Russian Airborne Forces

Separate-troops branch of the Russian Armed Forces

Russian Airborne Forces

Воздушно-десантные войска России
Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii

Emblem of the Russian Airborne Forces

Founded| 7 May 1992
Country| Russia
Branch| Russian Armed Forces
Type| Airborne forces
Role|

* Light infantry
* Airborne infantry
* Airmobile infantry

Size| 45,000 (2023)[1]
Nickname(s)| Blue Berets, Winged Infantry, Troops of Uncle Vasya, Angels of Death
Motto(s)| Никто, кроме нас! (Nobody, but us!)
Color of Beret|  Sky Blue
Anniversaries| Paratroopers' Day (2 August)
Engagements|

* First Chechen War
* War in Dagestan
* Second Chechen War
* Incident at Pristina airport
* Russo-Georgian War
* Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
* Operation Grand Dawn (allegedly)[2]
* 2022 Kazakh unrest
* Russian invasion of Ukraine

Website| Official website
Commanders
Commander| Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky
Chief of Staff and First Deputy commander| Colonel General Evgeniy Ustinov [ru]
Notable
commanders| General Georgy Shpak
Insignia
Flag|
Patch|
Medium emblem|
Insignia|

Military unit

Russian Armed Forces

* Ministry of Defence

Staff

* General Staff of the Armed Forces

Services (vid)

* Russian Ground Forces
* Russian Aerospace Forces
* Russian Navy

Independent troops (rod)

* Strategic Rocket Forces
* Russian Airborne Forces

Special operations force (sof)

* Special Operations Forces

Other troops

* Logistical Support

Military districts

* Leningrad Military District
* Moscow Military District
* Southern Military District
* Central Military District
* Eastern Military District

History of the Russian military

* Military history of Russia
* History of Russian military ranks
* Military ranks of the Soviet Union

* v
* t
* e

The Russian Airborne Forces (Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска России, ВДВ, romanized: Vozdushno-desantnye voyska Rossii, VDV) is the airborne forces branch of the Russian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1992 from units of the Soviet Airborne Forces that came under Russian control following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Troops of the Russian Airborne Forces have traditionally worn a blue beret and blue-striped telnyashka undershirt and are called desant (Russian: Десант), from the French Descente.[3]

The Russian Airborne Forces utilizes a range of specialist airborne warfare vehicles and are fully mechanized. Traditionally they have had a larger complement of heavy weaponry than most contemporary airborne forces.[4]

## History

[edit]

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Airborne Forces were officially established by a presidential decree on 7 May 1992. At this time only two of the seven VDV divisions were located on the territory of the Russian Federation. An agreement was reached between Russia and the new governments of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan to move airborne units into Russia's new borders. During the 1990s the total strength of the Airborne Forces was reduced from about 80,000 in the late Soviet years to just 35,000.[5]

The forces were reduced from seven divisions to five, with the remaining ones being the 7th, 76th, 98th, 104th, and the 106th Guards Airborne. Out of these, the 104th was later disbanded, and the four existing divisions had their size reduced to only two regiments instead of three. A new unit was also formed, the 45th Separate Reconnaissance Regiment, which was subordinated to the GRU military intelligence for operations despite being part of the Airborne Forces. In 2006, the 7th and 76th were re-designated as air assault divisions, while the 98th and 106th remained as airborne divisions. The main difference was that the latter still had the ability to parachute troops into a location while the air assault divisions would simply be transported there by aircraft. The 7th Division was also designated as a "mountain" air assault division. The 31st Separate Air Assault Brigade had all of its artillery and armored vehicles removed, which made it more comparable to a Western airborne unit.[6]

Russian paratroopers at Tuzla Air Base in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997 as members of the Stabilization Force. Paratroopers of the 106th Guards Airborne Division in Kazakhstan in 1999. Paratroopers of the 83rd Airborne Brigade preparing for jump drills in 2017.

The 11th Air Assault Brigade in the Central Military District (formerly the Siberian Military District) and the 56th Air Assault Brigade in the Southern Military District (formerly the North Caucasus Military District) were partially infantry formations reporting directly to the military districts they are stationed in.[7] The VDV's training institute is the Ryazan Institute for the Airborne Forces named for General of the Army V.F. Margelov.[8] In addition, in the mid-late 1990s, the former 345th Guards Airborne Regiment was stationed in Gudauta, Abkhazia AR, Georgia. It later became the 10th Independent Peacekeeping Airborne Regiment. The unit was further designated the 50th Military Base.

In the early 1990s, General Pavel Grachev, the first Russian Defence Minister, planned for the VDV to form the core of the planned Mobile Forces. This was announced in Krasnaya Zvezda, the Ministry of Defence's daily newspaper, in July 1992. However, the Mobile Forces plan was never enacted. The number of formations available for the force was far less than anticipated, since much of the Airborne Forces had been 'nationalised' by the republics their units had been previously based in, and other arms of service, such as the GRU and Military Transport Aviation, who were to provide the airlift component, were adamantly opposed to ceding control of their forces.[9]

From 1996 the VDV dispatched the 1st Airborne Brigade to Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of IFOR's Multi-National Division North. The brigade, unusually, used Russian Ground Forces equipment such as BTR-80s.

After an experimental period, the 104th Parachute Regiment of 76th Airborne Division became the first Russian Ground Forces regiment that was fully composed of professional soldiers (and not of srochniki – conscripted soldiers aged eighteen). It was announced that the 98th Airborne Division was also earmarked for contract manning, and by September 2006, it was confirmed that 95% of the units of the 98th Division had shifted to contract manning.[10]

With the reduction in forces after 1991, the 61st Air Army, Russia's military air transport force, has enough operational heavy transport aircraft to move one airborne division, manned at peacetime standards, in two-and-a-half lifts.[11] The single independent brigade, the 31st at Ulyanovsk, however, is not equipped with its own armor or artillery and may be equivalent to Western airborne troops in that it functions as light infantry, on foot when reaching their destination. The 31st was the former 104th Guards Airborne Division.

VDV troops participated in the rapid deployment of Russian forces stationed in Bosnian city Ugljevik, in and around Pristina Airport during the Kosovo War. A confrontation between elements of the 1st Separate Airborne Brigade and British lead element of the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (NATO) took place over the airport on 12 June 1999, in the aftermath of the Kosovo War. VDV troops occupied the airport ahead of a NATO deployment, resulting in a tense stand-off, which was resolved peacefully. The VDV also took part in the invasion of Chechnya.

Notable former Airborne Forces officers include Aleksandr Lebed, who was involved in responses to disorder in the Caucasus republics in the last years of the Soviet Union, and Pavel Grachev who went on to become the first Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation.

On 26 May 2009 Lieutenant-General Vladimir Anatolevich Shamanov became the commander of the VDV, replacing Lieutenant-General Valeriy Yevtukhovich who was being discharged to the reserve. Shamanov had been decorated as a Hero of Russia for his combat role in the campaigns in Chechnya. His previous posts were as chief of the combat training directorate and commander of the 58th Army, and later chief of the main combat training directorate.[12] Shamanov and the acting commander of the 106th Airborne Division were severely injured in a car crash on 30 October 2010, with the driver being killed.[13]

On 28 January 2010, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the VDV's air components had been placed under the VVS.[14]

Under the 2008 reform programme, the four existing two-regiment divisions should have been transformed into 7–8 air-assault brigades. However, once General Shamanov became commander-in-chief of the Airborne Forces, it was decided to keep the original structure. The divisions were strengthened, becoming four independent airborne/air-assault brigades, one for each military district.[15] The 332nd School for Praporshchiks of the VDV (Russian: 332 Школа прапорщиков ВДВ) in Moscow was disbanded in December 2009 (also under the 2008 reform programme, all praporshchik (WO) posts in the Russian Armed Forces were formally abolished).

