Max Pexel
The Russian Airborne Troops (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska—VDV) together with Military Transport Aviation (Voyenno-Transportnoy Aviatsii—VTA) carried out a comprehensive practise inwards the Ryazan area, on July 9–13. Participation past times the VTA was unprecedented, spell the drill, inwards together with of itself, showcased roughly interesting together with novel features, including the first-ever aerial drib of a BTR-MDM armored personnel carrier amongst a crew of 3 onboard.
The mid-July practise involved the 137th Airborne Regiment (Ryazan) of the 106th Airborne Division, organized inwards 2 battalion combat groups together with reinforced past times 2 artillery battalions armed amongst 2S9 Nona mortars, an artillery battery amongst D-30 howitzers together with an anti-aircraft society equipped amongst Strela-10M low-altitude surface-to-air missile systems (SAM) (Mil.ru, July 9, 10; TV Zvezda, Redstar.ru, July 11). Additionally, special forces (spetsnaz) equally good equally unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), electronic countermeasure (ECM) together with technology scientific discipline units reinforced the regiment (Mil.ru, July 9). In total, 2,500 soldiers together with virtually 200 armored vehicles (BMD-4M, BMD-2K-AU, BTR-MDM together with BMD-Ksy) took component inwards the exercise, which was jointly directed past times the commanders of the VDV together with VTA, Colonel General Andrei Serdiukov together with Lieutenant General Valdimir Benediktov, respectively (Mil.ru [1], [2], [3], July 9).
According to Colonel General Serdiukov, the practise was comprised of 3 phases: 1) preparations for together with relocation from Ryazan to airfields inwards Ivanovo together with Ulyanovsk oblast, 2) the loading of personnel together with equipment, together with 3) the actual airdrop together with ensuing faux combat. The final stage involved attacking an enemy command postal service followed past times relocation, which included fording a stretch of H2O and, thereafter, seizing together with belongings terrain inwards guild to ensure a high tempo of advance past times the master copy forces—all amongst the back upwardly of artillery together with frontal together with the world forces aviation (Mil.ru, July 9; Redstar.ru, July 11). Air back upwardly was provided past times MiG-31BM together with Su-27 fighters, Su-24 onset jets together with Mi-24 onset helicopters—in total, lxx aircraft (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 12).
In guild to airlift the 137th Airborne Regiment, 3 air carry regiments (the 117th, 334th together with 708th) were employed together with relocated from their ordinary bases to airfields inwards Ivanovo together with Ulyanovsk oblast. According to 1 source, 45 Il-76 strategic carry planes took component inwards the practise (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, July 9; Izvestia, July 18). At the airfields, personnel together with equipment were loaded later on the 137th Airborne Regiment arrived from Ryazan via a dissimilar way of transportation, a distance of virtually 300 kilometers to Ivanovo together with 700 kilometers to Ulyanovsk (TV Zvezda, July 11). Presumably, additional Military Transport Aviation units must convey been involved considering the appearance inwards the practise of other aircraft, likewise Il-76s, that the 3 above-mentioned VTA regiments are non equipped with.
The actual airdrop exercises took house at Zhitovo and, virtually 75 kilometers away, at Noviki—both inwards Ryazan oblast. The emphasis was on Zhitovo, where to a greater extent than than 700 parachutists together with fifty combat vehicles were dropped. At Noviki, virtually 500 troops together with merely 12 combat vehicles were parachuted downwards (Redstar.ru, July 11). The number of combat vehicles mentioned suggests that less than one-half of the combat vehicles participating inwards the practise were dropped together with the balance were either flown inwards or arrived to the practise expanse conduct from their respective garrisons. The fact that 2 drib zones were used was explained past times “the request to piece of job out the command of troops at a peachy distance from the command postal service amongst the assist of satellite communication systems R-439 together with R-142DA” (TV Zvezda, July 11). In all, 4 command posts (division, regiment together with 2 battalion command posts), all equipped amongst the Andromeda-D command-and-control (C2) system, were active during the practise (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 12).
One of import objective was testing novel equipment, together with the salient characteristic inwards this detail practise was the reportedly first-ever airdrop of a BTR-MDM amongst a crew of 3 onboard. The vehicle was dropped from a elevation of 1,800 meters together with descended amongst a speed of 10 meters per second, using the Bachtia-U-PDS parachute scheme (Vpk.name, July 16). The BTR-MDM landed inwards front end of a large number of spectators, including journalists, together with drove upwardly to the crowd of onlookers. After coming to a halt, the BTR-MDM’s crew left the vehicle to live interviewed together with congratulated (Ok.ru, July 13, 14).
The demonstrated parachute flying of the BTR-MDM was non unexpected. Back inwards March, the Russian newspaper Izvestiareported that a BMD-4M infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) would live airdropped inwards connectedness amongst a planned August practise of the 106th Airborne Division (Izvestia, March 6). However, 2 things were striking virtually the actual incident that was ultimately carried out (a calendar month before than forecast). First, why was a BTR-MDM dropped instead of a BMD-4M, equally previously reported? Second, the parachute flying took house inwards the presence of spectators. BMD-4Ms convey been undergoing airdrops since 2014, when the offset trials took place. So the fact that a world airdrop of this IFV amongst crew onboard was non attempted this past times July is surprising—especially since previous tests amongst the Bachtia parachute scheme had supposedly been successful (Lenta.ru, July 31, 2017; RIA Novosti, July 26, 2018). Dropping the BTR-MDM inwards front end of an audience indicates that the authorities trusted no mishaps would occur; together with it is probable that this had not, inwards fact, been the offset examination drib of this vehicle amongst personnel inside.
On 1 hand, farther such airdrop demonstrations tin sack live expected, peculiarly since the BMD-4M IFV has non yet, equally far equally is known, been parachuted downwards amongst a crew onboard. But on the other hand, to a greater extent than comprehensive airdrop exercises involving crewed combat vehicles volition in all likelihood live quite rare—particularly since a illustration for the VDV has said that these are mostly alone done inwards a fourth dimension of state of war together with non inwards connectedness amongst routine drills.
The armed forces practise inwards July reiterated the importance the Russian Armed Forces attach to the VDV. Indeed, that importance tin sack also live deduced from the introduction of tanks to air develop on units together with the planned reorganization of the 31st Air Assault Brigade into the 104th Air Assault Division (see EDM, Apr 4, 2018; RIA Novosti, July 28, 2018; Lenta.ru, June 4, 2015). It is debatable to what score that has been the number of successful lobbying efforts past times the VDV versus this armed forces branch’s actual usefulness on a modern battlefield. Nevertheless, despite the VDV’s ain shortage of air carry capabilities, the Airborne Troops volition live a forcefulness to live reckoned with, peculiarly when employed equally a rapid reaction forcefulness inwards combination amongst “little greenish men,” insurgent forces together with the like.
Jörgen Elfving is a one-time Swedish the world forces officeholder together with an skillful inwards armed forces issues related to the Soviet Union together with Russia. Since retiring from the army, he has worked equally an author, translator together with consultant for diverse Swedish governmental bodies together with other agencies.
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