Russia: R-149MA1 command and staff vehicle adopted for service in Southern Military District.

New R-149MA1 command and staff vehicles meant for command and control in field conditions have come into service with a command formation of the 58th combined-arms army of the Southern Military District deployed in North Ossetia, the Southern Military District press service said.

R-149MA1 command and staff vehicle (Picture source: Vitaly Kuzmin, published by www.ArmyRecognition.com)

"Signalmen are learning to handle the pieces of modern hardware which they have received as part of two-side tactical exercises held jointly with the army formations. The crews of the new command and staff vehicles went on a march with a mobile command post to the Sernovodskiy combined-arms range," the district said. The R-149MA1 unified command and staff vehicle is intended for officials control and communication provision at brigade level. All the equipment of the vehicle is mounted on maneuverable highly-mobile light-armored undercarriage K1Sh1 which was created on the basis of the BTR-80 armored personnel carrier. Besides upgraded technical characteristics, R-149MA1 has an air conditioner and comfortable chairs to create proper conditions for crew operations.

A set of Eleron-3 unmanned aerial vehicles has been supplied to provide additional support for the 150th motorized rifle division and the control brigade of the 58th combined-arms army.The advanced ‘Korsar’ fixed-wing unmanned aerial system will be upgraded. In particular, the system will receive electronic warfare systems and its range will be extended. The unmanned aerial system was unveiled at a rehearsal for the Victory Day 2018 parade in Moscow. The Korsar system comprises several unmanned aerial vehicles, a command and control post and some other systems.The actual version of the Korsar system is designed for terrain reconnaissance, patrolling, observation flights and aerial survey at a range of 120 kilometers (74.6 miles). The UAV is powered by a pusher piston engine. The Korsar has a speed of 150 km/h (93 mph), a weight of 200 kilograms, a wingspan of 6.5 meters and a length of 4.2 meters.

The troops of the Southern Military District have accepted over 500 units of new and modernized combat hardware for service since the start of 2018. The district’s troops are equipped with weapons and combat hardware by 95%, of which 65% account for modern arms and hardware pieces.