Modern combined arms combat places high demands on units of various branches of the Armed Forces. Often, in order to complete their tasks, they need to have the minimum amount of time and maximum firepower, maneuverability, and mobility. This is where the winged infantry comes in. Over the years, the Airborne Forces have undergone significant changes. And yet, the paratroopers do not stop there, they continue to improve the methods of airborne assault, the methods of conducting combat operations, according to Colonel Vyacheslav GAZIN, Head of the Department of Airborne Training at the Ryazan Institute of Airborne Troops. On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Airborne Troops, the officer talks about the little-known pages of the history of the Airborne Troops, about new methods and means of landing, about the people who have multiplied and continue to multiply the glory of the Airborne Troops.

The Airborne Forces celebrate their birthday on August 2, 1930. On that day, during a training exercise in the Moscow Military District, a paratrooper unit was parachuted into action to carry out a tactical mission. Since then, the Airborne Forces have become a unique military force, eventually evolving into the military elite of the country, known for their exceptional training, maneuverability, and readiness to operate in the most challenging environments.

We owe all this to a legendary man, the number one paratrooper, Hero of the Soviet Union V.F. Margelov. As the commander of the Airborne Forces, he recognized the importance of these troops in the defense of the Fatherland. His years of dedication and contributions to the development of military strategy led to the recognition of the strategic significance and role of the Airborne Forces in modern warfare. Under his leadership, the Airborne Forces established their own set of ethics and traditions, which have become synonymous with reliability, strength, courage, and responsibility. Vasily Filippovich Margelov became a symbol of the time, a military canon, and the legendary memory of the Airborne Forces. He carried out a large-scale rearmament of the troops, trained them to land in very difficult weather conditions, and introduced new methods and means of landing. Margelov proved that it was possible to land inside military equipment. His son, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Margelov, was the first to perform such a landing. This was the act of a man - a father, a man who knew the value of life and death, a general who could not only command thousands of courageous men, but also take on the burden of responsibility for a difficult, dangerous, and noble cause.

He destroyed the established opinion about the traditional landing of airborne troops. Previously, paratroopers landed separately from their equipment. In conditions of poor visibility or under enemy fire, it was difficult for them to find their combat vehicles, let alone engage in combat immediately. In 1973, for the first time in world practice, personnel were dropped from a combat vehicle in the "belly" of a combat vehicle near the city of Tula. The first were Senior Lieutenant Alexander Margelov and Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Zuev, a teacher at the Airborne School, for which both were awarded the Order of the Red Star. A year later, the officers repeated the jump inside an infantry fighting vehicle mounted on a Centaur parachute platform.

On January 23, 1976, Alexander Margelov and Leonid Shcherbakov made a jump from inside a vehicle using the Kentavr parachute-jet system as the driver and commander of an infantry fighting vehicle.

Much later, Leonid Shcherbakov would answer journalists' questions: "The jump that Alexander Margelov and I made was just the beginning. Under the parachute domes, there will be BMDs with full crews inside. This will provide the paratroopers with even greater mobility and, consequently, new victories." And he was right.

In 1998, under the direct leadership of Colonel General G. Shpak, Commander of the Airborne Forces, the entire crew of seven BMD-3s was successfully dropped from the Pskov Division.

By this time, the technology that ensures the successful conduct of a new complex experiment has been significantly improved. First, the "jumping" landing vehicle itself has become more advanced. The current BMD-3 incorporates the most advanced domestic scientific and technical achievements. Its undercarriage and hydraulics have been modernized, and it features universal mobile seats.

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with a fastening system for the entire crew. The vehicle, weighing about 13 tons, has powerful weapons and thickened armor. Secondly, a new and more reliable parachute-landing system has been developed, which "lowers" the vehicle with paratroopers from the sky to the ground. Alexander Margelov and Leonid Shcherbakov once conducted a test using a parachute system and a special platform for landing armored vehicles and cargo. Even then, the "Kentavr" system was versatile and allowed for various types of mooring, making it reliable for landing both vehicles and personnel.

Then the "Kentavr" was replaced by the "Shelf" parachute-free platform system (PBS), but it was also improved in a short period of time, giving way to the PBS-950 "Bakhcha". By the way, no other army in the world has systems like our PBS-950 "Shelf" and "Bakhcha".

Take, for example, the Bakhcha parachute-free platform system. It is mounted on the combat vehicle itself without a special platform. The number of parachutes can vary depending on the weight of the cargo and can reach up to 12, with an area of 350 square meters each. Air cushioning is used to reduce the impact speed to 10 meters per second. One of the main advantages of the Bakhcha complex is that it allows the entire crew of a BMD-3 to be dropped inside the vehicle.

Back in 1998, many paratroopers from the 76th Guards Airborne Division volunteered to test the Bakhchi during a demonstration tactical exercise. "These men are worthy of Alexander Margelov and Leonid Shcherbakov," Colonel-General Georgy Shpak, the commander of the Airborne Forces, told reporters after the successful jump. "They are strong, brave, and courageous, and they are proving their loyalty to the traditions of the renowned Airborne Forces."

The selection of test pilots was carried out very carefully. The main crew was led by 22-year-old Lieutenant Vyacheslav Konev, and the backup crew was led by Lieutenant Alexey Pronin. Both were excellent athletes, airborne training instructors, and proactive and skilled officers. The crew members were chosen to match the leaders, and they were all skilled professionals, physically fit, courageous, and highly disciplined individuals with a strong sense of responsibility.

In preparation for the experimental parachute jump, the soldiers worked hard on a special training program, practicing their actions until they became automatic. During the exercises, Junior Sergeants Alexey Ablizin and Zamir Bilimikhov, Corporal Vladimir Sidorenko, and Privates Denis Goryaev, Dmitry Kondratyev, and Zurab Tomaev put their skills to the test alongside Lieutenant Vyacheslav Konev.

Weather difficulties were also added to the difficulties of the first-ever landing of a crew inside an amphibious combat vehicle (BMD)during the exercise. Right before the jump, when the crews were already loaded into the Il-76 plane, the wind increased on the landing site, its speed was at the limit of the permissible value for which the Bakhcha parachute system is designed. But despite this, the paratroopers did not flinch. Having shown courage and bravery, they performed the combat training task with honor. The goals set by the command for the experiment were achieved, and the courageous soldiers of the 76th Guards Airborne Division dedicated their unique jump to the 90th anniversary of the former commander of the Airborne Forces, Hero of the Soviet Union General of the Army Vasily Filippovich Margelov, whose memory is cherished by every Russian paratrooper.

Since its creation in 1930, the Airborne Troops have come a long and glorious way, and they are now 70 years old. They have written many bright pages in the history of our Armed Forces. The landing of the crew led by Lieutenant Vyacheslav Konev inside the BMD-3 is a clear demonstration that the glorious traditions of the older generation of paratroopers are in good hands.

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