This year, 28 participating teams came to Gudermes. Almost all units represented at the championship have extensive experience in performing service and combat missions.
In addition to representatives of the power structures of the Chechen Republic, as well as servicemen of the 46th operational brigade and the Scythian special forces unit, teams of the legendary Russian special forces of the Federal Service of the National Guard - the Lynx special rapid reaction unit and the Vityaz special task force fought for prizes … Together with eminent colleagues, riot police from Sevastopol, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria arrived at the training center in Gudermes. And also SOBRs from Dagestan, Ingushetia and Khakassia. The Russian Ministry of Defense took an active part in the championship - the four military teams included fighters from the newly created 42nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division, servicemen of two regimental reconnaissance companies and a divisional reconnaissance battalion, as well as military police officers who had recently returned from Syria.
On behalf of the Federal Security Service, two teams of the regional special forces for the Chechen Republic took part in the championship. Despite the quiet name, the special forces of this unit have repeatedly become prize-winners of various competitions. They also have extensive experience in performing various special operations, most of which are classified as "Secret".
The competition was attended by the leadership of the Russian Guard, including the deputy director of the service, Colonel-General Sergei Melikov.
Practice is the criterion of tactics
Various championships among special forces are held in the regions of Russia on a regular basis. But the weakness of such events is their training base, since rented shooting ranges almost always become the arena. They have targets and some structures, which is more than enough for ordinary practical shooting competitions. But it is unrealistic to simulate the complex tactical situations that special forces fighters have to deal with at such sites.
In Gudermes, the goal of the competition was to make all exercises as close as possible to real combat situations. Everything you need for this is in the ISC SSpN. These are special buildings that imitate residential multi-storey and private houses, as well as garages and other household facilities. There is a special obstacle course and shooting range in the forest.
In one of the exercises, the team moved to the starting one in the basement of the house. At the command of the judges, the sniper, after running a cross and climbing the stairs, took up a position on a five-story building. His task is to hit a terrorist who is guarding a private property (a house with a garage). Moreover, the target was in the forest and it was possible to get into it only through the windows of the building next to the five-story building.
After the sniper has successfully completed the target, the assault group begins to work. She cleans the garage, along the passage filled with gas, goes to the house, simultaneously eliminating the terrorists. Then he frees the hostage, who was portrayed by a 70-kilogram wrestling bag, nicknamed Barack Obama for the black color. Moreover, the hostage had to be evacuated - carried on the shoulders and, without hitting or dropping, dragged away from the building as soon as possible.
In fact, it is precisely such tasks that Russian special forces in the North Caucasus are constantly solving - secretly go to the building with terrorists, block it, and conduct an assault. It is no secret that the gang underground creates full-fledged dwellings under houses with kitchens, refrigerators and food supplies.
The exercise "Forest" was no less difficult. The soldiers put on raid backpacks (each weighing several tens of kilograms). And at the first stage, they hit targets at the shooting range, after which they made a march through forested rugged terrain. A clash with a bandit group was practiced there. The fighters took up positions and hit targets. Moreover, not only the accuracy of shooting was checked, but also the coherence of all actions. The commander adjusted the fire, gave instructions to his subordinates and distributed the targets.
Almost all of these competitions have a car shooting exercise. Usually this is a model or skeleton of an old passenger car. Sometimes such a layout is even swayed. But at the championship, the "car" was replaced by a full-fledged BTR-80. It was necessary to hit the targets through the loopholes. The target environment was very difficult. Most of the terrorists were hiding behind hostages.
Another exercise that made the special forces soldiers work with maximum efficiency was the "Zenit". Having received pistols PYa and PP "Vityaz" with special lanterns, the teams had to go through the basement with minimal lighting and destroy all "terrorists".
As admitted to the "Military-Industrial Courier" employees of the special forces, the realism of the exercises amazed. It was quite difficult to complete all the tasks. It is not surprising that even experienced teams with rich combat experience were not always able to demonstrate excellent results.
According to the unanimous opinion of the interlocutors of "VPK", the championship in Gudermes has become one of the most difficult and, accordingly, useful for the cause.
They shoot for clothes
Thanks to the unique training base of the ISC SSpN and the rich experience of its instructors, the competitions became an excellent test of knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as equipment and weapons of special forces soldiers. The center made the teams feel that they were not at sports competitions, but were performing real combat missions. And the participants acted accordingly. All teams have shown that they are capable of successfully completing the assigned tasks. The fighters have the necessary skills, they know how to act in a rapidly changing environment, instantly make the best decisions.
A few years ago, the equipment and equipment of various special forces was strikingly different. The teams could enter the competition, dressed in ordinary "slides", in uncomfortable heavy protective helmets and with machine guns without any body kit. Moreover, when asked why they do not have protective gloves, glasses and active headphones, the fighters cheerfully answered that all this is an unnecessary luxury. They can easily cope without bourgeois gadgets.
The situation has changed dramatically. Almost all the teams had light, comfortable personal protective equipment, good shape, and the weapons had various adjustable butts, tactical flashlights, and collimator sights.
One of the most complete teams was riot police "Berkut" from Sevastopol. In terms of their equipment, the Crimeans were not inferior to their eminent colleagues from "Lynx" and "Vityaz". Moreover, "Berkut" lost to the latter not so much. At times, the Berkut team showed very good results.
Intelligence from the past
Against the background of packed colleagues from the Russian Guard and the FSB, the soldiers of the Ministry of Defense looked poor. Yes, all the scouts and military police had comfortable modern body armor and protective helmets, flashlights and active headphones. But almost everyone used standard mechanical sights. There were no convenient tactical belts that allowed you to quickly throw the machine gun behind your back and easily move it when firing from difficult positions.
It would seem a trifle. But this is not the case. Exercise "Forest" was a serious test for all teams. Many fighters came running to the shooting range exhausted, some just walked in the end. But the Ministry of Defense teams coped with the cross-country easily, saving a reserve of energy and time. But their rivals, due to the collimator sights, convenient adjustable butts and special bipods, hit targets much faster. The scouts of the Ministry of Defense lost precious seconds, and therefore victory points.
Meanwhile, all items of equipment are interconnected. For example, without a comfortable gas mask, it is difficult to pass in the tunnel between the garage and the house, and without flashlights and laser designators, it is difficult to hit targets in a dark, smoky room. Without a comfortable shape with built-in elbow and knee pads, it's hard to get into comfortable shooting positions.
But the teams of the Ministry of Defense performed well enough, losing not so much. The military took on their fighting spirit. And this is also a necessary element for completing a combat mission.
The current championship has shown that successful actions of special forces require a combination of many factors: knowledge, skills and abilities, correct equipment. Having an excellent form, rich experience and high spirit, but without modern equipment, it is quite difficult to complete a combat mission. We must not forget that terrorists also do not stand still. They have modern body armor, tuned weapons, night optics and modern radio communications.
The first place in the tactical shooting championship was taken by the Terek SOBR, the second - by the command of the Gorets non-departmental security control regiment of the Republic of Chechnya, the third - by the FSB soldiers. "Vityaz" - 11th place, Two teams of SOBR "Lynx" - 13th and 17th. Sevastopol "Berkut" is located on the 14th. The Defense Ministry teams took 20th place, as well as from 23rd to 25th.
