Russian NBC Protection Troops

The Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces (Russian: Войска радиационной, химической и биологической защиты Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации (Войска РХБ защиты ВС РФ)) are an organisation designed to reduce the losses of the Ground Forces and ensuring their combat tasks assigned during operations in conditions of radioactive, chemical and biological contamination, as well as at enhancing their survivability and protection against high-precision and other weapons.[1]

Russian NBC Protection Troops
Russian: Войска радиационной, химической и биологической защиты Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации (Войска РХБ защиты ВС РФ)
Great emblem of the Russian NBC Protection Troops
Active13 November 1918
CountryRussia
BranchRussian Armed Forces
TypeSpecial Forces
EngagementsRussian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt Gen Igor Kirilov
Flag of Russian NBC Protection Troops.

In 1944, the Red Army's Chemical Troops had 19 brigades (14 technical and 5 chemical protection). After the end of World War II, most of them were disbanded.[2] General Major Vladimir Pikalov (promoted to Colonel General by 1975) commanded the Chemical Troops of the Ministry of Defence from March 1968 to December 1988. He was in charge of the specialised military units at the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster. Pikalov arrived at the scene on the afternoon of 26 April 1986, and assumed command of the specialised military units there.[3] General Pikalov was later made a Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions there. Among the 23 brigades of the Chemical Troops in the late 1980s were the 1st (ru:1-я мобильная бригада РХБ защиты at Shikhany-2 (Vol'sk-18), two kilometres from Shikhany, in the Saratov Oblast of the Volga Military District, 2nd Brigade at Teikovo in the Moscow Military District, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th, and the 28th (28-ма окрема бригада радіаційного, хімічного, біологічного захисту) located in Severodonetsk in the Kyiv Military District.[4] In 1992, the Chemical Troops within the Russian Armed Forces were renamed the NBC Protection Troops.

Structure and tasks

The basis of the NBC Protection Troops are multifunctional separate NBCP brigades which have subunits capable to perform all NBC protection activities. Their main tasks include:[1]

  • identification and assessment of radiological, chemical and biological environment, scales and effects of damages of objects hazardous radiatively, chemically and biologically;
  • protection of formations and units against the nuclear effects of mass destruction weapons and radiological, chemical and biological contamination;
  • reducing the visibility of troops and facilities;
  • disaster (damage) recovery in objects hazardous radiatively, chemically and biologically;
  • causing loss to the enemy by using flame-incendiary means.

The NBC Protection Troops are organised for both conduct of hostilities using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and without them and includes:

  • nuclear detection;
  • NBC reconnaissance and control;
  • collection and processing of data and information on radiological, chemical and biological environment;
  • notification of troops on NBC contamination;
  • conducting special treatment (decontamination, degassing and disinfection) of armaments, military and special equipment, buildings and other objects, as well as sanitisation of personnel;
  • aerosol counteraction against the enemy’s reconnaissance and targeting means.[1]

The NBCP Troops are developing as dual-purpose forces, able to solve tasks both in war and peace times, in the aftermath of accidents and disasters in industrial facilities hazardous radiatively, chemically and biologically. Further build-up of their capacity is realized by creating a modern system to identify and assess the extent and effects of weapons of mass destruction, integrated with automated control systems of troops and weapons and stable functioning in the NBC threat environment and strong electronic countermeasures. In addition, there is a process to equip formations, units and subdivisions of NBCP with new, highly effective means of NBC reconnaissance, individual and collective defence, technical means of reducing the visibility and masking, flame-throwing incendiary weapons, as well as to introduce improved materials, formulations, methods and technical means of decontamination.[1][5]

Hardware

What follows is a partial list as of November 2018 of military hardware available to the Russian NBCP troops:[5]

  • RKhM-6 is a chemical reconnaissance vehicle on a BTR-80 base
  • Shmel-M infantry rocket flamethrower
  • TMS-65 is a specialized chemical vehicle on Ural-375 undercarriage
  • TDA-3 smoke generator is designed to camouflage military facilities
  • UTM-80 heat engine
  • PMK-4 gas mask
  • TOS-1A Buratino flamethrower
  • heavy Tosochka flamethrower

Units
RPM-2 – radiological reconnaissance vehicle

See also

References

 This article incorporates text by Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

  1. "NBC Protection Troops". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  2. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 306.
  3. Zhores Medvedev: The Legacy of Chernobyl
  4. Feskov et al. 2013, p. 308.
  5. "Russian NBC troops armed with new hardware | November 2018 Global Defense Security army news industry | Defense Security global news industry army 2018 | Archive News year".

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