The 'Defenders of Friendship-2016' exercises, featuring Russian and Egyptian troops, along with observers from over 30 countries, will kick off later this month. The drills, meant to simulate the destruction of terrorist groups in a desert environment, will be the first-ever deployment of Russian Airborne Troops stocked with their own weapons and equipment on the African continent.
On Saturday, the Defense Ministry said that Russian forces will also be using the latest parachutes – the Arbalet ('Crossbow') series of steerable parachutes.
"Russian Paratroopers participating in the Defenders of Friendship-2016 exercise in Egypt plan on using advanced, special purpose 'Arbalet' parachutes. This will be the Arbalet-1 and Arbalet-2 systems' first mass use in the desert climate of the African continent," a Ministry press statement confirmed.
The Arbalet series of parachutes is used by special forces and reconnaissance units of the Russian Airborne Forces, and was successfully tested in the Artic earlier this year, with troops carrying out landings on a drifting ice floe in the Arctic Ocean. The Arbalet-2 was first delivered to the Russian military in 2013.
The parachutes are designed specifically for paradrops from An-2, An-26, An-12 and Il-76 transport aircraft, as well as specially-equipped Mi-8 transport helicopters. The parachutes are capable of carrying troops and equipment weighing up to 150 kg in near-ground temperatures from —35 to +35 degrees Celsius at aircraft flight speeds up to 400 km/h.
The Arbalet's special dome shape (for both the main and backup parachute) is designed to ensure a safe landing even for troops who have little experience skydiving.
