Armored Personnel Carrier] 3-4 Vehicles, Or up to 100 Personnel Each
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EURASIA Caspian Sea Flotilla Conducts Amphibious Landing Exercise OE Watch Commentary: The Russian Caspian Sea Flotilla has two naval infantry battalions- the 414th in Kaspiysk, Dagestan and the 727th in Astrakhan, Astrakhan Oblast. This year, it was “Prior to loading, each BTR- the 727th’s turn to conduct an exercise. The Caspian Sea Flotilla’s amphibious landing ships carry 82 [armored personnel carrier] 3-4 vehicles, or up to 100 personnel each. There are no large landing ships in the flotilla, but their smaller landing ships are all comparatively new, since they have been built since the collapse of underwent a dunking, where the Soviet Union. The naval infantry is mounted on BTR-82As, which are reliable, modernized, the fighting vehicle enters the up-engined wheeled armored personnel carriers with an amphibious capability. The accompanying excerpted article from Krasnaya Zvezda (dated 17 October) states that the sea state was at least water and floats while its hull Beaufort Scale 2, which made the going choppy. Beaufort Scale 2 is a light breeze of 4-7 mph, is checked for water-tightness. which produces 1-2 foot waves. Apparently, the BTR-82A is amphibious, but not aggressively amphibious. The landing ships have the option of running the craft on shore and having the vehicles Only after passing this test for drive off onto dry land or approaching the shore line and letting the vehicles drive off into the water dryness and unsinkability will and swim to shore. Running the craft on shore lengthens the time that a vessel could come under fire in an opposed landing, so having the vehicles drive off into the water and swim is preferred the APC ascend onto the craft’s when opposed. The BTR-80 series of vehicles were designed for river crossings, not open sea. ramp.” The naval infantry has long been lobbying for another infantry carrier which is larger and more seaworthy. A new Bumerang-chassis BTR could fill that need. This landing did not include extended sustainment training. In previous Caspian Sea exercises, they have run pipelines from offshore tankers onto the beachhead and pumped over 400 tons of fuel (see: “Russian Pipeline Troops: Sustaining the Fight Across the Land and From the Sea”, OE Watch, October 2018). The Caspian Sea naval infantry contingent is being expanded from two battalions into the 177th Naval Infantry Regiment, as the other excerpted article from Krasnaya Zvezda notes. Whether it will be a two-battalion or three-battalion regiment remains to be seen; however, it is a significant expansion of capabilities. End OE Watch Commentary (Grau) Source: Shamil Khayrullin, “Атака с моря на гребне волны (Attack from the Sea on the Crest of a Wave),” Krasnaya Zvezda, 17 October 2018. http://redstar.ru/ataka-s-morya-na-grebne-volny/ Vehicle loading … was conducted at dusk under blackout conditions from the shore of a bay that was sheltered from the wind and the waves. Prior to loading, each BTR-82 [armored personnel carrier] underwent a dunking, where the fighting vehicle enters the water and floats while its hull is checked for water-tightness. Only after passing this test for dryness and unsinkability will the APC ascend onto the craft’s ramp…. The amphibious landing ship detachment landing craft with all personnel and equipment aboard sheltered in the bay for the night. The next morning, the amphibious landing craft division commander received the radio message that the missile ship Dagestan had inflicted a missile strike with a Kalibr precision missile on the “enemy” command post and communications on the Caspian coast…. The command for the amphibious landing ship detachment to sail followed. The fact that the sea was choppy -- at least Beaufort Force two -- became clear when the landing craft left the bay. However, the choppy sea did not affect the landing force personnel’s upbeat fighting spirit…. The landing ship detachment operated stealthily to mislead the “enemy” as to its intentions. They conducted a simulated landing at a different part of the coast. At that place, Serna-class amphibious landing craft, under the cover of a dense smoke screen laid by a Spetsnaz vessel, simulated an approach toward the coast. The real landing of the wheeled vehicles was conducted further to the south, on a three-kilometer stretch where Spetsnaz divers had cleared the landing approach of “mines” and “explosive devices”. A hydrographic service detachment set up alignment markers and a sapper subunit