Among the five good men of the Blue Star today, Britain has only one 16th Air Assault Brigade, France has an 11th Paratrooper Brigade, Britain and France each retain an Air Assault Brigade as a mobile force to maintain the last dignity, and the remaining three bigwigs are far ahead in terms of size and equipment, if you compare them again in these three permanent (we will not participate), the United States has the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 82nd Airborne Division, the 11th Airborne Division and the 173rd Independent Air Assault Brigade; Russia has the 7th Mountain Air Assault Division, the 76th Air Assault Division, the 98th Airborne Division, the 106th Airborne Division plus 4 assault brigades.
Russian Airborne Forces
The airborne division and the air assault division are both highly mobile infantry divisions, and the biggest difference between the two arms is that the vehicles are different, the airborne division mainly relies on large fixed-wing transport aircraft for parachute airdrop operations, while the air assault division mainly relies on rotary-wing helicopters for airborne operations. In terms of the size and establishment of the air assault force, the Russian army obviously has the upper hand, with 2 air assault divisions plus 4 air assault brigades, while the US army only has 1 air assault division and 1 independent air assault brigade.
US Airborne Forces
Today, let's compare the two most elite air assault divisions of the United States and Russia's airborne forces, the 101st Air Assault Division of the U.S. Army VS the 7th Mountain Air Assault Division of the Russian Army, to see who is the real king of air assault.
1. Comparison of the establishment of the air assault divisions of the two armies
U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) of the U.S. Army, nicknamed "Screaming Eagle", was originally the 101st Airborne Division, and the 82nd Airborne Division belonged to the 18th Airborne Army, and is currently the only air assault division of the U.S. Army. The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) has a long history, having participated in the famous Normandy landings during World War II, and since the beginning of the Vietnam War, the 101st Division has gradually transformed from an airborne (transport aircraft) formation to an airmobile (helicopter) formation. As a result, the division was renamed the 101st Airborne Division (Air Mobility), the 101st Air Cavalry Division, and on October 4, 1974, it was renamed the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which continues to this day.
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) is on active duty
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) has a total strength of about 15,000 troops, and its active commander is Major General, which is under the command of division headquarters and division headquarters battalions, 3 air assault infantry brigades, 1 divisional artillery brigade, 1 combat aviation brigade, and 1 divisional support brigade.
Badge of the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division
The 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division is the only elite Guards Division of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) (military number 61756), with the exception of the special forces of the Airborne Forces, and specializes in mountain warfare and jungle warfare.
7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division
Russia's 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, formerly known as the 7th Airborne Division, was first formed in September 1948 on the basis of the 322nd Guards Rifle Regiment, which fought in Eastern Europe during World War II. During the Cold War, the division was involved in the suppression of the Hungarian and Czech revolutions, and in August 1993 it was transferred to Novorossiysk, Russia, where it participated in various counterinsurgency operations in the Caucasus. On December 1, 2006, the division was renamed the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division. In 2014, the division's 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment allegedly took part in the war in Donbass, Ukraine.
Major General Sukhovetsky, deputy commander of the 41st Army
The first elite units of the Russian army to participate in the Kyiv offensive since February 2022, its former commander, Major General Sukhovetsky, then deputy commander of the 41st Army, was reportedly killed in battle on February 28, 2022. The division has since participated in the Battle of Kherson in the Ukrainian War, the Battle of Mykolaiv, and the Great Ukrainian Counteroffensive in 2023.
7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division
The 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division has a total strength of about 13,000 people, with a division headquarters and 3 air assault regiments, namely the 97th Air Assault Regiment, the 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment, and the 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment, 1 airborne regiment, which is the 108th Guards Airborne Regiment, the 387th Motorized Rifle Regiment (which will be subordinate to the 7th Division from July to October 2023), and the 44th Air Assault Division, which is said to be formed with the regiment as the core, as well as the 1141st Guards Artillery Regiment and the Air Defense Battalion, Engineer Battalion, Support battalions, communications battalions and other Hou Qian support units.
2. Comparison of the equipment of the air assault divisions of the two armies
2S9 "Nona" 120-mm self-propelled gun
As a light assault force, the air assault division basically has no heavy equipment, and apart from helicopters, the heaviest firepower equipment is the light artillery carried by artillery.
The 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division is armed with BMD-1, BMD-2 and BTR-D paratrooper wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, as well as BTR-ZD anti-aircraft vehicles and BTR-RD "Robot" anti-tank vehicles, which are armed with the 9M111 "Bassoon" anti-tank rocket system (which can simultaneously fire 12 9M111 "Bassoon" or 9M113 "Competition" anti-tank missiles). The artillery regiment is mainly armed with 2S9 "Nona" 120-mm self-propelled guns and 1В119 reconnaissance and fire control vehicles.
Helicopter formation of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) is equipped with the same equipment as the light brigade level combat, with a full strength of 4,413 people, and is equipped with high-mobility multi-purpose armored vehicles represented by the Humvee as standard, and generally includes 1 cavalry (reconnaissance) battalion, 3 infantry battalions, 1 brigade support battalion, and 1 engineer battalion, a total of 6 battalions.
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
It is worth mentioning that the 101st Airborne Division Combat Aviation Brigade is the most decorated aviation unit in the US Army, the brigade is currently composed of the 1st Battalion of the 101st Air Regiment, the 5th Battalion of the 101st Aviation Regiment, the 6th Battalion of the 101st Aviation Regiment, the 2nd Squadron of the 17th Cavalry Regiment, and the 96th Aviation Support Battalion, with a total of more than 100 helicopters, including 48 Apache helicopter gunships, 53 Black Hawk helicopters, and 12 Chinook transport aircraft.
Russian Airborne Forces in the Battle of Antonov Airfield
The Russian Air Assault Division is mainly equipped with Ka-52 and Mi-28N attack helicopters, Mi-24 and Mi-35 assault gunships, Mi-8AMTSh combat transport helicopters and Mi-26 heavy transport helicopters.
Summary: The U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the Russian 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division are basically the same in terms of establishment and personnel, and the original intention of the establishment is to carry out airborne raid missions behind enemy lines, and there is little difference in equipment and fire support, but the biggest difference is that the helicopters of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) are owned by their own troops, while the helicopters of the Russian 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division are owned by the Aerospace Forces, and coordination and communication between the two services are required when performing tasks. It is obviously inferior to the US military in terms of timeliness.