"a new type of assault units will appear in the airborne forces»

Commander of the Airborne Forces Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov on reforms in the "winged infantry" and advanced weapons

the russian airborne forces have been undergoing serious reforms in recent years. in the future, they should form the basis of rapid reaction troops that will be able to perform tasks in any region of the world. The commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, told Izvestia about the new type of units and their capabilities, about the equipment for the "winged infantry" and about the "Junker-O" parachutes.

in the area of special attention

— in recent years, the airborne troops have been actively reformed. what should they come to in the end and what range of tasks will they be able to perform?

- The airborne troops, like all the Armed Forces of Russia, have gone through a series of reforms in recent years aimed at improving their combat capabilities. The units receive promising models of equipment, the most modern weapons systems, as well as automated control systems that allow commanders of all levels to quickly make decisions in any situation.

Currently, the Airborne Forces consist of the command, amphibious assault and airborne formations and military units, a special purpose unit, a "personnel forge" — the Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School named after Army General V. F. Margelov, as well as individual military units and specialized educational institutions that are part of the pre-university educational institutions of the Ministry of Defense.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Zurab Javakhadze

Image Source: iz.ru

In addition, in the future, a new type of airborne assault units will appear in the Airborne Forces, capable of independently operating in the enemy's rear in cooperation with military units of army aviation. This will allow us to quickly solve tasks of any complexity, including ensuring the actions of the group of troops.

To date, the goal of the development of the Airborne Forces has been to improve them as the basis of rapid reaction forces with optimal combat personnel, equipped with the most modern weapons, military and special equipment.

Airborne troops should have a high combat potential and mobility, should be able to perform tasks both independently and as part of interspecific groups of troops (forces) in strategic and operational areas.

— What tasks did the Airborne troops perform at the exercise "Caucasus-2020"?What elements and tactics were worked out during the maneuvers?

- The formations were used as operational-tactical and tactical air landings in the depth of the enemy's defense and on the flanks in order to increase efforts and ensure a high rate of offensive of the group of troops. The tasks of transferring efforts to threatened areas were solved by a mobile reserve consisting of reinforced amphibious assault battalions on helicopters.

In addition, various methods of joint actions with the army aviation were worked out, as well as the transfer of artillery and ammunition to the designated area.

Mi-28N "Night Hunter" helicopters during the exercises of airborne units with the support of aviation at the Prudboy training ground as part of the Kavkaz-2020 SCSHU

Image source: Photo: TASS/Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

For the first time, a parachute landing of a parachute company on a BMD-4M was carried out using modern means, as well as a separate airmobile medical detachment. In addition, a high-altitude landing of military personnel with special equipment was carried out from a height of eight thousand meters.

An experimental controlled parachute cargo system of one of the manufacturing enterprises was landed.

— How were the joint exercises "Slavic Brotherhood - 2020" held on the territory of Belarus? What tasks were fulfilled by the Airborne units? will there be any innovations in the combat training program after them?

-On September 14-25, 2020, on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, battalion tactical groups from Pskov, Ivanovo and Tula Guards formations took part in the planned joint Belarusian - Russian tactical exercise "Slavic Brotherhood-2020". it was held under the leadership of the deputy minister of defense of the republic of belarus, major general sergei potapenko.

more than a thousand servicemen, 26 units of aviation equipment, more than 200 units of weapons, military and special equipment participated from the airborne forces and vks of russia.

During the maneuvers, the group of troops was built up by transferring battalion tactical groups from the territory of Russia in a combined way. In particular, a parachute battalion with weapons and equipment was dropped from the Ivanovo-Severny airfield to the Brest training ground. At the same time, 20 military transport aircraft, 44 pieces of equipment and more than 500 military personnel participated in the landing. The range of the landing amounted to 1.4 thousand km.

Battalion tactical groups of airborne units coped with their tasks in full. The personnel received practice in organizing joint actions to search for and destroy enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the designated area. During the exercises, the units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation successfully coped with the assigned training and combat tasks.

The Russian Airborne Forces, as the basis of the rapid reaction forces, have confirmed their ability to regroup in a short time and successfully perform the tasks assigned to crisis areas.

Floating and amphibious

— Will the number of Airborne units and formations that will receive guided parachutes be expanded?

- Today, modern controlled parachute systems for special purposes are supplied to all airborne units. First of all, they are equipped with special forces and intelligence units.

In accordance with the development plan of the Airborne Forces, this year the share of security of formations and military units with modern controlled parachute systems was 100%. The troops set kits for high-altitude airdrop from a height of 10 thousand meters, "Juncker-On", which made the landing of the airborne division on the Alexandra Land archipelago Franz-Joseph.

— Do you plan to expand the range of weapons and armored vehicles of the Airborne Forces?

— We're not standing still. Expanding the range of new models of armored weapons and equipment and equipping them with airborne units and formations is an absolute priority. But you also need to understand that their development is a rather long process. It can take several years from preparation, manufacturing and testing to mass production.

In 2020, the troops received about 300 units of modern armored weapons, military and special equipment (VVST). Including-combat vehicles of the BMD-4M landing, armored personnel carriers BTR-MDM "Shell", more than 100 units of various automotive equipment.

BMD-4M combat vehicles

Image source: Photo: TASS/Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The troops receive modern parachute systems for personnel D-10 and "Arbalet-2", the latest means of landing combat vehicles and cargo, free-form systems PBS-950U for BMD-4M.

To increase the combat potential of the Airborne forces, promising models of weapons and equipment are being developed and existing ones are being upgraded for several combat properties: firepower, security, mobility and command control.

Armored vehicles of the troops are able to swim and land and have no analogues in their characteristics. It is several times lighter than the samples of land forces equipment, but it is not inferior to them in firepower, and in speed, maneuverability and power reserve in many ways surpasses them. the same requirements apply to promising samples.

Currently, serious work is being carried out to improve the Airborne artillery. Our specialists in close contact with manufacturers are conducting state tests of the new self-propelled anti-tank gun "Sprut-SDM1".

— What conclusions were drawn on the results of the use of airborne assault units on the basis of the Ulyanovsk separate airborne assault brigade? Whether to develop this kind of formation?

- The "new type" formations have the ability to be used in combat areas and conduct independent combat operations behind enemy lines, combining ground weapons and army aviation fire. The use of units on experimental samples of light special vehicles transported inside the cargo cabins of helicopters significantly increases the maneuverability and fire capabilities of the equipment.

With the use of army aviation helicopters, amphibious assault units can effectively counteract the highly mobile formations of a potential enemy in various physical and geographical conditions and do not depend on the airfield network. The use of army aviation significantly reduces the probability of hitting the landing force with enemy fire, increases the speed of movement, increases the range of delivery to the designated area.

The formation of "new type" formations will increase mobility, as well as increase the combat potential of airborne units .

I am sure that the creation of amphibious assault units of a "new type" is a long overdue trend of the time.

Roman Kretsul