NS Military Worldbuilding Thread No. 12

[New Vihenia]

How should a modern armed merchant cruiser be armed to deter attacks from corvette-sized vessels? I’m thinking that a couple of SA-N-9 Gauntlets should get the job done?

I would suggest Pantsyr. or naval version of it. More deterrence however can be provided by drones and container based Kalibr/ Uran antiship missile.

[Kerberos]

I had another crazy idea and I know it will drive you guys nuts

33rd Bombardment Company Organization
Motto: “Look at what you made me do”

Headquarters Section
Spotter Section
2x Transport Sections
3x Sub-Batteries

Headquarters Section

Major - Makarov Pm
Captain – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
2x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U
Medic - Makarov Pm
3x Tactical Coordinator - AKS-74U (Corporal)
ZIL-131 Command Post

Spotter Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
2xCommunication Specialist – AKS-74U
Corporal – FAL Para
2x Forward Observers - AKS-74U
2x Troopers – 2x FAL Para,
2xUAZ-469, (Tops removed, carries a post mounted MG3)

Transport Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
5x Drivers (Trooper, Special)
5x Assistant Drivers (Trooper, Special)
5x ZIL-131 trucks

Sub-Battery
1st or 2nd Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
3x Sergeant – AKS-74U
Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
48x Gun Crewmen (Trooper, Special)
6x Drivers (Trooper, Special)
3x S-23 180mm Howitzers
3x AT-T Tractors

The only unit in the nation to use S-23s, called in when stuff gets real and you need to make a point.

Edit: I made up a BTR-152 ATGM Carrier for my Armoured Infantry Company.

[Gallia-]

How should a modern armed merchant cruiser be armed to deter attacks from corvette-sized vessels? I’m thinking that a couple of SA-N-9 Gauntlets should get the job done?

I would suggest Pantsyr. or naval version of it. More deterrence however can be provided by drones and container based Kalibr/ Uran antiship missile.

I'd imagine naval Tor would be better. AIUI it's fully containerized and can be bolted onto a deck. Pantsir would probably require some manner of deck penetration for the gun magazines I guess. I could be wrong but all Pantsir installations I've seen have some sort of deckhouse they sit on not unlike an AK-630 tbh so they aren't readily adapted to a maritime merchant defense duty.

As for Tor: https://www.navyrecognition.com/images/ ... 25_001.jpg

It is also the objectively superior anti-missile (and anti-air) system tbh.

[Frisemark]

How should a modern armed merchant cruiser be armed to deter attacks from corvette-sized vessels? I’m thinking that a couple of SA-N-9 Gauntlets should get the job done?

Literally just a mid-caliber gun and some AShMs. You could slap Penguin launchers and a Bofors L/70 on a merchant vessel and corvettes would stay away. Hell, even just the Penguins. Penguins are tiny and quite capable for their age. They were designed for tiny missile boats or helicopters.

If you wanna be more ambiguous you could conceal launchers in shipping containers. Russians developed a secret Kalibr launcher for that.

Then again, if you're using Soviet-standard equipment you could go with the aforementioned suggestions above my post. I'm not as well-versed in Soviet stuff as I am NATO, so I can't comment on it too much.

[Gallia-]

An armed "merchant cruiser" in the modern day is extremely unlikely to go hunting other warships, TBH. It would most likely be operating aviation in support of an anti-submarine warfare operation, specifically in the function of acting as a mobile refueling point/landing pad. Something like SCADS but not as extensive i.e. lacking the flight deck, would be fairly decent I guess if you needed anti-submarine ships rapidly.

Of course the problem is that few, if any, actual navies today or in the past have had enough helicopters for their own surface escorts, much less to spare on something as ostentatious as a SCADS/Arapaho-style conversion.

The actual best method would be bolting down some machine guns and self defense weapons (chaff launchers, radar decoy buoys, and self-contained CIWS or surface to air missiles) to kill incoming missiles. There's not a lot you can do against submarines but they can't exactly operate in wolfpacks for the time being and you would presumably have some military surface escort such as a frigate or something in your convoy to eat wake homers, thus doing their actual wartime job of dying so the merchant ships can get through.

[Hurtful Thoughts]

An armed "merchant cruiser" in the modern day is extremely unlikely to go hunting other warships, TBH. It would most likely be operating aviation in support of an anti-submarine warfare operation, specifically in the function of acting as a mobile refueling point/landing pad. Something like SCADS but not as extensive i.e. lacking the flight deck, would be fairly decent I guess if you needed anti-submarine ships rapidly.

Of course the problem is that few, if any, actual navies today or in the past have had enough helicopters for their own surface escorts, much less to spare on something as ostentatious as a SCADS/Arapaho-style conversion.

The actual best method would be bolting down some machine guns and self defense weapons (chaff launchers, radar decoy buoys, and self-contained CIWS or surface to air missiles) to kill incoming missiles. There's not a lot you can do against submarines but they can't exactly operate in wolfpacks for the time being and you would presumably have some military surface escort such as a frigate or something in your convoy to eat wake homers, thus doing their actual wartime job of dying so the merchant ships can get through.

Basicly this.

Slap on a helipad, attach a flight-crew, a few missiles/rockets, some ASW stuff, and a few mortars for illumination to aid in SAR or countermeasures and you're 90% of the way there.

Doesn't even need maintnance facilities, that can be tackled by the escort and its properly fitted hangar. So you just need to be able to store/refuel/re-arm.

ofc, this then means your navy needs to own-up to getting enough rotorcraft to pull this off. Which means operating civil aviation air-patrols.
-Worst case, and at risk of promoting a sparkyism, is to either use the merchant-ships as seaplane-tenders or CAM-ships with Brodie-rigs while bearing in mind that such rigs had constraints based on how much strain the net and wire could handle. (Confirmed MTOW of 3000 lbs, hypothetical max of 7000 lbs, so a Pilatus PC-9 or PC-6 at best)

Although the STOL properties of the PC-6 are such that it could probably just land on the deck.