In October 2013 it was reported that the three airborne brigades under military district control (apparently the 11th and 83rd (Ulan-Ude and Ussuriysk) in the Eastern Military District and the 56th at Kamyshin in the Southern Military District) would be returned to VDV command.[16] The process was completed by July 2015.[17] In October 2013, Commander-in-Chief of the VDV Vladimir Shamanov announced that a new air assault brigade would be formed in Voronezh in 2016 with the number of the 345th Guards Airborne Regiment.[18] The establishment of the brigade was postponed to 2017–18, according to a June 2015 announcement.[19] It was announced in July 2015 that plans called for the 31st Airborne Brigade to be expanded into the 104th Guards Airborne Division by 2023,[20] and for an additional airborne regiment to be attached to each division.[21]

Elements of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division's 104th Guards Air Assault Regiment allegedly participated in the war in Donbas.[22] These units allegedly were used as spearhead forces during the August 2014 DPR and LPR counteroffensive.[23] During the August 2014 counteroffensive, battalion tactical groups of the 7th Guards Airborne Division's 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment, the 98th Guards Airborne Division's 331st Guards Airborne Regiment, the 106th Guards Airborne Division's 137th Guards Airborne Regiment, and the 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade allegedly were sent into Ukraine. Reconnaissance teams from the 45th Detached Reconnaissance Brigade and the 106th's 173rd Guards Separate Reconnaissance Company were previously deployed to Ukraine alongside Ground Forces units.[24]

In February 2016, it was reported that an airborne battalion would be permanently deployed to Dzhankoy, Crimea, in 2017–18, and upgraded to a regiment in 2020.[25] In May 2017, Shamanov announced that the battalion would be formed at Feodosiya by 1 December 2017 as part of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, and would be expanded into the 97th Air Assault Regiment with three battalions by late 2019.[26] Since the 2014 annexation, the status of Crimea is under dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine and the majority of the international community considers Crimea an integral part of Ukraine, while Russia considers Crimea to be an integral part of Russia.[27]

In August 2016, Russian paratroopers placed 1st place in the Airborne Platoon competition during the International Army Games in Russia, defeating teams from China, Iran, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.[28]

On 4 October 2016, Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov was appointed commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, replacing Shamanov, who became chief of the Duma Committee on Defense.[29]

During 2016, three reconnaissance battalions and six tank companies, and two companies of electronic warfare and unmanned aerial vehicles were formed. 188 new and upgraded armored vehicles were delivered, with the Russian Airborne Forces equipment level of modern weapons at 47%.[citation needed] From 2015 to 2016 five intelligence units and six tank units have been formed, over 3,000 new pieces of weaponry and special military equipment were supplied, the number of contract servicemen had grown by 1.5 times, while the troops' training intensity had risen by 20 percent.[citation needed]

The Russian Airborne Forces received over eleven thousand new and upgraded weapons in 2017. The share of modern armaments and hardware comprises 62 percent. In two years four battalion sets of 120 BMD-4M and BTR-MDM Rakushka vehicles were supplied. Besides that, the force received over 100 upgraded weapons, including 2S9-1M self-propelled guns. From 2015 to 2017 the air defense units received close to 500 modern automated reconnaissance and command complexes, new Verba portable missiles, and over 30 upgraded Strela-10MN missile complexes.[citation needed]

On December 1, 2017, the organizational events to create a separate airborne assault battalion in Novorosiisk mountain division deployed in Feodosiya and a separate repairs and maintenance battalion in the Moscow region were completed. Contracted servicemen comprised over 70 percent of the troops. Barnaul-T R&D produced a planning module paradropped to airborne units to simultaneously track a hundred air objects, and a paradroppable reconnaissance and command module to detect targets in a 40-km range, deployable in five minutes.[citation needed]

State tests of a new Bakhcha-U-PDS parachute platform for the BMD-4M and BTR-MDM vehicles were completed in May 2018.[30] Deliveries of new 'heavy drop' systems PBS-950U and PBS-955 began in 2020.[31] In 2019, two battalion sets of BMD-4M airborne combat vehicles and BTR-MDM Rakushka armored personnel carriers, more than 200 units of various automotive equipment, including special armored vehicles, army snowmobiles, four-wheelers and buggies and more than 9,000 parachute systems D-10 and "Arbalet-2" were delivered to the troops.[32]

In April 2020, military personnel from the Russian Airborne Forces, performed the world's first HALO paradrop from the lower border of the Arctic stratosphere. The Russian commando group used "next-generation special-purpose parachute system", military-tested oxygen equipment, navigation devices, special equipment, and uniforms. This was the first high-altitude landing in the Arctic latitudes over 10 km in the history of Russian aviation.[33][34]

As part of its mission in the Arctic region, the aircrew provided landing of airborne units from altitudes of between 10 and 1.8 kilometres, as well as landing of cargo with a total weight of about 18 tons. After conducting practical combat training, the Il-76 aircrews landed at the Nagurskoe airfield in the northern part of the island of Franz Josef Land. The high-altitude landing was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic war of 1941–1945, and the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Airborne troops.[33][34]

In 2020, the VDV continued to modernize and re-equip its command posts, started to receive the Stayer high-altitude parachute system which enable airdrops from up to 10 km altitude, and completed receiving special-purpose controllable parachute systems.[35][36][37][38]

Two air assault regiments were set up in Pskov and Crimea as part of air assault divisions in 2021. The Russian Defense Ministry also accepted the Zavet-D artillery fire control vehicle for the Airborne Forces.[39][40] In 2021-2022, the Airborne Forces received about 30,000 sets of landing equipment and parachute systems.[41][42] Sergey Shoigu claimed in September 2023 that VDV have received more than 2,000 hardware units and 5,500 landing means and also a new airborne regiment formed since the beginning of the year.[43] The Russian Ministry of Defense said on 1 January 2024 that the VDV received during the past year over 2,500 units of weapons, military and special equipment, including more than 780 samples of "newest and contemporary ones". Among the newest samples were T-90M tanks and BMD-4M IFVs as well as BTR-MDM "Rakushka" and BTR-82A APCs.[44] It was also reported on 3 January that 20 military units were created in 2023, including the Ulyanovsk air assault division.[45] About 16,000 landing means were also reportedly delivered[46] and 1,000 more in the first quarter of 2024.[47]

### Russian invasion of Ukraine

[edit]

VDV Airborne troops at Hostomel Airport during the Battle of Antonov Airport VDV Airborne troops attacking a Ukrainian drone during the Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna line

The VDV participated heavily in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the opening hours of the invasion the VDV attempted to secure key airports and support assaults around Ukraine. These paratroopers were recognizable by the orange-and-black Saint George ribbons decorating their helmets and arms.[48]

The VDV attempted to paradrop and transport troops with Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters and take the Hostomel Airport in northern Kyiv, in order to use the airport to airlift more troops and heavy equipment to take Kyiv as a form of forward "air bridge"[49] that would enable rapid deployment of Russian forces far in advance of the Russian land front, in an action that became known as the Battle of Antonov Airport. The VDV troops at the airport then engaged the Ukrainian National Guard's 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade, which with the help of the Ukrainian Air Force encircled the unsupported VDV troops and recaptured the airport, with the Russians escaping to nearby woods.[50]

The next day battle resumed, and the VDV again attempted to land troops at the airport. Deploying around 200 helicopters and with support from the Ground Forces arriving from the north (Belarus and Chernobyl), they finally broke through the Ukrainian defenses and established Russian control over the airport. In the end, however, the Ukrainians claimed that the airport became too damaged from the battle to be used as an airstrip.[51]

40 kilometers south of Kyiv in Vasylkiv, VDV paratroopers also dropped in an attempt to secure the Vasylkiv Air Base. Without any support from air or ground forces, the VDV troops in Vasylkiv were eventually encircled and were unsuccessful in achieving their objectives, giving victory in the Battle of Vasylkiv to the Ukrainians.[52]

On February 27, VDV troops with BMD-2s and BTR-Ds were seen advancing south of Hostomel in Bucha.[53] The VDV and Ground Forces' units were hit on the same day by Bayraktar air strikes. The Ukrainian government claimed that "more than 100 units of enemy equipment were destroyed”.[54] On the following weeks the VDV served as mechanized infantry and light infantry during the Kyiv offensive.[55]

During the Battle of Kharkiv, VDV paratroopers landed in Kharkiv on March 2 in an attempt to capture the contested city.[56] They attempted a raid on a local military hospital but were repelled by local Ukrainian forces.[57]

According to the UK Ministry of Defence in June 2023, Russia was redeploying regular military units to the Bakhmut sector following withdrawal of Wagner forces. These included elements of the 76th and 106th VDV divisions and two additional brigades. The MoD added that the VDV was much degraded from its pre-invasion "elite" status.[58]

#### Analysis of losses

[edit]

On 3 March 2022, it was reported that Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky of the VDV's 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, who was the appointed deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army, was killed in action in Ukraine.[59] His death is attributed to sniper fire either near Mariupol (which was besieged by Russian forces)[60] or Hostomel during the Kyiv offensive.[61] Ukrainian sources said he was killed on 2 March and his death was first confirmed on VKontakte by "Combat Brotherhood", a Russian veterans group,[59] and later by President Vladimir Putin.[60] The VDV suffered similar losses in Bucha and Irpin with poor command and control being cited.[55] The VDV also joined the assault on the city of Mykolaiv during the Battle of Mykolaiv, but were pushed back by a Ukrainian counter-offensive.[62]

On 18 March it was reported that Colonel Sergei Sukharev along with deputy Major Sergei Krylov of the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment had been killed during fighting in Mariupol.[63]

In late April, Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev claimed that he "personally checked" and that Russia had lost "almost 90% of its best paratroopers" in the first echelon of the invasion.[64] Many helicopters were shot down by Ukrainian defenses, and the paratroopers were stranded without armored vehicles or air support.[65] In early May, the UK MoD stated that the VDV units and other elite forces had suffered high losses and that it would "probably take years for Russia to reconstitute these forces."[66]

On 19 June 2022, it was reported by Odesa military-civilian spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk[67] that Putin had sacked Serdyukov for his doomed bid to take Hostomel airfield, which few of the invading soldiers survived.[68][67] This was confirmed by Russian media reports.[69] He was replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky.

According to BBC News Russian and the Mediazona news website, 1,937 VDV deaths had been documented by the end of August 2023, which included 340 officers, accounting for 6% of the 31,665 Russian fatalities who had been identified by name, and 8% of those who could identified by both name and service branch.[70]

UK intelligence estimate that around 30,000 paratroop forces were deployed to Ukraine in 2022 and that 50% of those have been killed or wounded by summer 2023. A Russian General in August 2023 stated that 3,500 wounded paratroopers had refused to leave the front for treatment and 5,000 had returned to the front after treatment.[71]

As of 21 December 2023 at least 248 BMD-2, 101 BMD-4M, 83 BTR-D and 11 unknown BTR-D/BMD-2 have been lost in the invasion.[72]

#### Creation of new VDV forces

[edit]

After the invasion it was announced that the Airborne Forces would create two new divisions. Teplinsky announced on August 2, 2023 that the VDV is expanding the 31st Air Assault Brigade into the 104th Guards Air Assault Division. The 299th and 119th Parachute-Landing Regiments were also reestablished, expanding two other divisions from two to three regiments.[73]

Also reported was the creation of a new Airborne Forces artillery brigade and the 44th Air Assault Division, created on the basis of the 111th and 387th Motor Rifle Regiments of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps of the turncoat Donetsk People's Republic. The 44th Air Assault Division recalls the number of the Soviet-era 44th Training Airborne Division. But formed from newly-formed motor rifle regiments, it would not be anything like the quality of existing Air Assault formations.

## Structure

[edit]

Banner of the Airborne Forces Commander-in-Chief.

### Command personnel

[edit]

* Commander Air Landing Forces – Colonel-General
* Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the Air Landing Forces – Lieutenant-General
* Deputy Commander of the Air Landing Forces – Major-General
* Deputy Commander of the Air Landing Forces for Peacekeeping Operations and Collective Rapid Reaction Forces – Major-General
* Chief of Air Landing Training and Deputy Commander of the Air Landing Forces for Air Landing Training – Major-General
* Chief of Combat Training and Deputy Commander of the Air Landing Forces – Major-General
* Deputy Commander of the Air Landing Forces for Educational Work – Colonel

### Organization

[edit]

The structure of the Russian Airborne Forces

The Air Landing Forces combine Parachute Landing (парашютно-десантние) and Landing Assault (десантно-штурмовие) units. The difference between the two is that while both were airborne qualified and mechanised with BMD, BTR-D, 2S9 Nona, the parachute landing units are lighter (only quarter mechanised) and play the role of entry element, while landing assault units were fully mechanised and were intended to develop the breach opened by the parachute landing forces.[74]

Paratroopers at the 2008 Moscow Victory Day Parade Airborne Forces commander Andrey Serdyukov in front of Spasskaya Bashnya on Paratroopers' Day in 2020 Russian paratroopers with the Belarusian 38th Guards Air Assault Brigade in 2018. They maintain a close working relationship. The combined band Composition of the Russian Airborne Forces 2024

| Airborne Forces Command |  | Moscow | Commander Col. Gen. Mikhail Teplinsky
| 38th Guards Command and Control Brigade | 54164  | Shchyolkovo, Moscow Oblast |
| 150th Repair and Overhaul Battalion  |  | Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Moscow Oblast  |
| Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School |  | Ryazan, Ryazan Oblast |
| Ulyanovsk Guards Suvorov Military School |  | Ulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk Oblast |
| 242nd Training Centre |  | Omsk, Omsk Oblast |
| Omsk Cadet Corps |  | Omsk, Omsk Oblast  |
| 309th Center for Specialized Parachute Training[75] |  | Ryazan, Ryazan Oblast  |

| 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division

* 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment[76][77]
* 108th Guards Kuban Cossack Air Assault Regiment
* 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment
* 1141st Guards Artillery Regiment
* 3rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment

| 61756

* unknown
* 42091
* 54801
* 40515
* 94021

| Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai

* Feodosia, Crimea
* Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai
* Stavropol, Krasnodar Krai
* Anapa, Krasnodar Krai
* Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai

| 44th Air Assault Division[78]

