Beneath the stand-off tactics (§ 6.9) and the new drone forces (§ 11) lies one connecting concept: the reconnaissance-strike complex (RUK — razvedyvatelno-udarny kompleks) and its tactical sibling the reconnaissance-fire complex (ROK — razvedyvatelno-ognevoy kompleks). Both describe a sensor-to-shooter loop: a sensor detects a target, a decision layer processes it, and a weapon strikes it — as fast as possible, ideally within minutes.
| Complex | Level | Weapon | Typical sensor |
|---|---|---|---|
| RUK (recon-strike) | Operational / deep strike | Ballistic/cruise missiles, aviation | Satellite, ISR drone, radar |
| ROK (recon-fire) | Tactical / battle depth | Artillery, MLRS, loitering munitions | Orlan-10/30, ZALA, FPV relay |
The RUK idea dates from the Ogarkov years (1980s): couple reconnaissance and precision fire so tightly that a target is destroyed within a single loop. Technology then lagged the ambition. Only the cheap drone made the loop workable: an Orlan-10 spots a target, and artillery or a Lancet strikes it within minutes. The kill-web thinking from the Intel Academy is the Western counterpart of this same principle.
For threat analysis this is a shift: the danger is not one platform but the loop. Breaking the chain — blinding the sensor (EW), jamming the data link, or disrupting the decision layer/ASU (§ 5.5) — is often more effective than hunting individual weapons. This is exactly the node-versus-platform logic that makes the A2/AD case playable.
Belousov's figure that drones deliver up to 80% of fire missions (§ 11.1) is at heart a ROK figure: the drone-fed fire loop has become the dominant Russian combat mechanism. To understand the VKS, the air defence and the drone forces, you must see the loop that connects them.
Concept from Soviet/Russian military theory (Ogarkov lineage; Voyennaya Mysl themes on razvedyvatelno-udarny/ognevoy kompleks). Didactic summary.