[Kerberos]

An armed "merchant cruiser" in the modern day is extremely unlikely to go hunting other warships, TBH. It would most likely be operating aviation in support of an anti-submarine warfare operation, specifically in the function of acting as a mobile refueling point/landing pad. Something like SCADS but not as extensive i.e. lacking the flight deck, would be fairly decent I guess if you needed anti-submarine ships rapidly.

Of course the problem is that few, if any, actual navies today or in the past have had enough helicopters for their own surface escorts, much less to spare on something as ostentatious as a SCADS/Arapaho-style conversion.

The actual best method would be bolting down some machine guns and self defense weapons (chaff launchers, radar decoy buoys, and self-contained CIWS or surface to air missiles) to kill incoming missiles. There's not a lot you can do against submarines but they can't exactly operate in wolfpacks for the time being and you would presumably have some military surface escort such as a frigate or something in your convoy to eat wake homers, thus doing their actual wartime job of dying so the merchant ships can get through.

Basicly this.

Slap on a helipad, attach a flight-crew, a few missiles/rockets, some ASW stuff, and a few mortars for illumination to aid in SAR or countermeasures and you're 90% of the way there.

Doesn't even need maintnance facilities, that can be tackled by the escort and its properly fitted hangar. So you just need to be able to store/refuel/re-arm.

ofc, this then means your navy needs to own-up to getting enough rotorcraft to pull this off. Which means operating civil aviation air-patrols.
-Worst case, and at risk of promoting a sparkyism, is to either use the merchant-ships as seaplane-tenders or CAM-ships with Brodie-rigs while bearing in mind that such rigs had constraints based on how much strain the net and wire could handle. (Confirmed MTOW of 3000 lbs, hypothetical max of 7000 lbs, so a Pilatus PC-9 or PC-6 at best)

Although the STOL properties of the PC-6 are such that it could probably just land on the deck.

What about a CAM-ship launching drones? they're small, can pack enough ordinance to cause concern (especially if you go with suicide drones) and if you can't recover it at least you won't lose a pilot. Just a crazy idea, but I recall the CAM-ships being a good temporary solution.

[Hurtful Thoughts]

Basicly this.

Slap on a helipad, attach a flight-crew, a few missiles/rockets, some ASW stuff, and a few mortars for illumination to aid in SAR or countermeasures and you're 90% of the way there.

Doesn't even need maintnance facilities, that can be tackled by the escort and its properly fitted hangar. So you just need to be able to store/refuel/re-arm.

ofc, this then means your navy needs to own-up to getting enough rotorcraft to pull this off. Which means operating civil aviation air-patrols.
-Worst case, and at risk of promoting a sparkyism, is to either use the merchant-ships as seaplane-tenders or CAM-ships with Brodie-rigs while bearing in mind that such rigs had constraints based on how much strain the net and wire could handle. (Confirmed MTOW of 3000 lbs, hypothetical max of 7000 lbs, so a Pilatus PC-9 or PC-6 at best)

Although the STOL properties of the PC-6 are such that it could probably just land on the deck.

What about a CAM-ship launching drones? they're small, can pack enough ordinance to cause concern (especially if you go with suicide drones) and if you can't recover it at least you won't lose a pilot. Just a crazy idea, but I recall the CAM-ships being a good temporary solution.

Yeah, something like an armed ScanEagle would be quite sufficient since that CATOBAR rated. (bungee-cord and a net). Not too great for ASW work, though.

That or QH-50 DASH. MQ-8C would be decent. The K-Max would be downright impressive. But now we're getting into the realm of procuring helicopters for the navy again. The MQ-8C at least was less of new-builds as just converting old UH-1s in mothball.

[Kerberos]

What about a CAM-ship launching drones? they're small, can pack enough ordinance to cause concern (especially if you go with suicide drones) and if you can't recover it at least you won't lose a pilot. Just a crazy idea, but I recall the CAM-ships being a good temporary solution.

Yeah, something like an armed ScanEagle would be quite sufficient since that CATOBAR rated. (bungee-cord and a net). Not too great for ASW work, though.

That or QH-50 DASH. MQ-8C would be decent. The K-Max would be downright impressive. But now we're getting into the realm of procuring helicopters for the navy again. The MQ-8C at least was less of new-builds as just converting old UH-1s in mothball.

As part of my look into air forces, I found UH-1s in flying condition run about $100,000 on the civilian market (and there's three mig-21s for sale right now, starting at $50,00, also civilian market

I hate being poor

) The expensive part of using a UH-1 would be the pilot training and weapons...

I was playing warthunder, and noticed a lot of big ships have very crude torpedo launchers, would using a davit or crane to drop a wake homing torpedo over the side work? Technically all you need to do is make the sub or ship back off until you're in range of friendly assistance...

I also threw a tank company together, one of the few to have T72's, because cold war leftovers.

USSK Tank Company Organization

Command Section
Mech Recon Section
3x Tank Platoons

Command Section
Captain – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
Gunner - Makarov Pm (Trooper, Specialist)
Driver Mechanic - Makarov Pm (Corporal)
1x T72 Mod 5 (Additional armour kit and a MG3 on pintel mount)

1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
2nd Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
1x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U
1x Tactical Coordinator - AKS-74U (Corporal)
1x Driver (Trooper, Special)
1x Assistant Driver (Trooper, Special)
1x ZIL-131 truck

Mech Recon Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U with GP-25
2xCommunication Specialist – AKS-74U
Corporal – FAL Para
2xDesignated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
4x troopers – 4x FAL Para, 1xRGM-40 Kastet, 2x Ithaca 37 or MTS12-21 shotguns
2xUAZ-469, (Tops removed, carries a post mounted MG3)
*Notes: Recon Sections serve as scouts, pickets and artillery spotters.

