Airborne Troops: The backbone of the Russian army's rapid reaction

Source: People's Liberation Army Daily

In early January, soldiers of the Russian peacekeeping force boarded a transport plane and prepared to fly to Kazakhstan. Xinhua News Agency

At the beginning of the new year of 2022, a large-scale riot broke out in Kazakhstan, and the whole country entered a state of emergency. After receiving the urgent request for help from President Kazakh, Russian President Putin immediately made a decision and decided that the Russian army would take the lead in organizing an emergency reaction force to enter Kazakhstan to carry out peacekeeping tasks. Under the command of General Serdyukov, commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, almost all 6 flying regiments of the Russian Air and Space Force's military transport aviation units were dispatched, using 70 Il-76 and 5 An-124 transport aircraft, and more than 2,000 officers and men and related equipment gathered at 7 airports in Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan will arrive in Kazakh territory within 48 hours to help the Kazakh authorities stabilize the situation.

The top brass of the Russian military has stressed many times that modern armed conflicts are increasingly characterized by sudden outbreaks, fierce confrontations, and quick battles and quick decisions, and it is necessary to seize the opportunity to seize the strategic initiative. In this Harvey and operation, the strength of the Russian army is mainly airborne troops, which can be said to be a real combat application of the Russian military's emergency rapid response capability, and it is also a concentrated display of the reform, construction and training achievements of the Russian army in recent years. The Russian military's official media praised the high efficiency of combat preparation, meticulous planning, consistent pace and fearless courage displayed by the officers and men in this operation, "undoubtedly can be recorded in military practice textbooks."

It has a long history and has made many military achievements

For many years, the Russian military has been trying to build a well-organized, well-equipped, mobile and flexible rapid reaction force, ready to complete different types of military tasks, and the airborne troops are an important force.

The history of the Russian airborne troops can be traced back to the first airborne troops based on the 11th Infantry Division in the Soviet Union in 1930. By 1941, the Soviet Strategic Airborne Force had 10 airborne troops, 5 airborne brigades, 5 reserve airborne regiments, and 1 airborne troop school. This airborne force has repeatedly performed miracles in hundreds of battles and has been praised as the "elite of the army" and "national pride".

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the "large-scale rear airborne" combat style has no use, but the airborne soldiers have become unique "firefighters" at the time of the emptiness of Russia's national strength in the early days of independence, with solid combat literacy. From the North Caucasus and Chechnya to Kosovo and Georgia, Russian airborne troops have repeatedly demonstrated strong rapid mobility and emergency response capabilities. In 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised in a congratulatory letter to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Russian paratroopers: "Wherever the most dangerous, there will be paratroopers first." ”

However, due to multiple factors such as shortage of funds, from 1992 to 2012, the Russian airborne troops were dismantled and reduced one after another, and even once they were incorporated into the army sequence, and the size dropped from 7 divisions before the collapse of the Soviet Union to 4 divisions before the "new look" reform.

In the "new look" reform that began in 2009, the then commander of the Russian airborne corps, Shammanov, withstood the pressure and tried to ensure that the four divisions of the airborne troops continued to be placed under the centralized command of the airborne command, and the size of the troops was not further reduced.

The turnaround came in 2012. After Shoigu became Russia's defense minister, he adjusted the reforms. Under the situation of a sharp decline in strategic depth and a deep transformation of the army, Russia also urgently needs to establish a "mobile combat fist force" to defend homeland security and safeguard national interests, so the Russian airborne troops have ushered in a "small climax" of development - the 11th, 56th and 83rd airborne assault brigades that were previously stripped of the airborne order have been returned one after another, overseas peacekeeping battalions and independent reconnaissance battalions have been newly built within the establishment of each division/brigade, and the 45th special reconnaissance regiment stationed in Kubinka, a suburb of Moscow, has been expanded into a brigade. Since then, the Russian airborne troops have gradually got rid of the hat of "elite infantry", and the "blue sky attribute" has become more prominent, gradually becoming the backbone of Russia's rapid reaction force. Actions such as the 2015 division in Syria show that Russian airborne troops have been at the forefront of safeguarding national interests.

Experienced and well equipped

After years of development, russian airborne troops have been able to effectively respond to sudden emergencies in the surrounding areas in terms of troop formation, weapon allocation, and mobility capabilities.

At present, the Russian airborne troops are composed of 4 airborne (assault) divisions (7th and 76th Guards Air Assault Divisions, 98th and 106th Guards Airborne Divisions), 4 airborne (assault) brigades (11th Independent Airborne Brigade, 31st, 56th and 83rd Independent Air Assault Brigades), 1 Special Mission Brigade (45th Independent Special Brigade) and 1 Communication Brigade (38th Independent Communications Brigade), under the Ryazan Airborne Academy and the 242nd Airborne Training Base. Among them, the airborne (assault) division is the contract tactical combat unit of the Russian airborne troops, generally with 2 parachute regiments, 1 artillery regiment and other units, with a strength of 6500 to 8000 people; the airborne (assault) brigade is a tactical composite unit of the Russian airborne troops, generally with 3 parachute battalions, 1 howitzer battalion, etc., with a strength of about 2,000 people. At present, the total strength of russian airborne troops is about 45,000, of which more than 27,000 are contract soldiers, and they are generally highly professional and have rich combat experience.

In order to enhance the mobility of the airborne troops, Russia has continuously increased the proportion of new equipment of the airborne troops. At present, the Russian airborne troops are equipped with heavy weapons such as BMD series paratrooper fighting vehicles, armored reconnaissance vehicles, 122 mm self-propelled howitzers, 120 mm self-propelled mortars, and multiple rocket launchers. In 2021, Russian airborne troops received more than 300 new or upgraded weapons and equipment, equipped with more than 12,000 sets of parachute systems and airborne platforms, and the modernization and improvement of weapons and equipment was the highest among all services.

Frequent drills and training are consistent in training and battles

The Russian airborne troops demanded that "the preparation for the dispatch be completed within 1 hour, the fully equipped and mobile to the assembly area within 8 hours, and the campaign deployment completed within 24 hours." In order to achieve this standard, the Russian airborne troops have innovatively used the "transport aircraft +" and "helicopter +" group modes around the action styles such as long-range delivery and in-depth assault, and strengthened the coordination and cooperation with the air and space army transport aviation units and the army aviation units to achieve the effect of "sharp blades and wings".

According to statistics, the Russian army has more than 100 transport aircraft of Il-76, An-124, An-22, Il-96 and other models, most of which belong to the Russian Air Force. The Russian airborne troops are not only stationed and deployed close to the airport, but also repeatedly run into the loading airdrop process with the air and space forces, so that they can be quickly deployed in an emergency. In addition, the Russian airborne troops also plan to form a helicopter brigade, equipped with about 50 helicopters, organized into 4 helicopter squadrons.

In recent years, Russian airborne troops have organized an average of more than 3,000 training activities per year, and the training intensity ranks in the forefront of all services. In 2013, the Russian military established a surprise inspection mechanism for combat readiness, and the combat readiness level of the rapid reaction force is the key inspection content of this mechanism. In the "Chubu-2019" strategic exercise, the Russian Transport Aviation Force dispatched 71 Il-76 transport aircraft to carry out a complete airdrop of the 331st Airborne Regiment under the 98th Guards Airborne Division. Within 20 minutes, about 2,000 paratroopers and more than 200 vehicles of various types descended from the sky, and the scene was spectacular. The entry into Kazakhstan to carry out the peacekeeping operation is, to a certain extent, a real-combat reenactment of the "Central-2019" exercise. In addition, from September to November 2021, in response to the situation that the change of regime in Afghanistan may lead to the spread of terrorist forces, the Russian joint CISOD countries conducted a number of combat counter-terrorism exercises in Central Asia. The troops who have just undergone the tempering of the exercises have quickly assembled and entered Kazakhstan to carry out peacekeeping operations, which can be said to be a familiar road. (Xie Siqiang, Liu Xiaoxiao)

(Source: Jiefangjun Bao)