* 111th Motorized Rifle Regiment
* 387th Motorized Rifle Regiment

|  | Zaparozhye Oblast |

| 76th Guards Air Assault Division

* 104th Guards Air Assault Regiment
* 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment
* 237th Guards Air Assault Regiment
* 1140th Guards Artillery Regiment
* 4th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment

| 07264

* 32515
* 74268
* 12865
* 45377
* unknown

| Pskov, Pskov Oblast

* Cheryokha, Pskov Oblast
* Pskov, Pskov Oblast
* Pskov, Pskov Oblast
* Pskov, Pskov Oblast
* unknown

| 98th Guards Airborne Division

* 217th Guards Airborne Regiment
* 299th Guards Airborne Regiment
* 331st Guards Airborne Regiment
* 1065th Guards Artillery Regiment
* 5th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment

| 65451

* 62295
* unknown
* 71211
* 62297
* unknown

| Ivanovo, Ivanovo Oblast

* Ivanovo, Ivanovo Oblast
* unknown
* Kostroma, Kostroma Oblast
* Kostroma, Kostroma Oblast
* Ivanovo, Ivanovo Oblast

| 104th Guards Airborne Division

* 328th Guards Airborne Regiment
* 337th Guards Airborne Regiment
* 345th Guards Airborne Regiment

|  | Ulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk Oblast

*   *   *

| 106th Guards Airborne Division

* 51st Guards Airborne Regiment
* 119th Guards Airborne Regiment
* 137th Guards Airborne Regiment
* 1182nd Guards Artillery Regiment
* 1st Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment

| 55599

* 33842
* unknown
* 41450
* 93723
* 71298

| Tula, Tula Oblast

* Tula, Tula Oblast
* unknown
* Ryazan, Ryazan Oblast
* Naro-Fominsk, Moscow Oblast
* Naro-Fominsk, Moscow Oblast

| 11th Guards Airborne Brigade | 32364  | Ulan-Ude, Buryatia |
| 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigade | 28337  | Kubinka, Moscow Oblast  |
| 49th Separate Air Assault Brigade[79] |  |  |
| 52nd Artillery Brigade |  |  |
| 83rd Guards Airborne Brigade | 71289  | Ussuriysk, Primorsky Krai |

## Armament and equipment

[edit]

Personal firearms and crew served weapons include:[citation needed]

* AK-74M (including upgraded variants with the KM-AK Obves modernization kit)[80] and AKS-74 assault rifles, and AKS-74U special purpose and self-defence carbine (5.45×39mm)
* AK-12 assault rifles (5.45×39mm)[81]
* RPK-74, light weight machinegun (5.45×39mm), now largely withdrawn from service and replaced by the PKM/PKP
* PKM, general purpose machinegun (7.62×54mmR)
* 6P41 "Pecheneg" (PKP) general purpose machine gun (7.62×54mmR), currently replacing the PKM as the general purpose machine gun throughout the Russian Armed Forces
* Dragunov SVDS, sniper rifle (7.62×54mmR)
* Dragunov SVU, modified SVD in bullpup configuration and its variants are in limited use
* SV-98, main sniper rifle (7.62×54mmR)[82]
* ASVK-M Kord-M anti-materiel sniper rifle (12.7×108mm)[31]
* VSS Vintorez, silenced sniper rifle (9×39mm)
* AS Val special assault rifle[83]
* MP-443 Grach, semi-automatic pistol (9×19mm Parabellum)
* Makarov, semi-automatic pistol (9×18mm Mak) & Glock 17, semi-automatic pistol (9x19 Parabellum)
* GP-25, GP-30 and GP-34, under-barrel 40 mm grenade launchers for fragmentation and gas grenades
* AGS-17 Plamya (Flame), 30 mm automatic grenade launcher
* RPO-A Shmel (Bumblebee), infantry rocket flamethrower, currently replacing the older RPO Rys (Lynx)
* RPG-7D anti-tank rocket launcher, or more modern systems such as the RPG-22 and RPG-26
* 2B14 Podnos 82 mm mortar or the 120 mm 2S12 Sani on UAZ vehicles
* 9K38 Igla man-portable SAM system, or the more modern 9K338 Igla-S
* 9K333 Verba man-portable SAM system, currently entering service[84]
* 9K111 Fagot,[85] 9K115 Metis[citation needed] and 9M133 Kornet[86] man-portable anti-tank systems
* MTS-566 sniper rifle[87]

The VDV are fully equipped with Barmitsa and Ratnik infantry combat suits as of 2018.[88][89][90] Andromeda-D, Barnaul-T and Dozor automated control systems, AS-1 snowmobiles, four wheelers, a specially-created uniform for hot climates and Nanuk Arctic gear, reconnaissance-control and planning modules and the REX-1 counter-unmanned aerial vehicle rifle-like, man-portable jammer developed by Kalashnikov Group subsidiary ZALA Aero Group are also being introduced into service.[91][92][93][94][95][96][31] Portable versions of the Garmony air defence radar, modernized reconnaissance and artillery fire control posts and Aistyonok and Sobolyatnik radars are being supplied to the VDV.[97] The Russian Airborne Forces have also received new special-purpose controlled wing-type parachutes.[98] VDV servicemen performing tasks in Ukraine received VKPO 3.0 all-season field uniform kits in 2023.[99] The automatic cargo parachute system Junker-DG-250 passed acceptance trials and began to be supplied in November 2023.[100] VDV also reportedly use the Lesochek EW system.[101][102]

### Armoured vehicles

[edit]

There are over 1,800 armored fighting vehicles, mostly BMD-1 (since 1969), of which all but around 100 are in storage,[103][failed verification] and at least several hundred BMD-2 (since 1985). There are over 100 BMD-3 (1990) that were partially upgraded to BMD-4 level. All of them are amphibious, moving at around 10 km/h in water. The BMD-4 is capable of full, continuous fire while in deep water, unlike any other vehicle with such heavy weaponry (100 mm gun and 30 mm auto cannon). However, some units (such as those who served on peacekeeping duties in the Balkans) are known to have used BTR armored personnel carriers rather than BMD's. T-72B3 tanks supplied to the Russian Airborne Forces in 2018 have been upgraded and are equipped with Andromeda automatic control system and some of them with top-attack defence screens.[104] As of 2021, the Russian Airborne Forces have 150 T-72B3 and 10 T-72B3 mod. 2016. T-90M tanks are also attached to VDV units as of August 2023.[105]

There is a turret-less variant of the BMD-1, the BTR-D, which is used as troop carrier and serves as the basis for specialised versions such as anti-tank, command and signals. The BTR-D will be partially replaced by the new multi-purpose APC BTR-MD "Rakushka" that will also come in several different versions. Approximately 280 vehicles in all BTR-D configurations are in service.[106] As part of the 2011 state defence order (GOZ), 10 BMD-4M and 10 "Rakushka's" have been ordered, but according to the VDV's CinC General Colonel Shamanov, Kurganmashzavod did not give a guarantee it would produce them.[107]

The Russian Defense Ministry adopted the BMD-4M in April 2016.[108] The first production batch of the new armored vehicles BMD-4M and BTR-MDM "Shell" in the amount of 24 units (12 each) transferred to the Russian Airborne Forces in 2015.[109] The VDV equipped the first regiment with BMD-4Ms and BTR-MDMs in 2016.[citation needed] In 2017, they received two battalion sets of BMD-4M combat airborne vehicles and BTR-MDM APCs, over 80 Rys’ and UAZ Pickup armored automobiles.[110]

The BMD-4M The BTR-MDM "Shell"

Russian airborne brigade-level units have received SPM-2 GAZ-233036 Tigr armored cars. They have ordered Kamaz Typhoon armored infantry transports, following modifications to meet the demands of the airborne troops and accepted them for supply in August 2021. The Russian Airborne Forces have received about 100 Tigr and Rys special armored vehicles, 200 Snegohod A-1 snow-going and AM-1 all-terrain vehicles, UAZ Patriot light motor vehicles, Toros 4x4 armored vehicles and Kamaz trucks that can be air-dropped.[111]

The VDV currently receives Berkyt protected snowmobiles for personnel transportation and fire support in arctic conditions.[112][113] Infauna and Leer-2 EW systems alongside Aileron-3SV UAVs and P-230T command vehicles are also received.[114][115] The RKhM-6 chemical reconnaissance vehicle based on the BTR-80 armored personnel carrier, the BTR-D airborne assault armored personnel carrier with a ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun and the R-149MA1 and the R-142DA command and staff vehicles were demonstrated in August 2021.[116] The Sarmat-2 light tactical buggy participated in the Zapad-2021 drill.[117]

On 1 August 2013, it was reported that the Russian Airborne Forces will develop a hybrid combat vehicle that combines features of an airborne infantry fighting vehicle and a helicopter. To meet the demands of future armed conflicts, a combat module that combines a light combat vehicle and an attack helicopter is being considered, with a crew of three-four people. The vehicle will be developed for the VDV by 2030.[citation needed]

### Artillery

[edit]

"Sprut-SD" tank/howitzer for airborne forces (equipped with parachutes)

The airborne self-propelled artillery guns ASU-57 and ASU-85 have been withdrawn. They had light armour and limited anti-tank capability, but provided invaluable fire support for paratroopers behind enemy lines (the caliber of the gun in mm is the number next to the ASU designation).