Tank Platoon

Platoon Command Section
Mech Recon Support Section
3x Tank Sections

Platoon Command Section
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
Gunner - Makarov Pm (Trooper, Specialist)
Driver Mechanic - Makarov Pm (Corporal)
1x T72 Mod 5 (Additional armour kit and a MG3 on pintel mount)

Mech Recon Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U with GP-25
2xCommunication Specialist – AKS-74U
Corporal – FAL Para
2xDesignated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
4x troopers – 4x FAL Para, 1xRGM-40 Kastet, 2x Ithaca 37 or MTS12-21 shotguns
2xUAZ-469, (Tops removed, carries a post mounted MG3)
*Notes: Recon Sections serve as scouts, pickets and artillery spotters.

Tank Section
2nd Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
2x Sergeant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
3x Gunner - Makarov Pm (Trooper, Specialist)
3x Driver Mechanic - Makarov Pm (Corporal)
3x T72 Mod 5 (Additional armour kit and a MG3 on pintel mount)

[Gallia-]

$100,000 for a 50 year old helicopter that cost $10 million when new? Yes, you can get them cheap when they don't work, they are impossibly old, and you don't have a crew or anything to make it work. Once you add in making it work and having trained crews and it becomes somewhat obvious why navies cannot fill their escorts with helicopters: The primary bottleneck is the human capital to train sufficient numbers of pilots is simply not there. Piloting aircraft requires big brains and peoples' brains have been shrinking for a while now I guess.

Once you add in an actually modern helicopter with all the gizmos they need (IFR capability, glass cockpits, sonar fits) they tend to be about twice or thrice the cost of an old one like a UH-1D when new. And that's without going into the lifetime costs which can easily exceed a few hundred million over 20 or so years depending on how much time you want to sink into making air- and maintenance crews good at their jobs.

The machine itself is almost always the cheapest component besides the men who operate it. It's actually doing stuff with the machine and the trained men that costs money.

And no you normally fire shipborne torpedoes from fixed tubes built into the hull or trainable launchers on the deck. These are fed by torpedo magazines. A davit or crane won't work because surface and aerial torpedoes require a certain amount of acceleration to arm and simply dropping it in the water will make it sink. This is why torpedo launchers kick them out of the launchers. Submarine torpedoes can use swimming out but they are wire guided, not free moving.

You can use a rack for depth bombs though if you want, or naval mines, that's fine. Those are usually manually armed and set.

[Spirit of Hope]

Tank Platoon

Platoon Command Section
Mech Recon Support Section
3x Tank Sections

As you already have a recon element with the company commander I don't think that your tank platoons will need/utilize additional recon elements all that well. Especially since your tanks should already be working with infantry who can do the scouting job and additional support roles.

[Gallia-]

On the contrary, a organic reconnaissance section of two to four armored cars and half a dozen troopers is an excellent addition to a tank platoon.

Armored infantry do not screen by nature, after all. Rather, they escort the tanks in close combat. Screening is the job of the reconnaissance troops.

Only the most avant-garde and forward focused, futuristic militaries do this in real life, though it was probably a feature of some hypothetical Soviet CAB in the 1990's.

The primary reasoning is because companies are now the principal tactical unit while battalions are the interstice between tactical and operational (brigade) units. There is no room for companies to be simply fed into a grinder, they need to be able to conduct combat all on their own with support beyond DS artillery from a battalion, and this means reconnaissance. Platoons can afford to lose a tank, but companies can't afford to lose platoons, and definitely not the armored infantry who are escorting tanks. This means companies will resemble demi-battalions, and battalions will end up resembling brigades, and brigades will end up with multiple battalions inside them of simple support personnel including NBC detachments and multiple artillery and tank battalions, similar to Serdyukov's New Look brigades which resembled cut down divisions rather than brigades, and would probably have required a one- or two-star command rather than a colonel.

An alternative way to look at it is instead of burdening an already overworked combined arms captain with six maneuver platoons, you burden a relatively green and inexperienced lieutenant with a "looker" and "shooter" element of a tank and recce section in a motor jeep, or a pair of tanks and a single jeep. Likely in the far future, if telerobotics has advanced far enough, the recce jeeps can be dispensed with partially in favor of UGVs with lightweight cannons and lots of sensors, controlled by a radio operator in the tank or something. That was the Soviet implementation anyway.

This is the true future but no one realizes it yet. Simpkin was merely gazing with a crystal ball into the ethereal haze of the future. Serdyukov and Operation Serval were paving the roads leading to it.

[Crookfur]

Tank Platoon

Platoon Command Section
Mech Recon Support Section
3x Tank Sections

As you already have a recon element with the company commander I don't think that your tank platoons will need/utilize additional recon elements all that well. Especially since your tanks should already be working with infantry who can do the scouting job and additional support roles.

Except what is listed is really what most people would call a tank battalion/regiment. And these recce units seem to be sitting where the company/squadron truck (in ye olde opfor formations) or apc and landy/hummer (in Western formations) would sit. IIRC in the BA the CSM's spartan and the CO's landy were generally used for route recce.

Of course at what is described here as a tank Platoon western forces would tend to have some sort of recovery element, although this doesn't seem to as much of a thing in soviet influenced forces.

In what is called a tank company here but is what most others would call a tank battalion a somewhat beefier recce capability would be expected.

[Hurtful Thoughts]

Yeah, something like an armed ScanEagle would be quite sufficient since that CATOBAR rated. (bungee-cord and a net). Not too great for ASW work, though.

That or QH-50 DASH. MQ-8C would be decent. The K-Max would be downright impressive. But now we're getting into the realm of procuring helicopters for the navy again. The MQ-8C at least was less of new-builds as just converting old UH-1s in mothball.

As part of my look into air forces, I found UH-1s in flying condition run about $100,000 on the civilian market (and there's three mig-21s for sale right now, starting at $50,00, also civilian market

I hate being poor

) The expensive part of using a UH-1 would be the pilot training and weapons...

