00:56Russia: Airborne Division flexes military muscle
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Russia: Airborne Division flexes military muscle
Russia's 76th Airborne Division staged the second day of military drills on Thursday, performing a medley of stunts and tactical training exercises in Russian designed BMD-1 combat vehicles. The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious vehicle assisted by an easy land parachute.
Originally established in 1939 as the 157th Rifle Brigade, division gained prominence during WWII as the 76th Guards Rifle Division fighting on the USSR's southern frontiers. From 1988-1992 the 76th Airborne Division, as it had become known, engaged in preventative security, averting the possible outbreak of war in former USSR territory. The division battled alongside Chechen paramilitary forces in the 1990s to wrest control of Chechen territories from Chechen separatists in the first and second Chechen wars. In 2006 the 76th Airborne Division became an Air Assault Division. During the 2008 Battle of Tskhinval 76th Airborne Division assaults were instrumental in driving Georgian troops from South Ossetia in the Southern Caucasus.
The 76th Division comprises three regiments - the 104th, 234th and 237th, whose ranks are filled by full time professional servicemen, as opposed to conscripts. The division is equipped with the most sophisticated weaponry in modern warfare, such as the 'smart' precision guided munitions, guided missiles and 2S9 NONA self-propelled mortar vehicles.
00:56NONE
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Russia: Airborne Division flexes military muscle
Russia's 76th Airborne Division staged the second day of military drills on Thursday, performing a medley of stunts and tactical training exercises in Russian designed BMD-1 combat vehicles. The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious vehicle assisted by an easy land parachute.
Originally established in 1939 as the 157th Rifle Brigade, division gained prominence during WWII as the 76th Guards Rifle Division fighting on the USSR's southern frontiers. From 1988-1992 the 76th Airborne Division, as it had become known, engaged in preventative security, averting the possible outbreak of war in former USSR territory. The division battled alongside Chechen paramilitary forces in the 1990s to wrest control of Chechen territories from Chechen separatists in the first and second Chechen wars. In 2006 the 76th Airborne Division became an Air Assault Division. During the 2008 Battle of Tskhinval 76th Airborne Division assaults were instrumental in driving Georgian troops from South Ossetia in the Southern Caucasus.
The 76th Division comprises three regiments - the 104th, 234th and 237th, whose ranks are filled by full time professional servicemen, as opposed to conscripts. The division is equipped with the most sophisticated weaponry in modern warfare, such as the 'smart' precision guided munitions, guided missiles and 2S9 NONA self-propelled mortar vehicles.