Also withdrawn were the multiple rocket launch systems RPU-14 (8U38) of 140 mm and the BM-21V "Grad-V" (9P125) of 122 mm on GAZ-66, as well as the 85 mm gun SD-44.

Today the VDV operates the following systems:

* 2S9 Nona and modernized 2S9M[118] 120 mm self-propelled gun-mortar. Currently being replaced by the 2B23 Nona-M1 120 mm towed mortar and 2S31 Vena 120 mm self-propelled gun-mortar/2S12A modernized 120 mm self-propelled mortar[119][120]
* 2S25 Sprut-SD 125 mm self-propelled artillery/anti-tank gun based on BMD-3 hull
* D-30 (2A18) 122 mm howitzer and anti-tank weapon, towed by truck, not amphibious, able to make 360 degree turns as it is deployed on a tripod
* ZU-23-2 23 mm air-defence gun, is either mounted on the BTR-D, or can be towed by a jeep or truck as it has wheels. Since 2011, some ZU-23s are being replaced by the Strela-10M3/MN and since 2016 by the newest versions of the Buk missile system.[121][122]
* TOS-1A 220 mm self-propelled 24-barrel thermobaric/incendiary unguided rocket launcher since 2022.[123][124]
* 2S36 Zauralets-D – future 120 mm self-propelled gun-howitzer based on the BMD-4[125]
* 2S37 – future 152 mm self-propelled gun-howitzer based on the BMD-4[125]

The VDV is equipped with numerous types of airborne capable trucks and jeeps, for example the Ural-4320, the GAZ-66V and the GAZ-2975 "Tigr" for transporting cargo, specialist crews and equipment (e.g. mortars, ammunitions), but not infantry (all fighting paratroopers are transported in armoured vehicles). Currently, the GAZ-66 is being replaced by the KamAZ-43501.[121][126]

### UAVs

[edit]

A Granat-4 UAV of the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade

* Compact recon complex "Iskatel" (The Seeker) with 2 UAVs[127]
* UAV complex Orlan-10[128]
* UAV complex Granat[129]
* UAV complex Takhion[130]
* Kamikaze FPV drone Boomerang[131]
* ZALA Lancet kamikaze drone[132]
* Albatross M5 reconnaissance drone[133][134]

## Ranks and rank insignia

[edit]

Officer ranks
Rank group  | General / flag officers  | Senior officers  | Junior officers

|
|
|

Russian Airborne Forces

* v
* t
* e

| No equivalent |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Army general
генера́л а́рмии | Colonel general
генера́л-полко́вник | Lieutenant general
генера́л-лейтена́нт | Major general
генера́л-майо́р | Colonel
полко́вник | Lieutenant colonel
подполко́вник | Major
майо́р | Captain
капита́н | Senior lieutenant
ста́рший лейтена́нт | Lieutenant
лейтена́нт | Junior lieutenant
мла́дший лейтена́нт | Cadet
Курсант

Other ranks
Rank group  | General / flag officers  | Senior officers  | Junior officers

|
|
|

Russian Airborne Forces

* v
* t
* e

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

* * *

Senior warrant officer
Ста́рший пра́порщик | Warrant officer
Пра́порщик | Master sergeant
Старшина́ | Senior sergeant
Ста́рший сержа́нт | Sergeant
Сержа́нт | Junior sergeant
Мла́дший сержа́нт | Corporal
Ефре́йтор | Private
Рядово́й

## Commanders of the Russian Airborne Forces

[edit]

The flag of Russia's Commander-in-Chief of the Airborne Forces Name  | Rank  | Period of command

|
|

Yevgeny Podkolzin | Colonel general | May 1992 – December 1996
Georgy Shpak | Colonel general  | 4 December 1996 – September 2003
Alexander Kolmakov [ru] | Colonel general  | 8 September 2003 – 19 November 2007
Valeriy Yevtukhovich [ru] | Colonel general  | 19 November 2007 – 6 May 2009
Nikolai Ignatov [ru] | Lieutenant general | 6 – 24 May 2009
Vladimir Shamanov | Colonel general  | 26 May 2009 – 4 October 2016
Andrey Serdyukov | Colonel general  | 4 October 2016 – 16 June 2022

## Traditions

[edit]

Main article: Culture of the Russian Armed Forces

The older sleeve ensign of the Russian Airborne Forces

The former sleeve badge of the Russian Airborne Forces

### Symbols

[edit]

* Nickname(s): Blue Berets, Winged Infantry
* Patron: Saint Elijah the Prophet
* Motto(s): Никто, кроме нас! (Nobody, but us!)
* Beret Color: Sky Blue

### Paratroopers' Day celebrations

[edit]

Main article: Paratroopers' Day

Russian airborne troops had their own holiday during the Soviet era, which continues to be celebrated on 2 August. Their most emblematic mark of distinction is a blue beret. VDV soldiers are often called "blue berets". Each year, current and former paratroopers, often in an inebriated state, celebrate by meeting up and wandering city streets and parks. The day is notorious for two common sights: paratroopers frolicking in fountains and picking fights with hapless passers-by.[135] On Airborne Forces Day in many Russian cities, it is customary to turn off the fountains and hold veteran reunions near those fountains.[136]

### Bands

[edit]

Main article: Russian military bands

The Combined Military Band of the Airborne Forces is an integral part of all the solemn events of the Airborne Forces. Every year, the band's personnel take part in the Victory Parade on Red Square, as well as the opening ceremony of the International Army Games. In the ranks of the combined band were musicians of the military bands of the airborne and assault formations of the Airborne Forces. There were six other military bands in the airborne forces.[137]

The Song and Dance Ensemble of the Airborne Forces is the theatrical troupe of the VDV. It began its creative activity in 1937, as the Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble of the Kiev Military District, numbering only 18 people. On 3 May 1945, three days after the signing of the German armistice, the ensemble gave a concert on the steps of the destroyed Reichstag.[138]

During the Cold War, the unit was known as the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. During this time, it had participated in concerts in the cities of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. It gained its current status in 1994. The Song and Dance Ensemble also contains the Blue Berets musical group.[138]

## Gallery

[edit]

* The 137th Guards Airborne Regiment troops in front of the BMD-4M vehicle.

* The 31st Guards Air Assault Brigade during inspection.

* Scout of the 106th Guards Airborne Division

* Final check of the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade

* Paratroopers of the 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade during an exercise.