I was playing warthunder, and noticed a lot of big ships have very crude torpedo launchers, would using a davit or crane to drop a wake homing torpedo over the side work? Technically all you need to do is make the sub or ship back off until you're in range of friendly assistance...

Late-war PT boats just rolled/kicked them into the water like a depth-charge, since they were repurposed aircraft-torpedoes.

I'm thinking that your armed merchant ships will travel in convoy (with the exception of commerce-raiders) and will come in various flavors.

The first would be a droneship, pretty much entirely reliant on using survaillence-drones for targeting and would carry ship-launched AShMs.
On the other end of the spectrum is a ship entirely reliant on on-board radar for targeting, and thus equiped with less-capable AShMs.

The idea being in foul-weather the latter takes up the picket-line and in good weather the drones come out.

Further in you have CAM-ships loaded with manned strike/assualt craft, mostly because they're larger and sometimes you REALLY want to put the hammer down on a Whiskey Long-Bin. Plus it's a fairly cheap way to get ordnance out past 200 nautical miles in case you run into something that wants to try sniping you.
-Because trading blows with ship-launched harpoons at 150 miles out is not a winning proposition. Although with the Bayractar getting new toys soon, this may not be necessary.

These come in 2 varaieties and each has a sub-group or two. Recoverable and non-recoverable.

Starting with non-recoverable, it's essentially ski-launched F-4 Phantoms and MiG-21s with JATO rockets running full-burner to intercept some inbound Tu-22Ms loaded to bear with Kingfishers. Because Mach-2.5 or die trying. If they survive and have enough fuel, I suppose they can try making it to a land-base or friendly carrier.

Then on recoverable, it comes in 3 flavors, STOVL on a ski-ramp like the Atlantic Conveyer Harrier-conversion; Amphibious seaplane tender, and light aircraft recovered via a Brodie-landing system (launch will still be via ski-ramp and JATO in all cases for greater MTOW and response-times).
I figure in a commerce-raiding role, something like a PC-9 could carry either two fully loaded UB-32s (to saturate CIWS) or a pair of S-24 rockets (to put holes through the double-hulls) plus a pair of UB-16-57s on the outer hardpoints. The logic behind using fixed-wing general-aviation/COIN aircraft for this is largely due to predicted attrition of the naval helicopter fleet and a shortage of AShM targeting systems.
--Incidentally, the A-37' and OV-10'ss empty wieghts makes Brodie-recovery somewhat-feasible, if highly impractical.

[Gallia-]

TBH it's literally a GTIA combined arms company, just without the armored infantry, engineers, or recovery element. It resembles some of the more radical Soviet thinking of the 1990's in terms of combined arms forward detachments, and modern French practice. Modern combat requires modern solutions, and part of that is bigger companies and smaller battalions, because companies are the main combat element and battalions are the main support element.

Eventually companies will be too big and they'll have to disperse to the point that we will see combined arms platoons with six, seven, maybe even eight armored vehicles.

Simpkin was right about everything just wrong about the timeline and the use of Westland Scouts in the armored battalion.

Practically speaking this means that captains will need to become much smarter and more mentally flexible in the very near future, probably within the next 30 or 40 years, so a full career cycle for a field officer.

---

It's perfectly fine for a heavily Soviet influenced country to have a company that looks like that, although the razvedki element in the company HQ would be very different from the platoon. The platoon one is fine with two UAZs and a 8 man scout section. The company's razvedki probably want to be equipped with ground surveillance radars or something instead, so they can detect armored vehicles from beyond line of sight. This would mean two 4-man radar teams equipped with a Small Fred on a PRP-3 or something, and maybe a PRP-4A since it has an EO reconnaissance set. Also include two BRDMs with anti-tank missiles and two to four recon BRDMs with 14.5mms and their recce sections of 3-men each. That would be a good screen and spotting element for a combined arms company, since it could find targets with the recon BRDMs, fix them with anti-tank missiles, and flank with the mechanical platoons.

Add a mechanized platoon per one or three tank platoons (since it's Soviet it will probably be one platoon) of four BMP-2s or BTR-80s (the rifle platoon you posted earlier is a good option i suppose), and an assault pioneer section or platoon with a UR-77 MCLC and a couple BMPs with dozer blades engineering squads with APOBS and bangalores. Throw in a UBIM assault breaching vehicle or something and you're set. Although in practice Soviet-styled units tended to use tanks themselves as breaching elements, the massive grasping arm of the UBIM will help defeat anti-armor obstacles like the abatis and I-beam posts.

Maybe include mortars (a pair of 2S31 Venas) and a company CCP with a paramedic team if you're feeling generous.

[Kerberos]

TBH it's literally a GTIA combined arms company, just without the armored infantry, engineers, or recovery element. It resembles some of the more radical Soviet thinking of the 1990's in terms of combined arms forward detachments, and modern French practice. Modern combat requires modern solutions, and part of that is bigger companies and smaller battalions, because companies are the main combat element and battalions are the main support element.

Eventually companies will be too big and they'll have to disperse to the point that we will see combined arms platoons with six, seven, maybe even eight armored vehicles.

Simpkin was right about everything just wrong about the timeline and the use of Westland Scouts in the armored battalion.

Practically speaking this means that captains will need to become much smarter and more mentally flexible in the very near future, probably within the next 30 or 40 years, so a full career cycle for a field officer.

---

It's perfectly fine for a heavily Soviet influenced country to have a company that looks like that, although the razvedki element in the company HQ would be very different from the platoon. The platoon one is fine with two UAZs and a 8 man scout section. The company's razvedki probably want to be equipped with ground surveillance radars or something instead, so they can detect armored vehicles from beyond line of sight. This would mean two 4-man radar teams equipped with a Small Fred on a PRP-3 or something, and maybe a PRP-4A since it has an EO reconnaissance set. Also include two BRDMs with anti-tank missiles and two to four recon BRDMs with 14.5mms and their recce sections of 3-men each. That would be a good screen and spotting element for a combined arms company, since it could find targets with the recon BRDMs, fix them with anti-tank missiles, and flank with the mechanical platoons.

