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Modern weaponry to reach over 80% in Russia’s Airborne Force by late 2020

A total of 10 R&D works are currently under way to develop new types of artillery weapons and airborne infantry fighting vehicles

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

PATRIOT PARK (Moscow Region), July 27. /TASS/. The share of modern air-delivered combat hardware in Russia’s Airborne Force will exceed 80% by late 2020, Airborne Force Commander Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov said on Thursday.

"In compliance with the state armament program, our units and formations are being actively rearmed with modern, light, highly mobile and airborne combat hardware with improved combat characteristics, based on the standardized BMD-4 and Kamaz armored tracked and wheeled chassis," the commander said on the eve of 87 years since Russia’s Airborne Force was established.

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"Therefore, the consistent provision of units with armored vehicles and hardware will increase the share of modern weaponry to over 80% by late 2020," the commander said.

A total of 10 R&D works are currently under way to develop new types of artillery weapons, airborne infantry fighting vehicles, reconnaissance and communications means and automated control systems, the commander said.

This year, three more R&D works will be additionally launched to develop vehicles for landing both personnel and military and special hardware, including controlled parachute platforms for landing cargoes at a high altitude to a distance of up to 4-5 km, the commander said.

"In the future, it will be possible to move cargoes to a larger distance with the development of landing means," Serdyukov said.

The interests of the Airborne Force have also been taken into account in some inter-branch R&D works for developing air defense and robotic systems, the commander said.

"Therefore, the main areas of developing armaments, military and special hardware for the Airborne Force include measures to raise the degree of their protection and their combat might, and also to increase the efficiency of the command component (the development of reconnaissance and communications means and automated control systems) taking into account the requirements for standardization by the basic chassis," the commander said.

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