to a half-dozen mortars, self-propelled howitzers, flamethrowers, multiple rocket launchers, and Pantsir S-1 truck-mounted air defense systems. Each includes one or two tank companies of ten T-72B3, T-80, or T-90 main battle tanks each. Each BMP carries seven soldiers for dismounted operations.

A typical BTG might include three companies of motorized infantry totaling 30 BMP-2 or BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles. Like their American counterparts, BTGs are designed to be more flexible on the battlefield. The battalion tactical groups of the division are currently in the vicinity of Millerovo, Russia on Ukraine’s eastern border. BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles of the 150th Motor Rifle Division, January 2022.

Russian modern tank evolution chart