Add a mechanized platoon per one or three tank platoons (since it's Soviet it will probably be one platoon) of four BMP-2s or BTR-80s (the rifle platoon you posted earlier is a good option i suppose), and an assault pioneer section or platoon with a UR-77 MCLC and a couple BMPs with dozer blades engineering squads with APOBS and bangalores. Throw in a UBIM assault breaching vehicle or something and you're set. Although in practice Soviet-styled units tended to use tanks themselves as breaching elements, the massive grasping arm of the UBIM will help defeat anti-armor obstacles like the abatis and I-beam posts.

Maybe include mortars (a pair of 2S31 Venas) and a company CCP with a paramedic team if you're feeling generous.

I'm thinking the BRDMs are pretty sweet, I'm treating all my organization lists as first drafts ATM, I believe most of the missing elements are available within the battalion. I'm thinking using ambulance drivers as low level medics would be viable, I'm an Industrial medic in RL and packaging and transport is 75% of my job.

By the way, its literally a 2 week course here, and then you get called for any injury on your site. We actually use a lot of military style kit, I love the new Scoop Stretchers and those windlass tourniquets are amazing.

Also, first draft of a USSK Mechanized battalion. Brace for text wall...

Mechanized Battalion


Battalion HQ
Medical Section
1x Engineering Company
1x Light Infantry Companies
2x Armoured Infantry Company
1x Tank Company

Battalion HQ

Colonel – Makarov Pm
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
5x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U
2x Tactical Coordinators - AKS-74U (Corporal)
Ishtar Liaison (Acting Rank Captain)
1x Driver – AKS-74U (Trooper, Special)
1x Assistant Driver – AKS-74U (Trooper, Special)
1x ZIL-131 Command Post

Recon Captain – Makarov Pm
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
2x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U
3x Driver – AKS-74U (Trooper, Special)
3x Assistant Driver – AKS-74U (Trooper, Special)
1x ZIL-131 Truck
2x UAZ-469

Medical Section
Field Surgeon 1st Class (Captain)
Field Surgeon 2nd Class (1st Lieutenant)
9x Medical Aides (Sergeant)
1x Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
20x Ambulance Driver/Medics (Corporal)
Sergeant – AKS-74U
9x Troopers - FAL Para (Act as drivers, security, and general unskilled duties)
10x UAZ-452A Ambulances
2x UAZ-469 Trucks
2x 1x ZIL-131 Truck

Engineering Company

Command Section
Equipment Section
4x Engineer Sections

Command Section
Captain – Makarov Pm
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
2x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U

Equipment Section
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
3x Sergeant – AKS-74U
10x Driver – AKS-74U (Trooper, Special)
10x Assistant Driver – AKS-74U (Trooper, Special)
15x Mechanics – AKS-74U (Corporal)
5x ZIL-131 Truck
3x Caterpillar D7R Bulldozer
2x Caterpillar 350L Excavator

Engineer Section
Engineer Sergeant – AKS-74U
Engineer Corporal – AKS-74U
8x Combat Engineers – AKS-74Us
(Specialized equipment issued as needed)
1x ZIL-131 Truck

Light Infantry Company
3x platoons
Command Section
4x Support Sections (Sniper, Scout, 2x Mortar)

Command Section
Captain – Makarov Pm
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
2x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U
Senior Medic – Makarov Pm

Sniper Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
2x Sniper Teams
Sniper Team
1x Sniper – M40 Rifle (various models)
1x Spotter - FAL Para

Recon Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
Designated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
Corporal – FAL Para
6x troopers – 4x FAL Para, 2x Ithaca 37 or MTS12-21 shotguns
*Notes: Recon Sections serve as scouts, pickets and artillery spotters.


Mortar Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
1x Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
9x mortarmen – 6x FAL Para 3x AKS-74U
3x M57 60mm Mortars

Platoon
Platoon Headquarters section
1x HMG Team
1x Antitank Team
3x Rifles Sections

Platoon Headquarters
1st or 2nd Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
Platoon Sergeant – AKS-74U
Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
Platoon Medic – Makarov Pm

HMG team
Corporal – FAL Para
4x Troopers – FAL Para
1x DShK 12.7x108mm

Antitank Team
Corporal – FAL Para
5x troopers – FAL Para
2x RPG-7 Launchers



Rifle Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
Corporal – FAL Para
Designated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
7 troopers – 5x FAL Para, 2x MG3 LMG

Armoured Infantry Company

3x platoons
Command Section
4x Support Sections (Mech Recon Support Section, 2x Armoured Mortar Section, Mech Air Defence Section)

Command Section
Captain – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
2x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U
BMP 1-Mod16 (Standard BMP 1 with 3 passenger seats replaced with upgraded radio equipment and a small map table, the left half of the troop compartment is treated as a radio-room and the right half is a very small command center.)

Mech Recon Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U with GP-25
2xCommunication Specialist – AKS-74U
Corporal – FAL Para
2xDesignated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
4x troopers – 4x FAL Para, 1xRGM-40 Kastet, 2x Ithaca 37 or MTS12-21 shotguns
2xUAZ-469, (Tops removed, carries a post mounted MG3)
*Notes: Recon Sections serve as scouts, pickets and artillery spotters.

Armoured Mortar Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
1x Forward observer
1x Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
9x mortarmen – 9x FAL Para
3x BTR-152 “Frankenstein” Mortar Carriers (BTR-152 pulled from storage, rebuilt with modern engines, and fitted with a 82-BM-37 82mm mortar)

Mech Air Defence Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
1x Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
5x Troopers – FAL Para
3x 9k34 Strela-3 SAMs
BTR-152 “Frankenstein” transport (BTR-152 pulled from storage, rebuilt with modern engines, and fitted with a ring mounted DShK or AGS-17 Grenade Launcher)

Platoon

Platoon Headquarters section
1x Mech Light Mortar Team
1x Mech Antitank Team
3x Armoured Rifle Sections

Platoon Headquarters
1st or 2nd Lieutenant – Makarov Pm
Platoon Sergeant – AKS-74U
Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
Platoon Medic – Makarov Pm
1x BMP 1-Mod16 (Standard BMP 1 with 3 passenger seats replaced with upgraded radio equipment and a small map table, the left half of the troop compartment is treated as a radio-room and the right half is a very small command center.)