landed and cleared passages through the minefield. In addition, to provide fire support for the landing, the forward air controllers called in attack helicopters and Su-25 attack aircraft. The landing of the battalion’s main forces consisted of several tactical groups, each of which functioned independently within its own zone, thereby confusing the “enemy” (its role was played by a Black Sea Fleet naval infantry company) as to the landing force’s main strike zone. This frustrated the defensive force’s ability to execute effective fires and a counter attack rapidly. Finally, the amphibious landing craft ramps were lowered, the first fighting vehicles drove into the water where steep Caspian waves snatched them up and propelled them to the shore . On 8 October, in Kaspiysk, the Southern Military District command summed up the results of the large-scale command and staff exercise in the Caspian area. Particular attention focused on assessing the ability of commanders at all levels to make nonstandard decisions in a combat-training situation and to act so as to apply the combat experience of modern armed conflicts. The Caspian Flotilla’s operations fully meet these requirements.... The command and staff exercise’s command personnel demonstrated high-quality operational and tactical skills and in general, coped with the missions set for the period of the command and staff exercise. However, during their execution, the flotilla headquarters had not avoided certain errors. For example, a planning-error occurred while assessing the sea’s turbulence at the time of the landing, and this violated safety standards when the personnel were moving to shore in wheeled vehicles. (continued) OE Watch | December 2018 11 EURASIA Continued: Caspian Sea Flotilla Conducts Amphibious Landing Exercise Source: Leonid Khayremdinov, “В Каспийске будет современная военно-морская база (Kaspiysk will have a modern naval base),” Krasnaya Zvezda, 17 August 2018. http://redstar.ru/v-kaspijske-budet-sovremennaya-voenno-morskaya-baza/ General of the Army Sergey Shoygu, Russian Federation Minister of Defense, inspected the construction of a new base for the Caspian Flotilla in Dagestan. Last year, the supreme commander made a strategic decision on the relocation of the Caspian Flotilla Headquarters from Astrakhan’ to a more southern region – Dagestan. There are two factors behind this decision – geophysical and strategic. Astrakhan’, situated in the Volga delta, is hydrologically less suitable for ships than Kaspiysk, which is located on the open sea. And the distance from there to the main operational areas is significantly less– the Caspian future naval base is practically on the equator of the planet’s largest enclosed lake. [In August] in Kazakhstan’s Aktau, which, incidentally, is situated practically opposite Russia’s Kaspiysk, the leaders of the Caspian states (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Tajikistan) signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. It bars the deployment in the region of any military contingents and bases from third countries. The Russian Navy’s Caspian Flotilla is the guarantor of the observance of this important part of the document. General of the Army Sergey Shoygu inspected the major construction in Kaspiysk... It includes building anchorages and berths for the ships; erection of piers and servicing centers; dredging; and shore infrastructure.... The housing and barracks are almost finished, a cultural and leisure center is being erected, a military hospital has begun operation. Moorages and hydraulic structures, a training area and warehouses are under construction in the adjacent city of Makhachkala to accommodate the ships, patrol boats, and support vessels. Minister Shoygu stated “Surveying for the development of the Kaspiyskya Bight is being performed and facilities in the port of Makhachkala are currently being built as part of the improvement of the system of basing of the flotilla. Major renovation of the buildings and structures for accommodating the 177th Naval Infantry Regiment, which is being organized this year, is being completed. Training facilities for the detachment which combats underwater-saboteurs are being provided with amenities. A modern naval base with engineering, navigation- hydrographic, and logistic support is being built in Kaspiysk.” Amphibious assault supports deployment of CSS base on sea shore, Caspian Flotilla (09/2017). Source: Russian Defense Ministry, http://eng.mil.ru/en/multimedia/photo/gallery.htm?id=60386@cmsPhotoGallery, CC 4.0. OE Watch | December 2018 12.