Russian airborne troops scramble to take positions near airfield for mock assault. Picture credit: RIANOVOSTI – Russian news agency.
Elite members of the Russian Airborne Troops on Thursday paradropped a 350-strong battalion at a landing site on the New Siberian Islands in the Arctic as part of ongoing military drills and mock exercises.
“It took the battalion from the 98th Guards Airborne Division, based near Moscow, less than one hour to “capture” an airfield and prepare it for the landing of transport planes loaded with troops, heavy military equipment and supplies”, a spokesman for the Airborne Troops said.
The paratroopers took their objectives in record time. “They exceeded our wildest expectations”, said one gleeful commander who wished not to be identified in this report.
Airborne Troops commander Col. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov told Russian media sources that the exercise “was a feat of valor and prowess only Russian paratroopers are capable of.”
“You can be proud of our paratroopers, who accomplish their tasks in any conditions,” Col. General Shamanov told reporters.
The Russian Airborne Troops or VDV (from “Vozdushno-desantnye voyska”, Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) is a military branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. They are an elite force, on par with the Strategic Rocket Forces and the Russian Space Forces. First formed before World War II, the force undertook two significant airborne operations and a number of smaller jumps during the war and for many years after 1945 was the largest airborne force in the world. Today they are elite troops of the Russian Army – capable of rapid deployment anywhere around the world in 48-72 hours. Russia has roughly 35,000 airborne soldiers in the military not including “Spetsnaz” or special forces. Members wear the blue beret and winged infantry badge.
Their motto:
| “Никто, кроме нас!“ |
“nobody but us”.