Mech Fire Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U
1x Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
1x Smoke Team (3 Troopers, 1x M57 60mm Mortar, 3x FAL Para)
1xUAZ-469, (Top removed, carries a post mounted MG3)

Mech Antitank Team
Corporal – FAL Para
1x Communication Specialist – AKS-74U
5x Troopers – 5xFAL Para, 2x RPG-7
BTR-152 “Frankenstein” ATGM Carrier (BTR-152 pulled from storage, rebuilt with modern engines, and fitted with a AT-4 Spigot ATGM)

Armoured Rifle Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U with GP-25
Corporal – FAL Para
Designated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
7x Troopers – 5x FAL Para, 2x MG3 LMG, 1x RPG-7
BTR-60-Mod 4 (Received 7mm armoured roof, water jet and trim vane removed, fitted with a 210hp Navistar T444E diesel engine, 2x ring mounted DShK, MG3, or AGS-17 Grenade Launchers, and bolt on 10mm armoured front plates)


Tank company

Command Section
Mech Recon Section
3x Tank Platoons

Command Section
Captain – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
Gunner - Makarov Pm (Trooper, Specialist)
Driver Mechanic - Makarov Pm (Corporal)
1x T72 Mod 5 (Additional armour kit and a MG3 on pintel mount)

1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
2nd Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
1x Communication Specialists – AKS-74U
1x Tactical Coordinator - AKS-74U (Corporal)
1x Driver (Trooper, Special)
1x Assistant Driver (Trooper, Special)
1x ZIL-131 Truck

Mech Recon Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U with GP-25
2xCommunication Specialist – AKS-74U
Corporal – FAL Para
2xDesignated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
4x troopers – 4x FAL Para, 1xRGM-40 Kastet, 2x Ithaca 37 or MTS12-21 shotguns
2xUAZ-469, (Tops removed, carries a post mounted MG3)
*Notes: Recon Sections serve as scouts, pickets and artillery spotters.

Tank Platoon

Platoon Command Section
Mech Recon Support Section
3x Tank Sections

Platoon Command Section
1st Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
Gunner - Makarov Pm (Trooper, Specialist)
Driver Mechanic - Makarov Pm (Corporal)
1x T72 Mod 5 (Additional armour kit and a MG3 on pintel mount)

Mech Recon Support Section
Sergeant – AKS-74U with GP-25
2xCommunication Specialist – AKS-74U
Corporal – FAL Para
2xDesignated Marksman – FAL Mod 33 (modified FAL Para with heavy barrel, bipod and scope)
4x troopers – 4x FAL Para, 1xRGM-40 Kastet, 2x Ithaca 37 or MTS12-21 shotguns
2xUAZ-469, (Tops removed, carries a post mounted MG3)
*Notes: Recon Sections serve as scouts, pickets and artillery spotters.

Tank Section
2nd Lieutenant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
2x Sergeant – Makarov Pm, AKS-74U
3x Gunner - Makarov Pm (Trooper, Specialist)
3x Driver Mechanic - Makarov Pm (Corporal)
3x T72 Mod 5 (Additional armour kit and a MG3 on pintel mount)

Officers: 35
Enlisted: 706

[Gallia-]

Two weeks is really short tbf.

When I say "paramedic" I mean EMT-P standard in USA.

Military medics at their most basic levels should be able to conduct IO/IV/IA and ILS in general, as well as limited surgical methods like venous cutdowns, since they are going to be dealing with people missing arms and legs due to rocket strikes and stuff and they may not have immediately available veins for injection of saline. I can think of one incident off the top of my head where a 68W had to perform venous cutdown on a sergeant missing his arms due to a Zuni rocket IRL, and at least two others where proper training in bleeding control would have saved people's lives. These would be the people at the company casualty collection point, with a paramedic as supervising, and the people in the platoon as first point of contact for severe injuries such as traumatic amputation via long rods or severe burns caused by internal ammunition/fuel fires that can't be handled by a CAT, bandage, Asherman seal, or pre-measured analgesic syrettes that you'd find in a typical IFAK. For major trauma injuries they would be first point of contact for the wounded.

Buddy aid is used for simpler GSWs on the vest and unconscious casualties due to mine or grenade explosions, which in the grand scheme of things don't matter much since you can survive them provided you aren't hit by a piece of metal that severs a major artery or two. Dudes have survived getting hit in the neck by small arms and having jugulars cut with proper bleed control and pinpoint pressure as a form of self-care, but you can't expect an 18 year old private to do that I guess, since the guys I'm thinking of were special forces dudes in their late 20's and early 30's.

That said, basic medical training should just be standard curricula for motor riflemen in general (i.e. stop bleeding, recovery position, splinting, Asherman seals, etc.) and paramedics should be at battalion with the battalion surgeon, for ALS and initial triage, and then they are evacuated to a regimental aid point for further shipment to a national hospital (for major surgery such as severe burns, traumatic amputation, spinal injuries, etc) or a combat field hospital for relatively minor things like illness or minor injuries that could be healed within a couple weeks or days and returned to the frontlines.

I'll probably draw a medkit for Dumblan combat troops that is issued to everyone. It'll be packaged by a really austere/retro way, because Galla grows poorer by the minute to preserve its wholesomeness, but otherwise fairly modern.

[Kerberos]

Two weeks is really short tbf.

When I say "paramedic" I mean EMT-P standard in USA.