## See also

[edit]

* Special Operations Forces (Russia)
* Ukrainian Air Assault Forces

## Notes

[edit]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Russian Defense Ministry to build up strength of airborne assault divisions". tass.com. TASS. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
2. ^ СМИ: Элитные отряды сирийской армии и российские морпехи переброшены на восток Хамы Vzglyad (newspaper), 26 May 2017.
3. ^ "ДЕСАНТ". Classes.RU. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
4. ^ "A look into the modern Russian Airborne Forces | the Vineyard of the Saker". Archived from the original on 2019-01-17. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
5. ^ Elfving, Jörgen (April 2021). "An Assessment of the Russian Airborne Troops and Their Role on Tomorrow's Battlefield" (PDF). Jamestown Foundation.
6. ^ Thornton, Rob (2011). Organizational Change in the Russian Airborne Forces: The Lessons of the Georgian Conflict. Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. pp. 8–10. ISBN 978-1-58487-519-2.
7. ^ The 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade is the former 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment.
8. ^ See also ru:Рязанский институт Воздушно-десантных войск имени генерала армии Маргелова В.Ф.
9. ^ Baev, Pavel, The Russian Army in a Time of Troubles, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, 1996, pp. 127–135
10. ^ "Interfax Russia & CIS Military Weekly". 15 September 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
11. ^ p. 243, 363, Austin & Muraviev quoting Kedrov & Sokut, 'Transportirovat diviziu za odin vyliot [To transport Division in One Take-Off], Nezavisimoe Voennoe Obozrenie, No.11, 1999, p.1, translation from Russian
12. ^ "General Shamanov Appointed as Commander of the Russian Airborne Forces". silobreaker.com. 5 June 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
13. ^ "Shamanov Update". Russian Defense Policy. November 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
14. ^ "single – The Jamestown Foundation". jamestown.org.
15. ^ Moscow Defense Brief #2, 2010 p. 22–24
16. ^ Russian Defense Policy, VDV Gets Army's Air Assault Brigades Archived 2013-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, October 21, 2013.
17. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Владимир Шаманов: ВДВ РФ сегодня являются полностью самодостаточным родом войск". armstrade.org. 29 July 2015. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
18. ^ В Воронеже сформируют новую десантно-штурмовую бригаду ВДВ [Troopers will add strength]. Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). 8 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
19. ^ Минобороны передвинуло сроки создания новой бригады ВДВ в Воронеже [Ministry of Defense postpones establishment of Voronezh airborne brigade]. REGNUM (in Russian). 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
20. ^ "Ульяновскую 31-ю бригаду ВДВ переформируют в дивизию к 2023 году". 5 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
21. ^ "TASS: Russia – Russian Defense Ministry to build up strength of airborne assault divisions". TASS. Archived from the original on 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
22. ^ MacKinnon, Mark (14 September 2014). "The painful secrecy of Russia's war in Ukraine". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
23. ^ "Reversal of fortune". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
24. ^ Sutyagin, Igor (March 2015). "RUSI Briefing Paper: Russian Forces in Ukraine" (PDF). Royal United Services Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
25. ^ "Russia plans to deploy airborne forces in Crimea on permanent basis — source". TASS. Archived from the original on 2016-02-20. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
26. ^ "Russia starts forming air assault battalion in Crimea". TASS. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
27. ^ UKRAINE REPORTS RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTIVITY ON CRIMEA BORDER Archived 2016-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, Newsweek (8 August 2016)
Gutterman, Steve (18 March 2014). "Putin signs Crimea treaty, will not seize other Ukraine regions". Reuters.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
Ukraine crisis timeline Archived 2014-07-15 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News
UN General Assembly adopts resolution affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity Archived 2018-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, China Central Television (28 March 2014)
28. ^ "Airborne platoon". Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
29. ^ "Russian Airborne Troops get new commander". TASS. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
30. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Минобороны завершило испытания новейшей парашютной системы "Бахча-У-ПДС" для ВДВ". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
31. ^ a b c "Janes | Latest defence and security news". Janes.com.
32. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Андрей Сердюков сообщил о поставках ВВСТ в Воздушно-десантные войска в 2019 году". armstrade.org.
33. ^ a b "ЦАМТО / Новости / Экипажи ВТА обеспечили первое в истории высотное десантирование подразделений ВДВ". armstrade.org. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
34. ^ a b "Russian paratroopers for the first time in world history made a landing as part of a group on new parachute systems from an altitude of 10,000 meters in Arctic conditions". function.mil.ru. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
35. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / В ВДВ продолжается совершенствование системы управления". armstrade.org.
36. ^ "Army 2020: Tekhodinamika unveils new high-altitude parachute for Russia's VDV". Janes.com.
37. ^ "Russian paratroopers receive latest parachutes for Arctic operation". TASS.
38. ^ "ЦАМТО / / В 2020 году доля обеспеченности ВДВ управляемыми парашютными системами составила 100 проц". armstrade.org.
39. ^ "Russia sets up new paratroop regiment in Crimea". TASS. 29 December 2021.
40. ^ "ЦАМТО / / Минобороны приняло на снабжение машины управления артиллерийским огнем "Завет-Д" для ВДВ". Armstrade.org. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
41. ^ "ЦАМТО / / В 2021 году в ВДВ поступило более 13 тыс. комплектов средств десантирования и парашютных систем".
42. ^ "Russian airborne troops receive more than 15,000 parachute systems in 2022 — Ministry". TASS.
43. ^ "IN BRIEF: Russian defense chief reveals Ukraine's military losses over past month".
44. ^ Новости, РИА (2024-01-01). "Российские десантники получили за год 2,5 тысячи единиц вооружений техники". РИА Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-01-16.
45. ^ Новости, РИА (2024-01-03). "В Минобороны рассказали о новых соединениях в ВДВ". РИА Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-01-16.
46. ^ Закон, порядок, государство (2024-01-05). "Российские десантники в 2023 году в ходе учений и занятий по боевой подготовке совершили более 70 тыс. прыжков с парашютом и десантировали 77 единиц боевой техники и грузов". Закон, порядок, государство - МирТесен (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-01-24.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
47. ^ "Более 1 тыс. комплектов современных средств десантирования и парашютных систем поступило в ВДВ в 2024 году". ВПК.name (in Russian). 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
48. ^ "Russian soldiers drop from sky at edge of Kyiv". 24 February 2022.
49. ^ Chance, Matthew; Sangal, Aditi (24 February 2022). "On the ground: Russian forces take control of an air base near Kyiv, Ukraine". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022. "Russian airborne troops have taken control of the Antonov Airport, which is about 25 miles away from the center of Kyiv, Ukraine, CNN's Matthew Chance reported Thursday."
50. ^ Roblin, Sebastien (2022-02-25). "Pictures: In Battle for Hostomel, Ukraine Drove Back Russia's Attack Helicopters and Elite Paratroopers". 19FortyFive. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
51. ^ "Ukraine asks for fighters of all ages, reports city lost, but successes elsewhere". The Times of Israel. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
52. ^ "Fight for Vasylkiv ends with victory of Ukrainian Armed Forces – official". AzerNews.az. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
53. ^ Clark, Mason; Barros, George; Stepanenko, Kateryna (2022-02-27). "Russia-Ukraine Warning Update: Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 27, 2022". Critical Threats.
54. ^ "Ukraine says it destroyed Russian military convoy outside of Kyiv". The Times of Israel. 2022-02-27.
55. ^ a b "Ukraine's specops forces destroy another 10 enemy IFVs in Hostomel". Ukrinform (Press release). Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
56. ^ "Russian forces assaulting Kharkiv – reports". The Times of Israel. 2022-03-02.
57. ^ Zaczek, Zoe (2022-03-02). "Russian paratroopers launch fresh attack on embattled Kharkiv". Sky News Australia.
58. ^ UK Ministry of Defence [@DefenceHQ] (3 June 2023). "Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine" (Tweet) - via Twitter.
59. ^ a b "Ukraine forces reportedly kill top Russian general in blow to invading army". Newsweek. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
60. ^ a b "Russian Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky killed by Ukrainians in blow to Putin". The Independent. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
61. ^ "Why is the 64-kilometre Russian convoy not moving towards Kyiv?". AS.com. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
62. ^ Schwirtz, Michael (2022-03-07). "Proud Band of Ukrainian Troops Holds Russian Assault at Bay — for Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
63. ^ "Top Russian paratroop commander killed in latest blow to Putin's Ukraine war effort". Evening Standard. 18 March 2022.
64. ^ "Russia has lost 90% of its best paratroopers and many experienced mercenaries - Bellingcat - Canada News from unian.ua". CANADA TOPNews.MEDIA. 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
65. ^ Shull, Abbie. "Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting for hours over a critical airfield just outside Kyiv". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
66. ^ Weber, Peter (2 May 2022). "Ukraine says it destroyed Russia's Izyum command center, killing 200 but just missing Russia's top general". The Week. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
67. ^ a b "Putin axes top general for 'mass casualties' amid war; 'Butcher of Bucha' is his replacement". Hindustan Times. YouTube. 19 June 2022.
68. ^ "Possible purges among Russian officers deteriorate command: Report". Telewizja Polska S.A. 18 June 2022.
69. ^ "RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JUNE 21". 21 June 2022.
70. ^ "Четверть погибших - вчерашние гражданские: что известно о потерях России в Украине к февралю" [A quarter of the dead are yesterday's civilians: what is known about Russia's losses in Ukraine by February]. BBC News Russian. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
"Russian casualties in Ukraine. Mediazona count, updated". Mediazona. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
71. ^ "Russia has lost at least 50 pct of its paratroopers in Ukraine: UK". 6 August 2023.
72. ^ "Attack On Europe: Documenting Russian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine". Oryx. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
