Charlie Gao, National Interest: The Inside Story of How Russia's Military Moves Around the World
When it comes to being air-mobile, the Russian military is second only to the U.S. military. According to the 2018 Military Balance Report, Russia fields 177 heavy to medium transport aircraft. This stands in contrast to America’s 658, China’s 84, France’s 46, and the UK’s 44. Russia’s transport fleet has proven useful in recent operations in Syria, but how did such a numerous fleet evolve in a military that has a strong focus on ground warfare? What unique capabilities does it have?
One of the primary impetuses that drove the creation of a large transport fleet is the existence of the VDV, a specialist airborne branch of the Russian military separate from the rest of the ground forces. While the U.S. Marine Corps can be thought of America’s specialist rapid-deployment expeditionary force, with Marine Expeditionary Units pre-packaged and ready to deploy across the globe on a moment’s notice, the VDV operates on a similar concept. The primary plane in the Russian transport fleet is the Il-76, which was expressly designed for usage by the VDV as a transport and paradrop aircraft.
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WNU Editor: These planes are huge.
1 comment:
Obviously good plane except it has a lot of accidents.
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