Military medics at their most basic levels should be able to conduct IO/IV/IA and ILS in general, as well as limited surgical methods like venous cutdowns, since they are going to be dealing with people missing arms and legs due to rocket strikes and stuff and they may not have immediately available veins for injection of saline. I can think of one incident off the top of my head where a 68W had to perform venous cutdown on a sergeant missing his arms due to a Zuni rocket IRL, and at least two others where proper training in bleeding control would have saved people's lives. These would be the people at the company casualty collection point, with a paramedic as supervising, and the people in the platoon as first point of contact for severe injuries such as traumatic amputation via long rods or severe burns caused by internal ammunition/fuel fires that can't be handled by a CAT, bandage, Asherman seal, or pre-measured analgesic syrettes that you'd find in a typical IFAK. For major trauma injuries they would be first point of contact for the wounded.

Buddy aid is used for simpler GSWs on the vest and unconscious casualties due to mine or grenade explosions, which in the grand scheme of things don't matter much since you can survive them provided you aren't hit by a piece of metal that severs a major artery or two. Dudes have survived getting hit in the neck by small arms and having jugulars cut with proper bleed control and pinpoint pressure as a form of self-care, but you can't expect an 18 year old private to do that I guess, since the guys I'm thinking of were special forces dudes in their late 20's and early 30's.

That said, basic medical training should just be standard curricula for motor riflemen in general (i.e. stop bleeding, recovery position, splinting, Asherman seals, etc.) and paramedics should be at battalion with the battalion surgeon, for ALS and initial triage, and then they are evacuated to a regimental aid point for further shipment to a national hospital (for major surgery such as severe burns, traumatic amputation, spinal injuries, etc) or a combat field hospital for relatively minor things like illness or minor injuries that could be healed within a couple weeks or days and returned to the frontlines.

I'll probably draw a medkit for Dumblan combat troops that is issued to everyone. It'll be packaged by a really austere/retro way, because Galla grows poorer by the minute to preserve its wholesomeness, but otherwise fairly modern.

Yeah, the training period was way too short, to save money a 2 month course was chopped to 2 weeks, there's literally a 25% failure rate. They used to include a lot of field surgery stuff but it was dropped based on a bunch of Canadian Army reports from Afghanistan, now its just stabilize, package, ship. I was "lucky" because I started just before it was all phased out, so I learned a lot of old school tricks, real Mcgyver shit

On the Military note, in my insanity I went full ruskie and designed a brigade sized force capable of operating independently, link to my fact book, because text wall, the word document behind it is 30 pages... Everything fits together a lot better and I polished everything a bunch, plus ripped out a bunch of redundancies and added things like a dedicated logistics battalion, a SPAAG battery, Air Calvary unit and small air wing of Mig 21s.

https://www.nationstates.net/nation=kerberos/detail=factbook/id=1749585

[Gallia-]

That owns.

TBF, real wars (Great Patriotic War style) means >six hours before hitting the brigade aid post and maybe another six before hitting hospital due to transport restrictions. Casualties won't have medical care en route, only at CCPs, and be transported via ammo trucks in the meantime until they hit the regimental aid post at least, where there's a pool of ambulances. Modern Soviet units might push down the ambulance pool to battalion but I only know of one guy who might have knowledge of that and is on this forum.

Source: A Red Army colonel came to me via astral projection during sleepytime and gave me a lecture on CASEVAC in WW3 c. 1979. Not the first time I've been astrally projected to by long dead Slavic warlords either.

The golden hour is essentially a meme if you have adequate training in basic medical care though. Dudes in Desert Storm literally died because of this due to lack proper medical care because ambulances would get lost and take two hours to drive as many miles, and only codgers from 'Nam like company sergeants major had any real training in application of CATs or whatever, which were often self-applied in the event of traumatic limb amputation. You can, practically speaking, leave a tourniquet on for that amount of time (12 hours) and suffer no severe or lasting limb injury, unless that sucker is really cranked down I guess. I don't know what dudes did in Vietnam to make people think that tourniquets were bad, but I'm assuming it was secondary infection, due to lack of sterilization of the bandage site (no sulfa powder?) and the humid jungle environment, being misdiagnosed as pressure injury or something really bizarre. That seems like something the still-in-residency doctors PROFIS spat out to combat zones would do.

The brigade looks okay at the moment but I'll have to compare it to the New Look Brigades which were basically resurrected Soviet combined arms units of the 1990s AIUI. I still dislike the heavy machine guns and separate RPG teams in the rifle platoons, and in my head "light infantry" is still motorized in 5-tons or something so they should just put those on skates, but whatever. Assault platoon should have RPG-29s unironically since that is the company level anti-armor system to protect the Metis-M from close-in assault by armor.

e: MiG-21s and air cav are OTT. There's no way a colonel, or even a major-general, can keep track of that, nor any reason why he should have to. Airborne assets should be at least in a division or equivalent formation, unless they are extremely limited helicopter units like an ATK or utility-liaison company/platoon. That sort of stuff requires things like ATC radars, radar controllers, airbases, and other stuff that brigades simply cannot manage. The old-fashioned (WW2) nexus of air-land integration was the field army. 1980's was the corps. Modern (2020's) is probably divisions or sometimes a corps/theater.

[Kerberos]

That owns.

TBF, real wars (Great Patriotic War style) means >six hours before hitting the brigade aid post and maybe another six before hitting hospital due to transport restrictions. Casualties won't have medical care en route, only at CCPs, and be transported via ammo trucks in the meantime until they hit the regimental aid post at least, where there's a pool of ambulances. Modern Soviet units might push down the ambulance pool to battalion but I only know of one guy who might have knowledge of that and is on this forum.

Source: A Red Army colonel came to me via astral projection during sleepytime and gave me a lecture on CASEVAC in WW3 c. 1979. Not the first time I've been astrally projected to by long dead Slavic warlords either.