73. ^ "Russia's Military Restructuring and Expansion Hindered by the Ukraine War". Institute for the Study of War. Nov 12, 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
74. ^ "Десантно-штурмовые войска". ogorin.ru. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
75. ^ "309 цспп ВДВ (цспк, цсфп) — Десантура.ру". desantura.ru. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
76. ^ Новикова, Екатерина (March 25, 2021). "Шойгу сообщил о создании нового полка ВДВ в Крыму". Известия.
77. ^ Козаченко, Алексей (2021-12-01). "Допрыгались. Россия усилила военную группировку в Крыму полком ВДВ". aif.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-01-31.
78. ^ Hird, Karolina (November 12, 2023). "Restructuring and Expansion of the Russian Ground Forces Hindered by Ukraine War Requirements". Critical Threats.
79. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 14, 2024" (PDF). 14 January 2024.
80. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / На учении «Славянские-братство-2019» российские десантники используют автоматы АК-74М с комплектом модернизации «Обвес»". armstrade.org.
81. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Около 10 тыс. автоматов АК-12 поступили на вооружение соединений и воинских частей ВДВ". armstrade.org.
82. ^ "ВДВ: основной снайперской винтовкой десантных войск России стала СВ-98". РИА Новости. August 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-08-04. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
83. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: #Victory70: Largest May 9 parade in Russian and Soviet history since WW2 (FULL VIDEO). YouTube. 9 May 2015.
84. ^ ""Верба" — гарантированно в цель". kbm.ru. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
85. ^ "ЦАМТО / / Расчеты ПТРК «Фагот» ВДВ уничтожили наблюдательный пункт, технику и живую силу ВСУ".
86. ^ "Более 300 десантников-артиллеристов и 50 единиц специальной техники Ульяновского соединения участвовали в тактическом учении артиллерии : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации". function.mil.ru.
87. ^ "ЦАМТО / / Спецназ ВДВ получит партию новейших снайперских винтовок МЦ-566". ЦАМТО / Центр анализа мировой торговли оружием (in Russian). 2023-10-25. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
88. ^ "Barmica - RedAllianceWiki". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
89. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Десантники смогут продемонстрировать преимущества экипировки "Ратник" в ходе российско-белорусского учения". Archived from the original on 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
90. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Все соединения и воинские части ВДВ получили боевую экипировку "Ратник"". Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
91. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / ВДВ обеспечены военной и специальной техникой на 100 проц., из них более половины – доля современных образцов". Archived from the original on 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
92. ^ "Sneak peek at Russian Airborne Forces' mighty weapons". Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
93. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / ВДВ России получили новые модули разведки и управления". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
94. ^ "Janes | Latest defence and security news". Archived from the original on 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
95. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / ВДВ начали получать модернизированную систему управления "Андромеда-Д"". armstrade.org.
96. ^ "Russian paratroopers test Polar gear as they skydive from 10,000 m altitude in Arctic". TASS.
97. ^ "Российская армия в этом году получила десять переносных РЛС "Гармонь" | Еженедельник "Военно-промышленный курьер"". Archived from the original on 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
98. ^ "Russian, Egyptian paratroopers hold Defenders of Friendship counter-terror drills".
99. ^ "ЦАМТО / / В ВДВ поступили всесезонные комплекты полевого обмундирования нового поколения".
100. ^ "Russian troops get Junker robotic parachute". tass.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
101. ^ "Almost all Russian armored vehicles get Lesochek electronic warfare system — Putin". tass.com. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
102. ^ "Russian airborne units proactively use EW systems during special operation". tass.com. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
103. ^ "BMD-1". Warfare.be:Russian Military Analysis. Warfare.ru. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
104. ^ "Russian air assault division fields tanks with top-attack defence screens". Janes.com.
105. ^ "ЦАМТО / / Танкисты на Т-90М «Прорыв» поддерживают тульских десантников плотным огнем на Северском направлении".
106. ^ "BTR-D /RD/ ZD". Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
107. ^ "Shamanov on the VDV's GOZ – Russian Defense Policy". Russian Defense Policy. 31 May 2011. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
108. ^ BMD-4M and BTR-MDM airborne armoured vehicles enter officially in service with Russian army – Armyrecognition.com, 30 April 2016
109. ^ "ТАСС: Армия и ОПК – В ВДВ поступила первая серийная партия из 12 БМД-4М и 12 БТР "Ракушка"". ТАСС. Archived from the original on 2015-03-04. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
110. ^ "Leadership of Airborne troops sums up results in 2017 : Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation". Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
111. ^ "ЦАМТО / / ВДВ получили на снабжение новейшие бронеавтомобили «Тайфун-ВДВ»". armstrade.org.
112. ^ "Russia's Tiny Machine Gun-Toting Snowmobile Keeps Occupants Warm Even when It's 50 Below". 9 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
113. ^ "Минобороны РФ получило 40 снегоходов "Беркут" для работы в Арктических условиях | Еженедельник "Военно-промышленный курьер"". Archived from the original on 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
114. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Военнослужащие Ульяновского соединения ВДВ в летнем периоде обучения будут осваивать новое вооружение". Archived from the original on 2018-05-26. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
115. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Ульяновское соединение ВДВ получило новейшие средства РЭБ и беспилотные летательные аппараты". Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
116. ^ "Paratroopers demonstrate latest weapons at Army arms show in Russian Far East".
117. ^ "Russia debuts new tactics and equipment during exercise 'Zapad 2021'".
118. ^ В 2017 году десантники на учениях будут активно применять танки и РСЗО, а также передовых авианаводчиков Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine armstrade.org. 2016
119. ^ Admin (23 August 2012). "Russian Army conducts NONA-M1120mm mortar live firing drills". Army Technology. Archived from the original on 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
120. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Воздушно-десантные войска получили более 30 модернизированных минометов различного типа". Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
121. ^ a b "How's It Look for VDV? – Russian Defense Policy". Russian Defense Policy. 16 February 2011. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
122. ^ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Генерал-полковник Андрей Сердюков сообщил некоторые подробности о перевооружении ВДВ". Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
123. ^ "ЦАМТО / / Минобороны опубликовало видео боевой работы расчета ТОС-1А «Солнцепек» в ходе специальной военной операции".
124. ^ "Russian paratroopers get heavy flamethrowers for first time for Ukraine op — top brass".
125. ^ a b "перспективы развития системы вооружения воздушно-десантных войск (Prospects for the development of the airborne troops' weapons system)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2016-07-24.
126. ^ "KAMAZ: Best for Homeland". KAMAZ. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
127. ^ "iskatel zavershil prokhozhdenie vojjskovykh" ["Iskatel" Completes trials] (in Russian). 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
128. ^ "Россия может стать экспортером БЛА | Еженедельник "Военно-промышленный курьер"". Archived from the original on 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
129. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Serbia: Russian Airborne ride quad bikes into action in joint drills" - via www.youtube.com.
130. ^ Разведчики ВДВ РФ в ходе учений «Славянское братство-2016» используют модернизированные БЛА «Тахион» Archived 2016-11-09 at the Wayback Machine armstrade.org. 2016
131. ^ "Russia's top brass unveils video of VR headset-controlled drones hammering Kiev's troops". TASS.
132. ^ "ЦАМТО / / Барражирующий боеприпас «Ланцет-3» уничтожил РЛС ЗРК IRIS-T в зоне СВО".
133. ^ "Расчет БпЛА Ивановского гвардейского соединения ВДВ обнаружили технику противника при помощи нового БпЛА «Альбатрос» (The UAV crew of the Ivanovo Guards Airborne Forces discovered enemy equipment using the new Albatross UAV)" (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-01-30.
134. ^ "Russia's Albatros recon drones ferret out enemy strongholds in Ukraine operation".
135. ^ "Mayor of Northern Russian City Breaks Promise, Rejects Request for Gay Parade – News". The Moscow Times. 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
136. ^ "Власти Кемерова не дают десантникам искупаться в фонтане". sib.fm.
137. ^ "Сводный оркестр Воздушно-десантных войск — Спасская башня". spasstower.ru. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
138. ^ a b "Ансамбль песни и пляски Воздушно-десантных войск : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации". sc.mil.ru. Retrieved 2020-09-07.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Austin, Greg; Muraviev, Alexey D. (21 June 2000). Red Star East: The Armed Forces of Russia in Asia. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1864485981. LCCN 2001276255. OCLC 859420476. OL 38565480M - via Internet Archive.
* Bonn, Keith E. (7 November 2004). Slaughterhouse : The Handbook of the Eastern front. The Aberjona Press. ISBN 978-0971765092. OCLC 1170020077. OL 8565591M.
* Состав и дислокация Воздушно-десантных войск [The composition and deployment of the Airborne Forces]. brinkster.com (in Russian). n.d. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
* Feskov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Golikov, V.I. (21 June 2000). Sovetskai︠a︡ Armii︠a︡ v gody "kholodnoĭ voĭny," 1945-1991 [The Soviet Army in the Years of the 'Cold War' (1945–1991)] (in Russian). Tomsk University Press. ISBN 5-7511-1819-7. LCCN 61109861. OCLC 859420476. OL 38565480M.
* Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
* Glantz, David, The Soviet Airborne Experience, Research Survey No. 4, Combat Studies Institute, November 1984.
* Isby, David C., Weapons and tactics of the Soviet Army, Jane's Publishing Company, London 1988
* Schofield, Carey, The Russian Elite: Inside Spetsnaz and the Airborne Forces, Stackpole/Greenhill, 1993
* Simpkin, Richard, Red Armour: An examination of the Soviet Mobile Force Concept, Brassey's Defence Publishers, London, 1984
* Staskov, Lt. Gen. N.V., 1943 Dnepr Airborne Operation: Lessons and Conclusions, Military Thought, Vol. 12, No.4, 2003 (in Russian)

