Russian Naval Infantry

BMD-4 would likely be ready for production earlier, and are air drop capable.

Of course it is also possible that a mixed force of wheeled and tracked vehicles could be used with BMD-4M plus various vehicles in the Typhoon family could also be adopted.

The Typhoon will be resistant to mines and IEDs and RPG attack and small arms fire, yet will be highly mobile and offer a reasonable amount of fire power in a light compact vehicle.

Regarding camouflage... I really don't know, but in terms of rifles I think the newly adopted ADS would be the ideal rifle, being a short compact weapon with a nice long barrel and the ability to fire effectively underwater with special ammo.



source: http://smallarmsillustrated.tripod.com/Index.htm

Their new super soldier stuff will eventually provide the VDV with mission specific equipment and gear and might eventually lead to temperature specific camouflage, where above 30 degrees C the colour of the gear is optimised for desert, while lower termperatures... 10-30 could be temperate green and of course well below zero can be white...

I have seen glasses that change colour when you fill them... they go one colour for hot drinks and a different colour for cold drinks and at room temperature they are a third colour...

I would think issues would include body temperature effecting it and you would have to be very careful with the colour types and temperature ranges as it can get quite cold in the desert overnight and you don't want all your soldiers appearing in green first thing in the morning because the sun hasn't heated everything up yet...

Perhaps a system that also uses electric current for the colour change effect so there is better control.

Looks like an MTLB crossed with a BTR.

They will be getting new carriers in the next few years, so in addition to Ka-52s I would expect the navalised Kurganets-25 would be a priority too.

I do remember reading that a lot of T-80 tanks were being transferred to the naval forces.

I think we can discount the T-80 plans at this point...would think Sprut is perfect for them though...

Then the Kurganets-25 they have selected... with minor changes like external engine driven screws for in water propulsion and improved sea keeping for rough sea states, will really be ideal.

At 25 tons I would think the protection of a Kurganets and the avionics etc will make it a better vehicle for IFV, and tank for the Naval Infantry, though it will likely be a couple of years away.

Russian Naval Infantry units have traditionally had a fairly fierce reputation for doing a good job, I am pretty sure this reputation continues in the training and culture of these units.

Without a conflict however it is hard to see what sort of performance level they are at, and the fact that they are not always issued the latest gear can blur the issue for some.

Needless to say the blue and white striped T Shirts... whether they are bright blue and worn by the VDV or dark blue and worn by the RNI separate them from the average rank and file generally.

The oddball vehicles like the PT-76 for the RNI are not a negative sign... the VDV kept the ASU-85 in service well after it became obsolete because there was no effective replacement that could be air dropped.

Of course the PT-76 is amphibious and the ASU-85 is air portable, though the latter was replaced with ultimately by the Sprut... which will likely do the same for the PT-76.

The vehicle shown is a PTS-M... and amphibious transport vehicle used for troops and material.