- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Top 5 Military Hardware Surprises of Moscow Victory Parade This Year (PHOTOS)

© Host photo agency / Go to the mediabankKurganets-25 armored personnel carriers with medium-category caterpillar chassis at the military parade to mark the 71st anniversary of Victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, May 9, 2016
Kurganets-25 armored personnel carriers with medium-category caterpillar chassis at the military parade to mark the 71st anniversary of Victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, May 9, 2016 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
In the walk-up to the 72nd anniversary of the Soviet Victory over Nazi Germany, Russia’s Defense Ministry has published a list of the top-of -the-line military hardware it is going to roll out during the May 9 parade on Red Square in Moscow.

Arctic weapons

Air defense weapons specifically designed for use in the Arctic will be showcased for the first time on May 9.

These are Pantsir-SA and Tor-M2DT short range missile and cannon systems, both mounted on DT-30 Vityaz two-unit ATVs that have considerably improved the missile systems’ cross-country capability.

© Sputnik / Evgeny Biyatov / Go to the mediabankThe Top M2 anti-air missile system on the basis of the all-terrain vehicle DT-30, at the Victory Day joint training drills of a combined parade unit, mechanized column and lineup of aircraft.
The Top M2 anti-air missile system on the basis of the all-terrain vehicle DT-30, at the Victory Day joint training drills of a combined parade unit, mechanized column and lineup of aircraft. - Sputnik International
The Top M2 anti-air missile system on the basis of the all-terrain vehicle DT-30, at the Victory Day joint training drills of a combined parade unit, mechanized column and lineup of aircraft.

The Pantsir-SA and Tor-M2DT will be the only types of military hardware to roll across Red Square donning winter camouflage.

New Planes for Ace Pilots

Traditionally wrapping up the May 9 parade will be the legendary Strizhi (Swifts) and Russian Knights aerobatic demonstration teams of the Russian Air Force.

While the Swifts will be flying the workhorse MiG-29 fighter jets, the Russian Knights will be showcasing a squadron of the all-new Su-30SM heavy fighters they got as recently as last fall.

© Sputnik / Maksim Blinov / Go to the mediabankSu-30SM multipurpose fighter jets of the Russian Knights aerobatic display team during a rehearsal of the Victory Day parade air show.
Su-30SM multipurpose fighter jets of the Russian Knights aerobatic display team during a rehearsal of the Victory Day parade air show. - Sputnik International
Su-30SM multipurpose fighter jets of the Russian Knights aerobatic display team during a rehearsal of the Victory Day parade air show.

The Su-30SMs are easier to fly than the Su-27s the Knights used before. The planes’ AL-31FP variable vector engines enable complex aerobatic stunts look flipping easy.

The Su-30s have proved extremely efficient during Russia’s aerial campaign in Syria where they provide escort and cover for the Russian bombers and ground-attack planes fighting there.

In another first, combat planes and helicopters will be taking part in this year’s May 9 parade in St. Petersburg, with more than 40 Mi-8, Mi-26, Mi-35, Mi-28N and Ka-52 helicopters, Su-27, MiG-29SMT, MiG-31BM, Su-35 and Su-34 fighters, and An-12, An-26 and Tu-134 transport planes to fly in formation over the city’s central Dvortsovaya square.

Baltic Fleet’s missile systems

The Bal and Bastion coastal defense missile systems will be showcased for the first time during the May 9 parade in Kaliningrad. These mighty weapons, which entered service with the Baltic Fleet just a few days ago, use advanced Kh-35 and Onix missiles to effectively take out enemy surface ships up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) away. Similar systems are currently on combat duty also in Crimea and on the Kuril Islands in the Far East.

© Sputnik / Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation / Go to the mediabankLaunching Oniks cruise missiles from the Bastion mobile coastal defence missile system at the targets of illegal armed groups in Syria. (A still from the video provided by the Rusian Defense Ministry. Maximum possible resolution).
Launching Oniks cruise missiles from the Bastion mobile coastal defence missile system at the targets of illegal armed groups in Syria. (A still from the video provided by the Rusian Defense Ministry. Maximum possible resolution). - Sputnik International
Launching Oniks cruise missiles from the Bastion mobile coastal defence missile system at the targets of illegal armed groups in Syria. (A still from the video provided by the Rusian Defense Ministry. Maximum possible resolution).

Together with S-400 air defense missile systems and Islander tactical ballistic missiles, the Bal and Bastion coastal defense systems are able to make certain parts of the world completely off limits to the enemy.

The Bastions can engage ground targets as well. On November 2015, they delivered a missile strike on a terrorist base in Syria.

Foot route

In another break from the past, members of the Youth Army patriotic movement will parade on Red Square in Moscow. Founded on October 29, 2015, this scion of the Defense Ministry, the Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Fleet (DOSAAF) and the Central Army Sports Club, the Youth Army comprises over 30,000 members aged 11-18.

© Sputnik / Evgeny Yepanchintsev / Go to the mediabankParticipants of a meeting of the regional branch of the Yunarmiya nationwide military patriotic movement at the museum of the Trans-Baikal Territory Officers' Club military-patriotic education center in Chita.
Participants of a meeting of the regional branch of the Yunarmiya nationwide military patriotic movement at the museum of the Trans-Baikal Territory Officers' Club military-patriotic education center in Chita. - Sputnik International
Participants of a meeting of the regional branch of the Yunarmiya nationwide military patriotic movement at the museum of the Trans-Baikal Territory Officers' Club military-patriotic education center in Chita.

Many of the Youth Army members, dressed in paramilitary uniforms and donning bright-red berets, will march across the central squares of Moscow, Khabarovsk, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities.

Members of the 61st Marine Brigade of the Northern Fleet, based in the northern Murmansk region, will also have their first ever chance to march on Red Square in Moscow.

New old tank

It yet another first, the T-72B3M tanks will rumble across the Red square’s cobblestones on May 9.

Although it is already a veteran fighting machine, the T-72 will remain, together with the T-90, Russia’s main battle tank until replaced by the state-of-the-art Armata tanks, which premiered during the 2015 Victory Day parade in Moscow.

© Sputnik / Uliana Solovyova / Go to the mediabankThe second stage of Tank biathlon contest between T-72B3 tank crews at the Pogonovo training ground in the Voronezh Region.
The second stage of Tank biathlon contest between T-72B3 tank crews at the Pogonovo training ground in the Voronezh Region. - Sputnik International
The second stage of Tank biathlon contest between T-72B3 tank crews at the Pogonovo training ground in the Voronezh Region.

The T-72B3M also called T-72B4 is an upgraded version of the T-72B3 which is the latest modernized version of the Russian-made main battle tank T-72. The T-72B3M is protected with the new Relikt explosive reactive armor.

As all T-72 series MBTs, the T-72B3M is fitted with a carousel automatic loader mounted on the turret floor and also on the rear wall of the turret. A new gun was added including an upgraded stabilization system and auto loader. The T-72B3M / T-732B4 is motorized with a new 1,130 hp engine.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала