Henry240:

Does Algeria have an Airborne unit/Brigade?

Fidha254:
what does SAT stand for? Never heard of such a unit

kikuyu1:


Wow! My bad; I thought LRS was one of their roles. When was it set up and why Czech trainers?

Fidha254:
That's an abstract way of looking at it ... Its like looking at a sniper unit and saying snipping is one of the roles of special ops unit .... That would be true but a specific unit called sniper unit would abviously be more 'specialized' in sniping.

The 30th specOps , the LRS unit, 40th ranger strike force and the 20th parachute batallion all wear green berets and together all fall under SOR ... The LRS members are picked from the various specOps units but they do get further specific training specific for that role.

Look at this Ex-KDF LinkedIn profile, He describes himself as Former Special forces but but specialising specifically in LRS




Also this pic I posted
www.nairaland.com/attachments/4342298_dsc06102_jpeg00796503e9d3a76f2aa9fc2a1f1334ec

Was from 2016 when the current vice chief of KDF was the commander of Kenya Army, The LRSU was based at Liboi which is right at the Kenyan-Somali border but the unit was relocated deeper into Somalia


That pic came with the following story ...

kikuyu1:


I had no idea the Spec Ops and Spec Ops capable numbers had been beefed up! Ideally they should have their own air:some Hinds for hot LZs and MD 530s for a couple of skid riders and some 295s for para ops.

kikuyu1:


Wow! My bad; I thought LRS was one of their roles. When was it set up and why Czech trainers?

Henry240:
Off-Topic

Russian VDV, airborne troops

The VDV is considered to be the worlds best and equipped Airborne troops

You know you're fvcked when you see these guys rappelling down.

Henry240:
South-African Rooikat with an Olifant Tank Turret.

Experiment

61mech:
US SOCOM could be considered a airborne force by itself and that's not even counting US airborne divisions.
Much better trained and equipped than the VDV. Also has almost 2 decades of high intensity combat experience in multiple theaters.

VDV has very little force projection capabilities beyond the Russian border. Looks cool when they drop tanks from Antonovs in exercises, but the US airborne can deploy en masse anywhere on the planet and back up those operations with massive airpower.
VDV's main task was to project Soviet power onto its immediate neighbors aka the former Soviet satellite states. Ukraine is an perfect example of their purpose under the Putin years.
US SOCOM operate on a entirely different scale.

Toju200:
NAF SUSTAINS AIR STRIKES AGAINST TERRORISTS TARGETS, DEGRADES ANOTHER HIDEOUT IN SAMBISA FOREST

In continuation of its sustained air strikes against terrorists’ targets in Borno State, the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has severely degraded another Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) hideout in the Sambisa Forest. The operation was executed yesterday, 16 June 2019, after persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions revealed heavy presence of BHTs at a new camp with several structures hidden under the thick foliage of the Forest. Accordingly, the ATF dispatched an Alpha Jet to attack the location. Its bombs hit the target area, with devastating effects on several of the camouflaged structures, neutralizing their BHT occupants.

The NAF, operating in concert with surface forces, will sustain the effort to completely degrade the terrorists in the Northeast.

IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force

Henry240:

US SOCOM cannot be considered an Airborne force as they are trained to conduct unconventional operations.

The VDV are the highly mobile Arm of the Russian Armed Forces, designed to cover the enemy in the air and conduct combat operations in its rear.

They are the best equipped forces to conduct airborne operations. They are fully mechanized and have a lot of firepower compared to airborne forces around the world.

NATO countries have no equivalents of BMD-3/4. NATO cannot match the mobility of the Russians in the first instance, the gap is even wider with the VDV.

Russian and US doctrine are not the same. The Russians don't need to project force far from their borders. I can't remember if it was a RAND report, which stated the Russians can overrun all of NATO's eastern flank and be by the border of Poland in 48 hours.

Russia's SSO operates similarly to SOCOM not the VDV.

61mech:
US SOCOM absolutely train for conventional warfare. SF has always been an integral part of conventional warfare regardless of their primary deployments over the last couple of decades. You're also not counting the massive US airborne divisions that are very well equipped for conventional airborne missions.

The VDV's conventional task of overrunning European defences depended on the Russian air force and nukes clearing the skies ahead of them. Against a peer nation with a reasonably modern airforce and air defence systems, that would be impossible for them to even contemplate today. The giant Antonoffs would be detected far from the border and have meteor missiles locked on them before they even crossed.
The impressive inventory of mechanised vehicles they have cant be deployed in the numbers they need to take on an conventional mech unit.
They wouldn't survive long against a force with heavy artillery that's close to their supply lines. Even in the cold war those VDV units were not expected to last for more than a week against NATO.
There's very good reasons other major militaries haven't invested in this type of "air-mech" force.

Educate the nigga.