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Airborne Troops of the Russian Armed Forces.

* Official web site of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (in Russian)
* "Desantura" (in Russian)
* Airborne platoon

* v
* t
* e

Russian Airborne Forces

Divisions|

* 7th Guards Air Assault (Mountain)
* 44th Air Assault
* 76th Guards Air Assault
* 98th Guards Airborne
* 104th Guards Airborne
* 106th Guards Airborne

Brigades|

* 11th Guards Air Assault
* 49th Separate Air Assault
* 52nd Artillery
* 83rd Guards Air Assault

Other units|

* 242nd Training Centre
* 38th Guards Communications Brigade
* 45th Detached Guards Spetsnaz Brigade

Schools|

* Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School
* Mikhailovskaya Artillery Military Academy
* Ulyanovsk Suvorov Military School

Commanders|

* Andrey Serdyukov (current)
* Vladimir Shamanov
* Valery Yevtukhovich
* Alexander Kolmakov
* Georgy Shpak
* Yevgeny Podkolzin

* v
* t
* e

Russian Armed Forces

Leadership|

* President of Russia as Supreme Commander-in-Chief
* Minister of Defence
* Ministry of Defence
* Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defence
* General Staff
* Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces
* Commander-in-Chief of the Navy

| Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces|

* Commander of the Air Force
* Commander of the Missile Defence Forces
* Commander of the Space Forces

|

General|

| Military|

* History
* Doctrine
* Bases abroad
* Budget
* Bands

|

* Weapons of mass destruction
* Awards and emblems
* General Staff buildings
* Saint Petersburg
* Moscow
* Main Building of the Ministry of Defense
* Defense industry
* Military-Industrial Commission
* War crimes
* Uniforms
* Conscription laws
* Women
* Culture
* Honorary weapons

Military districts|

| Previous|

* Volga–Ural (Volga
* Ural)
* North Caucasus
* Siberian
* Far Eastern
* Kaliningrad Special Region

|

Current|

* Moscow
* HQ: Moscow
* Leningrad
* HQ: Leningrad
* Western
* HQ: Saint Petersburg
* Southern
* HQ: Rostov-on-Don
* Central
* HQ: Yekaterinburg
* Eastern
* HQ: Khabarovsk
* Northern
* HQ: Severomorsk

Fleets of the Navy|

* Baltic
* Black Sea
* Caspian
* Northern
* Arctic Ocean Flotilla
* Pacific
* Kamchatka Flotilla

Military ranks and insignia|

* Ground Forces
* Air Force
* Navy
* Armed Forces 1994–2010

Services|

| Ground Forces troops|

* Air Defence
* Missile Troops and Artillery‎
* Engineer
* Signal
* Tank
* NBC Protection
* Topographic

|

Navy|

* Ensign
* Coastal Troops
* Infantry
* Commando Frogmen
* Aviation
* Hydrography

|

Aerospace Forces|

* Air Force
* Long-Range Aviation
* Air and Missile Defense Forces
* Space Forces
* Aerospace Defence Forces
* Radio-Technical Troops

|

Special Forces|

* Special Operations Forces
* Special Forces of the Main Directorate

|

* Reserve of the Supreme High Command
* BARS

Independent|

* Airborne Forces
* Strategic Rocket Forces
* Electronic Warfare Troops

| Logistical Support troops|

* Road
* Railway

|

Departments in the
Ministry of Defence
and General Staff|

* Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (GRU)
* Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
* Main Organizational-Mobilizational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
* National Defense Management Center
* Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces
* Military Band Service
* Main Directorate of Military Police
* Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU)
* 12th Chief Directorate
* Main Agency of Automobiles and Tanks
* Main Military Medical Directorate
* Krasnaya Zvezda
* Central Television and Radio Studio
* Rear of the Russian Armed Forces

Equipment|

* Ground Forces' equipment
* Air Forces' equipment
* Navy ships
* Future of the Russian Navy

Military academy|

| Previous|

* Cadet Corps
* Naval Cadet Corps
* Page Corps
* Military departments of civilian universities
* Military academies in the Soviet Union

|

Current|

* Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces
* Military academies in Russia
* Suvorov Military School
* Military training centers of civilian universities

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template