The 76th guards air assault division based at Pskov might well be the military formation that will be deployed first in a potential conflict in the Baltic States. The division is perfectly located near the frontiers of both Estonia and Latvia to allow it to intervene in one of both countries in a moment’s notice. As such the developments and deployments of the 76th air assault division can be a good warning indicator for Russia’s intensions concerning the Baltic States.
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| The 76th Air Assault Division was active in both the Crimea as the War in Donbass |
The 76th Division
The 76th air assault division, located a Pskov, is one of the few all professional divisions in the Russian Armed Forces and part of the Permanent Readiness Units. As such, the division was among the first to ban conscript soldiers from its ranks and switch to an all-volunteer unit. This happened in 2004. In 2006 the division changed its mission and instead of being an airborne unit it became an air assault division.
The division itself is arranged so that it can operate as a stand-alone unit. It’s combat element are three air assault regiments, the 23rd, 104th and the 234th regiment. The division is further made up of an artillery regiment, an air defence regiment as well as several battalions of engineers, logistics, maintenance and communication.
The 76th air assault division has also seen a wide range of combat in recent years. The division was active in both Chechen Wars, the 2008 war with Georgia, the annexation of the Crimea and the War in Donbass. As such, the 76th air assault division is one of the few divisions in the Russian Armed Forces that has had a wide variety of combat experiences in the past two decades.
Baltic connection
The 76th air assault division is thus one of the few divisions that are professionally manned and has a wide arrange of combat experience gained in recent years. It should thus not be a surprise that this division is important to monitor Russia’s intent in the Baltic Region. The division is based near Pskov, located near both the Estonian and Latvian borders. This allows the division to intervene in one or both of these countries on a very short notice. The division is also one of the few division that can mobilise in a very short term and it is owned in part due to her status as a permanent readiness unit.
The division can also play several different roles. The recent combat experience the 76th air assault division can count on is the deployment of hybrid warfare. This experience was gained in both the Crimea as the Donbass. It is rumoured, but never officially acknowledged, that the 76th air assault division lost several active service members in the war in Donbass. Losses would constitute for about a company sized unit according to a news article on 2 September 2014 in a Pskov based newspaper.
Aside from hybrid warfare the 76th air assault division can also be used as a full scale unit in a more conventional role as part of a larger military operation. It can either be deployed as an airborne division and drop far behind enemy lines to take out key military installations and seize important infrastructure to sustain the advance of other military units.
The division can also be used as a full ground attack unit. Most elements in the division are motorised and each regiment is capable of forming an motorised battalion that can be used as a spearhead while the rest of the division is following behind it. In this role the division will only use small scale airdrops in order to facilitate the breakthrough of the motorised spearheads.
Conclusion
The 76th air assault division is one of the few military formations that the Russian Federation might use for operations in the Baltic Region. This division is well suited for operations in the Baltic Region due to its close geographic location as well as the fact that it is one of the few division that can call on an extensive array of combat experience gained in recent years.
The division can also be used in almost every kind of scenario the Kremlin might use for an intervention in the Baltic Region since it is able to perform hybrid warfare as well as conventional warfare in both mechanized warfare or support by airborne operations. Only a few units in the Russian Armed Forces are capable to offer such a flexibility coupled with experience. As such, the deployment and development of the 76th air assault division can serve as a warning indicator to comprehend Russia’s strategy in the Baltic Region and to grasp an idea of Russia’s intent to use force in this region.
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