MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – A senior member of the Russian Public Chamber on Monday proposed including paintball as part of regular combat training in the Russian armed forces.
Paintball, a competitive team sport that involves firing paint-filled gelatin capsules in a simulated combat environment, has become a popular sport among young people in Russia.
“The move could improve combat training and attract youth to military service as 90 percent of the military’s personnel are young people,” said Alexander Kanshin, head of the Public Chamber’s commission on national security and social-economic issues of servicemen.
“It is important to understand that training methods must be interesting, effective and involve elements of competition,” Kanshin said.
The official said paintball would not substitute regular combat exercises but would certainly supplement day-to-day training, especially firing drills.
Paintball is used by the military, law enforcement, paramilitary and security organizations in other countries, mainly NATO members, for developing team work and communication skills among personnel, although critics say paintball guns must ideally be replicas of real weapons to consider them effective training tools.
Kanshin pointed out that Russian gun makers could design and develop such replicas in a few years.
So far, Russian small-arms maker Izhmash has developed and plans to mass-produce an airsoft version of its famous Kalashnikov assault rifle for basic military training and fans of strike ball.
Airsoft or strike ball is a game in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting each other with spherical non-metallic pellets shot with replica firearms.
