Soviet Union 1991

The third update

The Southern Strategic Command Headquarters had the right to temporarily command the 76th Guards Air Division. Troshev immediately ordered the commander of the 76th Air Division to send paratroopers to the battlefield to occupy the three military airports of Vagani, Marneulli and Kopinatli that had been bombed once, repair the runways, and then jointly landed the naval infantry and the armored forces advancing from South Ossetia to open up a springboard for the encirclement of Tbilisi.

The code name of this operation was Justice from the Sky.

This was also the first time that the Soviet airborne troops carried out a paratrooper infantry fighting vehicle airdrop plan on the battlefield. With the support of the Ministry of Defense, the Soviet airborne commander Shpak carried out the first full-loaded paratrooper fighting vehicle airdrop test in human history as early as 1996 with the support of the Ministry of Defense. It was also carried out in a regimental tactical airdrop exercise conducted by the 76th Airborne Division of the Russian Army. The exercise was held in Pskov. The participants in the test were 7 officers and soldiers who volunteered to sign up for a paratrooper regiment belonging to the division. The airdrop aircraft was an Il-76 transport aircraft.

The full-loaded manned airdrop test of the paratrooper fighting vehicle was very successful. It also gave Yanayev a new idea. In order to make the airdrop plan of the paratrooper infantry fighting vehicle more mature on the battlefield, Trovav ordered a paratrooper infantry fighting vehicle airdrop operation plan, and Shpak also strongly supported the order of the Southern Joint Strategic Command.

The Il-76 transport plane took off from the airport, carrying the BMP3 paratrooper infantry fighting vehicle and will be airdropped directly into Georgia. At the same time, the Su-34 bomber formation will clear the three military airports for the first time, and then the paratroopers will perform the airdrop mission.

The latest Su-35 fighter squadron covered three Il-76 transport planes flying towards the Georgian Air Force Airport. Their mission was to protect the safety of the airborne paratroopers and cover them to successfully reach the airport.

In the sealed Il-76 cabin, the paratroopers of the 76th Aviation Division were sitting in their seats preparing for a large-scale landing operation plan. This was also the first time they had performed such an airdrop mission since the 1990s. Some recruits who still had no combat experience were stamping their feet nervously.

The veteran patted his shoulder, and because of the roar in the cabin, he had to shout in his ear, "It's okay, this is just a small combat training."

"Will we be hit by ground anti-aircraft artillery fire?" The recruit asked nervously.

"No, because these Georgian rebels are all cowards." The veteran laughed.

The BMD-3 infantry fighting vehicle is ready. The Il-76 will drop the infantry fighting vehicle and the crew to three airports at medium and high altitudes. A total of six Il-76 transport aircraft will carry two battalions of airborne troops to occupy the Georgian base.

After the first round of cruise missile strikes, there were almost no fighters that could take off at the three airports of Vagani, Marneulli and Kopinatli, but in order to prevent any accidents, the Su-35 will still carry out a new round of bombing on the remaining targets at the airport. However, Troshev overestimated these Georgian rebels. After being attacked from the air and paralyzing all the air defense forces deployed at the airport, the rebels actually ordered all troops to evacuate the airport and abandon the participating fighters.

According to Minashvili's point of view, when there is no air defense force, the remaining troops can no longer gain air superiority. Instead of being consumed by the Soviet Air Force, it is better to give up directly and withdraw the remaining air force to garrison Tbilisi. Anyway, he is confident that the air defense firepower network of Tbilisi cannot be broken by the Soviet Air Force.

A red light flashed in the dark cabin, indicating that the paratroopers could be airdropped. Everyone stood up, prepared their parachutes, and then jumped from the sky.

The Su-35 squadron did not wait for the opponent's fighters. The Georgian rebels had already abandoned the airport. The remaining fighters that have not been destroyed are like lonely targets, waiting for the attack of the Su-35 squadron.

"It was such a stress-free operation. There wasn't even a fighter jet that took off urgently. It seemed that they had completely given up on this place." The Su-35 driver felt a little sorry for the Georgian rebels' waste of resources, and was also glad that they had not encountered many enemies along the way. He pressed the firing button, and four Su-35 fighters tilted their firepower towards the remaining fighters on the airport, and then the entire airport burst into groups of dazzling flames.

Wherever the Su-35 passed, it brought people a shocking shock. When the Kab-5OO guided bombs completely destroyed the fighters that stayed on the airport, there was no intact building in the entire airport except for the charred scrap iron. Including the hangar and the command tower were also blown into ruins by the Su-35 squadron.

"Very good, comrades, prepare for airborne." After the commander contacted the driver, the two rear doors of the Il-76 slowly opened, and the crew immediately got into the BMD-3 infantry fighting vehicle, took protective measures, and prepared for the first actual combat jump in their lives.

The turbulent air flow from the sky poured into the cabin. Everyone stood aside, ready to airdrop. The fixing device of the BMD-3 infantry fighting vehicle had been unlocked. The infantry fighting vehicle slowly slid out of the cabin and jumped down from the sky. The driver on the infantry fighting vehicle could see that the Il-76 transport plane was getting farther and farther away from him, and the entire infantry fighting vehicle was falling rapidly. Three seconds after the BMD-3 infantry fighting vehicle rushed out of the cockpit, the PBS-95O parachute system began to operate, and 12 white parachutes opened one after another. The BMD-3 infantry fighting vehicle was already in a horizontal state and slowly fell.

At this time, six infantry fighting vehicles had been dropped from the cabin of the Il-76, followed by airborne troops jumping down one after another. Countless white parachutes bloomed over the entire airport, like dandelions falling from high altitude. Not only the Georgian rebels, but even Western countries would be shocked by the Soviet Union's terrible airborne capabilities when they saw this scene. The parachutes all over the sky even made the troops on the ground feel desperate.

Accompanied by a loud noise, the crew had a shocking contact with the ground. After the bmd-3 airborne fighting vehicle landed on the flat ground, the parachute automatically unhooked. The bmd-3 infantry fighting vehicle roared angrily, and a burst of choking black smoke was raised at the tail, as if announcing the beginning of the war.

Vagani, Marneulli and Kopinatli, three airports attacked at the same time.

The landing troops quickly gathered on both sides of the bm-3 infantry fighting vehicle, and the coordinated combat of the infantry and tanks would help them to flatten all the enemies blocking them in front!

The tanks were moving forward, and the paratroopers that had landed in all directions began to gather in the direction of the airport.

Following the new combat mode of the air force and the armored forces, it was time to show them the power of the Soviet paratroopers! (To be continued.)8