Article

2024-04-06 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Oh, Nothing. Just a major change in Russian air assault doctrine

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Posted by badanov 2024-04-06 00:00|| || Front Page|| [247 views ] Top

#1 “Everything is air droppable, at least once”
Schlock Mercenary”

Posted by Ululating+Platypus 2024-04-06 04:24|| 2024-04-06 04:24|| Front Page Top

#2 ...We practice this too - have since the mid-50s, when airlifters started getting big enough to make it practical. It's pretty damned cool to watch.

A few very minor drawbacks, however:

*Dumping a tank from altitude is...probably not practical. LAPES = where they motor along about 30 feet off the ground and boot it out the back - work a LOT better, but at that altitude the guys on the ground with AKs have a chance of bringing you down.
*Whatever they're dropping, they have to do it (relatively) slowly and in a straight line, so the air defense guys on the ground and anybody in the air will appreciate it.
*We practice it regularly, and we still drop sh!t straight down.
*No, you can't drop it with the crew in it, because it will give them a severe case of the dead.
*Which means you have to drop the crew before/after the vehicle, and they now have to form up and find it.
*Oh, and unpack it.
*And even the United States By-God Air Force has yet to do any of this under combat conditions.

Past performance would seem to indicate that the Russians aren't going to get this quite right.

Mike

Posted by MikeKozlowski 2024-04-06 08:10|| 2024-04-06 08:10|| Front Page Top

#3 So, more Kinetic Bombardment than weapon delivery?
Still, what does one do with a battlefield of metal chunks?

What’s the Weight of a Military Tank? The 10 Heaviest Tanks in The World

Posted by Skidmark 2024-04-06 08:46|| 2024-04-06 08:46|| Front Page Top

#4 An air dropped armored force (no tanks, but the Russian do have an armored light 125mm gun carrier: the Sprut) will likely be dropped (as in US doctrine) in an area known to be absent of MANPADs and other AA weapons.

Previously, in order to land their airborne forces, the Russians/Soviets needed to capture an airfield intact, as in Gostomel in the war's early going. This necessarily included a paradrop/heliborne assault by light infantry, to expand their perimeter to allow aircraft in to land the armor vehicles.

The initial air assault to capture an airfield is apparently baked into the Russians airborne doctrine with the twist being the landing by parachute of light armor vehicles instead of aircraft landing on the airfield.

I agree this has never been done in combat conditions, but it now appears we may get free tickets to the show, as long as NATO continues to move troops to eastern Europe.

Posted by badanov 2024-04-06 09:46|| 2024-04-06 09:46|| Front Page Top

#5 Add to Mike's list: *Charge the EV Tank's batteries at the convenient charging station they also dropped

Posted by Frank G 2024-04-06 09:54|| 2024-04-06 09:54|| Front Page Top

#6 I recall when I went to eldest son's graduation from jump school at Benning. The AF had been practicing 'slick drops' with an M1A at the air field there. They had to stop, because they broke the Abrams, and the C17.
Meanwhile, the 'black hats' borrowed a North Carolina Air Nat Guard C130 for their drop week runs.

Posted by ed in texas 2024-04-06 10:06|| 2024-04-06 10:06|| Front Page Top

#7 Wiki cite: "The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV (Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle) was a light tank developed by the United States and named after General Philip Sheridan, of American Civil War fame. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to swim across rivers."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M551_Sheridan

Posted by NoMoreBS 2024-04-06 13:40|| 2024-04-06 13:40|| Front Page Top

#8 Charge the EV Tank's batteries at the convenient charging station they also dropped

We have lots of experience with aerial refueling for our aircraft. Why not aerial recharging for our electric tanks?

Posted by SteveS 2024-04-06 14:01|| 2024-04-06 14:01|| Front Page Top

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