FROM: The Mad Duo
TO: Kit Up!
Russian Naval Infantry have a new body armor coming, according to Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Kolpachenko. “This vest has been designed for naval infantry as well as for seamen serving on combat ships,” he told a Russian radio station, further explaining that despite its weight, it would easily float its wearer along with his weapon and combat load of ammunition.
The good general advises this new body armor –slash- life vest would be available to such units as the Naval Infantry assigned to anti-piracy duty near the Horn of Africa as early as 2011, and claims it will be superior to what is available to ground infantry units.
There are roughly 12,000 troops assigned to three brigades, two independent regiments and two independent battalions of the Naval Infantry, many of them working anti-piracy duties (they and Russian SF units were involved in the retaking of the University of Moscow from Somali pirates, for instance). The Russian Navy has a convoy route approximately 400 km long through the Gulf of Aden, and actually put naval infantry teams aboard Russian vessels and foreign vessels with Russian crews as they make that passage in addition to escorting convoys.
We haven’t actually laid eyes on any of the new vests, though we’re still hopeful. We’ve been laying low in Russia after that unfortunate poker game with Aleksandr Bortnikov back in June (hey, we were celebrating the capture of Amir Magas, and how were we supposed to know that was General Shabalkin’s niece?) Hopefully that’ll change though; we’ll keep you up to speed.
Mad Duo OUT
