On August 2, Russia marked the Day of Airborne Troops. Since the first landing during a drill outside Voronezh in 1930, the troops have contributed many glorious pages to their history - from heroic exploits during World War II to the Afghan and Caucasian campaigns. Prior to the anniversary, Vladimir Shamanov, Commander of the Airborne Troops, spoke with RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik.
Question: The first question concerns the reform of the Russian armed forces. What is the role of the airborne troops in the post-reform forces?
Answer: The troops retain the status of a reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Generally, their mission is to protect the interests of Russia and lives of its citizens both within and outside the country. The airborne troops will fulfill their objectives under combined strategic command both independently and as part of ground force formations. These missions include: covering flanks and gaps in ground offensives, fighting tactical enemy landing parties, landing its own parties behind enemy lines and on the flanks, and discharging any tasks calling for high mobility and speed of deployment, particularly in local conflicts.
Q: What is changed in the structure and number of troops? How must they be manned?
A: In the course of the reform, we eliminated 26 army units, mostly support troops whose functions were handed off to the combined strategic command and to civilian organizations. Civilian organizations will protect storage facilities, provide bath and laundry services (85%), and will be responsible for catering (40%). By December 1, we plan to assign all catering duties to civilian organizations, but there are a number of snags. Airborne units are mostly based in regional centers where we have no problems finding civilian caterers and contractors. But these caterers cannot feed the troops in the field - which is important in view of the troops' duties.
We will find a compromise. The troops will have specialists and equipment to provide catering away from the rear services.
The airborne troops number 35,000 men. In the course of the reform, we trimmed the officer corps by 40%. Now we have 4,000 serving officers left, of whom 400 hold sergeant posts due to a shortage of regular sergeants and to cuts in officers' posts. There are also 7,000 contract personnel with soldiers' and sergeants' duties, while the rest are conscripts.
Later on, the number of contract servicemen will be doubled. We are planning to fill all junior commander and specialist posts with contract men - posts that are most demanding and require more education and training. The shortage of contract men is explained by the low pay: 12,000 to 18,000 rubles a month. Given bonuses and travel allowances, they can receive up to 18,000 or 25,000 rubles. From 2012, a sergeant will be drawing no less than 30,000 rubles, and with bonuses and travel money can earn more: 40,000 to 45,000 rubles. These wages will be well over the average pay in the regions and will attract more and better-trained people.
In fact, we are seeing a rebirth in the institution of non-commissioned officers who made up the core of the old army. The standards we are seeking are highly trained officers and sergeants and well-trained and hand picked soldiers - both contract and draftees able to act with daring and initiative.
Q: How well does existing weaponry meet current criterion? What additions are necessary?
A: Airborne troops are currently equipped with 7% new weapons. Even so, we carefully maintain our existing equipment and it can fulfill its objectives. We are engaged in a partial refit program which will increase the combat potential of the troops by 10%. We are purchasing automatic control systems, landing and monitoring equipment, reconnaissance, observation, navigation and communications systems. The Polyot-M automatic control system runs a continuous chain of command from central headquarters to a battalion headquarters, dramatically shortening the command cycle.
So far, the purchases we are making do not meet our goals in full. The troops are to be rearmed under a new state rearmament program. They will get BMD-4M landing fighting vehicles with twin 30mm and 100mm cannons and vehicles based on the existing Rakushka personnel armored carrier. We should also improve the aircraft defense and anti-tank capabilities of the troops. To address this, we plan to buy Sprut vehicles with a 125mm combined cannon and launcher.
Q: Media reports have suggested that Sprut purchases were stopped and would not resume.
A: This information is misreported. The troops require this vehicle. It needs some minor modifications and then will be purchased in quantity.
Q: What is the current state of military transport aviation?
A: Today, military air transport has hit a sweet spot: It maintains its combat readiness and at the same time has the equipment resources it needs. We can currently parachute down and support one regiment, and in the future, one division. New planes must be added. In particular, the state rearmament program provides for the purchase of 40 An-70 planes, the resumption of Ruslan aircraft production and an order for 20 such planes for Russia's Air Force. We will also relocate the production facilities of one of our main workhorses, the Il-76 known as the Il-476, in its refurbished form, from Tashkent to Ulyanovsk.
Q: Landing units are found in many foreign armies. Can they be compared with Russia's airborne troops?
A: Combat action is the main criterion here. Today, we see militants in Afghanistan keeping a huge coalition of leading Western powers in fear. They do not risk going beyond controlled "green zones." In the past, with lower equipment levels, Soviet forces and airborne troops effectively discharged their missions in Afghanistan, acting where and how required.
NATO is showing its inability to fulfill its goals: it is enough to recall that the drug traffic from Afghanistan to Russia has risen 40 times, even though curtailment of drug production was one of the central objectives of the campaign.
Western armies should be emulated on individual outfit for servicemen, particularly those with observation, control, communication and navigation aids. We have problems there. Currently, we are purchasing new equipment, including thermal imagers, new sniper rifles, and navigation aids. With GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) in place, our capabilities have improved a great deal.
Yet Russia still continues to lead in a number of areas. For example, we have the world's best airborne light-armored vehicles. We are the only power that can land weapons with crews, cutting time for preparation.
On the whole, the command is monitoring the situation in foreign armies and there are no particular gaps calling for immediate intervention. Russia's airborne troops continue to be among the best in the world. We are in constant readiness for immediate deployment and fulfillment of combat missions - both within and outside the country.
Interview taken by RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