The golden hour is essentially a meme if you have adequate training in basic medical care though. Dudes in Desert Storm literally died because of this due to lack proper medical care because ambulances would get lost and take two hours to drive as many miles, and only codgers from 'Nam like company sergeants major had any real training in application of CATs or whatever, which were often self-applied in the event of traumatic limb amputation. You can, practically speaking, leave a tourniquet on for that amount of time (12 hours) and suffer no severe or lasting limb injury, unless that sucker is really cranked down I guess. I don't know what dudes did in Vietnam to make people think that tourniquets were bad, but I'm assuming it was secondary infection, due to lack of sterilization of the bandage site (no sulfa powder?) and the humid jungle environment, being misdiagnosed as pressure injury or something really bizarre. That seems like something the still-in-residency doctors PROFIS spat out to combat zones would do.

The brigade looks okay at the moment but I'll have to compare it to the New Look Brigades which were basically resurrected Soviet combined arms units of the 1990s AIUI. I still dislike the heavy machine guns and separate RPG teams in the rifle platoons, and in my head "light infantry" is still motorized in 5-tons or something so they should just put those on skates, but whatever. Assault platoon should have RPG-29s unironically since that is the company level anti-armor system to protect the Metis-M from close-in assault by armor.

e: MiG-21s and air cav are OTT. There's no way a colonel, or even a major-general, can keep track of that, nor any reason why he should have to. Airborne assets should be at least in a division or equivalent formation, unless they are extremely limited helicopter units like an ATK or utility-liaison company/platoon. That sort of stuff requires things like ATC radars, radar controllers, airbases, and other stuff that brigades simply cannot manage. The old-fashioned (WW2) nexus of air-land integration was the field army. 1980's was the corps. Modern (2020's) is probably divisions or sometimes a corps/theater.

Until recently (two years ago) it was believed that tourniquets would cause untreatable blood clots unless they were loosened every 5 minutes, which was just a massive pain in the butt, plus it sped up blood loss. In Afghanistan it was discovered you can leave it on for basically 6-7 hours without issue, as long as the doctor/surgeon knows how long it's been on (windlass tourniquets have a spot specifically for writing the time of application, super easy) There have been cases where a tourniquet has been removed in a hospital, only for the patient to drop dead from a massive heart attack caused by blood clots. Its treatable as long as the doctor knows when it was applied but still crazy scary.

Bonus points in the suck category: When I was starting there were no windlass tourniquets available for civilian use, we would have to go all 'Nam and make our own out of triangle bandages, so that loosening every 5 minutes meant fighting with stupid knots or cutting it off and reapplying a new one. (RL safety tip, if you're forced to used a tourniquet crank that sucker as tight as you can and write the time of application on it)

With regards to my Brigade's aircraft, they got 12 Mig 21s in one squadron under a colonel, and 8 helicopters under a second colonel, Kerberos has a chronic shortage of aircraft modern, radar and tanks. (the navy is hurting too)

[Gallia-]

TBF it's been "well" known (i.e. in journals) since the 1990's in America, based on Israeli experience in Lebanon, that tourniquets can be applied for a solid 12 hours without undue nerve, limb, or clotting risk TBF.

I guess that never permeated the collective mind of Anglo-American military medical curricula though until practical experience happened (Iraq/Afghanistan) tho.

Also shortages generally incur centralization, not decentralization, to better husband scarce resources.

[Kerberos]

TBF it's been "well" known (i.e. in journals) since the 1990's in America, based on Israeli experience in Lebanon, that tourniquets can be applied for a solid 12 hours without undue nerve, limb, or clotting risk TBF.

I guess that never permeated the collective mind of Anglo-American military medical curricula though until practical experience happened (Iraq/Afghanistan) tho.

Also shortages generally incur centralization, not decentralization, to better husband scarce resources.

Yeah I can see that, I know the whole Loosen every 5 minutes was still being taught 3 years ago, and the instructor was a full paramedic, its crazy in hindsight I suspect when I renew my certification in 2024 there will be a bunch of new stuff, Naloxone kits are starting to be necessary and they haven't been added to the curriculum in detail yet.

Would it be possible that an aerial unit or two to be attached to a brigade on a tactical level? They're part of a full division and use the division's support facilities but are treated as part of the brigade for chain of command purposes?

[Gallia-]

A helicopter company can be attached from a division to support a brigade or a battalion, but this is somewhat abnormal in all militaries that aren't the US military, due to lack of helicopters and support equipment for them. Some Soviet airmobile units have organic lift in the form of Mi-24s and Mi-8s too.

Brigades don't really need helicopters very often, and when they do need them a division or corps will just parcel out a platoon or company of CH-47s or something if it's really important, like an air assault or something.

[Kerberos]

A helicopter company can be attached from a division to support a brigade or a battalion, but this is somewhat abnormal in all militaries that aren't the US military, due to lack of helicopters and support equipment for them. Some Soviet airmobile units have organic lift in the form of Mi-24s and Mi-8s too.

Brigades don't really need helicopters very often, and when they do need them a division or corps will just parcel out a platoon or company of CH-47s or something if it's really important, like an air assault or something.

My theme right now is they've just finished off the last rebel stronghold, and then carried out counter insurgent operations, this would be force deployed internally, relatively close to air force bases. In practice its part of a full Airmobile Brigade, and the Migs are part of a larger fighter unit but the company and squadron command units are accompanying the brigade headquarters.

Thats my Crazy idea, anyway, I'll be looking at writing up a airmobile brigade and fighter wing when my brain recovers from planning out the 1st Independent Brigade

[Gallia-]

Then the ground brigade should be subordinated to the air force base, rather than the other way around, tbh. An airbase by nature has a lot of long range communication suitable for talking to people. A brigade does not want to drag the engineering and ammunition/maintenance trains needed to maintain a fighter squadron, since that would be another brigade inside a brigade, which doesn't make much sense even compared to the obesity that is the New Look brigade.

A colonel can only have so many radios and radars and a fighter unit needs more than any brigade can manage unless it's fully dedicated to the task.