61mech:
US SOCOM absolutely train for conventional warfare. SF has always been an integral part of conventional warfare regardless of their primary deployments over the last couple of decades. You're also not counting the massive US airborne divisions that are very well equipped for conventional airborne missions.

The VDV's conventional task of overrunning European defences depended on the Russian air force and nukes clearing the skies ahead of them. Against a peer nation with a reasonably modern airforce and air defence systems, that would be impossible for them to even contemplate today. The giant Antonoffs would be detected far from the border and have meteor missiles locked on them before they even crossed.
The impressive inventory of mechanised vehicles they have cant be deployed in the numbers they need to take on an conventional mech unit.
They wouldn't survive long against a force with heavy artillery that's close to their supply lines. Even in the cold war those VDV units were not expected to last for more than a week against NATO.
There's very good reasons other major militaries haven't invested in this type of "air-mech" force.

Fidha254:
I did see one Z9 chopper in the background though, it can carry about 6 troops right?

Every year since 2013, KDF has been given an extra $100m (Ksh10B) called "mordernization kitty" I have always held the view that instead of trying to distribute that money around every department ending up in a situation where no dept has the financial muscle to buy anything significant they should have instead gave it all to one department then the following year another department.. and so forth so that in 1 financial year, the airforce alone gets that extra $100m to buy any toys they want, then next year Navy gets their moment and then the specOps regiment also get the same ...

Anyway, about specOps numbers bieng increased, the interview of the vice chief did hint that he recognised the significance of specOps in anti-terrorism operations in today's world .. and the fact that he visited the same camp twice in a few years and took group photos probablably means he has vested interest in the success of that unit.
Also on the home front, the current IG of police is former NIS, he also once said he has worked with recce squad in the past in various operation and had alot of respect for those guys, I hope he meant to back that up with more resources now that he is their boss.

If the Somali mission is really ending in 2021 like they say then apart from training enough Somali troops to take over, these last years there should be a significant change in mode of operation... That means more of 'operation sledge hammer' type of intelligence-led raids, but this time instead of one target in one night, they should gather intel for a couple of months on all the last remaining AS strongholds then plan for a couple more months then in one very long night, execute one of the largest mission led by specOps ... Something like 20 raids all synced to the same clock aimed at where the high value targets are suspected of hiding! While other regular troops go for training camps, other hide outs, then from the air, airforce will have its own set of targets ........ Basically, End the mission with a big bang !
Not only will that end the threat of AS bieng able to get back up and grow yet another head for a long time but in the process of executing that mission, it will also further enhance KDF capability of conducting a large scale 'invasion level' coordinated mission involving lots of moving parts. After that they can claim that all their equipment ' no longer work ' and airforce has grounded most of the jets for bieng old... Parliament and the general public will be more than willing (more like guilted into) to give them whatever they want without protest .

Henry240:

Well, how many developed Nations have faced each other in combat since the end of the Korean war?

Primarily we have to look at doctrine and equipment tailored to fit that doctrine. The Russians are looking to maintain or project power far from their borders, unlike the Americans.

The VDV's conventional task isn't to overrun European defences. They are created to cover the enemy in the air and conduct combat operations in its rear.

With Regards to Antonovs, that's a Ukrainian aircraft, the Russian mainly use IL-76s for Airborne operations, and besides SEAD operations are a core mandate for most Airforces in the developed world.

the VDV are fully mechanized. So while they are ‘paratroopers’, these paratroopers are not just light infantry (like, say, the US 82nd AB), but a very mobile force, fully mechanized and with a lot of firepower. The artillery of the VDV which includes such systems as the 2S9 Nona, the D-30 howitzer or the 2S25 self-propelled tank destroyer, BMD4, BMD3 can all be air dropped.

Secondly, the VDV are a numerically huge force which currently totals 70,000 men and includes 5 Airborne Divisions and 6 Airborne Brigades (including the 45th Special Forces of the VDV Brigade). All of them air-deployable and on a top-level or readiness.


Infact, on this matter, let's agree to disagree. However before i go, please watch this analysis from Janes Defence Weekly.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VhtlrT5DqI

Fidha254:
I did see one Z9 chopper in the background though, it can carry about 6 troops right?

Every year since 2013, KDF has been given an extra $100m (Ksh10B) called "mordernization kitty" I have always held the view that instead of trying to distribute that money around every department ending up in a situation where no dept has the financial muscle to buy anything significant they should have instead gave it all to one department then the following year another department.. and so forth so that in 1 financial year, the airforce alone gets that extra $100m to buy any toys they want, then next year Navy gets their moment and then the specOps regiment also get the same ...

EMW01:

That $100 m is allocated to the department of looting and stealing. They always get the highest allocation for 'modernisation' . How else could you expalain how some of these army guys on a modest salary are now able to buy properties in Runda and Muthaiga.Lets not kid ourselves there is nothing that is being purchased with that kitty. The NIS is also gets close to $300 m a year too, another cashcow hidden under the veil of national security.