MOSCOW, January 3 (Itar-Tass) — Russian airborne troops logged over 150,000 parachute jumps last year, a spokesman told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
"Paratroopers performed 115,500 jumps from An-2 planes and military transport helicopters, and almost 38,000 jumps from heavy military transport planes Il-76," airborne troops spokesman Alexander Kucherenko said as he summed up the results of the implementation of last year's training plan.
Kucherenko noted that drills had taken place at day and night. Paratroopers performed 2,500 jumps at night, including 400 during military exercises. The figure includes 75 experimental parachute jumps where new equipment was used.
The airborne troops fulfilled the plan of landing armaments, cargoes and heavy military equipment for 2012. Of the 115 units put on the ground, military equipment landed by means of multi-cupola parachute systems accounted for 90 percent, and various kinds of armaments and cargoes on parachute platforms accounted for 10 percent.
The cold spell in a majority of Russian regions was no hindrance to training. In December alone, paratroopers scored 33,500 jumps, including 1,300 from Il-76 planes and 17,200 from An-2 planes and Mi-8 helicopters. To prevent frostbites or hypothermia incidents, heating centers were set up at airfields and landing areas, and hot tea, sandwiches and honey were provided to servicemen. "All paratroopers must wear felt boots in winter," the spokesman said.