Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Designation and Overview
The Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Russian: Obshchevoyskovaya akademiya Vooruzhennykh Sil Rossiyskoy Federatsii; commonly abbreviated OVA VS RF) is the principal higher military educational and research institution of the Russian Ground Forces for operational–tactical level officer education. In its current form it was established in 1998 through the merger of the M. V. Frunze Military Academy and the Military Academy of Armored Forces named after Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky. The academy’s institutional lineage traces back to the early Soviet-era Frunze Military Academy, founded in 1918.
Location and Site Description
The academy is located in Moscow, Russian Federation. It occupies an urban campus with academic buildings, administrative facilities, student accommodations, and specialized training and simulation complexes. Field training and practical exercises are conducted using Ministry of Defence (MoD) ranges and training areas, including sites in the Moscow region. Precise facility layouts and security arrangements are not publicly disclosed.
Historical Background
The academy’s heritage is rooted in the Soviet-era M. V. Frunze Military Academy, which provided operational–tactical education to Red Army and later Soviet Army officers. In 1998, the Frunze Academy was formally merged with the Military Academy of Armored Forces (which itself evolved from the pre–World War II mechanization and motorization academies) to create the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. This consolidation aligned armor/mechanized expertise with broader combined-arms command education under a single institution.
Mission and Core Functions
The academy’s core mission is to educate and train mid-career officers of the Ground Forces for command and staff positions at battalion, brigade, division, and combined-arms army echelons. It provides advanced professional military education in operational art and tactics, staff processes, and the integration of combat arms and combat support (artillery, army aviation, air defense, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, engineering, CBRN defense, and logistics) in combined-arms operations. It also conducts professional development and retraining courses and supports doctrinal development for the Ground Forces.
Organizational Structure and Faculties
The academy comprises command-and-staff faculties oriented on combined-arms operations, departments for operational art and tactics, combat support and combat service support disciplines, command-and-control and communications, military topography and geospatial support, and foreign language training. It maintains a faculty dedicated to training foreign military personnel and departments that deliver short courses and advanced refresher training for officers. An academic council oversees scientific work, curricula, and degree conferrals in accordance with MoD and state education standards.
Education Pipeline and Student Profile
Students are typically mid-career officers of the Ground Forces (commonly captains to lieutenant colonels) selected based on service performance, competitive examinations, medical and physical standards, and command recommendations. The core command-and-staff program is generally structured as a full-time, multi-semester course of study typically spanning two academic years. Graduates receive state-recognized higher military education qualifications; those engaged in research can pursue advanced academic degrees under the Russian system (e.g., Candidate of Military Sciences).
Curriculum and Doctrinal Focus
Instruction covers operational art and combined-arms tactics; planning and conduct of combat operations at battalion–brigade–division levels; staff organization and battle rhythm; command-and-control procedures; integration of fires, reconnaissance and UAV support, electronic warfare, engineering, and logistics; force protection, camouflage, and dispersion; urban and complex terrain operations; and after-action analysis. Courses include wargaming, map exercises, and simulations that reflect contemporary Russian Ground Forces doctrine and lessons from modern armed conflicts.
Infrastructure and Training Capabilities
Facilities include lecture auditoriums, specialized laboratories, language training suites, and a significant simulation and wargaming infrastructure that supports constructive and command-post exercises. The academy trains officers on contemporary Russian command-and-control processes and associated automated systems in a classroom and simulated environment. Practical components are reinforced at MoD training areas, with field problems, tactical drills, and staff exercises designed to test decision-making, coordination, and sustainment under realistic conditions.
Research and Doctrine Development
The academy conducts military-scientific research in support of Ground Forces doctrine, tactics, and training methodologies. Faculty and research staff contribute to doctrinal publications, tactical manuals, and the development of curricula for combined-arms employment. The institution organizes scientific-practical conferences and integrates findings from exercises and operational reporting into its educational and research work in coordination with MoD military-scientific bodies.
International Training and Foreign Military Students
A dedicated faculty provides education for foreign military personnel under intergovernmental and MoD-to-MoD agreements. This includes preparatory Russian-language training where required and subsequent enrollment in operational–tactical courses tailored to partner requirements. Historically, officers from Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states and other partner countries have trained at the academy. Instruction is primarily in Russian, with language support as needed.
Command Relationships and Legal Framework
The academy is subordinated to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation within the system of military higher education and is aligned with the Russian Ground Forces. Its programs are governed by MoD regulations and federal education standards. It functions as a state higher educational and research institution with authority to confer recognized qualifications and academic degrees in relevant military specialties.
Known Reorganizations and Legacy Institutions
The current academy was formed in 1998 by merging the Frunze Military Academy and the Military Academy of Armored Forces named after Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky. In the early 2010s, Russia undertook broader reforms of its military education system, consolidating and later adjusting institutional structures; throughout these changes, the Combined Arms Academy remained the principal Ground Forces operational–tactical school. The academy retains the legacies of its predecessor institutions in curriculum focus, research themes, and alumni networks.
Graduate Utilization and Force Impact
Graduates are assigned to command and staff positions across the Ground Forces, including mechanized (motor rifle) and tank units, combined-arms brigades and divisions, army- and district-level headquarters staff sections, and training and doctrinal billets. The academy’s output directly influences unit-level readiness and the professional development pipeline that feeds higher-level education at the Military Academy of the General Staff (strategic–operational level).
Open-Source Indicators
Public indicators of academy activity include MoD press releases on matriculation and graduation, official reporting on foreign officer training, state procurement notices for training equipment and simulation systems, and publications or conference announcements by the academy’s faculties. Satellite imagery can confirm campus-scale developments, while Russian-language educational accreditation records provide legal status and program listings. Specific internal capacities, security protocols, and detailed facility diagrams are not publicly released.
Information Gaps and Security Considerations
Exact student throughput, detailed equipment inventories, building-by-building layouts, and specific security measures are not publicly available or are classified. Where official sources provide generalized descriptions of training systems and curricula, they typically omit sensitive technical parameters and operational procedures. Absent authoritative disclosures, such details cannot be provided.