The New Revolution in Russian Military Affairs

By Mary FitzGerald
18 Jun 2004

Why study Russian views on the new ‘revolution in military affairs’ (RMA)? First, Operation Desert Storm signalled the advent of a dramatic metamorphosis in warfare. Like its Soviet predecessor, the Russian military views RMA as the nucleus of future warfare. Second, Russian military scientists themselves argue that military R&D in support of military policy requirements must focus not only on the short term, but especially on the long term—right up to the middle of the twenty-first century. Russia currently maintains the industrial potential and scientific expertise required to develop the new technologies of the RMA. Finally, the Russian military’s participation in the events of October 1993—coupled with an influx of conservative sin the government and parliament—portend a continued military influence over the formulation of Russia’s new ‘national industrial policy’. Here it should be stressed that since Gorbachev’s 1985 accession to power, the interdependence of the RMA and the global ‘information revolution’ has generated a new civil-military convergence on overall industrial priorities. These are the issues which this Whitehall Paper examines.

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