MOSCOW. Nov 22 (Interfax) - Russia's Airborne Forces have received two battalion sets of Rakushka armored personnel carriers and BMD-4M airborne assault vehicles this year, the Russian Defense Ministry's information department said in a statement.
"Over this period, the forces have received two battalion sets of BMD-4M advanced airborne assault vehicles and BTR-MDM Rakushka armored personnel carriers, and 200 different vehicles, including special-purpose armored vehicles, army snow tractors, quadbikes, and all-terrain vehicles," the statement said.
This information was presented at a recent meeting of the Airborne Forces' Military Council that was held in the Moscow region under the chairmanship of the forces' commander Col. Gen. Andrei Serdyukov, who, according to media reports, returned after a mission in Syria this fall where he served as the commander of the Russian group of forces in that country.
A Pskov-based Airborne Forces unit received a battalion set of this hardware in 2019 as well.
The BMD-4M is a high-speed floating tracked airborne assault vehicle equipped with advanced high-tech systems of weapons, including a 100 mm weapon with an ammunition load of 34 high-explosive fragmentation shells and four Arkan guided missiles, 30 mm automatic cannon with an ammunition load of 500 miscellaneous shells, and a 7.62 mm machinegun.
The BTR-MDM Rakushka is a Russian air-dropped armored personnel carrier built by the Volgograd Tractor Plant. One such vehicle weighs 13.2 tonnes and is equipped with two machineguns. It is operated by a two-member crew and can carry up to 13 airborne personnel. It is used by the Airborne Forces and Marines to transport (airborne) personnel, ammunition, spare parts, and fuel. A robotic version of this vehicle has been developed for the Airborne Forces.