A
BMD-2 airborne infantry combat vehicle took its first manned
drop during the drills that the 76th Guards Airborne Division
Russian Army held in the Pskov Region on March 25. The vehicles
had already been parachuted in 2003 but without paratroopers
inside them.
“Over 750 paratroopers and 14 military vehicles were
dropped from military transport Il-76 aircraft,” said
Alexander Cherednik, the Defense Ministry’s spokesperson
for Airborne Troops.
The first to land were scouts with Arbalet steerable parachutes.
After they secured the landing area the manned vehicles
were dropped with multi-cupola systems. Once on the ground,
the paratroopers primed the vehicles and set about capturing
their targets.
Representatives of 13 countries watched the drills. Military
attaches from China, Pakistan, Japan, the U.S., Germany,
France, Italy and other countries were able to assess the
capability of Russia’s military vehicles. |