The epic of the re-equipment of the airborne troops, which had been dragging on for several years, has finally come to an end. Numerous disputes between the command of the branch of the military and all the armed forces ended in victory for the opinion of the first. In the near future, the Airborne Forces will begin to receive new equipment that meets their requirements. It is noteworthy that, although all the previous claims of the Ministry of Defense to promising equipment for the landing forces were recognized as fair, as a result, they could not influence the final decision.
Recall that over the past years, the command of the Airborne Forces wanted to purchase a number of new BMD-4 and / or BMD-4M airborne combat vehicles, which were supposed to replace outdated armored vehicles of previous models in the troops. However, a number of high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense were against this. In the opinion of the command of the armed forces, the combat vehicles of the airborne assault are insufficiently protected from enemy fire and, because of this, cannot be the main combat means of the airborne troops. The controversy on the topic of "landing capability versus high level of protection" with varying intensity continued for several years. At the same time, the airborne troops had to operate the already outdated BMD-1 and BMD-2, which are the main type of armored vehicles of this type of troops. As for the newest serial BMD-3 vehicles, their total number does not exceed one and a half hundred, which is about 8-10% of the total number of airborne assault vehicles in the Russian Airborne Forces. Thus, the “winged infantry”, due to the inherent problems of all airborne combat vehicles, for a long time could only hope for the emergence of new armored vehicles.
The last "battles" for the new airborne combat vehicle date back to the summer and fall of this year. In August, the then Deputy Minister of Defense A. Sukhorukov once again confirmed the refusal of the military departments to purchase the BMD-4M, even despite its better characteristics in comparison with the base BMD-4. A little later, the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General V. Shamanov, once again showed a desire to get such machines, which would significantly increase the combat potential of the airborne troops. Apparently, the months that have passed since that time have been spent on some kind of negotiations, consultations, etc. The result of all these activities was the recent statement by the commander of the 31st Guards Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Airborne Forces, Colonel G. Anashkin. In early December, he said that the command of the airborne forces was still able to convince the Ministry of Defense of the need to purchase new models of airborne combat vehicles. A little later it became known that the newest version of such equipment, the BMD-4M, would be purchased.
A few days later, another news came about the re-equipment of the Airborne Forces. According to the commander of the airborne forces, General Shamanov, Defense Minister S. Shoigu approved the production of a trial batch of new armored vehicles for the Airborne Forces. In the next 2013, ten BMD-4M vehicles will be manufactured, which will go into trial operation. Together with them, the same number of units of another type of equipment will be collected. In addition to the BMD-4M, next year the armored personnel carriers "Object 955", also known as "Shell", will be sent to the troops. In the long term, both types of new equipment for paratroopers can become the main armored vehicles of the airborne troops, replacing the BMD-1/2/3 and BTR-D. In the future, the purchase of such machines should continue, which will help to significantly update the fleet of airborne forces in accordance with the tasks of the current state rearmament program.
The new BMD-4M and Object 955 "Shell" vehicles are a kind of development of the old ideology of equipping the airborne troops with armored vehicles. So, for the convenience of production and maintenance, the Rakushka armored personnel carrier is made on the basis of the BMD-4 combat vehicle, in the same way as the BTR-D was designed on the basis of the BMD-1. Both cars have a similar chassis and slightly different power plant, but different in layout. Due to the different purposes, the armament of the airborne assault vehicle and the armored personnel carrier is significantly different. The BMD-4M carries the Bakhcha-U combat module equipped with a 100-mm 2A70 gun, a 30-mm 2A72 automatic cannon and a 7, 62-mm PKT machine gun. In addition, the BMD-4M has the ability to use the 9M117M1 "Arkan" anti-tank guided missiles. It is noteworthy that the BMD-4M armament complex is completely similar to the corresponding units of the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle. In this way, an additional reduction in operating costs is achieved. The Object 955 armored personnel carrier is armed much more modestly - it has only two PKM machine guns. One is placed on the turret, the other is mounted in the front of the vehicle. With approximately the same dimensions as the BMD-4M, but at a higher height, the Shell armored personnel carrier carries up to 13 troops. Own crew - two people.
The main reason why the command of the Airborne Forces tried for so long to push through the procurement of BMD-4M and "Object 955" is the possibility of parachute landing of these armored vehicles. Despite the relatively weak bulletproof protection, these armored vehicles can be dropped with a parachute from a military transport aircraft, which makes them suitable for use in the airborne forces. In addition, the BMD-4M and Rakushka are currently the only new vehicles in their class. Thus, even if new armored vehicles appear for the landing on the basis of promising armored platforms, in the coming years the paratroopers will still have to use the available equipment.
Certain questions are raised by the pace of deliveries of new armored vehicles. Next year it is planned to build a total of only two dozen BMD-4M and 955 Objects. It is necessary to add at least a few months to the production period for trial operation in the troops and about the same or slightly less for the elimination of the identified shortcomings. As a result, full-fledged production of combat vehicles may begin no earlier than 2014-15. By that time, a project of an airborne assault vehicle based on the Kurganets platform may be ready, but this option for the development of armored vehicles for the Airborne Forces is already causing serious criticism. As a result, due to past disputes, the BMD-4M and Object 955 are not in a very good position. On the one hand, they will be produced and operated by the troops, but on the other, it is not yet entirely clear how long this production will last and when the Kurgantsy will replace these machines. Moreover, at present, the very possibility of creating a full-fledged BMD or armored personnel carrier for the landing on the basis of this platform is being questioned.
One way or another, all the problems of "Kurganets" should be attributed to the future. Now it is still worth rejoicing at the successful resolution of disputes around the long-suffering BMD-4M and the imminent start of its production. Among other things, this fact is also good in that even with serious problems of the Kurganets project and subsequent delays in time, our airborne troops will not be left without new equipment, but will receive new BMD-4M and Shells.
