Double Nation Pack: REDS, The Full Army List (1/2) Yugoslavia

Double Nation Pack: Reds will be released on Thursday, December 1st, bringing a total of 186 new units for the Yugoslav & Finnish nations to Wargame: Red Dragon.

Yugoslavia having gathered more votes, let’s the JNA do the honor of a full army list.

LOGISTICS:

– as each and every country ingame, Yugoslavia will have a FOB, the only ingame building, to re-supply & repair friendly units.
– Yugoslavia had its own truck industry, and thus relies on the FAP 2026-A and heavier FAP 2832-A to haul supplies back & forth between the FOB and the frontline.
– the JNA also use the ubiquitous Mi-8 as cargo helicopter, under the designation HT-40 Teretni.

– the M-1107 MKŠk (a.k.a license-built Italian Fiat Nuova Campagnola) is Yugoslavia’s light command jeep.
– as with many Eastern bloc countries, the BRDM-2U is also used as a light armored command vehicle.
– the KOT M-60PK is the command variant of Yugoslavia’s indigenous OT M-60 APC.
– the JNA fields two command MBTs: the classic T-55AK and its indigenous M-84AK.
– although it was only tested yet not approved for service historically, Yugoslavia will get a HK-41 Komandni (= Mi-2) command helicopter.
– and finally, the JNA will have a 5-men infantry command squad, named Komandno Odeljenje.

 

INFANTRY:

– all six of Yugoslavia’s inner republics maintain a core of reservists, the Teritorijalna Odbrana or T.O., to provide local defense and assist the federal army in case of war. They were armed with a motley collection of outdated weapons, usually leftovers from WW2 or from the JNA. In Wargame, they’ll come armed with Thompson SMG, transported by OT M-5 (= WW2 M5 half-tracks).

– Mehanizovana Pešadija, or Mechanized Infantry, are the frontline grunts of the JNA. Their weaponry remains the same all along our timeframe.
– 2-men MANPAD teams will take the form first of the Strela 2M/A, an improved version of the ubiquitous Strela-2 with better anti-countermeasures & a bigger warhead, then of the Šilo (= Igla-1) 2-men MANPAD teams.
– as for anti-tank crews, the JNA will rely first on the Soviet PORS Fagot ATGM, then on its indigenous PORS Drug. The latter will be prototype ingame for, although development was complete by the late 80’s, it never went into full-scale production due to the dissolution of the country.
– the last regular infantry unit is the Brdska Pešadija, the JNA’s light mountain troops. As befitting with Wargame‘s standards, they are represented as a 15-man squad with a RCL.

– let’s come to matter of Yugoslav shock troopers, the first of which are the Mornarička Pešadija, or naval infantry. Armed with a LRAC F1 and proficient in CQC, they can be compared to the French RIMa in many ways.
– the Proleteri, whom are coming in two variants (“vanilla” and ’90) are somehow the JNA’s Guard. Allocated the best equipment and always kept combat ready, they are the mechanized & armored infantry shock troops, also proficient in CQC.

– and finally, the Padobranci (= paratroopers) are the crème de la crème of the JNA, also coming in two variants: the early one still retaining the unit’s trademark StG-44, the later one armed with the Bumbar, an indigenously improved Eryx ATGM.

SUPPORT:

– the JNA only fields one mortar carrier, the SM-82 M-60PM which is basically an APC-turned-mortar-carrier just like any M113 or MT-LB counterpart.
– regarding tube artillery, Yugoslavia has three different weapon systems: the SO-105 Priest (= WW2 M7 Priest!) which had soldiered on from the 50’s to the early 80’s ; the ubiquitous SO-122 Gvozdika and the much more efficient Nora-B, a modern 152mm howitzer mounted on a truck.

– Yugoslavia’s air defense shall prove to be one its best assets, starting with no less than three SPAAG: the BOV 3 (triple 20mm) & BOV 30 (twin 30mm) weapon systems on wheeled BOV chassis, both non-radar, and the SPAT Foka, a prototype radar guided twin 30mm mounted on a BVP M-80 IFV chassis..
– the JNA also fields light SAM, all of them infrared in the form of the classic Strela 1 & Strela 10, as well as the M-90 Sava, an improved version of the latter.
– regarding heavy SAM, it has at its disposal the Soviet Kub-M, as well as the Neva -M1, roughly similar to its Polish WZT-1 Newa-SC counterparts. Yet, one of its most original units will be the improved Neva-M1T, a SEAD-impervious variant of the latter.
– finally, Yugoslavia fields another, “custom made” RL-4M Praćka, mounting an air-to-air R-73 missile (with a rocket booster for ground use)on a Praga chassis.

– JNA also fields several indigenous MLRS to supplement its otherwise lackluster artillery. The M-77 Oganj & M-94 Plamen-S both fire 32x 128mm rocket, the former firing incendiary ordnances, the second a mix of HE & smoke.
– the third and last one, M-87 Orkan, fires 262mm cluster rockets!

TANK:

– as often, the  PT-76B & T-34B (=T-34/85 with M2HB machine-gun) provide the amphibious/light tanks element.
– yet, whereas REDFOR countries usually have the T-55A & T-55AM (or local counterpart) as early tanks, the JNA fields the M-47 Paton, lesser armed & armored, and T-55A TLD, fitted with an improved FCS granting more range. Hence a bigger gap than usual for a REDFOR nation between the two opening MBTs.
– later T-55 upgrades include the T-55AI Igman, a TLD fitted with two external Malyutka missiles, and the T-55AH Igman, deprived of the ATGMs but with extra reactive armor.
– although the JNA did test a few T-72M, the real workhorse of its tank units is the locally designed M-84. Indigenous upgrades over the T-72 are focused mostly on improving its FCS, while the later M-84A also provides extra armor.
– finally, the JNA’s high end MBTs will be the prototypes M-91 Vihor & M-91A Vihor. Designed to replace the M-84 around the early 90’s, the program was canceled at the last moment due to the breaking of Yugoslavia.

RECON:

– as many nations in Wargame, Yugoslavia fields an unarmed M-1107 jeep as basic recon vehicle.
– light armored cars are combining both Western & Eastern influences, with the M-8 Grejhaund (= WW2 M8 Greyhound) & Soviet BRDM-2.
– also a light armored and wheeled, the late BOV M-86 is a recon APC for Graničari & Senke recon squads.
– the PAST Izvidjač is an upgraded Praga turned into a Jack-of-all-trades vehicle: recon, SPAAG, FSV, …
– just like its command MBTs, the JNA fields two recon MBTs: the basic T-55A Izvidjač, identical to its many Pact counterparts, and the dedicated recon M-84AK tank prototype, fitted with extra observation equipment.
– finally, the prototype IBV M-80AI, based on the M-80A1 IFV, will provide the JNA with a combat recon armed with a battlefield radar.

– Yugoslavia has two recon helicopters at its disposal: the unarmed HI-42 Hera (= Gazelle) and the HI-45 Hera 2 armed with 70mm rocket pods & .50 machine-guns.

– the JNA relies on two  scouts infantry squads for recon: the Graničari are the regular 5-man scouts, while the Senke (meaning “Shadow“) are special forces’ operators from the 83. Marine Center, training saboteurs in irregular warfare. Ingame, they are a 2-man stealthy sniper team armed with a prototype RT-20 anti-material 20mm rifle.

VEHICLES:

– the JNA’s lightest missile carrier are the M-1107 Fagot & M-1107 Drug, both mounting infantry ATGM on the M-1107 jeep.
– although Yugoslavia used the BRDM-2 Malyutka, it quickly went its own way with the BOV-1 POLO firing improved Malyutka, while the later tracked (on a M-80 IFV chassis) LT M-80-A POLO uses an even more upgraded version, yet still based on the old Malyutka.
– as fire support vehicles, the Yugoslav naval infantry has retained the SO-76 Helket (= WW2 M-18 Hellcat) as its dedicated FSV up to the 80’s, while mechanized/armored units relied on the SO-90 Džekson (= WW2 M36 Jackson). The latter, which were still fired in anger at the beginning of the civil war in the 90’s, were upgraded with T-55 engines to improve their motorization.
– other FSVs include the PAST Praga, the same vehicle used as SPAAG by the CSLA, but here used in an assault gun role, and finally the BOV Raketaš, a BOV M-86 armed with two pairs roof-mounted helicopter rocket pods. Ingame, half will be loaded with HE ordnances, half with incendiary ones.

– the main transport truck of the JNA is the Austrian Pinzgauer, also equipping the British army. The only other wheeled transport being the armored TAB-71, a Romanian variant of the BTR-60PB, yet with a better motorization.
– as already mentioned, the T.O. (reservists) have their own transport, the WW2 relic OT M-5 (= M5 half-track).
– the Yugoslav “battle taxi”, somehow equivalent to the American M113, is the OT M-60P, armed with two MGs, while the OT-M-60PB variant is armed with an additional twin 82mm RCL at the back!
– finally, the JNA has its own IFV design: the M-80 series. The first one to be mass produced, the BVP M-80A, mounts a turret armed with a 20mm autocannon and two external Malyutka on rails, while the later BVP M-80A1 Vidra is upgrade with a 30mm autocannon and improved Malyutka. the final one, prototype ingame, is the BVP M-96 Vidra: externally identical to the M-80A1, it features a dual-feed weapon with a staggering rate of fire, and improved ATGM.

HELO:

– the Yugoslav helicopter tab is divided between Western & Eastern influences again: its main transport helicopters being the HT-40 (= Soviet Mi-8) while the lighter command & recon troops uses the HO-42 (= French Gazelle).
– lacking Mi-24, the JNA’s gunship are armed Mi-8: the HT-40 NZR 57, armed with 96x 57mm rockets, and the HT-40 NZR 128, armed with 16x 128mm ones.
– in the light attack aircrafts’ role, the Gama (= Gazelle) series combines ATGM & MANPAD: Malyutka & Strela for the HN-42M Gama, improved Malyutka & Igla for the HN-45M Gama 2.

PLANES:

– the Yugoslav air force has four indigenous plane designs, quite a feat outside of the “Big Four” weapon dealers. The first one is the J-21 Jastreb light bomber, a close-support plane armed ingame with rockets.
– the most prolific national design is the Orao family, declined ingame in three variants: J-22 Orao (iron bombs), NJ-22 Orao (cluster bombs) & J-22B Orao 2 (AGM carrier).
– another indigenous design is the N-62 Super Galeb (napalm bombs), later upgraded into the prototype N-62M Super Galeb (AGM, with the Grom-B missile).
– the most modern one is a plane-that-never-was: the L-19 Novi Avion. An air superiority fighter designed with Dassault Aviation, it was meant to share many features with the Rafale, including its weaponry. Historically, the project was canceled a mere year before its maiden flight, when Yugoslavia was dissolved.
– yet Yugoslavia also used foreign planes, such as the L-11D Sejbr (= F-86 Sabre) armed only with rockets, but able to target ground as well as air units.
– the rest of the Yugoslav fleet is of Soviet origin, all of them air superiority fighters: L-12 (= MiG-21F-13), L-17K (= MiG-21 Bis-K Lazur) & L-18 (= MiG-29 9.12B).