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The airmobile force (Ukrainian: Аеромобільні війська України) is a highly mobile component of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The airmobile forces consist of formations, units and elements of the Army and the Army aviation, trained for combined activities behind the enemy lines. The airmobile forces are in constant combat readiness and are the high mobility branch of forces.
Patch of the 81st Tactical Group in Iraq.
In the 15 years after their creation Ukrainian paratroopers have served in peacekeeping missions to the Balkans, in Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia, Georgia and Congo.[1]
2001 Structure[]
In 2001 the Airmobile Force consisted of:[2]
| Unit | Base # | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters 1st Airmobile Division | А0220 | Bolhrad | inactive since 2003 |
| 25th Airborne Brigade | А1126 | Bolhrad | |
| 45th Airmobile Brigade | А1533 | Bolhrad | |
| 27th Mechanized Brigade | А0664 | Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi | |
| 91st Artillery Regiment | А0242 | Veseliy Kut | |
| 95th Airmobile Brigade | А0281 | Zhytomyr | |
| 79th Airmobile Regiment | А0224 | Mykolaiv | |
| 80th Airmobile Regiment | А0284 | Khyriv |
| 1st Airmobile Division | |
| Separate Brigade | |
| Separate Regiments |
2008 Structure[]
Ukrainian paratroopers on Victory Day parade on Kiev's Khreshchatyk street, 2008.
25th Airborne Brigade- 95th Airmobile Brigade
- File:79ombr.jpg 79th Airmobile Brigade
- File:80oaep.jpg 80th Airmobile Regiment
- File:28thtrb.jpg 28th Training Battalion
Commanders[]
The Commander of the Airmobile Forces since 2005 is Colonel Serhiy Lysovyi.
| Name | Rank | Period of command |
|---|---|---|
| Vitaly Raevsky | Major General | 1992 - 1998 |
| Ivan Yakubets | Colonel | 1998 - 2005 |
| Serhiy Lysovyi | Colonel | 2005–present |
Armament[]
Equipment of the Airmobile Forces is similar to the equipment used by Russian Airborne Troops.
Personnel firearms
- PM, semi-automatic pistol (9x18mm)
- AKS-74,[3] para assault rifle (AK-74 with folding skeleton buttstock) (5.45x39mm)
- AKS-74U, para assault rifle carbine (5.45x39mm)
- AKMS, para assault rifle (7.62x39mm)
- RPKS-74, the light weight para machinegun (5.45x39mm)
- PKM, general purpose machine gun (7.62x54mm)
- Dragunov SVDS sniper rifle (7.62x54mm)
- GP-25 and GP-30, the under-barrel 40mm grenade launchers for fragmentation and gas grenades which are attached to AKS-74 of some paratroopers to increase firepower for combating enemy foot troops
- AGS-17 “Plamya” (Flame),[4] the automatic grenade launcher - deadly against enemy foot troops but ineffective against even lightly armored vehicles, it will probably be replaced by a much lighter AGS-30 or less likely by some other model in an upcoming rearmament
Armoured Vehicles
Only one Brigade, the 25th is currently using BMD-1 and BMD-2 armored fighting vehicles.[5] The 95th Brigade, the 79th Brigade and 80th Regiment use BTR-80.[4]
Artillery
- 2S9 “Nona-S” configuration of 2S9 Anona, 120mm self-propelled mortar[5]
- ZU-23-2,[5] an aged but effective and powerful design of a double barrel 23mm anti-aircraft gun, commonly used against infantry and even APCs and IFVs, it is either mounted on any amphibious hulls, usually based on PT-76 light tank, or can be towed by jeep or truck as it has wheels.
References[]
- ↑ CHRONICLE 08.qxp
- ↑ (Russian) № 477-р від 3 грудня 2001 року "Про шефство Дніпропетров
- ↑ S stands for skladnoy (Russian: складной), means folding. Issued only for parachute-landing purposes
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 (Ukrainian) MoD News Article
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 (Ukrainian) MoD News Article
External links[]
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The original article can be found at Ukrainian Airmobile Forces and the edit history here.